I've always been a 'fair weather' fan of working out. Actually, many of my goals and dreams fluctuate and never truly get completed or even pursued with my full focus and attention. Then, I met my husband. We've been together since 2011 and I've started working out with him & eventually quit for a period of time only to start up again about three times now. Each time I've changed a little.

First, I went to the gym with him feeling self conscious and uncomfortable because I didn't know what I was doing and compared myself to other people at the gym. I learned a lot during that time and actually enjoyed going even without my husband. Still, I didn't see the results I wanted as fast as I wanted so I gave up.

Next, I started working out from home which went really well for a few months until I hurt myself pushing too hard too fast. I was still too eager to see results and wasn't just enjoying the process of watching my body transform. I hadn't made a lifestyle change yet and saw fitness as something you attain not maintain. On top of that I wasn't really doing it for myself, but for my husband so he'd be proud of me and I never really set any concrete goals to help motivate myself. After my shoulder injury I fell off the wagon once again.

Now, I've gone back to the basics. My husband helped modify my workouts to keep them to an hour to an hour and a half and removed all the targeted exercises. After about two months of working out 4-5 days a week I've already noticed changes in my body. My strength, energy, metabolism, and physique are all changing. I've also put some major focus on my diet. I want to see big changes over the next year and I know my diet will either hinder or accelerate my progress. On top of that I've been paying close attention to how much water I drink each day. I try to drink half a gallon minimum. I think that's been tremendously helpful when those cravings used to hit in the middle of my work day.

I've had to take days off from working out throughout these two months for various reasons (life). Where I used to freak out and beat myself up over it I've started giving myself a break. Having some long-term goals helps keep my perspective. If I miss leg day one week that's ok; I can start again the next week. I try to be flexible. I'm a mother, a wife, a friend, an employee and so many other things. Sometimes, no matter how hard I try, I won't be able to fit everything I need to do into one day. If I focus on the negative I end up giving up entirely and loose all my progress. That's just not acceptable anymore.

I've had to make some attitude changes in order to get to the point that I am now. I don't even like focusing on my weight anymore. I rarely check the scale because it doesn't matter to me. I'm not going to go to the gym, kick ass in my workout, come home and check my weight and be sad because I'm not where I want to be. I refuse to let that negativity back in. Instead, I focus on bench pressing the 45 lb. barbell and when I'll be able to add another 20 lbs. and how good it will feel to know I can do that. And on, and on, and on, and on...

Working out is my husband's passion. Being able to participate in his passion with him just about every day is a wonderful thing. Obviously, there are known advantages to working out (ie. stress relief, feeling happy, energy, ect.). I can attest to all of them. Beyond that though, I enjoy pushing myself to do more and watching myself actually do it. I'm amazed at how much my body can do when I put my mind to it. To me it's a 90% mental and 10% physical process. I feel like I can conquer anything because of what I do in the gym. With some things you can't physically see the changes being made. Working out is a different story. It's all being played out in front of you and you're the star! It's fun, gives me confidence, makes me feel productive, and gives me the opportunity to meet like-minded people. It's something I don't want to live without.