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Exercise……..Finding the right motivation

 

Remember to check out my review of the Withings scale, that measures Weight, Fat %, and BMI.  Yeah, it does it all……and will keep you on track.  Also, enter to win a free one for yourself.  You’ll looooooove it. :)

 

Oh, and did you see the winner of the Zeo Sleep Manager?  Go here to see if it was you.

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Let me share a secret with you. Unless I have rewards, I don’t normally meet my exercise goals. It’s annoying that good health isn’t a good enough reward…..but that’s just me. So at the beginning of 2012, my husband and I (yes, he’s doing this with me) sat down with blank calendars and a pen in hand. We decided that we needed weekly rewards for meeting our exercise and nutrition goals for a month or two because after the long list of other things that we have to stay motivated to accomplish each day, our ‘naturally motivated reserve’ is drained. So on each Saturday of our calendars, we wrote down little rewards that we would get, as long as we have eaten well that week (stayed under our calories and such) and have also worked out at least 2 days a week (for at least 30 minutes) for him and 5-6 days a week for me. Haha…..I know, he gets off easy but he drives an hour to and from his surgery rotation (PA school) and sometimes stands for 12 hours assisting with surgeries. So maybe that’s part of his workout?? Anyway, 2 days is about all he can fit in. And well, let me be honest……I wouldn’t be doing 6 days (more like 3-4) except Alysa told me I had to! :) And then every day we mark our calendars with an ‘X’ if we ate healthy and then add an ‘E’ for exercise. And then at the end of the week, if all goals were met……….we win our reward.

 

 

I know, I know……….we can’t win rewards for the rest of our lives. But until regular exercise and healthier food choices are more of a habit, we need rewards to jump start us.

 

Do you want to know some of our rewards?

  • new shoes for him
  • 25 minute uninterrupted back rub for me (from the husband)
  • new workout clothes for me
  • new cologne for him
  • a new haircut for me
  • new bike pedals for him
  • no dish duty for a week for me. for any meal. none. (my husband has to do them….ha.)
  • 5 finger shoes for both of us (we found some for $40 at REI.com. yay!)
  • movie night (like, at a real theater. Not just in our TV room after the kids go to bed.)
  • and more

 

 

And look what came in the mail recently. Yep, we just got these little lovelies (5 finger shoes) last week. I know they’re for running but I really wanted them for indoor workouts and yoga. And maybe bike rides and short jogs. The price was right and they are pretty cool kicks. (And if your first thought is that my feet look like alien feet, don’t worry, I agree. Ha.)

 

 

If you want to try giving yourself rewards like we do, you can make them all free or throw in some spendy ones. It just depends on the budget. The ones like ‘no dishes’ or ‘back rubs’ are nice and free but won’t work unless you have a partner that’s willing to do a little work to help you meet your goals. But it works both ways. He has ones that I have to help him out with too. But the free ones are fun! We also seemed to throw in some things that were on our “want” list but can’t justify buying without a reason (i.e. birthday, anniversary, etc.) But we decided that setting aside some money to pay for these rewards is an investment. The return is good health. And that’s worth it until we get back on track.

 

 

Anyway, we have all of our rewards in place and it’s been working. Eating well? Check. Exercising for at least 30 minutes? Check.

 

 

**I have to tell you something that kept me motivated this last week. I was outside running and began running up a hill………..which was killing me. I kept running (slowly) and kept telling myself, “this feels better than the crappy way I’ve been feeling lately”. I repeated that about 15 times until I was up the hill. Success.

 

 

Exercise is mostly mental. And dang, it feels so good when you’re done.

 

 

How’s it going for you? If you got off track for a minute…..jump back on and go get ’em!

 

P.S. I actually made time to paint my finger nails last night. Does a fresh coat of paint make you instantly feel like a lady? It does me. And has added an extra few dollars to my Feelin’ Good in 2012 account. Try it.

 

Ashley Johnston

Administrator at Make It & Love It
Ashley Johnston is a professional DIY costume maker, sewist, crafter, and owner of Make It & Love It. She is a mom of 5 and a wife to a very patient (with the craft clutter) husband. In case you’re wondering, she always chooses crafting/sewing/designing over mopping/dusting/wiping base boards……but bathrooms/laundry/full bellies are always attended to. Whew!

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Hi, I'm Ashley

Hi, I’m Ashley—the DIY-enthusiast behind this crazy blog!

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