Monthly Archives: March 2009

It’s Ask The Pear day!!  So let’s get to it…

Our first question comes from Nicki: “How do you find motivation and will power when you get frustrated and start caving and want to give in?”Hi Nicki! Great question. Whenever I feel like I’m starting to cave and just want to chuck the whole thing, I remember how badly I feel when I’m not taking care of myself. I know for a fact that if I eat a lot of Little Debbies and spend my days with my butt welded to the couch, then I am going to feel like moss on a rock: slimy and gross. I don’t like how I feel when I do this and when I feel like this, then everything is affected. My self esteem plummets, I get tired and cranky, the husband and kids get on my nerves, etc etc etc, so it’s just better it I keep that in mind when I feel myself going down that slippery slope. Experience is the best teacher – you just have to remember the lessons (I’m pretty sure that last line isn’t original but I can’t think of where I’ve heard it before and a quick Google search didn’t turn up any solid leads – it’s still true though!)

My motivation for working out can come in a number of ways. Mostly I just know that I need to work out at least 4 days a week to feel really good, so I try to keep that good feeling in mind when I don’t want to work out. Also something totally random can motivate me: a song on the radio, remembering that my 20th high school reunion is only a few short months away (yikes), or wanting to wear a certain pair of pants that have been too tight lately. One thing that has really gotten me in gear happened last week, but I’m still feeling the effects: I was contacted on FaceBook by an old college boyfriend. This is the guy who not only broke my heart, but he shattered it into a million tiny pieces, stomped on it and let the pieces be scattered about in the wind. He is in another state, and I don’t imagine that I’ll ever see him again, but for some reason just the fact that he contacted me sent me into a panic, which has led to this feeling that I have to work out as much as I can as hard as I can. Maybe not the best way to get motivated, but I’m going to ride this wave of motivation for as long as it will last. When that wears off, I’ll find something else.

Also, when I really want to give in and have a pity party, I post about it here. Usually the supportive comments are enough to life me up and get me back on track. Never underestimate the power of the blogger!!

The second question is from my good buddy Laura: “Why do I have white flecks and ridges in my nail beds? Am I deficient in some critical nail mineral?”

Yes, yes you are. It’s called the Margarita Mineral and you must ingest at least one margarita per day until you have nails that can cut glass. Okay, that’s a total lie. This is a great question girl, but one that I’m going to have to do some research on, and by research I mean I’m going to ask my neighbor who is a cosmetologist who does nails for a living. After I talk to her and do a little more digging, I’ll get back to ya on this, k?

Third question is from my favorite quilter, Debby: “What is your favorite new healthy food, and/or what is your favorite low cal “fast food” or snack?”

I love this question because I love food. My latest favorites are protein smoothies – milk, a little ice, a scoop of vanilla protein powder, some dark sweet cherries (frozen) and a little honey. So freakin good I can hardly stand it!! I’ll usually drink that after a workout or when I haven’t had a lot of protein that day, and it really hits the spot. Sometimes I like to chew my snacks so an easy one is to mix yogurt with cottage cheese and some fruit. I like ½ cup vanilla yogurt, ½ cup cottage cheese, and whatever fruit I have on hand. Mix it all up and surrender to its creamy goodness! How’s that for “fast food”?

Thanks for the questions, gang! This was really fun and I hope you’ll keep em coming!

Posted by Jill in Ask The Pear Tags: fast snacks, margaritas, motivation