Health & Fitness Motivation: Why I'm Motivated

Health and fitness have been a large part of who I am for a very long time. My motivations and goals surrounding health and fitness have changed throughout the years. Some of these motivations have been positive and some have been not so positive. The earliest goal I had (which wasn't positive or healthy) when I was younger, was to have a thigh gap and be 'skinny'. I was between grade 7-9 when I had this goal and I remember hardly eating and constantly exercising. I would literally eat a single, small protein cookie for breakfast. Eating so little and exercising so much wasn't a good a combination for a young girl who needed to eat to grow. I now know that thigh gaps and weighing less aren't important at all. Looking back, it's hard to believe my motivations were once based on those things, especially at such a young age, when I should've been focused on doing fun things to be active.

I've struggled with having phases when I 'don't care' what I'm putting into my body or when my goals consisted of only wanting to look a certain way. I feel like almost every person on the planet has experienced these feelings regarding food and exercise at one point in their life or another.

Throughout the unprecedented time we're living in right now, I've had plenty of time alone. Much of that time has been spent reflecting on my health and fitness journey...my motivations, my cause, my 'why?'.

I've come to the conclusion that I will still have times where I lose my motivation, want to be lazy and fill my body with less nutrient-dense foods. And that's okay. Life changes and sometimes, other things feel bigger and more important that working out that day or eating a salad. However, my current health motivations, I'm happy to say, are based on my feelings within my self, rather than how I look on the outside.

My current health & fitness motivations:

1. Confidence // When I eat foods I know my body is benefiting from, I feel better physically and proud of my food choices. When I exercise, I feel strong and capable, I know I'm doing good things for my body and my body (and mental health) are thanking me.

2. Longevity // I want to live a long and healthy life. If I'm lucky enough to have children, I want to be able to play with them, run with them and be around to see all of their live's milestones.

3. Strength // I want to be strong and feel capable in doing things myself. I want to know I can do simple things, like carry water bottle cases with ease. I know that exercising and fuelling my body with nutritious foods enables me to be strong and have more endurance.

On a final note, it's okay to have your health motivations fluctuate or to not be motivated at all sometimes. However, I think it's important to dive deep into yourself, reflect and ask 'why am I doing this? what am I getting out of this? how do I want to feel?' and in those questions, your motivations will be found.