Rocky Balboa Made It Look Easy!

I thought for the first posting I would start out with something that is an absolute key to weight loss and also one of the hardest things to maintain while losing weight.  Motivation.  Come January 1st…we have all had New Years resolution’s that read something like this….I’m going to go to the gym everyday, eat rice cakes for meals while starving myself, and not touch a cupcake (even if there is a gun to my head).  However- by week three we are ready to bite someone’s head off….sneaking food and popping Reese’s peanut butter cups like we are some kind of addict…and we haven’t seen the inside of the gym in days.  Good intentions…do not always equal good results.  When it comes to weight loss we have no shortage of supplies, diets, pills, surgeries, television programs…and even infomercials that promise tight abs with minimal effort.  We look to movies like “Rocky” and think that we can change our lives and bodies over the time lapse of one song (albeit a great motivational song like “Getting Stronger”).  However- when actually stepping into the gym at 6am before going to work…the “getting stronger” mentality quickly dissipates and takes our motivation with it.  So this brings me to our first topic…and that is maintaining motivation. 

Let’s face it- some days  it’s not easy to exercise.  It’s sometimes not even easy to drive to the gym – much less work out in it.  However- someone once said that “half of life is just showing up”…and when it comes to exercise and the gym I think that couldn’t be more accurate.  You have to find ways to motivate yourself into movement everyday.  What is your motivation?  Better health…more energy…being able to play with your kids…looking awesome in that little black dress…fitting into the seat on the Montezuma’s Revenge roller-coaster…shopping couture…traveling through Europe and being able to sightsee for hours at a time…running a marathon…biking on the weekends with your brother…feeling 25 again…bringing sexy back…or being bikini ready come June!  You have to find “that thing”…the thing that will motivate you come 6am when it’s still dark and rainy out…to get moving and pushing toward your goals.  Once you find that thing that is motivating you…hold on to it!  It will be your guiding light…and when your feet are hurting and you think you can’t possibly go another step…call on it…visualize it…and then get out of bed and get to the gym!  Your dreams and goals will thank you in the end!  And I will tell you that without that motivation…you can get as off track as Britney Spears at a Mensa meeting!