There comes a time on everyone’s life where you look in the mirror or think inwardly about your life, and decide that you don’t like what you see. Honestly, this could be anything. You might be a smoker and you realize that you should quit, or someone who drinks too much and realizes that they do not like who they are when they drink so they chose to stop, or it could even be that you look at yourself and realize that you want to eat better and live healthier.
The moment you decide to change is the very same moment that you find that inner drive to do so. Maybe your parents, family, or friends have been telling you to make better choices or go to the gym and eat healthy, but a decision like this must be a personal one made for the right reasons.
Eating right and exercising is something that we as a society are constantly told is a good thing and we should start immediately. But we have to find the inner motivation to commit to a lifestyle change such as this. As an individual, no one can actually make you commit to something as intense as eating right and consistently working out unless you are completely committed to the cause. This is something that one must chose for themselves or else the long term results won’t be there and your drive to stay with it will deteriorate.
It is a challenge to find the motivation to work out and to make a lifestyle change. Learning to change your eating habits and to change your everyday habits.
I found my motivation to work out by finding something that I loved doing. While home on winter break, I was introduced to CrossFit. This demanding, fast-paced, and intense workout became something that I wanted to keep doing, even after just completing a workout. CrossFit itself is just a workout that is physically demanding, but can be altered and tailored as you please to fit any one at whatever their fitness level is.
The class and group workout setting that is part of CrossFit is what drove me to keep going. Even though other people in the class were older, they were much more physically fit than me. At times, I would struggle through class and get discouraged that I was not as good as the other people in the class that were, honestly speaking, twice my age.
I became much more aware of how much CrossFit was improving my body when I ran into someone from high school. We had not seen each other for a few months and the first thing she said to me was that I looked really good and she was impressed with how fit and tone I looked. I still was nowhere near where I wanted to be and was still a ways away from my goal, but she gave me the positive encouragement and boost that I needed.
Working out is a constant struggle and learning to pick foods that are good for me and my body is sometimes a challenge. I still eat ice-cream and pizza… its just all in moderation. I had to make the decision for myself and find the workout plan that worked for me.