Staying Motivated for the Long Haul

@contentandwell Hi JK: I understand exactly what you mean. When you are "on the wagon" it is easier to stay there, but when you go "off the wagon" those cravings for the things you have been eating just have a way of taking over, don't they?

My most intense cravings are sugars (think Reese's Peanut Butter Cups) and as long as I stay away from those intense sugars, I'm good, but when I give in, I'm really hooked and have to go through the whole process again.

It takes a lot of willpower, but worth the effort in the long run. Outside of just plain will power, I don't have any suggestions for getting back on the wagon, but I would love to hear from others if there is an easier way.

Teresa

@contentandwell Hi JK: Thanks for giving us a virtual tour of the East Coast, it all sounds just wonderful! Your description makes me long for trip out East. It has been a while since I visited New Hampshire's White Mountains and Connecticut's Green Mountains and Cape Cod and all of those great places. Just unforgettable. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

Teresa

@mnretired @contentandwell @hopeful33250 @rosemarya I've been doing good for the most part lately! I've found that having someone in my office that is also trying to eat healthier and exercise had been extremely helpful. We talk about what is and isn't working for us. I wish I had someone that lived closer by that I could exercise with though. I get bored doing it alone, but I am normally good about getting it done. I want to be able to tell the gals at work if I lost that week! Lol
Blessings,
JoDee

@hopeful33250 Today is a new day and I really plan on working on this.
JK

@jodeej As I have mentioned, when I go to the water classes there's always a good group of women there so despite not really socializing with any of them individually it does help. For the regular gym exercises though I too wish I had a "gym friend". That would make it more tolerable. I hate the gym, I feel very stupid and inadequate there.
JK

@contentandwell, @hopeful33250 and @mnretired What I do when I "fall off the wagon" is the same as what I did when learning anything in life, I got back on and tried again. Someone once said you can restart your day (attitude) anytime; it's your choice. Some days I get all my exercise by getting back up on that stupid wagon! My knees are bruised and my shins scraped, but by golly - - - I AM going to ride on that wagon because I have seen the benefit of it.

I must admit that I take intentional jumps off that wagon to give myself a treat. Right now I am ill with a virus, so staying on the wagon is easier because I really don't feel like eating. Good luck.

@2011panc I fell off the exercise wagon on Sunday and Monday when I had some gut problems. I should have gotten back on Tuesday but it took me until Wednesday to go to my club for water exercise and then I did not do my usual recumbent bike at home afterward. I do not enjoy exercising so it's always a struggle to get myself going. I did get to water class again today and hopefully tonight I will do my bike again.
I am craving chocolate.
JK

@contentandwell, I have always had the feeling that if you are at the gym, you are already well ahead of a large portion of the population. Sometimes I feel a bit awkward at the gym too because my joint issues and surgeries force me to modify exercises. I'll admit, that the way I modified some of my workouts gets some looks, but in the end, I know that I am there to improve my health so the looks don't really matter. Getting to the gym some days is a major victory in of itself. As long as it makes you feel better, the rest of it is less important.

@JustinMcClanahan Thanks Justin. I just feel sort of inept really. I don't know very well what I am doing on the equipment, and I don't have a lot of confidence in the personal trainers, plus they are really costly at my club. I think when a person has limitations and/or issues they don't know how to deal with that. Maybe I'm wrong, but the one I went to when I first joined my club a number of years back really did not have me doing things I should have been doing.
I feel better when I am on my way out the door. 😉 Then I feel smug that I did it!
JK

@JustinMcClanahan @contentandwell I wish you lived in the Des Moines area! I'd send you to the gym with my daughter. She's a personal trainer!