Motivation...

I read a post one day on the Beachbody message boards (http://teambeachbody.com/connect/message-boards) and the topic was what keeps you motivated.

As I read through this post and started to think about what motivated me to workout every day without fail, I noticed that most people (at least the ones doing P90X) had similar motivators. When I finally did reply to the post, I simply put "my mirror". It seemed like a simple enough answer since I have been looking in the mirror for the last 15 years and not liking what I saw. My real motivation is not that simple.

Liking who you are is cornerstone to a healthy psyche. I had not liked who I was for some time. So when I looked in the mirror, I was angry at what I had become, angry at myself for allowing and enabling this to become my life. I wanted to be happy and healthy. I wanted to be alive for my children's children. I wanted to not keep myself secluded from the world due to my weight.

When I got married, I worked out. I was 215 lbs. I was happy with who I was. May 2008 I was 385 lbs. and I was not happy with who I was. I allowed myself, over years of self neglect, to become a person I was not meant to be. Alone, sad and unhappy is not how I saw myself when I looked at my future as a young 20 year old man. There I was, looking in that mirror and wanting my life to change.

I first decided to cheat the system and have the mother of all weight reduction surgeries. Gastric bypass surgery otherwise known as Bariatric surgery. By the end of May 2008 I had completed all the necessary pre-op screening, testing and evaluations. I was merely waiting on a surgery date. Luckily, my doctors fouled things up and my dates were being pushed back due to an error within the office. So while waiting for this surgery date to get set up, I decided to get a bike and save money on gas and get some exercise at the same time. With the help of the nutritionist (one of the pre-op appointments mandatory with all bariatric procedures) and my new bike, I lost about 50 lbs and thought I can do this without surgery. I never rescheduled any appointment with the surgeons, but I did have an extensive workup done and I found out that other than being over weight, I was pretty healthy.

Living in New England is great for riding bikes until October. So the weight came back on and the bike stayed in storage. I finally got back up to 355 and this is when I got P90X. My boss was on day 20 and I could see the changes in him. I had seen the infomercial and liked what I saw, so I ordered it.

Now 30 days into it, working out like a mad man and being very rigid with my diet I read that post. What motivates you? Now I think the answer is just that easy, my mirror. I look in the mirror now and I see the changes that P90X and a little dedication can do for my body. I get the random compliments... "You look so good" and "Have you lost weight" and the list goes on. Those confidence builders and self esteem enhancing comments fuel the desire to workout. Just as it is a vicious cycle of apathy, self loathing and eating to make me who I was when I didn't like me. The glorious cycle of self confidence, happiness and passion to be a viable productive person in my life and others just spills out now and people notice. They notice when you are down and they notice when you are up.

After completing the program and my total weight loss to be at 53 lbs., I am extremely happy with my current results and what I have become. I am a more active person and I don't opt to stay in when I could be out. I was able to enjoy my time with my children more instead of keeping the life of a hermit while they were with me for a month on their vacation. I like who I see when I look in the mirror. I have a great new set of friends and it keeps growing every day from the connection on the Beachbody message boards. I have a, albeit new, growing business as a Team Beachbody Coach.

Motivation can come in many forms but one huge one is the stories that you see and read about on Beachbody. They did it, so can I. The pushed play every day, so can I. They lived the mantra... Decide. Commit. Succeed. So can I. I stay motivated to be that person of motivation. I stay motivated to live up to my predecessors in P90X. I stay motivated to like what I see when I look in the mirror.