Motivated by others

Found a fantastic motivational post over at http://www.344pounds.com/2009/03/10-reasons-to-lose-weight/ today.  We share many of the same reasons for wanting to lose weight.  I'm not going to be a daddy, but I *am* a mom.  Some of the Jillian Michaels podcasts I've been listening to have been making a point about motherhood.  She says lots of women give up on their own wants and desires once they have kids - don't want to leave the kids with a sitter, etc - when they should be looking at it the opposite way.  They *should* be working out & taking care of themselves, so they can be around FOR their kids even longer.

Health benefits - I don't have any health issues because of my weight, that I know of.  I admit, I don't go to the doctor's much, but I haven't noticed anything outside of some achiness when I've had a tough day.  I'm  a little stiff in the mornings when I exercise, or when I unload a truckload of hay and grain the day before.  I do have a friend, though, who was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, and had gastric bypass surgery because of it.  As terrified as I am of doctors & hospitals, that's about the biggest nightmare I can imagine.

His motivation labeled "To use what I was given" is a big one for me.  I have dreams of someday bicycling around the United States, hiking the Appalachian Trail - those would be far more difficult, if not impossible, if I'm starting out 100 lbs overweight.  I think I've always harbored secret dreams of being a superhero.  The Ironman Triathlon looks like a whole field of superheroes to me.

Buying clothes is a big one; I'd love to be back to "regular" size clothes.  I am especially fond of "normal" jeans in size 12.  That seems like a huge goal to strike for.  And forget about considering a bathing suit at my weight.  I see people my size (and larger) on the beach in skimpy clothes, bikinis, etc; it makes me feel ill to consider exposing my fat to the world at large.

So thank you, Tyler, for providing inspiration for the rest of us!  I'm off to the gym soon.

Oh, so this morning I had what is generally my regular breakfast - 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 cup of water, 3 minutes in the microwave.  I add 1-1/2 tsp brown sugar and 1/2 cup milk.  I have always measured the oatmeal and the water, but lately I've been measuring the milk, too.  I thought about it, and I heard Jillian's voice in my head - How bad do you want this?  What does it take, 30 seconds to measure out the milk versus just pouring it on?  Are you not worth the 30 seconds it takes to *know* how much milk you're using?  Needless to say, I'm loving the Jillian Michaels podcasts.

I'm also really appreciating the Lose It! iPod Touch app.  It measures not only calories and exercise, but it tells you how many calories you have left for the day, lets you add custom foods (you can go online to a recipe calculator and calculate an entire recipe - with nutrition info -  figure out what a portion is, and enter that as a custom food.  It's a little bit of work, but no more than WW points was, and now I have it on my computer and don't have to calculate it again.  It also figures in calories from exercise, calculates BMI (if that number does anything for you), and gives you (this makes my geek heart glad) charts and graphs!  Much awesomeness for a free app!