Jeffrey Scott’s – Best of his Blogs 2010

Most of my friends know I maintain two blogs. One dedicated to health and fitness and one for my creativity. I’m proud to say I’ve kept up with both this year. So for those of you only familiar with one of the two, I’ve decided for the first time ever to do a cross-over blog. And why not, I’m a creative person and both illustrate that in various ways.











January
Tegan - Will You Miss Me
An interesting poem I wrote. But can you tell what it’s really about?
Carrot Sticks – Biggest Loser (No Motivation)
I began to recognize my fitness was slipping. I wrote a few observations as to why.

February
Tegan – Haiku
In 2009 I wrote several Haiku’s. In 2010 I wrote one last one. Follow the links to view more.
Carrot Sticks – Biggest Loser – Top 5 Faults With the Show
I’ve always been a Biggest Loser fan, but at times it can irritate me. Here’s why.

March
Tegan – Travel Preparations for London
Two month from the actual trip, I began making lists.
Carrot Sticks – Feed Me Seymore
Random thoughts on how I can do better at what I eat and what my downfalls are.

April
Tegan – Loss & Love
For a month, I worked on a short story on Facebook. I reprinted it to my blog.

May
Tegan – I’m Nothing
Sometimes a poem hits me. Here is one I wrote this year.
Carrot Sticks – Procrastination vs. Motivation
You can either procrastinate or be motivated. Here are my thoughts.

June
Tegan - Fuse CD Review
I discovered a new CD and wrote a review. The artists read it and enjoyed it!
Carrot Sticks – Tracking Disaster
I tried to become more serious about my tracking, but I failed.

July
Tegan – Interview With An Admiral
I had a nice chat with Admiral Ackbar from Star Wars.

August
Tegan – Who is River Song?
I’ve got a firm belief, but this was one farcical theory.

September
Tegan – I Tweet Therefore I Am
Another poem, this time based on…. Twitter???
Carrot Sticks – A-Z Fitness (Atmosphere)
In hopes of making myself more accountable, I began a new fitness series.

October
Tegan – Doctor Who (The Early Years)
I give in to my nerdyness and begin writing a Doctor Who themed series.
Carrot Sticks – Jillian Michaels – GoDaddy Commercial
A funny commercial Jillian is now appearing in.

November
Tegan – Time Travel Museum
Can you find your favourite time machine in the time travel museum?
Carrot sticks – Top 9 Way To Tell If You’ve Been Watching Too Much Biggest Loser
With a lot of my posts centered on Biggest Loser, I wondered if I watched too much.

December
Tegan - Jelly Babies
I did a photo shoot with… candy???
Tegan – Saturn Girl Selling Telepathic Telecommunications
I guess I’m a true Legion of Super Hero nerd to come up with this.
Carrot Sticks – Tastes So Good
I wrote a song parody and why junk food tastes so good.

That’s not all I wrote in both logs, but it gives you pretty good idea. If you enjoy both, why not subscribe and follow both? You’re bound to find something you like sooner or later. ;)
Jeffrey Scott

A-Z Fitness - Motivation

Motivation is probably the most important thing you can have when you want to do weight loss or maintenance. Without it, there is no drive to do what you want to accomplish. A few weeks back we talked about having an initiative. The initiative is nothing without motivation, though. You can find motivation through various sources. You can be inspired via friends, family or even those you see on TV. I've always been a big fan of the show Biggest Loser, and though I'm not sure that's the best way to lose weight, it's certainly effective. What motivates me more than anything is when the contestants keep the weight off. At one point I weighed over 300 lbs, and was properly motivated to lose 100 lbs. My motivation somehow slipped and I gained about half of it back, but I'm proud to say I've found the motivation once more and have been doing well at taking it back off.

Tips: Don't have the right motivation? Talk to someone you know has the proper motivation. Or simply talk to your friends and family and let them know what your goals are and ask for their help. You will be surprised how supportive they can be, and that's the biggest motivation of all.

Remember: Motivation can be tricky. Unlike a goal, motivation can be easily lost. Keep a firm grasp on what you are shooting for and never lose focus of your motivation. Also, it's not like you can only have one thing motivate you. As stated above, there are several things to motivate you. What motivates you?

Goal: Last week you were making lists, did you make a list of what motivates you? If not, it's your goal for this week. Find what motivates you, this time be more specific. If family motivates you, name each person who motivates you. Does a particular feeling motivate you, (a feeling of accomplishment), list it. What about a particular picture? What else can you find to motivate you?

Last Weeks Goal: The goal for last week was to make a few lists, of food to shop for or exercises to try. What did you come up with? Did they help and possibly inspire you?

What fitness words starting with the letter "M" inspire you?

Tracking Disaster

As can be seen from my last post, I'm a horrible tracker. Even with the best of intentions, my plans fall by the wayside. Why do I let this happen? Why can't I motivate myself? It always comes down to finding a reason to be motivated. Sometimes, even when you want something, you don't give yourself enough incentive. So what is my motivation? Losing weight does not seem to be enough, I need to discover exactly what I want to lose weight for.

I'm not saying I'm giving up till then. I have taken a few steps to do some changing. One thing, changing the night I go to Weight Watcher meetings. Last night I decided to try Monday nights at 5:30 and see if that works better than 6:30 on Tuesday nights.

And for the record, I started to track this morning and so far have everything logged.

Tomorrow is Today

Yes, I am still battling with procrastination vs motivation. As my motivation has ebbed away, it's filled more and more with procrastination and bad food choices. Sometimes the best way to tackle a problem is to look at it face on, acknowledge what the difficult bit is and work on it from there.

So what is my biggest obstacle? Where has all my motivation gone? I think it started after my sister stopped going to Weight Watcher meetings with me. From there it's been a slow and steady progression. Latest news is the team leader at the same Weight Watcher meeting has now moved on to other locations.

So I've toyed with the idea of moving on from Weight Watchers myself. I really only want to do that if I can make sure I have something else to fill the void. I wonder what sort of classes might be available at Bally's on that day? I'm paid at WW till June though so I've got some time to decide. In the meanwhile, perhaps I'll give the new team leader a try.

I also wonder how encouraged I might be to eat healthier if I try and do an online food tracker. Giving friends and family (and strangers) the opportunity to comment on how well I might be doing, tips on what I can do better, and possible suggestions for areas to improve in. I keep telling myself I don't want to wait till tomorrow anymore, I need to start doing things today. So I'm going to start the tracker and list what I've had so far today. I'll try to update as the day goes along.

Wednesday - May 26th
Morning - Banana, 2/3 cup cereal, fruit & yogurt parfait.
Lunch - Corned Beef on flat bread with Swiss - 100 Calorie Chips - one pear.
Snack - Pack of WW Fruities.
Dinner - Cheese sandwich (on flat bread again), 1/2 cup cottage cheese, bowl of cherries, a handful of chips and for dessert a few mini caramel waffles.

Finding My Motivation - Tomorrow?

What's the opposite of procrastination? Isn't it motivation? Even though I want to be thin and fit I find my motivation lately has been replaced with procrastination. How many times in the past few weeks have I told myself, "Tomorrow I work out" or "Tomorrow I start eating better". Yet, tomorrow never seems to arrive. Well things are going to change, I've reached my wits end for various reasons. Today I begin to change my procrastination back into motivation; here's what's going to help me.

Weather
As mentioned in a recent article, the lack of sun seems to drain all motivation from my system. At long last, the days are getting longer and soon to be followed with warmer days. As the days move along, tomorrow seems to be gradually approaching.

Clothes
There is nothing so motivating as trying to put a shirt or pair of pants on and realize they no longer fits. I can only blame the washer and dryer for so much. Currently I'm enraged it keeps eating one of my socks from every pair I own. Oh, how I long to once again put a shirt on and not have it ride up.

Food
Does this make sense, food as a motivation for me? I think it's more a reminder. For the past few years, I have been trained to not eat garbage/junk food. So lately as I've been doing so, I'm finding myself feel guilty for shoving that piece of pie into my pie-hole. I remember being satisfied as I ate my healthier dinners, and light snacks. So why have I been so bad with my eating lately? Probably because it's so easy to say you'll start eating healthier 'tomorrow', then find out the next day you are too depressed and turn once again to your favorite snacks. Suddenly you are locked in a never ending cycle. Funny how comfort food turns out to be anything but.

Health & Fitness
Believe it or not, I'm one of those persons who actually likes to go to the gym. The problem is actually getting to the gym. The short, cold Winter months make most people want to hibernate and I'm no exception. Still, I've been longing to make it back to the gym and do a few miles on the track at the very least. I've always rewarded myself with a trip to the hot tub or steam room. I've been feeling really bloated and miserable lately, so I'm longing for the time I will once again be fit and feel so much better. I'm tired of my back and legs hurting like they did back when I weighed over 300 pounds.

Travel
I think currently my biggest motivation is knowing my travel plans are coming closer and closer. This year I'm looking forward to a full week of vacation, something I haven't done in over 10 years. Being over-weight is not an option for me, I want to feel and look good in my travels.

Yes, I seriously want to be 20-30 pounds less in the next few months and I know if I don't get on the ball now, tomorrow won't be here till sometime next year. I refuse to accept that. I'm getting back to being serious with my fitness goals. I'm not going to start tomorrow. The time for excuses has past, the time for fitness is NOW!

Biggest Loser?

OH man, it's been a rough few months. This winter has me knocked for a loop and it's just starting. I've gained 15 pounds (over a stone) in this time. The biggest problem for me has been the motivation. I've got no motivation to do much of anything. Exercising has been non-existent and I've had no motivation for proper food shopping and tracking. Even my Weight Watcher meeting attendance was scattered for a few weeks. I'm trying to get back on the ball and get myself motivated. With the nights finally starting to get longer I'm hoping I'll get myself more and more motivated. It would also help if I could kick this cough I've had for two weeks.

Biggest Loser is always a motivation and I'm glad it's back on. Anyone else feel like motivating me, please feel free to include your comments. Maybe we can all motivate each other!

Meanwhile, enjoy the cartoon.