Challenge 2, Day 15: What Motivates You?

What motivates you to eat healthy and work out? Is it really your health? Is it making friends and being social? Is it the rush of endorphins? Or is it vanity? Whatever it is, I make no judgment. Because when it comes right down to it, I work out and eat healthy mostly to look good in a swimsuit. (I know, I know - it should be about health. And it is. I love not getting sick all the time and being able to push myself beyond what I think my physical limits are. I love knowing that I'm getting stronger. But at the end of it all, what really gets me going is knowing I'll fit into my clothes well.)

What's your reason?

Whatever gets you going is more important than the amount of motivation, according to research. So if you can figure out what it is that makes you excited about sweating it out or if you can just be honest to yourself about what it is that activates your buttons, you can not only make your health, nutrition, and fitness plans fun and rewarding, but you can also accomplish those goals in a much easier way!

For those of you who are like me and pursue that sleek physique, it is important to realize that pursuing the endgame rather than enjoying the process is our biggest downfall. When beach season, that event where you'll see old friends, or in my case, the pageant is over, the interest in putting in the hard work at the gym and watching the food intake goes ka-put.

How do you avoid the rut? Ease up a little! People who are trying to look amazing for that special event or for that vacation are willing to put in extra hours at the gym and do crazy cleanses to quickly achieve goals, but that high-intensity winds up discouraging them. Slow and steady wins the race, after all! Or as Tracy Anderson puts it - be consistent!