Last Christmas, my husband bought me a ring I had admired. He shopped for months to find it in my size, but it didn't fit and it couldn't be re-sized. I was determined to be able to wear it.

I am sick and tired!
 

I am sick and tired of wearing clothes I hate just because they fit around me. Hey! I can't go around naked!

My best friend recently lost 30 lbs. She looks amazing and after a long battle of laziness I figured, if she can do it, so can I.

Recently, I was the director of a Biggest Loser type program. I had to write weekly articles for the newspaper.

I love to write. I get my inspiration from real life situations and people in the gym I manage.

So I wrote an article on people who inspired me. I mentioned the couple (near diabetic) who self motivated and both lost over 100 lbs in one year. I wrote about a man who was diagnosed with MS, wife left him, he lost his business (chiropractor) and fell into depression who has gained 6 inches of range of motion in his most effected leg just by working out. I wrote about people with missing appendages who come in and work out. I wrote about a short woman who is over 200 lbs who runs at least ten 5K races every summer.

I have to admit, it was a pretty good article.

Wouldn't ya know it, about 12 people have come up to me since then and said that the article kicked their motivation into high gear.

Just last night at the grocery store, a woman I sort of know through other friends went out of her way to stop me to say that she has lost 20 lbs since reading that article.

It was one of my proudest moments.

When looking for motivation, inspect your inner most self and find what will motivate you.

For me, my motivation comes from my competitive nature. I want to be the strongest, the most active, the girl that everybody sees doing what everyone else seems to say they want but have excuses not to do. Seems stuck up and wrong, sort of, but it's my career so it also should bring good business. Kind of like, do as I do, not just because I say I do it, but because I do it. And you can, too.

Even though I just said all that, I am up 5 pounds now for 3 weeks. This is odd for me. I am currently looking for my new motivation. It's been difficult for a couple of reasons. 1. I have a bunch of over-use pains from being a group exercise instructor so it hurts to work out at the intensity my body needs. 2. I'm having mental problems -LOL - due to legal issues with my ex, so I'm eating and drinking alcohol more than normal. 3. Normally swim suit season would be a good motivator, but it's abnormally cold here so I don't see me in a swim suit much at all this summer.

I'm going to have to take my own advice and look into myself for some other motivation.

Maybe I'll re read this thread and get some. haha

Back in February I weighed myself and was almost a stone (14lbs) lighter than the previous time I had weighed myself which would have been a couple of months before that. I wasn't watching what I was eating and I certainly wasn't doing any exercise. It gave me so much more motivation to get in shape and lose more weight so I've decided to really start at it now.

I was not diagnosed properly at the time, but I had juvenile-onset arthritis. Because I was not aware, I spent 5 years "tackling" kids with severe behavior disorders. At 24, my orthopedist told me if I didn't find a new job, I wouldn't be walking at 30.

Almost 10 years later, I've had 2 more surgeries on my knee, and brain surgery to remove a benign tumor. Every surgery put on more weight and feeling more like a misfit toy when it came to the dating department. I originally thought no one wanted to date a partially-deaf, gimpy chick.

Then I realized I really wasn't happy with how I felt about myself. How could I expect someone else to be happy with me when I wasn't? I see my father struggling with his weight, his knee and shoulder issues. He is barely mobile. I knew I had to do something.

I still have difficulty believing what I've accomplished this far is not a weird dream. I don't think it will sink in when I reach 230, which will be the lowest I've been since the age of 15. I don't remember weighing less than that.

For me it was more about being fit and healthy than losing weight. Funny when I focused on being fit and healthy the weight was coming off. My focused changed and lost all motivation to do anything and now trying to get back on track. The weight is not coming off because I got stuck on the scale and wanting the pounds to drop so trying to refocus and just get some exercise in daily and eat right. I want to be healthy in my old age and actually live to a ripe old age!