Resolve, Not Discouragement

A year or so ago, I put on a pesky five pounds that refused to come off, despite training for a triathlon.  I think that it's partially the onset of perimenopause that makes it so hard to drop weight.  Unfortunately, it also is true that I have always had a hard time keeping regular exercise as a habit.  It is also true that I'm the kind of person who really just wants to eat what I want to eat. 

I think that I just need to be persistent and lower my expectations.  By "lowering my expectations", I mean that I need to be okay with being a slow runner/swimmer/rider, or a person with a lot of other things that take up time in my life.  Priorities need to be readjusted.  I brush my teeth and floss every day.  I say my prayers every day.  I practice the bass at least five days a week.  I actually enjoy exercise.  I should be able to make that a priority and a habit.

Rowdy put together this funny picture (so if you see it on Pinterest, know that it originated here, in our house, on his computer):

I'm as bad as anyone about this, but isn't it funny to see a "Best Chocolate Cake Recipe EVER!!" pin next to a "Thinner Thighs in Ten Moves--do this three times a day, every day, and you will have legs like THIS in 30 days!"?  Trust me, the fitness model who posed for that is:  1) working out ten hours a day, 2) not eating chocolate cake, and 3) not 47  years old.  It's just like when people were using photos of Dara Torres' ripped body as motivation.  Folks, that woman's job was training her body.  She had a coach.  She had someone looking after her child.  I think she even had a personal chef.  Her physiology is such that she can be an elite athlete.  That's not the life of anyone that I know personally.

Rant over.  But anyway...I am trying.  You're probably trying, too.  What can we do to motivate each other??