Your 50 Reasons for Fitness – Stephanie from Athlete at Heart

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This post is part of our series where we feature YOU, the Fit Marriage community, and your reasons for getting fit. If you missed Tony’s 50 Reasons post, please check it out. Then send us your 50 Reasons, along with a brief introduction and your plan to achieve your fitness goals (photo optional), and we’ll feature you here on the site. Plus, we’ll give you a FREE copy of the Stripped Down e-book just for participating!

Just email your write-up to feedback[at]fitmarriage[dot]com and be sure to sign up to our insider’s list to hear first about upcoming special promotions and get other great exclusive content.

Here is Stephanie’s story and her 50 Reasons to get fit in her own words:

Hello Fit Marriage readers!

My name is Stephanie. I’m a late-20s professional living in the Midwest and the creator of Athlete at Heart where I write about training, weight loss, and more.

Athletics has always been one of my passions. It started in childhood with 13 years of competitive swimming and a little volleyball and basketball. Now I get my kicks doing sprint triathlons, RAGBRAI (an annual week-long bike ride across Iowa), and training for my first half marathon.

My love of food (okay, cake) means that I still struggle with my weight despite being pretty active. That’s an area I’m focusing on now. Luckily my love for dogs and trivia don’t have the same effects!

Thanks so much to Dustin and everyone at Fit Marriage for letting me share my reasons with all of you! Now without further ado, here they are:

My 50 Reasons for Losing Weight and Staying Active

1) To reduce my risk for scary diseases that run in my family (heart disease, cancer, kidney failure)

2) To inspire others to be active and healthy!

3) To finish my first half marathon this year, running the whole time!

4) To feel better about myself

5) To give myself more confidence to put myself out there in the dating world

6) To show my parents that they can do it too… I want so badly for them to be healthy and around for many more years.

7) To complete an Olympic distance triathlon

8 ) To someday do the Escape from Alcatraz swim (eek!)

9) To decrease strain on my already weak knees and ankles

10) To be able to dress more fashionably

11) To not get so frustrated when clothes shopping

12) To wear a 2-piece swimsuit in public

13) To be comfortable and proud at my 10-year reunion

14) To be happier

15) To not get sick so often

16) To be able to sleep better

17) To reduce stress

18) To be up to any challenge that comes my way

19) To wear knee high boots

20) To be stronger

21) To feel worthy

22) To treat my body as a temple, as God intended.

23) To stop overeating

24) To stop emotional eating

25) To be able to move my furniture without help

26) To get definition back in my shoulders and back like I had when I was a swimmer

27) To like the way I look in pictures

28) To strengthen my resolve

29) To learn to stick with things for the long haul

30) To end the sweet tooth, or at least tone it down =)

31) To have more energy to put towards other projects

32) To increase flexibility

33) To calm my mind

34) To try new things (pilates, etc)

35) To ride a horse through the surf

36) To be healthy enough to have kids in the future

37) To be able to play with those kids

38) To be able to play with nieces and nephews

39) To be able to care for my parents should it ever be necessary

40) To wear out my 3-year old German Shepherd before he wears me out!

41) To be able to take care of the 3-5 acres of land I hope to own in the future

42) To put all that running/biking/triathlon gear I’ve bought to good use

43) To run a 5k in under 30 minutes

44) To be able to run around the Disney World theme parks all day without aching

45) To wear my prom dress again to a formal event… it’s still a classic!

46) To be a good example for everyone I meet

47) To make sure first impressions or unconscious bias don’t prevent me from getting what I want in my career

48) Because I need to

49) To live long and prosper 🙂

50) To prove to myself I can do it once and for all

There you go, my reasons! So how will I make it happen?

I put a plan into action a few months back, and I’ll keep working it until I’m there. I’m tracking my calories and weight using an app called Lose It for the iPhone. The food database is extensive and it only takes me about 15 minutes a day to enter everything.

I’ve also signed up for two half marathons (eek!). I’m running at least three times each week and increasing my mileage. So far I’ve lost 24 lbs and I’m running 7 miles. That’s a good start!

If any of Stephanie’s 50 Reasons resonate with you, please share your thoughts in the comments below! I know I can very much relate to many of these awesome reasons!