Motivation...got some?

Hope you are well on this lovely Memorial Day Monday!  Thank you to all those who serve and have served our country.

One thing I've been struggling with lately is motivation. How to find it, how to keep it going and how to keep it at the forefront of all that goes on in day to day life.

I'm sure we can all agree that a huge part of weight loss, exercise, eating right and lifestyle changes all stem from motivation.

Aside from the obvious reasons for losing my toddler weight - my motivation was to not only look better but also feel better, too. I had really wanted to lose 30 pounds before my 30th birthday last year. That didn't even come close to happening. You can read more about that here.  However, my new goal is revised.

I'd like to lose 20 pounds by my 31st birthday. I'm just around the full 10 pounds lost so far and I don't plan on stopping any time soon.

As motivation wanes and disappears, I surprisingly got a little dose of motivation that has pretty much been exactly what I needed and seems to have really hit home.

So, what is this magical motivation?

I apologize for the blurriness of the picture - but if you look past my swinging iPod headphone cord, you'll clearly see that it is a walker in front of the treadmill next to me.  And, on that treadmill next to me was a very old man - close to 85 years old at least - walking on the treadmill.

I thought in that very moment:


WOW.  If he can get on that treadmill and walk then I sure as HELL can walk, if not RUN.


I mean, seriously - what on earth is my excuse?

The answer is - I don't really have one.  Not one good excuse.  If he can leave his walker and get on that treadmill despite his reasons or medical condition - then I can get my more than healthy @ss on that treadmill and work out.

I know the picture doesn't really do the power of the situation justice - but I ran/walked for 29 minutes this day.  What's so great about that?  Well, this situation really gave me a boost and reality check I needed.

I continued to be active for the rest of the week, too.  I went on a run Saturday morning and was going to go to the gym this morning - but they closed early and baby sitting was not available today. BUT, that's not an excuse, so I'll take a run on the treadmill in our basement in a little bit - too hot here to run outside today!

When you lose your source of motivation, where do you find it?  What re-ignites your passion for fitness and health?

I'd love to know!
~Carly