i think my job as a figure model for art classes is more of an inspiration for me, althought here have been times when i've been looking at someone's stomach and it reminds me to cut back on the beer and maybe do some more crunches instead.

Wacht am Rhein - The Battle of the Bulge

AAArrrgghhhh!

well i am very very lazy when i comes to exercise i had my daughter and just and still eat like a pig day and night i guess iam just blessed or something but the only exercise i do is run around the house picking up toys and cookie crumbs. no no one model motivates me to shape up i love ho wi look its not perfect toothers but its pleasing to me if it natural leave it alone that  is what i say so i just allo wnature to take its course and for nature to show my altural beauty all fatty corners of  it lol,

My BF inspires me to keep in shape every time he looks at a cute 18 yr old and comments on her looks.

I'm 6'2" and 200lbs.  and think I'm in above average shape.  but to answer EMB's question - No, it's not the models that inspire me to stay in shape I do it to be able to compete in team sports. 

I'll usually let myself go when life gets too hectic then I'm reminded to get back in shape when I'm wheezing and puffing on the court.   

I figure as long as I can still run full court soccer/basketball and jump high enough to at least wrap my fingers around the basketball hoop I'm good enough shape regardless of how my body looks.

Right now I'm trying to loose about 15lbs and bulk up a bit.

Nope, not at all. I can't recall a single photo job I lost because I'm an old fart with a belly.

Alot of my models hit the genetics jackpot and have never worked out in their lives, so usually it just pisses me off.

I don't find many of the "beautiful people" - "beautiful"! I understand that I'm supposed to, and then buy stuff to make me look like them, but instead of just accepting that, I do my best to reach down to the "original being" - just discussed Nietzche in French class today - and ask the instinctive thing that once didn't wince at the tabloids at a supermarket checkout: does IT find someone beautiful?

The answer I get is convoluted; this many years of being fed maybe, oh, two or three reincarnations of "beauty" has warped my judgement on the matter :-P

High fashion models - they inspire me to be thinner and thinner, to give Darwin the finger even when he's giving me the thumbs-up. They inspire me to never be satisfied, even though I know I should be, 'cause all my parts are there and relatively functional. So - I try to find a compromise, where I'm satisfied with my own appearance and health, and hope strongly than when I achieve one, I will have achieved the other :-P Why? So I can stop worrying about looks, and start thinking about my brain.

Meanwhile, I just posted a thingy about the hypocrisy of wanting to be a fashion model, yet disliking fashion standards - under "a model's mind," was it? Summary: 1. vanity 2. insanity

In conclusion, one should first decide which of these beautiful people really are that, and then it should be clear which are worth imitating.

Sonntag

~reveling in hypocrisy!

Check my bio- I'm in the middle of installing a fitness center in my studio. It's 95% for me, 5% for models who want a workout before a shoot and for guests who stay over. I've neglected my body for way too long, but maintained a "reasonable" mass, where I wear extra pounds well. When I get to huffin' and a puffin' from carrying laundry up the stairs, it's time for a change.

I'll probably not ever look like Leo (model on this site), but I won't look like the Michelin Man ever again.

my nieces inspire me cause if i look bloated or fat they tell you! those kids have no problem telling aunt stephie that she looks fat today. not to mention people always tell me maintain being in shape.

Yeah being that Im around some skinny little models lately make me want to stay one of the skinny ones too...so Im currently on a diet and working out to tone and maintain!

Definitely, I recently noticed that when I'm in the gym they play music videos on the screen and depending on which video is playing I notice that I push myself harder....for instance when Beyonce's video is on.. Im going full speed!!!

I am not inspired by what others do with regards to staying in shape.  To me, what others do is not a comparative.  I don't hang around with other models though.  Most of the people I know are of typical shape and size for Americans. - Many of my friends think I am too thin and too much of a health nut.   I stay fit because it is most comfortable for me.  If I feel like I am a few pounds over, I just eat less for a while or fast for a day. I have stayed the same weight since high school.  I stay in shape because I don't feel comfortable with extra weight.  If everyone weighed 400 pounds I would still weigh the same.

In my opinion if you have to rely on someone else to get you fit you will never truly get fit. You have to want it in yourself.