The Secret of My Success

How do I stay motivated? 
 

Well, to put it simply, I don't.
 

Motivation does not wake me up at 4:00 every morning.  Setting my alarm wakes me up.  Motivation does not help me get dressed and get out the door.  Setting my clothes and gym bag out does that.  Discipline is what helps you succeed.  Motivation is merely what gets you started.  It doesn’t last.  Looking at ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos on Facebook is great, but only works for a moment.  Inner drive—wanting it so bad that failure is not an option—THAT is what will help you succeed.
 

If you are counting on motivation to get you in shape, you will fail.  Motivation is an emotion, and emotions are fleeting.  Our society, unfortunately, is one that is ruled by emotions.  We do things because we feel like it, or avoid doing things because we DON’T feel like it.  I haven’t been successful in life because I’ve done the things I’ve felt like doing.  I’ve been successful because I’ve done the things I really didn’t want to do.  I’ve done the things I was afraid to do.  I’ve done the things that I knew I just might not be able to do. 

I am writing this because if I said it to everyone who said, “I lost my motivation” or “I just can’t get/stay motivated”, I’d pull my hair out.  And I’d never stop talking because I encounter those people ALL the time.  Heck, I’ve BEEN one of those people!  I lost motivation so many times and quit that I just got sick of myself, got sick of quitting, and finally said ‘enough is enough’.  I still fail, but I don’t quit.  I still backtrack, but I don’t quit. 

I KNOW that I will reach my goals only because I refuse to give up on them; I refuse to quit trying.  If you’re reading this and you’re looking to all these Facebook pages for motivation, please do yourself a favor and stop.  I’m not saying to stop looking at them—after all, I love seeing before and after photos as much as anyone else—just please stop looking to them to keep you motivated.  Have a heart-to-heart with yourself about what you want and why you want it.  And how badly you want it.  And what you’re willing to do to get it.  I have some pretty lofty fitness goals, but I know that my relationship with Christ comes first, and my family comes second…everything else comes after that, including fitness. 

So make a pact with yourself to quit quitting.  Quit looking for external motivation.  Decide what you want, and then go after it.  Don’t be motivated.  Be disciplined.  You can do it, but will you?   

Different Strokes for Different Folks

I started this as a mere status update, but it quickly morphed into an essay.  Then my computer froze and I lost it.  But it was good (in my opinion), so I'm typing it over again.

Here is what you probably don't know about me.  I like fasted workouts.  Cardio, weightlifting, doesn't matter.  I like intermittent fasting.  I like the paleo diet.  I love when my muscles are so sore I can barely move.  I don't eat much dairy--other than the protein, I think it's worthless.  Delicious, but worthless.  As my husband so eloquently states, I would rather lift weights for three hours than run ten feet (It's true!).  However, I have learned to love HIIT.  My husband taught me how to sprint last summer and you know what?  I'm a good sprinter.  Not great, but good. 

So what?  Well, those things are not popular in the fitness community.  At all.  Sure, they've gotten some attention, and some of them have a sizeable following, but for the most part, they all go against the mold of what you're 'supposed' to do to have a nice physique.  I no longer eat six small meals a day.  I rarely eat starchy carbs.  They make me feel weighed down and heavy and bloated.  Bleh.

It has taken me years to muster the courage to do what I know is best for my body.  Dr. Sara Solomon, Layne Norton, Ashley Horner, Kris Gethin, and of course Jamie Eason, have all shaped my way of thinking.  I've taken pieces of what I've learned from each of them and applied it to my own workouts and nutrition. 

So what's my point?  YOU know your body better than anyone else.  God created us all differently.  We look different, we act different, and our bodies react differently to food and exercise.  What works for me might not work for you.  You don't have to try to squeeze into someone else's mold of how you should be eating or working out.  Of course, you can't eat crap and and lift 5-lb. dumbbells and expect to have a killer physique, but you get what I'm saying, right?  If something is working for you, stick with it?  Are you only losing a pound a week?  GREAT!  That is a POUND a week!  That means what you're doing is working!  If you're stalled out, that means what you're doing is no longer working.  So do something different. 

I am in several fitness groups, and this is what I read EVERY TIME someone posts progress photos.  "What are you eating?"  "Where do you have your macros?" "Which program are you doing?" "Can you tell me what foods you eat?"  It's painful for me to read that because I know how damaging that is.  People are still looking for the secret--still after that perfect diet that will give them the perfect body.  Guess what?  There isn't one!  But the good news is that if you listen to your body, and pay close attention to what it is telling you, you will figure out what works best for YOU.  If you have too much sugar in your diet, though, it won't work.  Sugar speaks way louder (and it LIES!).  Eliminate the sugar--even fruit--for a couple weeks, and start listening to your body.  It speaks loudly and tells you exactly what it needs.

You may have to go through a lot of trial and error, but if you persist long enough, you will get there.  It's not easy, and it's not quick.  If it was, everyone would look like a fitness model.

Superhero Saturday: Megan (MEE-gan)

“Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!” (1 Cor. 9:24)

 

It’s an early Saturday morning in Spring of 2005. I love the smells, the sounds the feeling of newness, of the world waking from its slumber. I hop out of the truck. I’m at my favorite place to run. The local lake, otherwise known as the city’s water supply, has a jogging trail, places to fish and toys for kids to play on. Once on a run, I found two baby turtles. They were the size of quarters. So cute.

 I proceed with my mental pre-running checklist. If you run, you know the list. Check the watch, music, shoes, adjust clothing, make sure hair is tight, put on sunglasses, bend over to do a worthless stretch of the hamstrings and off you go.

 About 20 steps into my run, my legs get completely numb and tingly. It was that feeling legs get when they are asleep and you move them. That sensation, it’s almost a burning feeling. After a few minutes they wake up and the tingling is gone. On this morning, just moving my legs, just planting my feet sent that sensation from hips to toes. It was extremely painful.

I went home.

 
“All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.” (1 Cor. 9:25)

 

It’s a hot August day in Oklahoma in 2009. My husband, my mom and I are sitting in a little room of a neurosurgeon. We are making small talk. The kind of talk people do when they are nervous. The Doctor comes in, starts talking and I stop listening. I just wanted him to say, “Yes, you have MS” or “No, you don’t have MS.”

Four words later, I’m driving home in complete shock. I have Multiple Sclerosis. I cry so hard the tears stop flowing. Part of me was completely scared and part of me was relieved. I had been searching for so long for a reason I was unable to run or even walk fast. Soon after my diagnosis, I began my medicine. Every day, I inject myself with what I call liquid gold, due to the cost. After three months, my issues were gone! We had been waiting on a diagnosis so that we could see what we were up against because we wanted to have more children.

It was after the birth of our third child, that I got extremely sick. For me, I get better while pregnant. My energy is up, my symptoms disappear, and I feel great. After I have the baby, my body revolts, it turns on me big time.

 

I resumed my meds and this is where things get good.

When our third child was 10 months old, I did my first race. I competed AND completed the Warrior Dash. I was able to run again! My life, every step became a mission. I was running to win. I was running to show everyone, including myself, God is Good.

 

 

Then we got pregnant with our fourth child. (I promise I won’t write that anymore.)

 

 

All throughout the pregnancy, I was working out. I didn’t do that with the previous pregnancies. After our son was born, I got right back on the liquid gold to avoid any relapses.  As hard as that was because I had to stop breastfeeding, it has been the best decision.

 In January, I competed in my first sprint tri. What an emotional day that was.

 

I ran five miles a few days ago! FIVE! I haven’t been able to run that far since 2005.  

 

So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. (1 Cor. 9:26)

 

Some days are hard as I deal with immense fatigue. I might get dressed to go to the gym and that’s as far as I get. I deal with dizziness and mild tingling, but have learned some of the triggers. The summer is really hard. If I get too hot, I get really sick. I also have to monitor my body heat while exercising, but I get my body. It speaks loud and clear at times. Then there are days where I have bouts of energy and I run five miles!  One thing is certain, when my feet pound the pavement or the treadmill, I run differently. I don’t run because I feel like it. I run because I can. I run because it is a gift. I run because it is a miracle.