I am motivated by the energy I have left at the end of the day when I eat well. If I don't eat well I get super lazy and tired, I don't have cable and yet still some how manage to sit on the couch. So those days that I feel like I want to do more, motivate me to do more. I'm also motivated by how much more I can do physically. I have been able to run 5km straight, until about a week ago when I started physio for a leg injury, now I'm finding other things to do and hoping that I can keep up the motivation.

What motivated me to start? Not being able to stand the heat or walk very far with my Tiny Tornado. I'm jealous of his energy - and I'm SUPER jealous of his abs... he's 3... he knows nothing about crunches and bicycle crunches etc., but the kid has turtle shell abs!

Every day was a struggle to get out of bed, every muscle hurt, it would be so much easier to just lay there and not move. Some days it hurt to BREATHE. I don't sleep well, so I toss and turn and when my alarm goes off I want to roll over and go back to sleep.

I battle with a lot of stress (single mom, limited single income, full time student, full time work, and a 3yo boy who needs to learn boundaries and better behavior) which does not help my sleeping or my overall chemical balance in my body.

I was repulsed by pictures being posted of me on FB from my sister's high school graduation, I'm repulsed that the things I can afford to do with my son, in pictures I'm GYNORMOUS! This will be the pictoral history of his life, and of course mine.

Now, I'm choosing better quality foods, avoiding tons of processed foods and I feel better nearly all day (my day starts at 3:55 a.m. 6 days a week - bedtime is no later than 8 pm). I very rarely dip to the point of my energy anymore that I want to just lay down in bed under the covers and pray the day goes by faster. Once I started eating better foods I had a more natural energy, apparently my food choices were sucking the life out of me.

After a couple weeks of natural energy I couldn't sit still anymore, I got up and started walking... jog a tiny bit. Then 1 mile wasn't enough, then 2 miles wasn't enough - now 3 miles twice a day, and Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. I can't wait to get back out on the track every time I come back in and rehydrate. I can't wait to log my miles and say dang, what can I do tomorrow? I'm enjoying the sweat - knowing I earned it - and it's my fat screaming like a big sissy for mercy!

Oh, and I"m sleeping like a person in a coma now - straight through - no trouble falling asleep - so I've eliminated a LOT of medications too - pain meds, sleeping pills, etc. 4 am still comes crazy early, and I still battle with wanting to get out of bed, I'm still stiff when I get up - but once I stretch and get a few glasses of water in, I'm good, I used to hurt all day, even through the pain meds.

The next motivator is watching my physique change, and the muscles bulge, and the scale number go down, and the measurements get smaller and smaller.

ETA: Oopps sorry I got so windy *yikes* :noway: