Pinterest

I'm reading along through my old journals.  I'm ever-so-thankful that I wrote them!  I'm a little stunned about how much I'd forgotten.  Actually, I remembered most of the bits and pieces about how I lost weight before, but by reading back I have a much better sense of how the pieces came together, worked together.

One thing I've realized is that my weight loss was partially due to the fact that I was pulling myself forward towards something good rather than pushing away from something bad.  My brother-in-law, a family doctor who helps a lot of patients with their weight, says that motivation is key and there are two forms -- the stick or the carrot.  When I have been in "yo-yo diet mode," it was usually because I hated the way I looked and yearned to ditch that feeling.  That's the stick.  I was whacking myself over the head to try to change.  When I lost the weight beginning in 1996, it was because I loved the idea of getting healthy.  Just like a carrot danged in front of a horse, I moved steadily forward because I kept finding ways to envision (and later appreciate) the rewards of a healthier life.  In particular, I started buying magazines and the clothing catalogs didn't just go from mailbox to recycling bin anymore.  There's a danger in looking at stick-skinny models photographed in ideal conditions and then airbrushed to perfection, but I generally avoided magazines and catalogs that did that.  The reputable magazines also offered health information and healthy recipes.

Now that it is 2011, I found a new fun way to get all the fun of magazines without having to put up with those stinky perfume ads.  Pinterest!

The Pinterest website (pin + interest) is a way to "pin up" interesting or inspiring images as you surf the web.  At present you have to go to the website and request to join, but it is free and easy.  There is usually a lull of a few hours before you receive your invitation to join.  Afterwards, you can create multiple personal bulletin boards to "pin" items you are interested in, saving pictures with a short description but also the link so you can visit the page again.  (Thus you can save the picture of a new dish to cook then click on it to get back to the actual recipe.)  I created a bulletin board called "Glad Rags" to save images of clothing I like.  I've pretty much been wearing the same clothes since Eli was born and I have very few things I feel truly good in.  There are few clothing stores for larger women and I'm not that excited about most of the mainstream styles in them right now.  But by looking at clothes on the web and saving a bank of images, I'm getting inspired to lose weight and buy new clothes again.  I also have a "Culinary Adventures" bulletin board where I squirrel away healthy recipes, cooking ideas, and food information.

Pinterest helps you save things you come across on the web, but it also allows you to look at other people's bulletin boards.  There is a tab marked "Everything" where you can see a constant stream of photos, articles, recipes, etc. that others are pinning.  (Warning:  There are a lot of yummy looking dessert pictures going past!)  If you see something you like, you can repin it to one of your boards.  I found one woman who kept pinning wonderful "how-to" picture-taking guides, so I became a follower of her board dedicated to photography.  I can see all the items she pins to that board.  Similarly, there are other people on Pinterest who created boards dedicated to healthy recipes, exercise, specific sports, inspiring images, etc.  When you find a board curated by a kindred spirit who shares your dreams, tastes, or interests, it can be very rewarding.

There are tons of time wasters available on the web.  I'm not knocking burning a little time with the Angry Birds or Farmville game; they can be a great escape and challenge your brain.  Sometimes, though, online games or social sites really do just suck up time.  I find that, for me, Pinterest has a lot of redeeming value.  I'll jump on late in the evening when I'm tired and might otherwise do something mindless.  But after looking at beautiful images and saving some neat ideas, I wind up feeling positive and creative.  I've found some great inspiration.

Where do you find inspiration?