Determination!

I've been asked lately (from Blair over at Heir to Blair & from other folks) how do I keep up the exercising and eating right when I'm not seeing results and I am getting frustrated.  In the past if I wasn't seeing any results I would just give up, because what's the point in exercising and eating right if its not doing me any good anyways, right?  Well I have been seeing some results, or was being told that other people could see the difference.  But I couldn't probably because of the deluded image I had of myself.  You know the image its the image they talk about anorexics having.  The image that now matter how you look you always think you look like a fat walrus.  Yep that has been my image of myself, and to be honest with you even back when I was in high school and weighed 136lbs, when I would look in a mirror I seen a fat ass.  It wasn't until I started having children that I realized that I wasn't fat after all.  But let me set things straight real quick I have never been anorexic, I just could never shove my finger down my throat, personally I hate vomiting so the fear of vomiting is what kept me from doing it, this were I would laugh but really anorexia is no laughing matter.
Anyways back to the point of this post.  How I keep at it when I want so badly to give up.  
First off I have found that you have to find an exercise that you enjoy doing.  Mine is The Fit Yummy Mummy  Transformation Kit.  Its a program that I have found that really gives me a good work out and its one I don't dread doing everyday, and for a busy parent (which I am normally not) it is only 15 minutes, so its really easy to usually find the time to get in a quick exercise.  I begin getting results right away.  While for me the actually weight loss was disappointing, started seeing the inches come off immediately.  And with it only being a 15 minute program it can really kick your ass in those 15 minutes!  So that's the first step you need to take, find an exercise routine that you can enjoy doing and not dread.
The next step I finally realized is you HAVE to watch what your eating, I kinda ignored this step in the first few weeks thinking that it wouldn't be a big deal if I still ate some of the things I wanted to eat.  But then I was brought to the realization that if I actually expected to loose any weight and feel better I need to start watching what I ate, I had noticed that a lot of my facebook pals were using a website called  Myfitnesspal.com, so I checked it out and found it to be a great way for me to track my calories and exercise daily (it even has a way to track you water intake as well!).  Most of the things that I eat are already in the database so I don't have to completely watch everything, but there are some meals that I do have to calculate everything out myself and just add to the database for later use.  I defiantly watch my calories like a hawk now.  Even when shopping that is the first thing I do is check how many calories are in the products I am buying. I also tend to actually eat the servings size instead of over eating.  The one thing that I do kinda find upsetting is that I can't eat the candy and cakes and such that I use to eat, because have you ever looked at the calories in that stuff?  Holy crap, that stuff really is bad for you! (but it taste oh so good).  I have just recently started searching for lower calorie sweats because I'm sorry you can't completely cut out sweats I think it will make you go into a deep depression, I have found that Breyers makes some really yummy ice cream bars that are only 130 calories, oh and did you know that Klondike makes 100 calorie ice creams? 
I think when I started watching what I was eating and staying within my calorie range it really started to help out with the actually weight loss. 
Another thing... Having support is great!  Some one who can tell you when you are doing a great job and to push you to exercise when you don't really want to.  That is all great if you have some one to do this for you.  which by the way on myfitnesspal.com you can be friends with other who are on the same journey as you and they can be great support as well.  Anywho, if you have some one to help support you that is awesome, but sometime that support isn't always there when you need it and for me I realized that the only one that can really push you into doing the things you need to do and to help you through this process is yourself!  You have to hold yourself accountable!
So when I am feeling depressed or discouraged it actually makes me more determined to push myself harder to reach the goals that I want to reach.  As I like to call it discouraged but determined, yep its my new phrase.  Don't ask me why but it is, because when ever I am beginning to feel discourage like I am never going to loose the weight like I am destined to be a fat ass the rest of my life, I get more determined to prevent myself from being a fat ass the rest of my life.   The same goes for when your not feeling good.  While you'll want to just sit back and relax and not exercise just remember that you can sweat the germs out, (okay it may not work but if you think that way maybe you will feel better faster).   If you take a day away from exercising because your sick then you may take another and another and eventually your not gonna want to get back into exercising because you have gotten to use to not doing it.  So you have to push yourself!  But in the same sense don't over push yourself, if you begin feeling extra weak or like you may pass out take a break, drink some water and get some of your strength back, or only do half of your exercises for the day because half is better then nothing. 
I hope this has been some what informative and I am able to help you motivate yourself to keep it up. Because the only way to get the body you want is to work at it, there is no magic pill (trust me I've tried A LOT of them, and even with those you have to exercise and eat right). 

Have an Oh So Wonderful Day!
Catrina