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Mental Motivation

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Hi, I'm Tina!

I’m the owner of Carrots ‘N’ Cake as well as a Certified Nutrition Coach and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner (FDN-P). I use macros and functional nutrition to help women find balance within their diets while achieving their body composition goals.

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Today, I have 4 miles on my marathon training schedule, but I’m just not feeling it. It’s only the first week of NYCM training, so there’s absolutely no reason for such low motivation. I guess I’m just feeling lazy and tired this morning. Maybe a workout is exactly what I need to get me out of my funk? Maybe I just need some mental motivation? Exercise mantras usually do the trick for me. Maybe I should remind myself of some of my favorites.

As you can see, I’m really trying to bust through this motivational roadblock so I go for my run and don’t skip it all together. Mind over matter.

Last Night’s Dinner

Last night’s dinner was fun! We met Mal’s cousin, Hilary, and her fiancé, Jamie, at the Beehive in the South End for dinner.

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The Beehive is such a hip place. I really love the sophisticated yet laid-back vibe. I’ve only ever enjoyed drinks at the Beehive, so I was excited to try out their food last night.

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Mal and I arrived early, so we grabbed a drink at the bar while we waited. I ordered a dirty vodka martini with olives. It was amazing.

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A little while later, Hilary and Jamie arrived, so we grabbed a table in the dining room. The live jazz music during dinner was a nice surprise!

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I definitely didn’t need a second martini, but I ordered another one anyway and drank the whole thing. Nice job, Tina. I’m fairly confident that drinking my face off last night is the reason for my low motivation this morning. Oh, well. At least I had fun during dinner!

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To eat, I ordered the Shortrib, Farmhouse Cheddar & Fontina Grilled Cheese, which was pretty outstanding, flavor- and ingredient-wise, but the bread sort of overpowered the sandwich. It was super thick, so every bite was a huge mouthful of bread. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that (I love bread!), but it made the sandwich seem like there wasn’t much more to it.

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On the side, Mal and I shared an order of the Beehive Frites with Sage & Sea Salt, which were excellent”” slightly crispy on the outside with lots of sage flavor. We finished almost the entire portion!

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We were all pretty tired after dinner, so we headed home and went right to bed.

Breakfast

This morning, I woke up bright and early to make our guests some really good pancakes.

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While I whipped up the batter and cooked the pancakes, Hilary and Jamie kept Murphy company. He loved all of the extra attention.

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I topped my pancakes with banana slices and maple syrup. Delish!

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Hilary and Jamie just left our house to drive up to a wedding in New Hampshire. It was a quick visit, but it so nice to see them!

Three Questions Thursday

I love all of your questions for Three Questions Thursday! Keep ”˜em coming!

Are you gluten-free? Were you tested for celiac? Why are you eating dairy again?

Short answer: I’m still an everything eater. I feel a zillion times better, so I’m pretty much back to normal eating again, which means veggies, fruit, dairy, caffeine, alcohol, etc. I am, however, watching my intake of gluten since it made such a drastic improvement with my colitis symptoms. I tested negative for celiac disease, so I still plan to eat foods with gluten. I’m just not going to go crazy with them (aka drinking five beers in one night).

For the last couple of months I haven’t been myself really. I haven’t been going to the gym or even wanting to eat healthy. I still try, but I just snack a whole lot more now. I guess what I’m asking for is motivation? I’m not really sure, maybe I just need a change of pace? Because I am tired of my same workouts and not seeing any difference in my body and I’m tired of eating the same foods. 

When I start to lose motivation with regard to my healthy eating and exercise routine, I take a step back and refocus. What works for me is a little inspiration, some positive thinking, and strengthened self-discipline. Here are some tactics that help me stick to my healthy habits:

  • Read a healthy living or fitness blog: When I’d rather eat nachos for dinner than have a healthy meal, I read some of my favorite blogs for inspiration. I almost always find a recipe or a few words of advice that make me want to change my attitude. Similarly, sending out a message on Twitter to my followers can also help spur some motivation to get myself back on track. They never let me skip a workout!
  • Make a change NOW: Instead of waiting to start my healthy eating or a new exercise routine on Monday, I make changes right away. I prepare a healthy meal or throw on my sneakers for a jog around my neighborhood. Even just having a plan of attack helps; scheduling some workouts or planning a few healthy meals enables me to feel more in control and boosts my motivation.
  • Set a goal: Similar to the trick above, I set a goal for myself with a plan of action to achieve it. Sometimes, it’s registering for a road race and using SmartCoach to create a training plan. Other times, it’s just a goal to exercise a certain number of times in a week and planning out my workouts into my Google Calendar. Having a game plans always motivates me and makes me feel in control of my health.
  • Visualize who I want to be: When I’ve fallen off the wagon and start to feel depressed about the decisions that I am making, I think about my healthiest self. Going back to a time when I felt strong, fit, and vivacious always makes me want to strive for it again.
  • Chat with a motivated friend: If I’m really struggling to get back on track, I chat with a friend who is super-motivated. Chatting with her usually makes me want to adopt similar changes in my lifestyle. Her willpower and self-discipline is contagious and always seems to give me the jump start that I need.

Do you and Mal plan to have kids?

Yes, we plan to have kids, but not for a long, long time. Mal and I love our life and little family the way it is right now, so kids just aren’t in the picture. Sorry, Mom and Marion! I realize that there is never really a “right” time to start a family, but our lives are too crazy to add baby into the mix. Plus, hardly any of our friends have kids, so I don’t want to be the first changing diapers!

Question of the Day

How do you psych yourself up for a workout? What are your exercise mantras?

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