I'm not posting much, but it is because I'm busy reading! I realized that probably one of my best resources is my journal. I write often, so I know I saved a lot of thoughts and ideas that helped me lose weight so well in the late 1990s. Sure enough, I'm finding a treasure trail of nuggets to help me find my way back. I'll share, so stay tuned.
In the meantime, I wanted to share an email from my friend A, a working mom with three kids (including a toddler). I saw her at Christmas and she looked stunning -- happy and glowing and healthy, so I sent her a message about the Persistent Elephant project to get her two cents. She kindly agreed to let me post her message:
Hey lady - just got around to checking out your blog. SOOO excited for you. Particularly with the specific reference to marathon running mamas, I felt like I should reply. So there are a couple things that I felt were critical to my success on the "quest to be a healthy mama". One was the solidarity I have found with my running group. They are right in my neighborhood, and we run 4-5 mornings a week - all mamas. So, in order to get in our run before the kids and hubbies get up, we meet at 5:30am. Its hard to get up that early - sometimes quite painful, in fact, but I know they're out there waiting for me, and I know how much I treasure our conversations on the run. The accountability I feel to them, has been they key to being consistent (and competitive) with running.
Not sure if running is something you plan to try out, but there is a great book and facebook page called Run Like A Mother. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Run-Like-a-Mother-The-Book/317268647037
These women are hilarious and totally inspire me to keep running.
Anyway, the second thing I find to be invaluable for motivation is similar to what you listed as your own motivation. I love it that E [her daughter] can see me run, race, win and feel good about it. She now has become a runner, and I know that she is growing up in a househild that values health and exercise, but also healthy competition. So I know that she will consider, not just exercise, but HARD, COMPETITIVE exercise, a regular and normal part of her life. And this gives her an edge in life. R and G [her sons] as well, but they are still at the stage when they cry when they know I"m going for a run, as it means I won't be back for a while.... :)
The third thing is to allow myself to have the vision of myself the way I want to look and feel. So I look at magazines of athletic women and put them on my bulletin board (kind of high school, but effective). I give myself permission to be skinny. Its hard to do this, because each time I have gotten thin in the past, I have somehow sabotaged my success, because of some underlying notion that I'm not supposed to be skinny, that I'm not a skinny person..... I've been using mantras like, " I LOVE being so thin and healthy!" Every time I wake up, and throughout my workouts I chant them in my head.
And let's see, last thing I found very helpful was a book called Skinny Bitch. http://www.skinnybitch.net/ Compelling book about health, not only for health's sake, but for the sake of our earth and our moral integrity.
So, I hope this helps. I just started incorporating strength training into my life again, to supplement the running. Been fun to have biceps again. And there is nothing like the feeling of my husband calling me a "MILF", as crass it is is..... :)
Looking very forward to keeping up with your blog. Hope everything else is going well for you, and I'm excited about your return to Atlanta next year.
Much luck and love,
--A
A, thank you so much for sharing and your encouragement!
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