This week I am a coach in a 7 day clean eating group on Facebook. Today I posted on what my “why” was and asking the other members of the group to think about and post the same. Why do I want to eat clean, why do I want to be fit and why do I want to be healthy?! It got me thinking about what my motivation really was.
Last year, about this time, I was in the best shape of my life. In December of 2013, I was super motivated, wanted to start feeding my body right and was working on becoming certified in group exercise. I changed my diet, taught classes and made fitness a priority. I was able to make this transformation in 6 months. 
I was happy with my body and kept it up for a while. Overall, I felt great and was comfortable knowing that I would be in front of thousands of people when I was hired as a Detroit Piston’s Dancer.
For me, the last year of my life wasn’t easy and sharing this story isn’t easy for me either. I was stressed and led a busy life. I was a full-time student with an hour and a half commute, working part-time at a restaurant on the weekends and if I wasn’t working or doing something school-related I was dancing. I will never say I regret being a part of DPD, it was one of the best experiences of my life and nothing will change that. But, I fell to the pressure and the stress.
Within the first few months of the season I became overwhelmed; that took over my life. I gained weight and, even though I know I was by no means “fat,” I lost the confidence that I had. I knew I wasn’t the best “me” that I could be. This was frustrating. I was doing all I could with the resources and time I had but, with the amount of stress I had in my life, I wasn’t going anywhere fast. This made for a long, hard season for me. I had to perform in front of thousands while I was lacking confidence…that just added to the issue.
At the end of the season, my life calmed down a little bit. Although I was working more hours and still going to school, I knew I needed to devote a little more time to myself. But honestly, I had one less thing to stress about and that made a huge difference. I also made a few changes to better my health…I started taking adrenal supplements (to counteract the adverse effects of constant, long-term stress), joined Beachbody as a coach and from that gained an awesome support group, and gave up my meatless lifestyle in hopes of getting back the energy I felt I had lost in previous months.
So, my “why” is that I want to get back to where I was and strive for even better. I know I can do this because I’ve done it before. It’s not impossible!! This means way more than having the body I want, this means being healthy, making time for myself, and being a better me. 🙂
What’s your “why”?! Share in the comments below!!
