HOW do I stay MOTIVATED???

Good morning friends!  I hope all of you are having an awesome morning so far.  I myself have mixed emotions as I begin my day because it is the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL for my "baby" as he graduates from Kindergarten and on to FIRST grade.  Where has the time gone?!  For some of you out there, you attended your son/daughter's HIGH SCHOOL graduation last night...and to that I say CONGRATULATIONS Mom/Dad!!  Job Well Done!  But I'm not here to blog about school ending today, although I could share stories of what this past year has been like as a Mommy with my kid in "big kids" school...but no worries, I won't! ;-)

I've been asked by a wonderful blog follower a very simple question.  "Famisha, how do YOU stay motivated to workout??"  Since I was asked this question and having a few clients ask me yesterday, "Yeah Famisha, how do YOU stay motivated to work out all the time?"  I thought I would speak on MOTIVATION today.

So WHAT is my motivation you ask??  Well, first of all we all have different things that motivate us to want to LOOK a certain way, FEEL a certain way and LIVE our lives a certain way.  Here's the deal, I have ALWAYS lived an ACTIVE, Fitness filled life.  It's very hard for me to imagine NOT being able to exercise because not only do you exercise your body, but you exercise your MIND.

This year, I was VERY MOTIVATED by the fact that I was approaching a new decade this year for my birthday.  20s were spent attending college, graduating from college and modeling/acting, EARLY 30s were spent "working out for a living" and CHANGING 13-15 LIVES a day through the POWER OF FITNESS a day...then adding in a 2 HOUR personal workout a day, unless I was teaching a fitness class that day then it was an HOUR personal workout in between clients along with another hour of instructing a class, mid-30s was becoming a Mommy and STILL working out just as hard because it helped DE-STRESS me and my main motivation was to get back into those EXPENSIVE, Skinny jeans that I had quite a collection of and introducing my baby into fitness while he was chilling in his Baby Bouncey watching Mommy in her home fitness studio.  Well, then late 30's came and 2013 hit and I said to myself, "I'm sick of hearing all the EXCUSES of 'Oh once you hit 40, it's all downhill, your metabolism slows down (wait didn't I hear that from people with excuses in their 30s?!) and you can't be as LEAN or FIT.  Well, I.CAN!"

So...my MOTIVATION this year was to look as FABULOUS as I could when I turned 40.  And let me tell you, I feel great!  I LOVE hearing the shock in people's voice when I tell my age...PROUDLY too.  People love to tease me about now being "older" then them...but my reply is "Ummm...I look your age if not YOUNGER and HOW do you plan to look when you hit 40?"  Then...SILENCE.  I love it!

Finally, here are some ideas to help get YOU motivated!  Something that worked for me when I modeled was to cut out a picture in a magazine of a body part...Abs, Arms, Legs, Glutes that I thought looked great on the fitness model in the picture and I would tape it to my FRIDGE.  Every time I went to open that fridge door that picture was staring me in the face which of course helped me make SMART choices in my food intake and to crush it in my personal workout at the gym.

Another way to MOTIVATE is think about what do you have coming up in the next 6 months?  Do you want to be healthy enough to get pregnant and bring a life into the world?  Do you have a big vacation planned to the Bahamas?  Hawaii?  Or any Beach city?  Do you have a family history of Heart Disease and want to break that barrier and NOT get it?  Once your waistline reaches ABOVE 35 inches, you ARE at risk for heart disease.  Do you want to RUN and PLAY with your kid(s)?  Do you want to see your kid(s) GRADUATE from high school?  Walk them down the aisle of their wedding in the future?

If any of those questions have crossed your mind, then decide TODAY that you are going to do whatever it takes to REACH YOUR GOAL!  If that means getting up an extra hour each day to start your day off right with a workout, then DO IT!  Trust me, I workout at 4am 4 days a week and I'm normal just like everyone else...some days I would rather sleep in, but then I remember how GREAT I feel after I've accomplished my workout and how I just did something positive to increase the LONGEVITY of my life!  Here's a tip:  SLEEP IN YOUR WORKOUT CLOTHES.  That's exactly what I do, so all I have to do is get up and get it done in my fitness studio.

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF and know that you CAN do it!  I know it's easy to get frustrated or even de-motivated if you have a lot of weight to lose and you want to see that weight off TODAY, but remember it took you a long time to put that weight on...so it's going to take you even longer to take it off.  But, CONSISTENCY is the key to success.  It shouldn't be a chore.  FITNESS IS A LIFESTYLE...NOT A FAD!

Sorry for this being so long winded today, but I wanted to get my point across that you should find what is YOUR motivation and keep it.  If it's saying to yourself every day while looking in the mirror "I am proud of myself and WILL get to my Fitness Goal."  YOU.CAN.DO. IT!!!  Yes, you can!

Thanks for taking the time to read this today!  My motivation this morning to exercise is the fact that I need to DE-STRESS.  The best way to do so is through exercise and my favorite Hot Yoga class is calling my name!  I need to de-stress about the fact that my "baby" is growing up and will be a big first grader next year...oh the life as a Mom! ;-) 

Please do something to PROMOTE your health and fitness today!  I'm off to yoga...NAMASTE...

As Always...Stay Fit and Happy!
Famisha :-)