This picture shows a part of my journey. Not the beginning, and not the end.
I am in this continual process of becoming better, stronger, healthier, smarter, more knowledgeable, etc.
I am determined to never let this progression end.
This picture shows the outward result of the decision to CHANGE.
What was I BEFORE?
I was obese, but that didn't define me.
More importantly, I was a wife and a mother.
I was happy and content with my life. I thought I was healthy, because my blood pressure and cholesterol numbers were "normal". I was teaching my young children how to make healthy food choices, yet I wasn't being an example. I didn't know how to set and reach goals, and I had never heard of "Personal Development". I was a follower that blended into the crowd. I would look in the mirror and wonder where my GLOW went. Where was my spark for life? I was just going through the motions and not doing anything extraordinary.
I KNEW I needed to make a change, but I was afraid of committing.
WHY?
Not because I was afraid, of failure, but because I was afraid of the work that it was going to take. I knew that if I was going to lose weight, I was going to do it the right way. By eating healthy and exercise. Which we all know takes time and effort. I was not a sucker for the fad diets, pills, wraps, or any other "quick fix" claims out there. I was also a cheap-o, and didn't want to cost my family extra money for something that I wasn't sure would work. I had looked into a personal trainer and was blown away by the expense of that. I was a stay-at-home mom with no extra source of income and wasn't about to spend that much for a personal trainer that would take me out of my home to workout, cost extra money for gas and daycare during workouts, take up extra time than necessary. I hoped there was another way, but I had no idea where to begin. Which is the reason I put it off for so long. When I found out about how I could workout at home and follow a training schedule that was laid out for me, with no question about whether or not it would work. I had no doubt that if I did my best and worked a little each day, I could essentially reach small goals. I discovered that it wasn't so difficult. Easy to do, but also easy not to do.
The thing that makes all the difference:
DECIDE what it is you want and how bad you want it?
What am I NOW?
I am a wife and a mother.
I am happy, but KNOW that being content with my life is a way of saying I don't deserve better than what I currently have. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for all the blessings in my life. I am happy with the progress I have made, but if I were to become content and comfortable with my life as it is at this moment, that would cause me to cease in working toward becoming better. I am learning how to set goals and accomplish more!
I am a leader that has others looking up to me for guidance and inspiration. It is surreal at times when I receive messages about how I inspire others. I didn't intend on that when I started, but found that helping and inspiring others actually DRIVES me to become better because I don't want to let them down.
Does it mean I am perfect? No. Does it mean I am done? Surely not.
I know what it feels like to lose over 70 pounds. I also know what it feels like to convince myself that 70 pounds is "good enough" and then fall back into old habits. It's a good thing that I know how to pick myself back up and get back on track. Instead of giving up completely, I get up, brush off the dust, and make a u-turn back in the right direction. And my faithful friends and followers are so uplifting and supportive.
So here I am trying to get back on track after a summer of indulging in old habits.
70 pounds lost, but some gained back and ground to make up! But does that mean I am doomed to fail, and that I should just give up? No. I restarted my journey in October 2013 and committed to 21 days of clean eating and finished strong!
This helped me to gain back some traction that I felt I had lost. Now that I am back on track, my body is once again craving healthy foods and exercise. It's a great feeling to know that I can progress no matter what happened in the past.
REMEMBER:
It's not about where you have been, but more about where you are GOING!!!
And guess what?
YOU HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL OF THAT!
