Intrinsic Motivation

Motivation is one of those things can be an abyss with all types of different ways to approach the subject.  When it comes to a healthy lifestyle there can be many factors motivating you such as family, friends, health concerns, looking good naked (I had to throw that one in), etc.  The list goes on and on.  Each person has their own frame of mind when motivating themselves.  Some are better than others at being consistent.  However, I think that intrinsic motivation is the most powerful form of achieving your goals.  That's what I want to talk about today - using intrinsic motivation to achieve your goals.  This is the essence of maintaining consistency. 

Bucket List: How You Feel/How You Look/How Strong You Are

I will be the first to admit that I am not that strong.  Really, I am not (at least not as I am writing this post today), and it is embarrassing sometimes when you have guys (and some gals) next to me at the gym throwing around a lot of weight.  Many of these people weigh the same or less than me but somehow they just seem to have more inherent strength! They have approx the same build as me but for all intensive purposes are much stronger.  So that leads me to a topic that I have thought about for some time now.  How you feel vs. how you look vs. how strong you are.  These three buckets, seem to sum up everything from what we are eating in our diet to how we are progressing at our fitness level.  They also make up many of our goals to achieving optimal health and wellness.  Let's take all three and break them down, then bring them back together to summarize.

The Paleo Prince's story!

Purpose

This site is intended to help provide you sustainable health and wellness.  I think it's only right if I share my journey with you so you can see first hand how the paleo lifestyle changed my life.  These posts stem from my experiences and interpretation of what will bring on success based on the things I have done, read, and learned.  I hope you enjoy and this blog provides value to you!

My Paleo Journey...

I was always able to maintain my weight as a child and through high school.  Probably because I stayed active with soccer and tennis year round.  It also helped that I grew up in a neighborhood with lots of kids and we played outside regularly riding our bikes or shooting hoops.  Soon it was off to college which is often regarded as the quintessential writ of passage for any young adult.  I had grown to a strapping young lad of 5' 8", weighing approx 170 lbs.  Along with college comes the infamous freshman 15.  For me, in my first two years of college this turned out to be the freshman 40!  After leaving college I began working in retail which led to some very bad habits of fast food each day on break and quick instant dinners since I usually didn't take an interest in cooking for myself.  One faithful day I saw a picture of myself and a few friends and I was taken aback.  I felt the instant shock and awe because I was the largest in the picture and realized how far I had let my eating habits go.  At that point, knowing that weight was becoming an issue for the first time in my life, I eventually gravitated into being a young man who 'thought' he was doing all the right things to stay healthy.  This meant limiting red meat intake, exercising 3-4 times per week (cardio + lifting), and eating everything under the sun that had the label whole grain on it.  It goes without saying that I was also counting calories.  Perhaps many of you are, or have practiced some of the same ideals.  Read on to learn more...