"Nobody said this was easy" (www.askcoachlisa.com)

How true is that?!?!?! This is a quote from Tony Horton in his wonderful workout "Plyo X" You have to keep it going through to at least 3/4s of the workout to hear the comment that Tony makes because it kicks his butt too!

It's true. Nobody DID say that this was easy. Any of it. All of it. It's not. And remember what they say about things that are worth it? It's not going to be easy if it's worth it. Again, all of it, any of it.

Changing your lifestyle isn't easy. Cleaning up the eating, coming to the point where working out is a regular part of your schedule and an expectation of those around you that you will want to build that time into your day. It's not easy. You know what? It's not easy for any of us.

It's not easy to find motivation each and every single day to get up and 'push play' (another quote from TH) and eat clean each and every day. But you know what you do? You remind yourself of the reasons you started in the first place; you remind yourself of how you feel after a workout; you remind yourself of how much energy you gain when you stay on top of the eating and moving around.

I have been working out regularly since I graduated college in 2004. Let me tell you this: There are days that I'd MUCH rather stay curled up on the couch than get up, change into workout clothes, put a dvd in the dvd player (or get on the treadmill to unintentionally piss off the downstairs neighbors), and press play. And what do I do then? There are some days that a break is what I really need--mentally and physically--so I do take an extra day off. There are other days where I remind myself of why I got started--to be healthier, to feel better, and yea sure to even look better. I remind myself of just how much better off I am when I stay on the bandwagon of a healthy lifestyle.

Let me take that and run with it for a second. In November, I had eye surgery. It was nothing major, but still something I needed to heal from. It was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving (which, as a side note, is not something I recommend--surgery right before a holiday....I thought it would be a good idea.....). I took that day and the next day off from working out so I could 1) mentally recover 2) not fall over and kill myself while I was trying to jump all around my apartment. By Thanksgiving day, I was back in the saddle of working out. Willingly. I was thrilled to not lose that much time (I had no idea, going into it, just how much I'd be thrown off but was absolutely going to be listening to my body). By the second week of December, I was working out at my regular intensity and sticking to my regular daily diet. I went for my first post-op on Dec 10 and the doctor told me that the healing was well ahead of schedule. The only lingering problem was a stigmatism that still could go away (because my eye was slightly enlarged, so things were still blurry). He said that my eye looked great where the stitches were and there was still one remaining but everything looked 'more beautiful than expected 15 days post-op'. I asked him how that was....how is it that 'miraculously' my eye just bounced back and healed better than he'd seen ever. I interjected before he could answer that I eat a clean, balanced diet and exercise 6 days a week (for a total of about 9-10 hours a week). His response "that's exactly why everything's ahead of schedule"

I told you all that to prove to you just how thorough the benefits of a healthy lifestyle are. I don't walk around with daily pain from carrying around 100 extra pounds AND I recover more quickly not just from colds (which is a rare event for me anymore) but from surgery too!! And you know what?!?!?! You can have that too!!!!! It doesn't have to just remain mine and all my fitness and beachbody buddies!!! You can join that club too!! Let me tell you....it's a 'club' that is so worth being part of. Check it out.....askcoachlisa.com :)