Tag Archives: Motivation

Social Media and Fitness

This may not be a ‘typical’ post for me, but it’s been something that I’ve been thinking a lot about and felt the need to write about. Maybe it’s the marketer in me…

Social Media. Exercising. Healthy Living. Three things that have become staples in many of our daily lives. It seems like no matter where I log onto, people are posting/tweeting/instagramming their exercise, food or daily adventures. I’m not complaining, I’m one of those people. I find that seeing those memes or hearing about another friend’s workout adventure is motivating. It makes me want to be active.

With the warmer weather coming, I think most of us have fitness on our minds. With warm weather comes swim suits and the beach. I know I want to be ready for that!

Social media has become a means for people to boast about their fitness wins, their diet woes and their major successes. It keeps us honest. It also makes it personal and holds us accountable. If you post on Facebook, ‘Heading to the gym after work!’ and then later post ‘Forget the gym, home to sweatpants’ chances are you’re a) going to feel some form of guilt (unless of course you didn’t go to the gym because of illness) or b) probably going to get some negative response. At least this is why I have found in my own fitness journey. I am that person who posts something and doesn’t always follow through. It is my laziness shining through and I am working to change that. Why do I think this happens? More than likely,  positive feedback was received for the initial post. People were happy for you, proud of you and wanting to encourage you. When they see the latter post, it may be de-motivating for others and some may wonder why you posted your first post in the first place if you weren’t going to follow through. I’ve found that if I’m posting it to social media, I better be following through.

Here are my views on how social media plays a role in fitness:

Facebook: This is easy. You post, people respond. It’s like sharing with 600 friends your success or your failure. Granted, not all of your Facebook friends are going to respond, but it’s a mass way to tell EVERYONE, ‘I’m going to the gym today!’, ‘Wow, my muscles are really aching after that workout,’ or ‘Totally didn’t go to the gym. My couch was calling me.’

I can guarantee, each one of those will get a response. And it may not always be the response you want. But Facebook is a great motivator when it comes to fitness. It’s like having a support group constantly surrounding you and supporting you. Not only that, there are plenty of great Facebook pages devoted to health and fitness. Some of personal favorites:

  1. She Rocks Fitness
  2. Tone it Up
  3. 100 Days of Real Food
  4. Fitness Magazine

Twitter: Twitter has a cool dynamic in the health world. I’m still just diving into it, but the fitness community really appears to bond together on here. As you connect with some of the health and fitness folks, you’re exposed to great tips, recipes and blogs. As I’ve made my journey into a healthier lifestyle, I’ve found many of these Twitter members motivating and helpful. I love seeing what they have to say, and since most of them blog too, I look forward to reading their blogs everyday! A few personal favorites:

  1. PeaceLoveandLowCarb – @PeaceLoveLoCarb
  2. Nurtitionella, MPH RD – @nutritionella
  3. Bess Be Fit – @bessharrington
  4. FitFluential – @FitFluential

Another awesome way Twitter functions in the health realm is their use of hashtags. Hashtags are great way to keep similar posts in one easily searchable area. One of my favorites is #SweatPink. It’s mostly all women, but it’s a lot of motivation and a lot of great people who are are living the healthy life!

Pinterest: Motivation. Motivation. Motivation. Seriously. If you are looking for motivation, join Pinterest and check out their Health and Fitness pins. You can find workouts, memes, and motivational quotes that will keep you moving. When I’m having a down day, I just hop on and take a look and am usually ready to rock and roll after that!

Instagram: Instagram is a visual Twitter. You can have followers and use hashtags to tag your picture so they can be found. It’s a cool way to show your cool new running sneakers, what you’ve been eating throughout the day and your latest workout that you were so proud of. Personally, I love Instagram. It makes my pictures look cool and it’s fun to use.

I know, I’m looking into this too much. I look at the use of Social Media as a way to fuel my exercise and my healthy living. Like I said above, it keeps ME honest. But at the same time, when I recently hit my first milestone (5 lbs!), I posted to Facebook and the feedback I got from it was incredible and really made me push. I couldn’t wait to post my 10 lb, 20 lb and eventually 30 lb milestone.

In today’s world, I think Social Media is great way to get healthy and stay healthy. I’m not where I want to be yet, but I know by posting my progress and my wins, I feel one step closer every day!

And for the record, I don’t consider myself in any way, shape or form an expert. I’m merely expressing my views on how I see Social Media fitting into the realm of health and fitness. There are plenty of others out there that are far more knowledgable than I am. Remember, this blog is just chronicling my journey and my thoughts :)

Stay tuned… at some point I’ll be posting a post about Apps!

Tough Love and Motivation

After my previous post, I really thought long and hard about what motivates me. You would think it would be something simple; the goal is to be healthy. But sometimes that goal is just not enough for me to get off my overweight butt and hit the gym. It’s much easier said (or written in my case), then done.

After receiving a very long series of text messages from one of my closest friends and fellow blogger over at Just Your Average Athlete, I realized that seeing those around me make changes in their lives to get healthy is motivating. Not too mention, Molly’s tough love and her quest to help me get healthy is also SUPER motivating. Thanks Molly! In all honesty, while I knew in my heart it was time to get healthy, her messages truly motivated me and touched me to the core.

20130114-153852.jpg
Source

So, since my last post, I’ve thought long and hard about what is motivating me. Here it goes.

1. My Health: I have a history of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, thyroid problems, high blood pressure, etc. in my family. I have a lot of odds working against me. I am determined to not end up with ANY of the above, unless its the way nature intended for it to happen. I want to be a role model to my younger family members and to the kids at the barn where I ride and teach. I want people to see me posting about my latest work out adventure and say ‘Wow! How motivating is that?! If she can do it, I can too!’

2. Four Weddings: Yes – I’m not going to lie. I have FOUR weddings to attend this year and I want to look amazing for all of them. One in April, June, September and October; two of which I am a bridesmaid in. What’s motivating about this? I don’t want to look fat in my dresses!

20130114-154950.jpg
Source

3. My Wardrobe: Now, this may sound a bit conceited, maybe even a bit contrived, but I love clothes. More specifically, I love my clothes. And when I look in the closet and don’t want to wear any of my clothes because they cling in all of the wrong places or they are just too tight, it’s motivating. I REFUSE to go buy all new clothes, two sizes bigger. I REFUSE! I want my clothes to fit.

4. My Family and Friends: Corny as it may sound, it’s true. Lets be real for a second. When someone in your family or one of your closest friends is on a quest to get healthy of are in the best shape of their lives, it motivates you. Or when you see someone that needs the support to do those things; it motivates you. I want to be both of those people. I want those around me to see me getting healthy and want to join in. Molly, who was mentioned above, has been a huge motivator for me because I see how happy and healthy she is! My fiancé is also a huge motivator because we want to be healthy for each other so we can spend many happy and active years together.

I’ll be brutally honest. I had a completely unhealthy weekend. I ate a lot. I drank wine and beer and had a wonderful time. But now that its the beginning of the week, I’m lethargic and can feel just how awful all of that is affecting my body. My energy is constantly low. And I refuse to pump myself full of coffee.

So yes, I’m being that person who says ‘Start of a new week; Start of a healthier me!’ but in reality, I’m just telling myself that the rest of my life begins today. A better, healthier me. I’m saying ‘No!’ To Weight Watchers (even though it works wonders), at least to the counting points, but sticking to their values of portion control, and focusing on eating healthier. And a lot of exercise. It’s not about a fad diet. It’s about learning to live and doing it on my own.

It also helps I have to check in with Molly by 6:30 PM every night to make sure I do something active every day (Tough Love at its finest.)

Stay tuned for my first night back at the gym. It should be an adventure to say the least.

20130114-160315.jpg
Source