Hey everyone, thanks for joining me again.  Today I would love to talk about motivation and the pitfalls we face.  If there is one thing I’ve learned about losing weight, it is that it’s really hard to keep going, especially in the long run.  Sure, you finally buy the running shoes and the workout clothes and you hit the gym with the vigor of a young buck, but after a few days and exhausting workouts, you look in the mirror and realize that it’s going to take a lot more than 2 workouts to get that six-pack and it starts to weigh down the soul.  You might go one or two more times, telling yourself “I bought all this stuff, and I’m going to use it” but after that it’s just easier to sit in front of the TV and watch your favorite episode of whatever than it is to hit the gym and embarrass yourself to the really pretty girl that lives down the hall from you.  This is that moment, when you look back 6 months from now, that you realize you should have kept going because you would look awesome if you hadn’t quit way back when.  Trust me, I was there.  I went from 250 down to 209 in 6 months while forward deployed, only to start eating fast food again and not working out, whereas had I kept at it I would have been at that svelte 175 I’m dying for.  But such is life.  I was always told “Hindsight is 20/20, but your screwed now”.

You know what I say? I say that in the end the best you can do is push yourself.  You HAVE to think, everyday, about WHY you want to lose weight.  Is it to look attractive to the fairer sex in order to find a girlfriend? Is it just because you feel that you’re not healthy enough and you want to lead a better life? Did you look into your future and realize you want to live to 110 years old, and that triple whopper with cheese isn’t helping?  THAT’S your motivation, right there.  The very reason you decided to lose weight in the first place still exists.  Think about that reason every single day, even if you don’t work out that day.  When you go to get a bite to eat, or are about to make dinner, think about that reason before you hit up Burger King instead of Subway.  And speaking of Subway, thank you for you.  Those sandwiches are delicious, and much lower fat than the burgers I typically would eat.  Not a cheap plug (I’m not paid by them!), but it is the truth.  They have me eating a little better, which is great for me.

Next, when it comes to motivation, you have to have something to pump you up.  For me, I have several playlists on my iPod to exercise to.  I have my “Running Mix” which consists of songs that help me push myself while I’m running my one mile a day (or my 11 miles a day, like I did during that famed deployment).  I have my “Workout Mix” which is geared more for lifting weights, consisting of a ton of great adrenaline-rushing songs that force me to put that bar up just one more time.  And, most important of all, is my “Motivational Mix.” Nine songs that truly speak to my core, that make me want to be the better person I know I can be.  I listen to this playlist and it’s almost a guilt trip to be better at everything I do.  If I haven’t been a good boy that day, I’ll know it when I listen to this playlist.  But beyond that, it makes me strive to be better.  A little to lazy to hit the gym? By the end of the first song I’ve got my running shoes out of the closet, headband on my head, and I’m out the door.

So, the next time you feel just a little too tired, or “you’ll hit the gym in a few hours, right now I just want to play some video games”, think about that reason you wanted to better yourself, think hard on it, then put down the controller, grab a Protein Water, and go hit the gym.  Then do what I do and play video games AFTER THE GYM!