Thought I would share this with you all, I got this from site if log my food and exercise.

A lot of people seem to be having motivation problems right now, so I thought that a few general ideas and suggestions might be helpful. What follows is very "psychological" and, I hope, will help you better understand and take charge of being your own best motivator. As they say, take what you can use, and leave the rest.

First, if you started your weight loss plan at the beginning of the year, it might help to know that now is the time when most people start running into motivation problems. In fact, the second half of January is when "new year's resolutions" start dropping like flies, and many people give up. If you don't want to be part of that particular crowd, now is definitely the time to reach a little deeper and try a little harder. Here are some things that might help you do that.

1. The biggest single cause of drooping motivation is unrealistic expectations. When you have all your hopes set on one thing, and something else happens instead, of course it's hard to keep on doing what, to you, doesn't seem to be working. That's exactly how you're supposed to feel, so that you don't fall into that peculiar form of madness that keeps you doing the same old thing over and over again, expecting to get different results.

But this natural reaction becomes a problem when what you have your hopes set on is something that just plain doesn't have much chance of actually happening. Like seeing predictable and consistent changes in your weight every week. Or expecting to go from confirmed couch potato to exercise maven by sheer force of will, without paying your dues.

So, if you find your motivation lagging because you're not getting the results you expected, the first thing to do is check and see how realistic your expectations really are.

When it comes to weight loss, here is what you SHOULD be expecting.

Shedding pounds is only one of many ways your body responds to lowered calorie intake and/or increased exercise and activity; often, this is the last change to happen. Some of you may lose weight easily and quickly at first, only to slow down later. Others may take forever to lose that first couple of pounds, but then get on a roll. Or your weight loss may come in waves with substantial periods of calm seas in between. All of this is perfectly normal.

Although we talk about weight loss in terms of numbers--calories in versus calories out--your body is not a calculator, and it doesn't operate like your checking account. It is a complex, living organism with all kinds of business to take care of, many needs and priorities to juggle, and usually, more than a few difficulties to overcome that we ourselves put in its way with our less than ideal habits and thought patterns. It's hardly fair, then, to expect that living up to your expectations about what number should appear on the scale at any given moment is going to be very high on your body's agenda. And defining success solely in terms of the number on a scale is one of those habits that can very easily get in the way of reaching your goal.

Your best bet is to put some faith in the process, and keep your focus on what you can actually control--namely, what you eat, and the activity and exercise you do. You WILL lose weight, if you do your part tolerably well, and most likely, it will even turn out to be at the expected rate when you look at it from the other end of the tunnel. That is, when you get to your goal and look back at the process, you probably will have lost at the rate of 1-2 pounds per week, on average. There just may not be very many weeks where you actually lost one or two pounds. That's what happened for me, over the 18 months it took me to lose 150 pounds. Those weeks where nothing changed, or I acutally went backwards, drove me crazy and sapped my motivation until I finally realized I was putting my attention on the wrong things. When I started focusing on the small positive changes I was making in my nutrition and in my capacity to exercise and be more active, life got much easier and more rewarding. That, I believe, is our role in this process. The rest is not up to us, and trying to control what you can't control is a prescription for failure.

2. When it comes to your own behavior, don't expect yourself to be perfect, and don't sweat the small stuff. The idea that anyone can, or should, manage to never overeat or skip an exercise session is, first of all, a form of false pride. Why on earth should any one of us think that we'll be the first human being in history to pull this off, or that if we don't, we're some kind of miserable failure as a person?

If you find that you are holding yourself to this kind of perfectionistic standard, or getting way to focused on what your scale says, or verbally abusing yourself for those bad days you have, give yourself (and everybody else) a break -- just accept the fact that, along with the rest of us, you will have times when your human appetites and your feelings are going to win out over your good intentions. It is not a big deal. Your job is to learn how to let these occasions teach you things you need to know about yourself, and that isn't going to happen if you spend most of your time and energy obsessing about your weight, or especially, getting down on yourself. That kind of useless self-abuse is just a smokescreen you are using to avoid your real responsibilities and opportunities. It is the polar opposite of honest self-appraisal. These may seem like harsh words, but getting past this problem is really critical to success--trust me, I had to learn this the hard way, and that cost me a lot of painful years and wasted effort.

Keeping things in perspective is also important. In the long run, going over your calorie budget by a couple of hundred calories, or missing an exercise session, just isn't significant enough to get upset about. In fact, it's the getting upset that can turn these minor problems into major ones, by destroying your motivation and your confidence such that you let one bad day turn into a bad week or month or lifetime. And getting overly upset is completely voluntary, not inevitable.

3. Make sure your expectations about motivation itself--how it works and where it comes from--are also realistic.

Many people seem to think that "being motivated" means not having to struggle with opposing desires, or at least that such struggles will be easy to resolve the "right" way. Not so. It is our nature as human beings to pursue both the immediate gratification of our sensual needs and desires (eating what we like when we want it), and the psychological/emotional gratification that comes from having and achieving meaningful but more abstract goals (being "healthy," "fit" and "attractive" as our culture defines these things). Both of these pursuits are necessary for the survival and flourishing of both individuals and their societies, and equally worthy of our loyalty and support. Judging one these pursuits to be superior to the other is to deny half of what and who you are, and set yourself up for endless and demoralizing inner conflict and turmoil.

At the same time, our "loyalty" to our physiological and social realities cannot be blind or unthinking. The sad fact of human history seems to be that, out of ignorance or fear, we routinely create cultures, social systems, and personal environments that are seriously out of balance. In the realm of eating and food choices, our modern world (and often our own kitchen) is crammed full of well-marketed, tasty foods that appeal to our innate predispositions (that sweettooth, or that fondness for rich fatty foods you've got) but are also nutritional and caloric nightmares. Most of us have to struggle continuously with this problem, and no amount of motivation will make it go away. (A little social engineering or political activity might, but that's a different discussion).

But I digress. The point is that motivation is not about resisting the lure of "bad" foods or the appeal of laying on the couch in front of the TV. It's about giving yourself the chance to make conscious decisions about what you want to do at any given time, and taking appropriate responsibility for your decisions. The main "enemy" of motivation, therefore, is the tendency to see yourself as the hapless victim of forces or urges over which you have no control, whether that force be a chocolate donut or the vast cultural apparatus that defines attractiveness in ridiculously unrealistic terms.

Your motivation will be strong in proportion to the effort you put into making your own decisions (regardless of what they might be) with conscious awareness, or weak in proportion to the effort you put into seeing your self as the helpless victim of your own urges, feelings and desires, or of circumstances beyond your control.

If you want your motivation to be stronger and more effective, do these two things: (1) CHOOSE to eat well and exercise as often as you can; (2) when you don't accomplish this, understand and acknowledge that it was by your own choice, and move on to how you can do things differently next time.

This is NOT the same thing as feeling guilty or being judgmental and negative about the decision you made. It is just the opposite. It is about accepting the decision you made as a valid decision made under less than ideal circumstances, and thus freeing yourself to look at those circumstances from the viewpoint of a powerful and capable person who has the ability to modify those circumstances, in large or small ways, so that it might be easier to keep your decisions in line with your intentions the next time.

In other words, motivation is not something you find or lose, have or don't have. It is the product of how you see yourself in the world: active or passive, effective or ineffective, powerful or victimized, normal or pathological.

There are many things that can happen, especially during our early years when we are largely dependent on others for guidance and caretaking, to push us strongly in one of these directions or the other. If you tend to see yourself as helpless victim, this is probably because at some formative point, you were victimized and helpless to prevent it. If you feel powerless to manage your own feelings and soothe yourself, you probably didn't have much help learning how to do that when you were young.

But history is not destiny, and from a psychological point of view, "reality" is simply a story we tell ourselves about how things are and why we are the way we are. If you want and need to change your psychological reality, change the story you are telling yourself. This does not mean denying or ignoring either your past or present circumstances, or inventing some nice fairy tale to take their place. If you are a single parent with young kids and a full time job, or a person with major medical or psychlogical issues to contend with, or someone who is so large that physical activity really is difficult, it WILL be harder for you than for some others to do what you need to do. You need to acknowledge that and be realistic about what kind of changes you can hope to make and how quickly or easily you can make them. But you can re-write your story so that these circumstances are not the determining factor in your success or failure. Your new story can be about how your creativity, ingenuity, and perseverance enable you to find full or partial solutions to these challenges, and to do the best that can be done with what you've got to work with--for yourself, and all the other people involved.

The story you are telling yourself at any moment is the foundation of your motivation, or lack of it. Make sure you are telling yourself the story you need to hear. And the best way to really come to believe your story is to see it come true in the small, well-chosen steps you take every day towards your goals.

I hope this helps.

Be Back later.

Good Morning Ladies

I think I must be coming down with something. We went to the gym last night and I was dragging again. 6 minutes on the elliptical machine was all I could muster and I was pouring buckets of sweat. Had trouble sleeping again last night, but did get up and get a sleeping pill and it worked beautifully. But I just don't feel right. Have this horrible cough which is not a regular cough but a breaking up congestion cough. DH thinks I have bronchitis. Hope it goes it's merrily way soon.

I made some chips last night in case DD & I go to Mexican tonight. It is our last Thursday night dinner since Lent will be over. I really should go to Holy Thursday services, but doubt that I can convince her.

Thin, By thelooks of this weather, I don't think we are going to have a Spring. But head full force into summer. It is in the 80's here again today and for the rest of the weekend. I'm not complaining though.

Gator, have you ever tried making lasagne in a roll? Where you take the noodle fill it and foll it up? I want to try it for my bunco next month, but need to practice first. I wouldn't worry about the white pasta. I'm sure it was in your calorie count for the day. That has really helped me. If I have to eat something not SB, and still fit it in my calories for the day, I don't feel like I have cheated and then go off on a binge.

Monet, I am always amazed at how creative you are. Enjoy the play and your walk.

Talitha, I think we don't normally consider fruit a treat in the sense of the word. I thinks treats are always sugar filled and fattening. Go ahead, splurge, it's so good for you.

Teensy, your remodeling project sounds nice. I have hardwood floors in my kitchen and love it. Wish my whole house was hardwood.

bf: mini ww bagel with 1 T pb
lunch leftover spaghetti and meat sauce, peach
dinner: Mexican ?

Have a great day.

Good Morning,

Just a quickie this morning as I am not feeling to well. Either I am coming down with a cold, or it is my sinus's. Either way I feel headachy, and wore out!! I am going to get as little done as possible. Think I will crawl on the sofa and take a nap!! See you all after while.

Solly-- Thanks for the article.....very interesting. I would have the hardwood floor throughout my house, but dh doesn't like them. I wanted to do the living room and bedroom in hardwood also, but alas.....I will settle for what I can get. Having put up with dog hair for so many years, I really want to get rid of all the carpets I have...... (One of dh dislikes is the fact that he can hear the dogs toenails clicking on the floors).There must be something going around. I am feeling a bit puny today also. Started yesterday, but I think mine might be sinus.

Monet-- I am sure that you will see some ups and downs at first. It may take a while for you to find out what the foods are that are causing your rises, and what are the ones that are not. You have done great on your walking the last couple of days.....keep up the good work.

:wave: Hi everyone...just popping in. I'm busy with groceries and sewing. Will be more specific later...just wanted to say HI! :wave:

Ahhhhh... naptime. I love it. I'm actually oging to go take a nap myself, but wanted to pop in.

Last night I had a Balogna sandwitch, of all things for dinner. Lots of lettuce and tomato, and cheddar cheese on SGWW. I just can't believe I've been craving balogna! at least I got turkey balogna. I ate a big bowlful of strawberries with it and some baby carrots. :)

I had a great strawberry smoothie for breakfast. Took the kids to the easter egg hunt ( bought candy that I don't liek for them, candy corn and skittles) and I ate a HB egg and one mini 3 musketeers bite form the hunt. BUT I ate 2 PB&J's for lunch. I feel liek a pig. They were sooooo good!! SF peanutbutter and SF jelly but 4 pieces of bread!!! Ughh. I feel like I'm gonna pop.


Ok, I'm off to get at least a few minutes rest before they're up again.

Good Evening. You'll be so proud of me! I knew I needed to avaid carbs for dinner, and I've been much lower than usual on the Fruits and veggies today. So I madea salad for dinner with red bell peppers, carrots, mushrooms, turkey, boiled egg, cheese and sunflower seeds. I used Balsamic vinegar for my dressing, but Trav and Selah ahd blue cheese. How cool is it that my 3 year old will eat a salad like that for dinner? I'm so proud!

Travis is digging out the crawl space under the bathroom, so Selah and I are watching bugs life and eating strawberries for desert. Yummy!!

11 days to the Bahamas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bob- I have some rice- lasagne noodles. I may try that recipie :)

Monet- Don't forget to call me back tonight!

Teensie (wave)

Tech (hug)

Solly- I know, you're right and it's not liek I'll never want chocolate again. It jsut made me realize how silly I was, being cheap on teh fruit I really would enjoy and then blowsing what i 'saved' and more on crap!!! I'm loving my strawberries tonight!;)

Evening all. I dont have much time or energy to write much. But wanted to touch base. Even though Ive had some long days this week at work I still was able to get in 2- hour long walks at the hilly park with my dd, and 1 hour step class, and 30 min on my walkblaster. Plus about an hour of sewing. Tomorrow I have a bunch of errands after work then meeting my dd for dinner then we go to bible study and home to drop in bed. Our weekend looks very busy too so no break until the end of next week and I have a 4 day weekend.
It was 76 today !! So wonderful out. I even got to wear shorts at the park. Im hoping Saturday I will get some time to work out in the yard for at least a short time.
Hope everyone is having a great week !
:)

:grouphug: :balloons: :thanks: Hi all,

I am still eating right I just am not loosing. I guess its all due to stress. Between losing my aunt and hubby losing job its not been a very unstressful week. But at least shes not suffering and my God is going to give my hubby another job even better than the one he had. We are getting ready for Easter Sunday at church with a play and singing and dinner on the ground. I have planned for our pot luck..Chicken spaggetti and English peas and Sugarfree cheesecake with pecan crust. There are quite a few diabetics in our church so I'm trying to give them at least a few legal things. I don't know what anyone else is fixing but it will be a huge meal. All my food is Sugar Buster legal that I'm fixing so I will be able to eat and not feel guilty.

Bob-I fix my chicken and dumplings with whole wheat flour and they are delicious and we actually prefer them over the white ones.

I hope everyone has a wonderful easter weekend!!!! I appreciate all of you for helping me with encouragement!!!!

Happy Friday :carrot:

Lots to do this weekend. I have to clean, go to the grocery, go get my ham, cook and just get ready for Easter. I have my family (about 22) for dinner. I just hope I start feeling better soon as I have too much to do to not feel like doing anything. DH has lots of yard work, etc to do so he won't be much help. will have to recruit DD to help me.

Pretty much just crashed on the couch last night. Now I feel like I am going to throw up at at moment. Ugh!


Monet, I'm sure it will be trial and error for awhile on your readings. I would imagine it will take awhile for it to settle down. Hang in there.

Teensy, Hope you are feeling better today.

Talitha, bologna is one of my favorite things. Yummy fried.

Bob, I wouldn't have any problem with the chickena nd dumplings. i don't like them. Take her to Cracker Barrel or somewhere similar and get something else for yourself. Or just make a little serving for her. How are you doing with your eating?

Cindy, wow, that is a lot of exercise with all that OT you are doing.It was 85 here yesterday. Unbelievable.


thunder, WTG planning ahead for your Easter meal. You have a great attitude. You will see a loss soon and your DH will get a good job.

Country, where are you?

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter.

Or even a better idea for BOB--GO to Cracker Barrel and buy a take-out order for chicken and dumplings and then get thee AWAY from that place, which is very dangerous for people like us!! LOL. Then put the c & d on a nice plate with whatever else, and serve her a nice "homecooked" meal. Then fix yourself whatever you'd like that is on plan.

We are not doing anything special for Easter, no special dinner or anything. Going to church, but our small group will not be meeting that day. We may take a few people out for lunch. We also may play golf that day, after church. Or work in the yard. Everyday is an Easter for me! I'm so blessed with that hope.

Going to my DD's tonight. First time over there since the wedding. I'm taking london broil for my SIL to fix on the grill, along with grilled veggies. She is fixing a salad. We may try to get them to take a walk with us around their neighborhood. We have been walking every evening after dinner. I have not been wearing my pedometer, but probably get close to 10000 steps daily.

Need to go. I have a repair person here.

Good afternoon on Good Friday all,

Breakfast: 2 pcs whole wheat toast with nas jelly. Hot Tea

Lunch: chicken salad , 4 triscuits and 1.5 cups broccoli slaw. Water and a small handfull grapes.

Dinner will be clean out the fridge but there is plenty of legal things in there.


Bob, Don't get around chicken and dumplings just make the dumplings from scratch using whole wheat pastry flour. I do that often and everyone loves them! Also use the wwpastry flour to thicken the chicken broth. Not hard, very good! I have never eaten Kale before does it taste like spinach?


Monet, I'm sorry you are in a low time. Perhaps your outing with Talitha will perk you up. I love that you have a pool and a husband who will maintain the pool!


Working on next weeks menus.

Skillet Supper (sausage, wwpasta, onions and peppers)
Beets (are these legal?)
Coleslaw

Easter: Baked Ham
Steamed Asparagus
(illegal!!!) Bacon Potato Puff
Crunchy Pea Salad
(illegal!!!) Cherry Cream Cheese Pie
Pickeled Okra (I had a craving)

Italian Sausage w/ Penne Pasta
Steamed Broccoli
Salad

Turkey Sausage Patties (made from scratch)
Scrambled Eggs
French Toast with nsa syrup
Fruit Salad with Orange juice and ginger dressing

Cream of Asparagus Soup
Egg Salad Sandwiches
Green Salad with Homemade Thousand Island Dressing


Hello to the rest of you and have a great Easter weekend.
KayeC :)

Monet==I understand exactly what you are saying about Easter. I am blessed that Easter exists, because without it I'm doomed (if you know what I mean), but all the eggs, chocolate, Easter dinners, etc. is not happening at our house. Used to, but my kids are the same as yours! So every Sunday is an Easter and we just have a regular Sunday, which will be pretty low-key this week.
Re. your blood sugar levels, why don't you check out the diabetic website on About.com. And perhaps a cookbook or food plan from the diabetic section of the book store might help get those blood levels where they should be. That and exercise, and eating just right to keep the blood sugar from getting too high or low, however often that has to be for you, will get you back on track.
I'm sorry to hear that your energy level is so down. That's not like you, is it? Probably related to the blood sugar.

My day has been hectic to say the least. First I had someone show up that said they were sent to do the sprinklers in the front yard. I thought they were going to add 3 new heads to give us better coverage, but they didn't do that at all. In fact, I'm not even sure they sent the right guys to do the job, but my DH was on the golf course and unreachable. So, if something is not right, he will have to sort the mess out since he was the one dealing with the sprinkler people.
Then the guy who is gonna redo our porch came over and spent almost an hour here talking about all our options. A lot to think about!
Then the cleaning lady came and our vacuum conked out. Then the other vacuum conked out!!! She must have a hex with her!! Anyway, I called up the vacuum people, who sent someone out to see if they could fix the hose (which was the problem) and I ended up buying a new central system. I already have a central system which is over 10 years old. They will give me $600 off the regular price for everything included and I told them that if they knock off another $100 I would buy it, so they said yes and I said yes! Quick and easy. A new hose costs about $300 (it's 35 feet long) so it was more cost effective to get a whole new system.
So now I am using my robotic vacuum to vacuum the rooms that didn't get vacuumed really well.
I didn't get to eat lunch until 2 pm. and I was starving. I actually ate while the vacuum man was here.
We are going out in about an hour, and I still have to get ready. So will sign off.

BOB--The chicken sounds good. Actually what you are fixing for yourself sounds better than that for Kate. I love cooked greens. Stay away from those dumplings!!!! :nono: :devil:

BOB: Open up IE, and click on tools...then options. There should be something in there about setting it as default browser. I may knit, or I may get brave and try out the pool. Tom opened it today. :) It will be pretty cold, but I will survive! Maybe it will burn off some sugar trying to stay warm! :)

Monet- I'M HERE! It is very quiet in here! Pretty lazy day here at home today as well. We went to BJ's this morning and the kids are coloring easter eggs now. The rest of the day was just cleaning house, etc. We're cooking out with in laws tomorrow and they have their pool open now, so the kids might get in. I don't venture in till it's in the nineties though! Have a Happy Easter!:wave:

Monet--Here's a website about diabetes, and a lot of it will seem familiar to you as a Sugarbuster. However, there is a link to the forum for you and you might find that helpful. Happy Easter to you and to all those on this board who celebrate our risen Lord.
http://diabetes.about.com/od/mealpla...etdiabetes.htm

Happy Easter,

My dinner turned out well and we had it in the dining room on the new dining set! New product review--Shedds spread spreadable butter. It has butter, canola oil and buttermilk in it. I had it on an English Muffin and thought it was quite good. Certainly less chemicals than margarine. It was spreadable but not as much as margarine but certainly easy enough.
We have a beautiful day here in Wichita and went for a drive to look at Kia Sorrentos. Does anyone have any experience with these?

Gonna go nap. KayeC :yawn:

Happy Easter! Just popping in to say I'm back from my trip to my sister. Had a wonderful week end. I'm plain pooped from the trip and will be good to go tomorrow....