Wish I had really thought about this before my eating spree last night, probalby would have saved me a few thousand calories. Normally like to think of how far I’ve come and how close I am to my goal when I’m feeling sluggish. I also try to think about how important it is to be healthy when you are trying to have a baby, which we will be doing in a few months. I’m not only doing it for myself…I’m doing it for my future child. There are so many things that can go wrong with a pregnancy, I want to do everything that I can to help create a healthy baby. That means me being healthy. Now that’s motivation!

Alright, alright, this “lurker” will bite. Normally, I don’t need “extra” motivation – I just like working out and how it feels. But, when I’m really not feeling it, or I’m running and I just don’t want to do that last mile, I remember something my boyfriend said to me almost 2 1/2 years ago. I don’t remember the exact phrasing, but it was something along the lines of, “We all have the ability to change ourselves and potential for self-improvement. And I respect people who are working towards that goal of being their personal best.” I think we were talking about my job as an addictions counselor, but I apply it to lots of areas of life, including working out!

looking at pictures of oxygen magazine, looking at fitness models, and looking in the mirror at the physique i have created and continue to work on motivates me

I have found that I am now my own motivator, which is weird sounding LOL. I love to push myself just that little bit. I also don’t like undone tasks or projects, which working out is for me. I am a work in progress and if I skip workouts, that doesn’t help me progress.

However, with that said, I just love working out. I could use more motivation to lose the last 10 pounds, as I am complacent right now. I look forward to your list!

My future kids! And my blogging buddy Earthmother, who is an awesome role model. When I am faced with temptation, I ask myself “What would Earthmother do?”

Mine is a really boring answer, but truthfully when I’m struggling to motivate myself to exercise, what mainly helps me is thinking how glad I’ll be once I’m done.

But I’m loving the other more creative responses!

<3 you and this post. my motivation differs depending on what i'm doing. What motivatese me to do yoga in the morning? knowing the feeling i'll have afterwards. Sometimes its damn near PAINFUL to actually hit the mat – but i have to keep reminding myself of how amazing I'll feel when I'm done.

What motivates me in my pursuit of health? Ginge and the fam — knowing that my family = their happiness is reason enough to conquer my own obstacles each and every day. They keep me going!

Seriously, seeing other bloggers living a healthy and active lifestyle really motivates me to do the same.

I get motivation from all sorts of sources – other blogs, magazines (Oxygen, Fitness, Women’s Health), my daughter and husband, the competition from others, and knowing that I’m pushing myself to be a little better, a little faster, a little stronger.

My husband motivates me alot. He’s very driven and responsible. Sometimes I get frustrated by my inability to juggle my entire life and he reminds me that doing the best I can really IS the best I can. Also, knowing that I am a huge influence in his diet and exercise regiment pushes me to keep up my own. I fall off the wagon sometimes, but I always remember that falling in the water isn’t how ones drowns; it’s staying there.

xoxo hope life is beautiful my friend bella….

My aim is my motivation. If I see someone else where I want to be, that is the best kind of motivation for me!!!

Looking at old pictures! To see how far I’ve come pushes me to go even farther

My children motivate me to be as healthy as I can; I really want to be around for them as long as possible. Plus, I am a much nicer person to be around when I get my daily dose of exercise….

I have a lot motivating me, but I’d say my #1 motivation is…me! I decided to start getting fit and healthy for myself and I love how much better I feel and how much more energy I have. That’s what really keeps me going, although my dog and being a good role model for my future kids motivates me as well!

What motivates me? hmm.

Well. I do love exercise. That I must emphasize.

Destressing is a huge motivator. I always (usually) feel better after a good run, or bike ride.
The idea of transformation as well, imagine how just doing some sit ups or push ups can change your body!
Also challenging myself. I always have a goal, I’m always trying to “get somewhere”, even if that’s just getting stronger. I really want to be able to do a bunch of pushups, or even just be able to run around with friends when you’re all just fooling around….
Those are just a start really. There’s so many reasons really. So many.

What motivates me? That’s a good question. These days, the baby growing in my belly. But it’s also given me the motivation to be sure I’m not starving myself either (not that i was before, but there were a lot of restrictions). I’m still trying to figure out the balance I need between good food and higher calories, it’s hard. If I eat super healthy like I was before getting pregnant… I’m not eating ENOUGH colories. So I’ve had to figure out WHAT to add back into my diet, without going overboard. It kinda sucks! Do you have ANY idea how hard it is to EAT MORE, increase my calories, AND BE HEALTHY, etc… when every bone in your body is SCREAMING NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh to be plagued with eating. hahahahahaha!!

My motivation from the start of my journey is my health and being sure I’m alive to see my child graduate from High school. To see her get married some day. My health has been on a downward spiral since before 2005. I just wasn’t Motivated to fix it. I was lost within myself. And then I lost my dad to cancer and ultimately kidney failure from his diabetes last year. It took 3 months for me to realize with my lifestyle I was headed down the exact road he was on when he died. I don’t want that. It’s hard to stay motivated, for over a month i struggled with losing mine and then I got pregnant. So at least right now… Being preggers and wanting to avoid similar complications I had with my first child, keeps me motivated to do what i have to do to stay healthy. When this child is born… I vow to stay on track. No matter the motivation. I want to live. I think that’s enough motivation for anyone, but to stay on track… it a whole other world I need to figure out.

Motivations…hmmm…

With exercise, I am super competitive so that is a HUGE motivator. When I’m training for a race, and I want to skip a workout, I start thinking about feeling weak during the race or not being able to finish or totally blowing whatever my goal is and I get my butt up and do it. Even during non-race periods I like to try to beat my times and if I’m not motivated to run, I’ll just pick a goal and go hard and see if I can beat my personal best.

With eating, it’s more about fear of regaining all my weight, which is a less-than-healthy mindset, but it’s true. And it makes sense why I am SUPER consistent and love my exercise, but really spotty and resentful on the healthy eating. There is a part of me, which is slowly growing, that just loves healthy food for the taste and how it makes me feel, and shies away from the unhealthy stuff for the opposite reasons, but this is going to be a lifelong battle here…

I dunno if this is any help at all but there it is.

My motivation derives from many goals I have. The range is:

1) I simply want to be able to walk up stairs without being winded
2) I want to hit six buoys on a waterskiing slalom course
3) I want to complete a triathlon with my brother-in-law
4) I want to live a long life with my wife (my body has to last a long time to meet this!)

To meet my goals I first had to admit something to myself: I get bored easily and sometimes working out can be boring! To keep my short attention span happy, I utilize the many forms of workouts that exist in the world. I’ve come up with some approaches to working out that help me keep going:

1) I try to work out with a family member (I.E: my wife, my sister, my brother-in-law all swim together every weekend.)
2) I do sports I love: swimming, wakeboarding, waterskiing, surfing, etc…

I hate running and biking and being in a gym. My motivation for those is the triathlon I’m committed to with my brother-in-law. Now I have to do them, but I’m not alone.

I love junk food. My motivation for eating good is the triathlon and all the sports I love. I can’t do that stuff if I don’t eat well.

I hope this helps!

I missed this while on playcation. What motivates me. I think as I age now, the stay fit & healthy & strong & avoid degenerating bones & age related diseases. Once I started exercising & getting those muscles, I rally became self-motivated. I really hate the cardio & do it but lie you mentioned in your post for Sept. 8th, I have decided to do longer cardio days across 4 days vs. 5-6 days. I like to get that done & on to weights because I love the weights. So, what motivates, me, being strong with muscles. I love the look & I like that I have young ladies & guys tell me that my bod looks a younger person. But I really like that it helps me keep strong & active for my age.

Motivation – I wish I could bottle it up and sell it but just when I think I get it, just when I think I’ve figured it out, my world gets turned upside down. Or someone puts a cake in front of me. Or macaroni & cheese. Or a movie Motivation, so easily defined but so hard to obtain!

My motivation then (pre-100lb weight loss) is different compared to my motivation now (healthier weight).

The motivation I had then was the bottom of the bottom feeling of looking around and realizing I was the only one standing in the way of getting what I wanted. The hard core looking in the mirror and pointing the finger at no one but myself. Yes, Annabel – that was the source of motivation for me – looking around and realizing I had no one to blame but myself. And realizing that if I was going to do anything, I was going to have to live 100% of my life that way, not just half-assed. Realizing I was going to have to change my entire life as I knew it which included everything I ate, my social activities, who I choose to hang around with – EVERYTHING. One step at a time, one small choice at a time. Just like anything else. Just like obtaining a dregree, we take one class at a time, one homework assignment at a time. Just like driving cross country, we take one state at a time, one mile at a time. My journey to healthiness would be one step at a time.

The motivation I have now to sustain what I’ve accomplished is remembering what it was like to turn sideways to fit through a doorway. The inability to go to the bathroom on an airplane. The anticipation of ordering at a restaurant with friends and dreading the “oh, poor fat girl shouldn’t be ordering that” stares. Yes, those way deep down feelings that I could hardly admit to myself let alone anyone else around me – that’s what motivates me to keep going. The darkest of dark moments where my only hope was to continue to smile, even if it was a shell of a smile just to prevent me from crumbling no matter where I was. Those memories, those are my motivation – remembing where I was and not wanting to go back. Realizing how happy life really can be if we just put a little time and effort into a healthy lifestyle.

And that, that is my wish for everyone else too! To remember their experiences and funnel them as a source of motivation for future experiences! Thanks for such a great question Annabel! I might have to turn this into an actual blog post, HA!

My motivation stems from my dad. He and I never had any kind of ‘relationship,’ but that’s what worked for me. From putting myself through school, finding the right girl and holding on to her for dear life, buying my first home, keeping a steady job, starting my own business, having a child of my own…and ultimately becoming the person, man, parent… that he wasn’t. I don’t want my son to go through the struggles my brother and I west through… so I’m not just trying to be a good father, but I’m trying to be a really kick-ass dad… which means I have to be able to run and play with my son and keep up… which means losing weight. I want to be there for him as long as I can…which means being healthy. I want to be a positive role model for him… which means feeling good about myself. So, there you have it…an abbreviated explanation of why I am, who I am. Thanks dad.

What motivated me at the beginning of my lifestyle change was wanting to not be a fatty anymore. I was SO disgusted with my body, and I just didn’t feel pretty. Ever. I was sick of wearing frumpy clothes in embarrassing sizes. I was sick of being the funny, fat friend. I was sick of only having limited stores in which to shop. I wanted to feel pretty again!

That was 65 pounds ago. And I feel pretty! What motivates me to lose these last 15 pounds and maintain my healthy lifestyle forever is something completely different now. It’s not all about the vanity anymore: I’m enjoying feeling healthy! I have so much more energy due to exercising regularly, eating nutritious foods and not having to lug around that extra weight on my bod. I have an extra hop in my step that I’ve never had before. My mom said recently that this is probably the healthiest I’ve ever been, and I hadn’t thought of it that way before. I’ve been skinnier and more physically fit, but my insides are healthier than ever. Healthy insides are where it’s at! The outer stuff will come in time when I keep working out and staying active. Can’t wait!