What's Your Motivation??

What makes you eat healthy?  What makes you workout?  What drives you? 

 

I have been thinking about what my motivation is and why I do what I do.  I realized that I have gone through many different phases of motivation. 

 

When I first started my journey, my motivation was purely to lose weight. I wasn't thinking about getting healthy per se, I just wanted to see the scale go down.  My successes were only measurable if the scale went down each week (or day). I cut my calories down to 1200 a day and didn't worry about anything else.  If I had a party to go to one night, I wouldn't eat all day so that I would have all my calories to really enjoy myself.  I lost weight, but I wasn't really changing as much as I wanted.

 

My next phase of motivation was to get into a smaller size jean.  I had this idea that a size 4 was the perfect and ideal size for me.  So I started adding running into my routine of calorie counting.  Again, I didn't care about what my body needed, I only cared about structuring and limiting what was being put into my body.  I lost more weight and went down in size, but I don't think I was giving my body what it needed.  I was just getting smaller, but not ensuring that I was healthier. I was hungry a lot of the time and weak.

 

 

Then I started going to Train Insane.  I had always liked lifting weights, but felt that cardio was the only way I would lose the weight that I wanted to lose.  Over time I saw the scale continue to go down, my pant size go down and I was feeling stronger.  I began giving my body the foods it needed.  I focused not just on the exercise, but on eating healthy.  I have followed this routine for 1.5 years now and really enjoy it.  I started asking myself recently, what motives me?  Why do I get up at 5:20 each morning to go to the gym and workout, then rush home to get ready for work?  Why do I plan out my food out each Sunday and spend 3 hours in the kitchen to prepare it?  I know it would be easier to just eat whatever whenever.  Why do I track my calories, fat, protein and carbs each day and make sure I hit my goals? 

 

Here are my reasons, this is what motivates me (in no particular order):

 

1. Living a healthy life

2. Being strong, I love when someone come to me for help that requires a little bit of muscle.

3. Being able to be active while I can, who knows what will happen tomorrow.

4. Motivating others to be healthy

5. Fitting into my skinny jeans

6. Hitting a new PR in the gym

7. Hearing my husband tell me I have a nice back!!

8. Constant improvement, being stronger, faster, fitter than I was before.

9. Realizing what I am capable of.

10. Showing all those negative people in my life that I can do whatever I put my mind to and their opinions are better kept to themselves.

11. Proving to myself that I can do things that I never thought were possible.

12. Looking good in pictures (seriously, who doesn't want this?)

13. Having someone ask me how I do it.

14. Socializing with all my Train Insane Friends, this is one of my favorite parts of going to my gym. 

15. Being healthy and active for my future family.

16. Beating the person next to me in a metcon, I can't help it, I am competitive!  But I still cheer for everyone!

17. ?????

 

This is just a short list of what motivates me.  Each day there is something different that motivates me for the day.  Some of my reasons are completely superficial,  but I don't feel bad about that.  I like feeling confident when I am in clothes or even naked.  Are there things that still can be improved? Of course! This is a process that I will always be working on.  Once I get comfortable (which has happened) I will see the scale move up or my jeans become a little tighter and that is when I know that I need to get focused again.  I am not prefect, no one is, and there are days I do want to eat bad.  I just have to know that I will pay the consequences and I am only slowing down my journey.  But, it is a journey that I happily go on.  It isn't always easy or fun, but with the support system I have (husband, family, friends) it is bearable and rewarding.

 

So what motivates you?  Do you have to pull from your motivation list often?