Motivation, according to Merriam-Webster, is defined as “the act or process of giving someone a reason for doing something, a force or influence that causes someone to do something, the condition of being eager to act or work”. Most of us have goals in life and that achievement or reward is what motivates us to act, to want to succeed. Motivation can come as a result of so many different influences, these catalysts to action are often germane to the task or goal at hand, exclusive to the individual attempting their accomplishment. Some impetus can be universal, to others they can be very personal, both of which are apt considering an instance in which I was motivated to make a necessary change in my own life. I used to be fat. Plain and simple. I weighed upwards of 180 pounds and I did not like the way I looked. I did not like the way my body made me feel. I felt sluggish all of the time and I needed to lose the weight. This is, of course, not easy to do. In fact, it is incredibly difficult for anyone who lacks the proper motivation. In my case, I took previous example as my own personal inspiration for reaching my goal. I had heard a few stories of successful Hollywood actors who had undergone significant weight loss in relatively short periods of time for film roles. These were busy working professionals with hectic schedules who had to lose the extra pounds, surely I could achieve similar results.

Among these success stories was the actor Chris Pratt. He’s been the star of two of the biggest blockbuster films of the past two years, but before he had reached leading man status he was kind of the schlubby guy on the TV show Community. He was a perfect motivator for me, if Mr. Pratt could go from a meaty man to a leading man, then so could I. He got in terrific physical shape for his movie Guardians of the Galaxy, losing sixty pounds in six months. I didn’t need to lose that much but his story was still an excellent motivator for my situation. He went without drinking beer for six months, engaged in workout routines that included P90X , running, swimming, boxing, kickboxing, and a triathlon, limited his calories to 4,000 a day and drank tons of water. Although he could afford to get an expensive personal trainer who undoubtedly helped to motivate him through those rough patches on the days where he probably did not want to put in the hard work necessary to achieve success, I knew I did not have that same luxury. So I used Pratt’s story as my “personal trainer”, referring to his accomplishments on the days where skipping the gym and ordering Domino’s Pizza seemed the easier (and far more enjoyable) option on any given day.

Instead of pizza, I turned to juice. One of the things I also learned as I researched ways to shed those extra pounds was the benefits of owning a juicer. These miracle machines can whip up a delicious, nutritional smoothie in minutes and all you need to do is decide on which ingredients you want to put in there. Fruits, yogurt, soy milk, extra protein, additional nutrients like flax seed or other vitamin rich enhancements, these and so many more items can go into your smoothie. You just drop it all in and hit the button, before you know it, you’ve got a tasty drink that has everything you need to help you lose that extra weight. I found my juicer at http://www.houseofjuicers.org/ where you can read up on the latest reviews of the most popular brands and models. There is even a buying guide and tips on how to choose the juicer that’s best for your particular needs. What’s so great about the juicer is that it’s quick and easy to make smoothies, there’s a minimal amount of clean-up time needed, and my concoctions have begun to replace sweets in my diet. Now when I feel like splurging on cake or cookies, I turn to fruit instead and whip up something that satisfies my sweet tooth.

Fast forward to the present and I now weigh 150 pounds. I lost 30 pounds in a matter of months and I have managed to continue keep it off. Now I have a whole different source of motivation, I no longer look to the stories of others, I simply look to myself. I keep eating right and going to the gym routinely because I am very pleased with the results. I can look at myself in the mirror with pride, I see all of the hard work that I have put in paying off. Sure, there might be a cheat day here or there, but I figure those are just a few extra bonuses for all of the hard work. I used to eat cupcakes and potato chips without any consideration for my body, now they are nothing more than an occasional reward once in a while. But to be perfectly honest, I find myself enjoying them less and less with every day of work I put into my body, toning and sculpting it every day. I can also thank my new juicer for that!