I received an email the other day from a nice woman who is starting out around the same condition I was in last May when I began my first BFL challenge. She wanted to know how I got and stayed motivated to stick with the dieting and exercise when by the standards of the typical American, I wasn’t really that overweight.

Here is an expanded version of my reply:

I started working out despite being “ok” because quite frankly, I wasn’t happy with the way I looked in the mirror when I tried on new clothes. Clothing can hide a lot of flaws as we all know–I’m willing to bet that the majority of people walking around are covering up some back or belly rolls and absolutely NO visible muscle definition even if they look “normal” in their dressed state–but as a very visually-oriented artist type with a very low tolerance for self-delusion, I couldn’t fool myself under the harsh fluorescent lights of a retail dressing room.

I also had some really awful photos from a vacation I took in May 2003 to Las Vegas to remind me that I was no longer in fit Army soldier shape like I was from 1996-2000. I knew what it felt like to really be in shape, and I wanted it back.

This photo in particular was and still is very motivational: http://maggiewang.com/photos/Before/Vegas030506_054

:crazy:

To go from being able to do a 20 km ruck march with weapon, pack, and combat boots to being out of breath just carrying my groceries up to my third floor apartment was a terrible feeling, particularly on the eve of my 30th birthday. I didn’t want to be just another out-of-shape 30-year-old woman. I in particular didn’t want to be the only chubby Asian female under the age of 45 in the room whenever I attended a Taiwanese American function with my parents or went to dim sum with them at Chan’s downtown. I’m sure you all have your own reference groups–women of your own age, economic, and social strata to whom you compare yourself. Well, the typical member of my reference group tends to be 5′2″, 100 lbs, wears a size 5 shoe, and fits into size 0 jeans. And she doesn’t even have to exercise to be that way!

In my teens and early 20s I used to put off the whole process of getting started with an exercise and healthy diet plan because I figured there would always be time to start. Well, as of May 2004 when I made the choice to begin, I had only 7 months before my 30th birthday. I couldn’t fool myself into believing that I had all the time in the world anymore. I decided then to be in better shape every successive year from that moment on, and have not looked back since.

Nowadays when I’m feeling less motivated, I just go to the mall and do a bit of people watching. I look at women my age and over and ask myself if that is how I really want to end up–overweight, obese, skinny-fat, oddly-shaped due to lack of muscle mass and excess body fat stored in wacky places, or just generally NOT making the most of my genetic physical potential. The answer is always “No.”

I often see mothers shopping with their teenage daughters. You can see the family resemblances, but the girls are usually still thin and gangly while the mothers are like lumpy dumpling women even though they are just in their late 30s or early 40s. It’s like peering into a crystal ball to the future. *That* is what their daughters can look forward to one day if they don’t pick up on the fitness track. Contrast those women with the photos of fitness and figure competitors in their same age group on the pages of Oxygen magazine.

Who would you rather look like? Isn’t it worth giving up Friday night pizza and sacrificing a few spare hours a week to exercise to look less like Mrs. Average Flabbage and more like Ms. Awesome Abs?

I also find it helpful to log my workouts and meals in my blog. Just the process of announcing what I’m going to do keeps me from slipping much.

Finally, at some point all of this stuff–shopping for healthy foods, staying on track with my meals, working out according to schedule–just became automatic. Looking okay and feeling so-so is fine, but looking and feeling amazing takes it to a whole other level. Anyone can be average by simply not working out and choosing to eat poorly. Some women even have metabolisms that are so fast naturally that they never have to do a single bit of exercise to be tiny. But when you make the conscious decision to go that extra mile and really work to achieve the physique you want, the results mean a whole lot more because *you* are solely responsible for the changes.

Here’s a parting quote I read recently on Cynthia’s blog. I think it sums up the problem most of us have when it comes to staying the course:

“The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what you want most for what you want now.”
–Zig Ziglar

Focus on what you want the most; it will help you overcome the urge to give into what you want NOW.

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Nutrition: SGX Training Day Menu
(Details omitted by request of trainer)

Daily Supplements: multivitamin with iron, calcium 500 + D, 1 T. flaxseed oil or natural peanut butter, 1 t. GNC Creastack
Water: 16 cups minimum

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Workout:
8:30 AMLISS cardio - Treadmill (3.5 mph / 10% incline / 45 minutes)
8:00 PM SGX Upper body / chest workout

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The Awful Truth:
1. Had to postpone upper body workout to work on broken computer.

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Brownie Points:
1. Tested power supply and mainboard of Mom’s lighting-fried computer and determined that both were kaput.
2. Moved her HDD over to my old Athlon 650 system and set up the transplanted HDD with the proper drivers for the hardware in the new box.
3. Took spare loaner computer to Mom’s house for her to use and hooked up all of her cables and peripherals.

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Short-term Goals:
1. Do towel load.
2. File papers on drafting table.
3. Finish reading The Millionaire Next Door. Take copious notes.
4. Pick up cheapo Danskin folding weight bench from local Wal-Mart. Observe other patrons while waiting in line for 30 minutes to check out for some negative reinforcement-style motivation.