Monday, July 18, 2011

Personal Pep Talk

(Does anyone else do this?)
  1. Don't compare your weight loss to others.  Just because you are a turtle and they are a rabbit doesn't mean there's anything wrong with how you are doing it, because you ARE doing it.
  2. Don't compare your goal weight to others, even if they are the same height as you - body composition and muscle mass make us all different.
  3. Don't actually believe that those skinny bloggers who post pictures of themselves with huge plates of inappropriate diet food (i.e. spaghetti, garlic bread, huge burgers and fries, frozen yogurt smothered in a ton of candy toppings) actually EAT all of that and still maintain their skinny frames.  No how, no way - not buying it.  A bite or three, but there is no way that exercise will offset all of that.
  4. Don't forget that exercise is a way of life now.  And while you might have started off on a smaller level, you have to keep it stepped up if you want to maintain that calorie-burning muscle. 
  5. Do appreciate what you have now, even if it's not quite where you want to be.  Because it's way better than three years ago, right?
P.S.  Your forearms are looking really good - swimming, who knew?

28 comments:

  1. I use peptalks all the time! And I love every point you mentioned and it's so damn true!

    Here at work we are all training for this race in September. The guys are already competing who has the fastest training times. I don't go with that. I'm the turtle runner, I run that race on my own conditions. I don't let them play with my head :)

    You do it your way girl, like I do it my way (sounds familiar LOL ) although our way is the same.

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  2. #4 is what gets me every single time. I can't wait for the day when I don't think "Oh man, I have to hit the gym this morning."

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  3. I give myself pep talks, too.

    I bet that skinny blogger in Point #3 is a twenty-something with a great metabolism. Yeah, I'm jealous. *GRIN*

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  4. I finished ALL of your blog yesterday! I'm so happy I'm caught up!

    One of the things I really love about your approach to food is that you eat "non-diet" food, and you take pictures of it sometimes, but you describe what you ate and how much. Like when you had a burger in Cali and you posted that you only ate a third of the fries. It made me understand how to approach a plate of food like that without derailing.

    Here is some more pep for you - YOU ROCK. Swimming is freakin' hard, and you are a monster in the pool. And just take another look at your bike pics. Seriously - from two or three laps around the block to running a half marathon to dealing with your mom's cancer and your own injury, keeping your head up and swimming everyday in June... again, YOU ROCK.

    Go Shelley go!

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  5. Pep talks? Absolutely. I put forth that this is a MENTAL deal, not just physical. Keep your thinking right and your ass will follow.

    Great points, one and all.

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  6. You are beautiful because of who you are not what you look like. You have however been blessed with a very nice "outside" package, skinny face, toned arms and all!

    My own pep talk is on my blog today. Twin powers activate!

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  7. Love your pep talk, Shelley! I can especially relate to #1 and 2. I did that way too much and finally realized it doesn't matter! My body is different than others and I shouldn't compare. Kinda the reason why I stopped posting my weight on the blog. I had a couple of emails from readers comparing themselves and I hated to think that I was discouraging someone or making them feel badly about themselves in any way!

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  8. Love pep talks! I have them with myself all of the time :)

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  9. Like it, and I like the idea of good looking arms. Not enough to jump in the pool (yet)!

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  10. Good pep talk, Shelley! AMEN to Helen's comment, and totally laughing about the 'twin powers activate.'

    That comparison 'wolf' that Lynn wrote about is just no good.

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  11. I do it every day. :) Yours was a good one! :)

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  12. Loved this post Shelley! I do find myself comparing myself to other runners on the treadmills at the gym - I peek over to see how fast they are going - I should just concentrate on what I am doing and hope that by putting enough "clean" days together I'll see the 140's by Labor Day - fingers crossed!

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  13. I agree with you about pep talks, it really helps especially when I am inching and not leaping towards my goals.

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  14. Thanks. I needed that. You were writing that just for me, right? ;-)

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  15. Just what I needed this morning, thanks for sharing!

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  16. Love your pep talk!!! And woo hoo for the shapely forearms!!!! I think we're often guilty of comparisons, and it really is counterproductive isn't it? Have a great day!!!!

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  17. I love this Shelley! Pep talks are what we all need sometimes. I do it too. I find myself comparing myself to others all the time and it's counter-productive isn't it? We are all unique and lose weight at different rates, and our bodies look different even if at the same weight and height. You go girl!

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  18. 1 and 2. I have to constantly tell myself these, but it is so hard to actually make myself believe them.

    Pep talks are good things - way better than negative talk, don't you think?

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  19. I love this post! And I agree with you 100% on #3. That's why I love your food posts. And Lori's posts over on Finding Radiance. They give me good ideas and a realistic picture of what it means to eat healthy.

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  20. I have to give myself pep talks sometimes. I love this one. All of it is relevant for me! Thanks!

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  21. Kudos to the forearms.
    And, as for those skinny bloggers....

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  22. so hard not to compare yourself to others, I have the same challenge!
    Great list friend, all so true!

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  23. Just started to after today!
    Thanks!

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  24. GREAT pep talk...and #3? I recently had something happen that really opened my eyes. My best friend from childhood was visiting me from AZ (I llive in CT) and I was shocked at how thin she was (she's never really been overweight as an adult, but this was the thinnest I'd ever seen her!)

    I haven't seen her in four years but we talk on the phone a lot. She'd been telling me that she'd gotten into a bad habit of drinking wine and eating chips every night. So anyway, there we are visiting, drinking wine and eating chips and she had like half a glass of wine and maybe 10 chips. And it hit me...duh! She only eats a little (compared to me). And the cool thing is that even though my head went through a range of widely ranging emotions, I didn't beat myself up or anything, I was basically just objectively and kindly curious, if that makes any sense.

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  25. #4 & 5...and remind myself to live right this moment, in the moment (if I can remember to do that)

    NicetoberemindedtoPEP.

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  26. It's such a human thing to do.....comparing ourselves with others. Wish I wasn't so human sometimes. It's the most destructive thing I can do.

    I strive for FIVE!!

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  27. That is a great pep talk. I do similar ones for myself all the time. :)

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