Motivation. Its a word we have all heard but what does it really mean and how can it help us to become happy, healthy, energetic housewives? Some people hear the word motivation and think "oh no.. here we go again we are going to talk about how out of shape I am compared to the rest of the world!" But I am suggesting here that we should not be concerned about the world or what it looks like. I am talking about a personal motivation, a deeper connection with what makes YOU tick. Taping into this part of who you are is 99% of what will make you successful at changing your fitness level and possibly your life.
Have you ever sat and thought about why you do the dishes or laundry? What is it that motivates you to do these things. Some might answer "well my family needs clean clothes and dishes". You are motivated everyday to do the dishes and a few times a week you carry that laundry all over the house washing it, folding it and putting it away.
Here's a question for you. Aren't YOU more important that your dishes or your laundry? I am here to tell you if you can motivate yourself to do housework, feed your family, and run your kids to sports practices, then you can motivate yourself to get fit.
What's interesting to me is the fact that everyone has a different motivation for wanting to get healthy. For some its all about getting into those smaller pair of jeans, for others its about looking good for the husband, even others its all about an upcoming event such as a reunion, a wedding, or a vacation. These are all good short term motivators. But a deeper reason will help you change your life. A deeper soul searching reason is when change is permanent. "I want to get out of the bed in the morning pain free because I am depressed and I can't do this anymore". "I want to have self confidence, self assurance, self worth." "I want to take the stresses of my life out on a walk or run instead of taking them out on the children". "I want to be who God meant me to be and a miserable worn out Mom who lives on coffee and can't wait for her kids to go to bed isn't what I think God had in mind when he created a family." You see, there are millions of different reasons that create change in someones life and the longer I go on this journey to fitness the more I understand its what motivates you that is most important.
Being motivated is the first step to changing who you are. Its the hardest part, but the good news is it's all in your head. YOU get to decide who you want to be. No one else. YOU get to choose. Isn't that so very nice? Do you like who you have become? Do you remember the days when you were full of energy and happy, self confident? Maybe you haven't felt this since you were a child, maybe its been too over whelming to even try remember what it felt like. Maybe, like me, you have tried and it seems nothing ever works.
I want to encourage you to stop thinking calories, stop agonizing over meal plans. Set aside the thoughts of workout plans and all the sports equipment or gym membership you can't afford and start looking within. Find out what makes you tick. What's the motivating factor in your life that will cause you to change. The good news is once you figure that out you' re over half way there! The hardest step will be facing the part of yourself that has been holding you back all this time. Are you ready to face it? To look into the heart of who you have become and realize the choices you made got you there? Accepting who you are now and being motivated to change is what it's all about.
This week take some time to reflect on who you are and what really makes you tick, what motivates you. Look beyond the outside, and find your reason for change.
Be sure and check out my blog this week as I share with the world the things that motivate me and keep my journey to fitness alive.
______________________________________Here's a question for you. Aren't YOU more important that your dishes or your laundry? I am here to tell you if you can motivate yourself to do housework, feed your family, and run your kids to sports practices, then you can motivate yourself to get fit.
What's interesting to me is the fact that everyone has a different motivation for wanting to get healthy. For some its all about getting into those smaller pair of jeans, for others its about looking good for the husband, even others its all about an upcoming event such as a reunion, a wedding, or a vacation. These are all good short term motivators. But a deeper reason will help you change your life. A deeper soul searching reason is when change is permanent. "I want to get out of the bed in the morning pain free because I am depressed and I can't do this anymore". "I want to have self confidence, self assurance, self worth." "I want to take the stresses of my life out on a walk or run instead of taking them out on the children". "I want to be who God meant me to be and a miserable worn out Mom who lives on coffee and can't wait for her kids to go to bed isn't what I think God had in mind when he created a family." You see, there are millions of different reasons that create change in someones life and the longer I go on this journey to fitness the more I understand its what motivates you that is most important.
Being motivated is the first step to changing who you are. Its the hardest part, but the good news is it's all in your head. YOU get to decide who you want to be. No one else. YOU get to choose. Isn't that so very nice? Do you like who you have become? Do you remember the days when you were full of energy and happy, self confident? Maybe you haven't felt this since you were a child, maybe its been too over whelming to even try remember what it felt like. Maybe, like me, you have tried and it seems nothing ever works.
I want to encourage you to stop thinking calories, stop agonizing over meal plans. Set aside the thoughts of workout plans and all the sports equipment or gym membership you can't afford and start looking within. Find out what makes you tick. What's the motivating factor in your life that will cause you to change. The good news is once you figure that out you' re over half way there! The hardest step will be facing the part of yourself that has been holding you back all this time. Are you ready to face it? To look into the heart of who you have become and realize the choices you made got you there? Accepting who you are now and being motivated to change is what it's all about.
This week take some time to reflect on who you are and what really makes you tick, what motivates you. Look beyond the outside, and find your reason for change.
Be sure and check out my blog this week as I share with the world the things that motivate me and keep my journey to fitness alive.
Family and Fitting Fitness In
Life with young children is a challenge to say the least. There I was, with thee children under the age of five, all at different stages and all with different attention spans. I longed for the days when they would get old enough for me to have 20 mins of uninterrupted time on the treadmill, or in the powder room for that matter. I longed for the days when my workout wasn't so stressful and always so mixed in with parenting my kids. All the starting and stopping that happened in those years is hard to keep track of.
I had reached a point in my life where I had to take control of who I had become. My children and my husband deserved more. I didn't want to just mull through life. I wanted to be fit for many reasons, but in the early years I wanted to be fit for my family. I felt I was barely hanging on some days. I soon found out that my workouts became my stress relief and boy did I ever need that after listening to two children scream simply because they were too young to communicate any other way. Today those times are precious memories and my children are now old enough to leave me alone for as long as my workout requires, but it doesn't mean that fitting fitness in and having a family isn't still a challenge.
We will all admit being a Happy Housewife, a mother, and a wife takes up the majority of our energy and time, that is no secret. So, what's a gal to do when she finds herself exhausted because she has been putting her family first and never finds the time to take care of herself? One lesson I have learned over the years is life it not perfect and neither is any workout plan or regimen. If you find yourself lost in the wilderness of family life and wanting to exercise but you just can't seem to fit it all in then here are a few tips that might help you find the balance and peace you have been looking for.
- Stop making excuses - (First and foremost, stop making excuses.) So you have kids, some in diapers still, its doesn't mean you can't be fit! Its only 30 mins. You can find the time if you so choose.
- Be determined but flexible - Set a goal to get aerobic exercises 3 to 4 days a week. Make a promise to yourself that no matter what, barring an emergency, you WILL make the time to do 30 mins of aerobic exercise. Videos, dancing, walking or running outside or on a treadmill are all great activities. If possible get up before your children and get that workout done. If they are young and you are still sleep deprived, fit it in when you can. Don't limit yourself, be flexible. One day you might workout while the kids eat breakfast, the next during nap time and the next take them with you on a long walk. If you just can't find 30 minutes, then split it in half! Two 15 min sessions will work great too!
- Promise yourself - "No matter what, before I get back in bed tonight I will have completed my 30 mins of aerobics". There have been many nights when I find my self running on the treadmill at 9:30pm instead of my planned 9:30am, but at least it got done.
- Set boundaries with your children - Some rules I set include: "Don't talk to me while I am in the middle of lifting. If I have weights in my hand wait until I am resting to ask a question." And "If I am working out do not interrupted unless it is an emergency." (and of course I always had to define what an emergency was).
- If your children are involved in sports, make it a point to get active too - Don't just go and sit and watch, use that time to go for a walk or run. Imagine how you will inspire your own children when they see you exercising during their practices. Invite other Moms along, start a little group if you can. Walk around the practice field or along one side. If space is limited, run sprints or do body weight exercises. Sure people will stare at first, but then they will get use to you being there and see the progress you are making and how much fun you are having and eventually want to join in!
- If you just can't seem to find the time - If you don't have a supportive husband or other family member that can keep an eye on your kids while you go exercise, don't let that be an excuse. One solution could be to fix supper for the family and instead of sitting down to eat with them you go for a run and allow your husband quality one and one time with the children just a few nights a week. Another idea would be to involve your children in your workouts. Play tag with your children or duck duck goose, jump on the trampoline, go swimming with them, put on fun funky music and dance with your kids, take your kids to the park and play with them instead of sitting and watching. There are endless activities that you can do with your kids that can help you get fit. You can set goals with your kids too. What child doesn't want to hear "Children, we will dance 30 mins a day 3 days this week" or "Kids get ready to go to the park because I want to see if I can do more pull ups than you!"
- Don't be afraid to start over! - Kids get sick and life just gets in the way, just because you missed a day or a week or a month of workouts doesn't mean you have failed. Find your motivation again and just begin again.
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Home Gym on a Budget
Time is precious and when it comes to being a Mom and a Happy Housewife it's even more precious. One of the many challenges of getting into the habit of a fitness lifestyle is finding the time to get those workouts in. Some women choose to go to the Gym, which offer great programs, access to personal trainers, and the latest in what's new in fitness. But if you are like me and would rather not spend the money and time traveling to the Gym to get a great workout in then a home gym is the thing for you.
Home Gyms can be expensive but if you are creative you can design a space that is inspirational, convenient, and a lot less expensive than you might think. Here are just a few ideas to get you started.
First and foremost, don't let not having any equipment be an excuse for not getting fit. A pair of running shoes does wonders for your figure! So, get those shoes on and get out the door for a fast walk. Use your own body weight to get in shape, walking lunges, push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, all those elementary exercises do a great job and don't cost a dime! Do you buy groceries? Then think of those groceries as more than a way to feed your family, half gallon and gallon milk jugs, can goods, and bags of dry goods can all be used to do a variety of exercises. When I began trying to get fit I started with two cans of green beans in each hand and a book with weight lifting illustrations\instructions.
If you are wanting to add variety to your workout start setting aside just a bit of money to go toward equipment. How many people do you know who have purchased expensive equipment and never use it! Ask friends and relatives if they have equipment they never use and see if you can take it off their hands. Those treadmills take up a bit of space and you could be doing them a favor by allowing them to declutter and get those clothes that hang on it back in the closet! Another great way to get weights, treadmills, stair steppers and elliptical is through your local newspaper classifieds and area garage sales. Start being on the look out for exercise equipment and you might be surprised what you find and how cheap it can cost!
Lastly, find a space in your home that can be dedicated as your home gym. It could be the corner of your living room, your basement, your garage, even your bedroom. My home gym has been at times in an extra room of my home, my bedroom, and is now most of the equipment is in one side of our garage. You don't have to have a lot of space but make it an area that inspires you. Take your before photo and hang it on the wall, find pictures and quotes that inspire you and put them there too. Use your home gym to transform you mind as well as your body!
If you are patient and know that being fit is a goal for you then you will find a way to get in shape. Could you go out and buy expensive equipment and use getting fit as a reason to go into debt? Sure you could, but you don't have to. Be creative, be determined and be patient and one day you will find you are working out in the best gym in the world.... your own!
To check out my home gym and read about the great finds I have found over the years then check out my blog at Fantastically Fit by 41. Remember, also, to check back here for tips such as "Family and Fitting Fitness In" and "How to Deal with Adversity".
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