Motivation Comes In All Shapes And Sizes….
….Particularly, the obesely fat, roundesque size.
I took my kids to the park yesterday as they have Spring Break this week.
Let’s back up….
For the past month, I have been feeling a bit weak willed when it comes to my diet. I cave in a lot easier, and I would hate for that to catch up with me. Although my weight is steady and my BF has gone down, I know that over time:
a little bit of a cheat will turn into
a little bit more of a cheat
and then a lot more of a cheat
and it will continue to snowball it’s way down that slippery slope.
It will begin to accumulate on me and I work too hard for my efforts to be covered up by fatty fatness, dammit!
So, again, I brought my kids to the park yesterday and as I’m watching them play, I see two women who couldn’t have rounder body parts.
They were comprised of a head, two tits, a belly and an ass…with arms and legs packed into sausage casing.
They were strolling SLOWLY about the playground while watching a toddler busying herself with whatever caught her eye.
OK, and for the sake of the fact that this is interesting, they also had a boy with them…around 3 or 4 years old…who had a genuine Mohawk. Shaved head, spiked hair down the middle. It was hardcore.
One of the women was wearing a baby T that was about 5 sizes too small. How she packed herself into it is beyone me, but all I know is that her belly was trying to make a Houdini-like escape out the bottom of the shirt.
I had noticed a bit later that they stopped so that one of them could talk on her cell phone. She started scratching the bare part of her belly and then proceeded to lift her shirt and tuck it under her boob so she could get at that itch real GOOD and HARD.
I looked on with an expression of horror and disgust. But, I couldn’t look away. I was morbidly fascinated at the fact that she would do such a thing.
And then a funny thing happened. My appetite took a sweet swandive out of my bod and landed SPLAT on the pavement. It couldn’t take the scene I subjected it to and offed itself.
I sat there thinking that there is no CHANCE in HELL that I would allow myself to eat anything that will remotely set me back from all the effort I’ve made.
So later on, when the kids asked if we could go get some ice cream, I didn’t fight them on it one bit.
I took them and happily witnessed all of that creamy, sweet goodness without wanting a single itty bitty taste of any of it.
Happy endings do exist 
Cardio: 500
Weight Training: Shoulders, arms, calves
Breakfast: 1 whole egg, 4 egg whites (21g prot)
oatmeal (5g prot)
coffee
Snack: cottage cheese (24g prot)
Lunch: turkey meatballs (40g prot)
1/2 cup pasta (3g prot)
Postgym: protein shake (21g prot)
Dinner: Shrimp (35g prot)
steamed vegetables
Bedtime: casein protein shake (24g prot)
April 28, 2009 at 7:29 am
I’m feeling kind of crappy today. Seeing the sight of that woman would have sent me into purge mode. Definitely an effective motivator.
April 28, 2009 at 7:32 am
All it takes is seeing that person that you don’t want to bein all their gross glory and you get right back to doing things right. One pic that keeps me motivated is the widely circulated internet pic of this 400 lb guy sitting naked in front of his computer. Everytime I see that pic, i immediately drop and do 100 crunches.
April 28, 2009 at 7:34 am
Sorry to hear you’re not feeling well Al. I hope it holds off!
OMFG, Wayne. I LMAO your comment. GROSS!
April 28, 2009 at 7:38 am
It’s really frustrating seeing situations like that…the one that disgusts me even more, is the severely obese lady who brings her 4 kids (all under
to the pool…she sits on the side, holding the youngest, and isn’t even able to participate. One time I saw one of her kids fall into the pool…the lifeguard dragged him out, and even though no damage was done, I realized at that weight, she couldn’t have helped him even if she’d had to.
Cheers to choosing a healthy lifestyle! Even if it means skipping the tasty stuff sometimes!
April 28, 2009 at 7:49 am
Preach it Shannon. We picked up my niece and nephew (wife’s brother’s kids) and took them to the park with us Sunday afternoon. Her brother is 5′9" 275 and his wife is about 5′4" and about the same weight. Sunday is our cheat meal evening, but I only ate half of mine after seeing them.
it really frustrates me about them because my wife’s dad died at 42 from a heart attack and there is a history of that throughout the family. She has talked to her brother, their mother has talked to him, and I have talked to him and invited him to workout with me, but he will only talk about it.
It really bothers me to see what he has done to himself. Sorry for the long rant on your blog post.
Knowing and seeing what we don’t want to become is a great motivator.
April 28, 2009 at 7:51 am
I left out the part where the little boy fell and hit his head, and one of the women, who I assume was the mom, waited for him to come to HER. She didn’t even make an attempt to go to him.
April 28, 2009 at 8:18 am
yea, since hitting the weights hard, my stomach turns at the littlest things.
April 28, 2009 at 8:36 am
Motivation comes from different sources, even disgusting ones.
April 28, 2009 at 8:40 am
At least they motivated YOU, if not themselves to continue on the healthy journey! I sometimes do the same thing you did above, caught in morbid fascination at the sight of something like that.
Generally though, I look at those in great shape and think that I’d like to be like them, or you, in fact. [Ok, I could do without the chest and girlish backside…
] It’s why I love BodySpace, if others can do it, I can too. No, I will do it.
Double kudos on the kids and ice cream thing.
April 28, 2009 at 9:33 am
Oh boy, did I need this story today! My willpower has been decidedly low since a crazy ass incident at work yesterday. And I have been finding myself CRAVING comfort food. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
April 28, 2009 at 10:16 am
was it the pack of hot dogs?
April 28, 2009 at 10:19 am
Maybe some new foods in the diet, new recipes would help revive your diet motivation…or just keep going to the park!
April 28, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Quite a funny/disgusting scene. Been using the same methods to deter me from going back to OLD habits.
The scratching part had me rolling!
April 28, 2009 at 3:54 pm
A mom that fits your great description was on my daughters baseball team last year. Best part was during practice, one of her other kids that she used to let just run out on the field, went out there and she had to get him. He threw a tantrum and collapsed and she…well…fell on top of him. It was ugly and hilarious at the same time. The kid survived the incident.