Beach Body Here I Come!

Since November of 2008 I made the choice to start changing my lifestyle in hopes of losing weight for good. It’s been a LONG journey of 3 steps forward and 4 steps back since my teen years, but it has been so sweet to taste success!!! I’ve lost 30.28 pounds total (the most weight I’ve ever lost at one time), but that is only one benefit. I feel better about myself, I’m healthier and get this--I have actually been able to inspire others to start healthier habits……what a hoot!!! Earlier this month I ran (and I do use that term loosely) a 10k, that pushed me to my limit, but was SUCH a huge accomplishment. It’s something I continually look back to and remind myself of what my body is capable of. I’ve learned that I have to speak truth to myself, and have faith that I CAN do things that I’ve never done before. My past failure is not a barometer of future success. It’s funny how important it is to simply believe that you can do something. That alone sometimes can make the difference between accomplishing a goal, and quitting.

Recently I decided to intensify my workout routine by purchasing an in-home 90 day boot camp. A friend recommended the program to me after she and her husband did it (he lost 50lbs in 3 months and has kept it off for a year!!!). I couldn’t wait to get my package in the mail. When it finally arrived, I completely panicked. I buried my fear in food and refused to look at the materials. “Who am I to think that I can consistently workout 6 days a week for 3 months?” What possessed me to think I could get washboard abs? Do I even want a six-pack? And so the overwhelming thoughts swarmed through my mind like the buzzards they were; eager at the chance to pick off my defeated carcass at the start line. Looking back to my journal entries in late November I found the courage to begin. After a long talk with a good friend, I’d written that I would start telling myself that this round of eating right and exercising was going to be it. I would succeed, and I would tell myself that I would succeed whether I believed it or not. I had no idea then how pivotal that would be. So here I am again, almost 5 months later with the same dilemma before me. I can hope that I’ll make it, although fearing failure at every turn; or I can tell myself that I WILL be successful in completing the program, even if I don’t quite believe it myself. I think that’s something called faith-believing in something that I can’t YET see.

And speaking of faith, I’m so grateful to all the people who’ve had faith in me when I didn’t have faith in myself. While I may have seen results recently, everyone who’s ever encouraged me in my weight loss journey is a part of my success today.

SO here’s to the next 90 days, I know I won’t be perfect, but I believe that I will complete the program and see amazing results! If I wasn’t such a chicken I’d post my before pictures with this blog, but before pictures are much less depressing when you have an after picture right next to it :)