some reasons working out does not suck...

Every New Year bazillions of people around the globe make the resolution to get fit and loose some weight.

I myself have made that very resolution many times in the past. In fact, this year is the first in a very long time I have not felt the need to loose any pounds and let me just tell ya it feels pretty damn good.

That being said, I struggled with getting into the whole fitness thing for years...like ten to be exact.

That's a lot.

I have recently been watching and hearing about friends and acquaintances in bloglandia and the real world struggle with this very thing.

I am here to tell you, it is not easy to start a work out routine. Not easy at all.

In fact it's hard as shit.

I spent so much time trying to get into it and just continued to fall off the wagon time and time again. And to be honest, I am not sure why it finally clicked but it eventually did and now I work out like a maniac. Every day. Yes, every single day.

I am not trying to toot my own horn not at all actually trust me I used to work out once a week max I know the struggle, instead I just want to share some reasons why I think working out is amazing in hopes that it helps some of you out there who are struggling to find the Fitness Jesus as my buff pal Kathy likes to call it. Because once you find it, you will fu*king love it. I promise.

1. You can eat a lot. I hate diets. I hate counting calories. Sure I pay attention to calories a little here and there, but for the most part I can eat what I want when I want. Burning lots of calories means you can take in more calories. I actually eat more than ever and have lost weight.

2. You want to eat better. When I started my little quest for healthy living I decided not to change my diet and just start working out everyday. And guess what? Within a week or two my diet just changed. Not because I said it had to, but because I wanted it to. When you are doing good shit for your body via exercise you just want to do good for your body via what you eat. I eat clean because I know how hard I work at the gym and the little angel on my shoulder with a six pack makes me feel disgusted at the thought of eating certain foods. It literally just happened, I never planned it. I bet it will work for you too.

3. You sleep so much better. I am a bit of an insomniac. That has not completely changed, but I sleep a thousand times better now that I am actually tiring myself out.

4. Relaxing feels so damn good. I used to come home everyday after work, walk the dog, then plop my happy ass on the couch in front of the TV, only getting up to make and eat dinner. I always felt lazy, and guilty, but I was in a rut. Now when I come home after work and two hours at the gym I love that couch. It feels good to sit. I promise you will appreciate your couch so much more.

5. You are more comfortable. I blame yoga for this one, so do yoga...for real, just do it. I remember always struggling to get comfy in the car, or when I had to sit on the floor, or in conferences and things. Now that I am as stretchy as gumby I can find a comfy position in just about any situation and it is pretty great. Also, if you are running or lifting weights or anything like that, yoga is an amazing idea, it soothes your achy muscles and makes your butt look nice.

6. You are genuinely hungry. Some nights I come home from the gym or after a long run and am legitimately famished. In the past I never went long enough between feedings to be starving and man oh man does food ever taste good when you are really hungry. (Can you tell I love to eat yet?)

7. Clothes. My god the clothes. It had been years since I enjoyed clothes, and now that I am proud of the work I have done to change my bod, I love clothes again. We all have our ideal weights and looks and I am by no means skinny or even close, but making a drastic change will make anyone feel good, and you will be amazed how quickly things do change, and how quickly you will be feeling better in the things you wear and that my friends is fun.

8. Confidence, becoming stronger and healthier makes you feel infinitely better. I started feeling amazing after week one of working out really diligently. I certainly didn't look any different after just a week but I felt better. I have never felt better, you want to feel like that trust me.

9. Strength. It is friggen cool to see how strong you can become. And how much endurance you have. It builds quickly and it is so awesome. The body is an amazing thing. I started my fitness journey thinking I could do very little, but you will be amazed what you can do when you push your limits. And you will be even more amazed when you see how quickly you improve.

10. Balance, for me the best part about exercise is the balance it gives my life. I will never give up eating chocolate or drinking copious amounts of wine or watching too much TV for that matter, but I also do something active every single day so I don't feel guilty if I have an extra slice of pizza or drink a little too much one night. In the end it all evens out. Even when I travel, I don't kill myself but I go for a run or do some yoga every morning so I don't need to worry about watching my calories or limiting my booze intake on vacation, because really who wants to do that.