inspiration-related stories
Surprising Sources of Fitness Inspiration
This week we asked, "Who's your fit inspiration?" Here's what these twitterers had to say.

Others chatting about this topic offered up these tweetspirations:



Read any good Tweets? Give us a shout on Twitter and let us know all about it!
Leah Galione Stays Fit with 4 Kids Under 6
That's Fit Club, Fitness, Motivation, Success Stories
That's Fit Club is our feature devoted to you, the reader. We have all learned so much on our paths to becoming more fit, and now it's time to learn from and inspire each other. That's Fit Club members are constantly working to better themselves. Some are perfect; some are not. But all have health on the mind.
Besides showing you off, we want to reward you for all of your hard work! Adidas is giving gorgeous gym bags to each featured member. To join, please send Fitz your answers to these questions, with a photo of yourself. Time for you to be the motivator!
Name: Leah Galione
Age: 35
Occupation: Mommy of 4
How often do you exercise? About five times a week
What type of exercise do you do? Stretching class, water aerobics, running, cycling, walking and strength training
What gets you to work out, even when you're feeling lazy? I get up before the kids to work out, because I really need to do something just for ME before my day starts. It helps me to be more patient knowing that I've started the day doing something for myself.
Cindy Sadler - Opera, Weight Loss and Inspiration
Diet & Weight Loss, Celebs & Entertainment
Cindy Sadler, Austin opera singer, is not on a diet. (She doesn't like the word.) Instead, she's participating in a "fat relocation project." She's managed to relocate 130 pounds of fat from her body, in fact, a process she's writing about on her blog The Next Hundred Pounds.We all love a success story. While the secret to losing weight isn't that hard, the work of it often is. When someone else does it, it helps us to believe that we can too. But Cindy's more than a success story -- she's an inspiration. In her video interview, she shares what it's like to be thinner-Cindy, and why she keeps moving forward, even when it gets hard.
"What is driving me to continue with this is that I really enjoy the lifestyle changes that have come about as a result of my weight loss. And not just my weight loss ... weight loss is only part of it. Really, the emphasis, it should be the changes in my health, not on specifically the changes in my weight. That's icing on the cake."
Yo-Yo Dieting - Oprah's Trainer Gives Us Hope
Diet & Weight Loss, Celebs & Entertainment
It's hard to lose weight ... darn hard. Yet even though the results are so rewarding, people often slip back into their bad habits and put the weight back on. The world's most famous yo-yo dieter, Queen Oprah, is dealing with that weight gain right now. I've been in her shoes -- not the shoes I'd like to be in, the designer shoes that likely cost more than my monthly mortgage payment -- but the ones where she's looking down at the scale, shaking her head in dismay. Oh yeah, I've been there.
But here's the thing: According to Bob Greene, Oprah's trainer, try, try again may be exactly what dieters need to lose weight. Just like smokers often have to try to quit several times before they succeed, researchers suggest that some people may need to take more than one stab at dieting before they lose the weight for good.
Chuck's Legs - Find out Why They Look So Great Under That Kilt
That's Fit Club, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness
That's Fit Club is our feature devoted to you, the reader! We have all learned so much on our paths to becoming more fit, and now it's time to learn from and inspire each other! That's Fit Club members are constantly working to better themselves. Some are perfect; some are not. But all have health on the mind.
Name: Chuck Marshall
Age: 44
Occupation: Programmer
How often do you exercise? Five to six days a week .
What type of exercise do you do? Body weight strength training and cardio. I like to do intervals, elliptical, rowing, and running (when I'm not injured).
Marathon Love
Running a marathon is challenging under any circumstances. Running a marathon while pushing your spouse in a wheelchair is incredible. But doing so for many marathons and on daily runs that now total more than 12,000 miles ... that's just awe-inspiring.In 1987, Lynn Parks was preparing for her wedding day when she was in a horrific car accident. Seven months later she awoke from a coma to see her fiancee, Jamie, by her side. During the years of therapy that followed, Jamie began taking Lynn on his many runs around the neighborhood and on races.
It was said Lynn would never stand or walk -- but seven years after her accident, she walked down the aisle and married Jamie. It was said she would never have children -- but in 2000, Jamie and Lynn welcomed their daughter into the world. Both Jamie and Lynn always dreamed of competing in the Boston Marathon and in 2008, they finally did.
Discovery Health channel is featuring Jamie and Lynn's inspiring story this Sunday. I'm going to be watching ... in fact, I've already got a reminder set on my TV. How about you?
Gwyneth's Tips for A Better Life
Diet & Weight Loss, Celebs & Entertainment
A while back, we told you about Gwyneth Paltrow's new website, called GOOP, on which she provides tips and inspiration on how to live healthfully. You can even sign up to receive Emails from Gwynnie herself. Over at The Daily Mail, one columnist did just that -- here's what the Oscar-winning actress has to say about living your best life.- Do your own cooking, rather than relying on take-out, delivery or fast food. It only takes a few minutes to make something delicious, and Gwyneth has lots of recipes to share.
- Get lots of sleep, at least eight hours a night. Having trouble going to bed that early? A warm cup of chamomile tea will help.
- Eat well by choosing only foods that can be dug from the ground, cut from a tree, hunted or fished. Avoid white flour, sugar, caffeine and dairy.
- Police your thoughts, and make sure you 'redirect' any negative or judgmental thoughts, especially when they're about yourself.
- Walk and do yoga every day.
These are some great tips (there's more here and here), but are they practical for us common folk? What do you think?
What is Jorn's Secret to Beating Back Pain and Dropping Tons of Weight?
That's Fit Club, Diet & Weight Loss, Reviews & Products
That's Fit Club is our feature devoted to you, the reader! We have all learned so much on our paths to becoming more fit, and now it's time to learn from and inspire each other! That's Fit Club members are constantly working to better themselves. Some are perfect; some are not. But all have health on the mind. Besides showing you off, we want to reward you for all of your hard work! Everlast and Everlast Woman are giving gorgeous workout T-shirts to each featured member! To join, please send Fitz your answers to these questions with a photo of yourself. Time for you to be the motivator!
Name: Jorn
Age: 38
Occupation: "Tech Things"
How often do you exercise? Three to five days a week.
What type of exercise do you do? Resistance work; I hope to get back to TaeKwonDo soon.
What gets you to work out, even when you're feeling lazy? 1. Knowing that I have never, ever, ever said to myself, "Gee, that workout sucked. I shouldn't have exercised today." 2. Back fat. Ewww. 3. Most people peg me for being 10-15 years younger than I am. That didn't happen when I was fat a few years ago.
Jenna Vaught - Miss America Plus Elite 2007 Interview, Part Two
Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Nutrition & Supplements
I had the opportunity to speak with Jenna Vaught, Miss America Plus Elite 2007, regarding her inspiring weight loss story. You can read the first half of the interview here. But Jenna's story doesn't start and stop with weight loss. Jenna's views on body image and what makes a woman truly beautiful are inspirational for all of us -- whether we're a size two or a size 22. It seems that you achieved not only better physical health, but better confidence through losing weight. What did the process teach you about yourself?
The process of losing weight and maintaining it has taught me that I have everything I could ever need in myself. When I was so heavy, I wanted so much for others to think I was good enough or worthy. Today, I know that I have all it takes to be a strong, successful, and beautiful woman. Literally, I found the real Jenna. Media, society, and others have no influence on the way I feel about myself externally or internally. Most days, when I am feeling great, it's because I know I am doing great things for myself and my life. There are days that really are hard, I have learned to just let that day happen and move forward. Perfect, I am far from it. Persistent, now that is a word I live by day to day!
Jenna Vaught - Meet the Inspiring Miss America Plus Elite 2007
Diet & Weight Loss, Motivation
Jenna Vaught is not your average beauty queen. She didn't grow up in a life filled with pretty dresses and perfect make-up. Instead, Jenna was an obese child and the accessories she wore were shame and self-loathing. In her young 20's, Jenna had her daughter and soon after reached her highest weight -- 427 pounds. Her mobility was affected as was her health. More importantly, Jenna realized she was caught in a vicious cycle -- her insecurities were the root cause of her weight gain and her weight gain was adding to her insecurities. Jenna went on a mission to lose the weight, rediscover herself, and reach her life goals. Jenna's weight loss is inspiring, but even more inspiring is the insight she now has regarding body image and learning how to love yourself. I had the wonderful opportunity to talk with Jenna so she could share her story with That's Fit readers. Read on for the first half of her interview.To live, a person must feel. Since I can remember, my days were all about pushing down "feelings" with food. I have been clinically obese since the age of four. By fourth grade, I was 150 pounds. Being a teenage and 300 pounds, wow that was tough. A year after having my daughter, I was 427 pounds. That's right, I was 24 years old, and I weighed 427 pounds. Life at that time was about just existing, just barely making it through the day. The point had come where I no longer fit in pants from Lane Bryant, walking was almost impossible without pain, all I could think about was how did I get here? How can I stop killing and abusing myself with food? How can I create a new life for myself?
Motivation - where do you get your drive to exercise?
Motivation is as critical to exercise as a good pair of workout shoes. I have to admit that my willpower for exercise fades from time to time. When it does, it's time to find a new source of motivation. Recently, my son and I came up with a plan so we can help motivate each other. After my son's soccer season ended, he decided he wanted to take up running. Every day, he walks down to the high school track and then runs a mile. While I know a lot of my fellow writers at That's Fit enjoy running, for me it's just a form of slow torture. Instead, I'm opting to exercise with fitness DVDs in my living room. And here's how I'm keeping motivated: My son made punch cards for each of us -- he gets a punch for every mile, and I get a punch for every mile-equivalent. When we've both punched out a complete card, we get to go do something special. (Probably bowling ... my son loves to bowl.) Since we both have to finish our individual cards, we'll have to keep each other on track.
Health has an interesting article about five different women and their sources of motivation for exercise. Motivation can come in many forms -- how you feel after exercising, wanting to look good in that pair of skinny jeans, improving health, etc. What's your source of exercise motivation?
That's Fit Club: Janeen Glenn
That's Fit Club, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Nutrition & Supplements
That's Fit Club is our feature devoted to you, the reader! We have all learned so much on our paths to becoming more fit, and now it's time to learn from and inspire each other! That's Fit Club members are constantly working to better themselves. Some are perfect; some are not. But all have health on the mind. Besides showing you off, we want to reward you for all of your hard work! Everlast and Everlast Woman are giving gorgeous workout T-shirts to each featured member! To join, please send Fitz your answers to these questions with a photo of yourself. Time for you to be the motivator!
Name: Janeen Glenn
Age: 35
Occupation: Retail Management and Mom
How often do you exercise? Five times a week.
What type of exercise do you do? Running and working out with exercise DVDs.
To see how Janeen's fitness level landed her a spot in televsion production read on!
We Love To Gawk At Fit Celebs: Athletes "get Ciara going"
We Love To Gawk At Fit Celebs, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Motivation
Many of us are often inspired by how fit professional athletes are -- I know that I rarely watch a beach volleyball game without wanting to hit the gym hard. Hard-bodied R&B singer Ciara also admires athletes, but for more than their bodies.She told Men's Health, "I take my motivation from athletes -- basketball players in particular." She cites LeBron James as a favorite "because he's my age and full of ambition and drive," and also mentions Michael Jordan's ability to pull through in clutch moments, saying, "That energy motivates me."
As a former track star, Ciara appreciates the effort it takes to achieve success on the field, and compares what she does to what elite athletes do: "[W]hen it comes to my career, there's nothing more exciting than being successful at the highest possible level."
Book gives weight-loss inspiration
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
A little inspiration can go a long way. Duke University researchers put the old adage to test when they gave a book with a weight-management storyline to overweight girls. The girls -- ranging from age nine to 13 -- who read the book were slightly more successful at managing their weight than girls who didn't read the book.The book, Lake Rescue, is part of the Beacon Street Girls series. In the book, a girl is concerned about going on an outdoor school trip. During the trip, however, she builds self-esteem and learns about appropriate levels of physical activity.
Though the weight loss results for those who read the book may have only been slightly better than for those who didn't read it, any small improvement is beneficial in my opinion. Positive inspiration is so important -- especially for young girls who are confronted with unrealistically thin actors, unattainable (air-brushed) perfection on magazine pages, and other images that are potentially damaging to their self-esteem every day.


























