On a scale of 1 to 10 my motivation to exercise and becoming physically fit is hovering around a 2.  The only reason I would say it’s not a 1 is because I am at least thinking about how I should be working out.  My main problem? I have no motivation.

I want to be healthy, but basically, in my ever-rationalizing mind, I’m healthy enough .  I’ve lost 55lbs since having my third (and final) child through dieting, and I’m now a healthy weight for my height.  My Wii Fit even shrunk my Mii and made my avatar thinner and happy rather than sad and fat like I started out.  By the way, I don’t actually exercise on Wii Fit, I just get on and weigh myself every 200 days or so.  So I’m healthy enough, so why isn’t that good enough?  Problem is I’m soft and squishy and resemble a before picture from a plastic surgeon’s office. I’m what people look like just before they get a suck and tuck.

Also countering any motivation to exercise is that fact that most of my clothes fit.  I used to say I didn’t care what the scale said as long as my clothes fit.  Funny thing was I did care what the scale said and my clothes did fit, just not well.  I had a chronic case of muffin top and often had to opt out of pants for fear of  camel toe.  Now I’m comfortable wearing, maybe not announcing, my size, so there isn’t much motivation to be active so my clothes will fit. And we’re no where near the panic-inducing swim suit season, so I can’t bank on that one (yet).

As much as I’m looking forward to Spring, we seem to be in a perpetual state of winter, and exercising outdoors (aside from shoveling) is not going to be happening any time soon.  I have these grandiose visions of me taking the baby for a run in the jogging stroller while the boys are in school.  Wanna take a guess how many times I’ve taken a kid for a run in the jogging stroller that I’ve had for nearly six years? Yeah, you guessed it, zero times.  Of course, if I was one to make excuses, I’d say I was pregnant every other year, and I was one of those barfing for 9 months preggos not one of those working out until the day I delivered Mamas.  Anyway, this is the first time since 2005 that I have a 19 month old and I’m not expecting another kid.  So maybe, just maybe, when the weather turns, I’ll start getting all in touch with nature and working out.  Time will tell.

I’ve been trying to think of the things that motivate me, or even things that motivate people in general.  Fear is a good motivator, but unless I can find a (slow) wild animal or person with an infectious disease to chase me, I have little hope of actually running anywhere.  Guilt, as with any good Catholic, is also a motivator for me, so if I had a workout partner who was relying on me to run with them daily, perhaps I’d do it. But I don’t have a workout partner so there’s no guilt to help me out.  Lastly, regardless of the fact that I’ve lost weight, food is still a motivator for me.  You’ve heard of the rabbit chasing the proverbial carrot on a stick, right?  So I’ve come up with a similar mechanism to aide me in my quest for physical fitness. See my new motivator, The Ham on a Stick:

So, if you’re someone who is already physically fit, can run (behind me) and hold a stick with a 5lb ham on the end, then I’d like to hire you. Pay is negotiable and I’m hoping to start running as soon as possible.  I may actually sign up for a 5K in Spring…late Spring…or early Summer.

Can you relate? Do you think you can motivate me?  Leave me a comment …I’d love to hear from you!

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