New Years Resolutions 2017

Yey! We all made it another year on this third rock from the sun. Something to be proud of for sure. Last year I gave some really great tips for keeping resolutions. This year I want to focus on the one thing about resolutions and changing our lives that we all struggle with the most. Motivation. It should not be a scary word or concept but it is the number one thing people ask me about constantly. I get a lot of "how do you keep motivated to go to class every week or eat healthy all the time?"

The Merriam-Webster dictionary says:
Motivation is a motivating force, stimulus, or influence.

I will be using exercise and healthy eating as examples this year because HEY that is what I have experience in.

In the beginning I would slack some days. I am not perfect. At the time it was July when I started trying to become healthy. It was hot, I was obese, I lacked energy and I would get sore from limited activities like walking. There was a thousand reasons working against me that I could not nor should not continue. This is the first week and you will feel this shortly if you have started to try to fit exercise into your life. So how does one continue to feel motivated and that all this pain and discomfort is worth it?

I started doing multiple types of activities and workouts to keep me interested in working out. Walking was boring and so was the treadmill. I promise if I would have stuck doing that I would have lost motivation to keep at it. Instead I started Zumba, I tried yoga, I started biking, I did water aerobics, tried kickboxing, went hiking and canoeing. Being challenged in a fun way was a big motivator for me.

In the beginning weight lose was a huge motivator but then as I started to see the pounds drop and get closer to my goal weight I realized that what I was doing was making me stronger and healthier. I have a string of health issues (COPD and I am bi-polar for example) exercise has helped me manage these better. My lungs can take in more air in a better way which helps my COPD. With my bi-polar disorder the exercise helps calm my restless brain. I am not saying that I am "cured" of anything but being in a fit state has helped with my management of my issues. So living a healthy life forever became my biggest motivator and is still to this day almost three years later.

When I started this journey I actually started counting all of my calories first before even getting into exercise. I used an app call loseit to track everything I put in my mouth. After a while I started to be able to mentally count what I was eating and I still do this to this day. I had to start fueling my work outs and that caused me to focus in on what I was eating and putting in my body. With calorie counting you can eat whatever the heck you want as long as you stay under your goal. My goal was 1,500 calories for my weight loss goal per day. After weight loss it is around 2,000. So what does this have to do with motivation you ask? I am not motivated to be the healthiest and most fit I can be now. If I ate pizza before working out that would be to heavy and my zumba class would suck. If I ate a smoothie of banana, almond milk and peanut butter I could go hard and not be scared of getting sick.

I know this is a wall of text to read but I really want to try to set you all up for success if I can. I find that helping people make changes is best fulfilled by leading with example. I have for sure seen those around me make positive changes based off of what I was doing. Prime example is my mom Lisa. She goes to water aerobics with me now and it is so FUN! Her and I trade healthy tips and she is doing so well.

You can do this. If you feel motivation waning change what you are doing. Do not give up, change it up!

Best of wishes in this new year with whatever resolutions you do.

Until next time~
XoXo Emily