Why am I here?

As a coach, I'm not going to show up at your home or stalk you on Facebook to make sure you're doing what you're supposed to be. I am going to encourage and ask how you are doing, the rest is up to you. You have to be mentally ready to take on life changes to succeed. If your head is not on the same page as your body it's setting up for failure. I don't want to see that. So, I wanted to talk about why I started. Why I stuck with it. Why I still stick with it.

Why I started-  Simple reasons- I was 25 (a week away from 26) and obese. Yes, obese. In fact that was actually classified as extreme obesity. I reccomend everyone check their bmi and see what their classified under and the health risks associated with it. That's usually a big wake up call! http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/BMI/bmicalc.htm

Who likes to be classified as obese?! I didn't. At all. 2nd reason- fertility. It's no secret we planned on having another baby once Savannah turned 2. She is now 4 and we have yet to get pregnant. You can do math on that. Not fun. 3rd reason- I didn't like getting winded walking up our stairs. I didn't like not fitting in any pants I owned. I didn't like avoiding social functions, especially any that involved a bathing suit. I didn't like feeling like my life was restricted because of one simple thing.. My weight. I was a prisoner of my own body, the worst thing about it is I was the one who created the prison. 

Why I stuck with it- Valentines will mark 1 year since I broke down and decided to go to the doctor. Yes, I knew I had a weight problem from my own habits. I also knew there something else wrong bc when I would diet and exercise, I didn't lose weight. People at the size I was could cut out soda and drop 10lbs without even breaking a sweat. I could be on weight watchers for 2 weeks and exercise without losing a single oz. That is when we discovered to root of my weight and fertility probelm... Hypothyroidism cause by Hashimotos disease. Knowing there was something truly wrong going on in my body was a huge slap back to reality. Holy cow, there is something wrong in there I cannot control and here I am doing nothing on my own for my health. I was slowly killing myself with food. It became real. This wasn't about vanity, this wasn't about fitting in a certain size.. It wasn't even about being able bend over without my gut getting in my way. It was about my health!

Why I still stick with it- in the short 5 months I have been on this journey there have been several changes I have seen and felt. 1. I looked better. Not just that I am smaller, my skin looks brighter, my eyes look more open, I smile more, my hair looks fuller and shinier (real word? I don't know but it is now ;) ). 2. My last lab check at the endocrinologist was normal. NORMAL! Yes, that has to do with the fact I am taking my medication. That also means my symptoms have decreased. I am not as tired, I don't feel achey all the time, I have less swelling and a puffy face, my hair and nails aren't as brittle, my joints hurt less. I feel calmer, happier, just healthier. I am no longer obese. I have a healthy body fat percent. I am smaller than I was when I pregnant. (I was 170 when I got pregnant). I don't feel afraid to go out around people anymore. Most importantly, I have shown Savannah what it means to be healthy. Set an example for her I'm proud to see her follow. I couldn't say that before. 

Listing all that out really doesn't do much justice to how it really is. I feel like I have regained myself and my life back. I am proud that I beat the cycle and am ending the trend. I changed my life. I wasn't easy. It was hard. Took sacrifice. Serious changes. Yes, I had to give up stuff. Bye bye restaraunts. Bye bye drive thrus. I've learned to socialize without food being the center of it all. I have also changed the way I look at food. When I pass on the cake I don't see it as depriving myself. I don't crave that stuff anymore. I completely changed my eating and totally cut things out. I know you don't believe me, but if you have the right mind set after cutting things out you do NOT crave them anymore. Simple. You're body craves what you feed it. If you stop feeding it those things, it will stop craving them. It won't be overnight, it will take a few weeks. That's why you need the discipline to stay away from it until it's out of your system. 

It's like a toxic behavior that's hard to break. I would rank it up with the dependency many people get from alcohol, or smoking, or hanging on to a bad relationship, or gossiping.. It's easy to cast judgements on a situation we are not in until we are ourselves in it and can see how very real and very hard it can be to break the cycle. To not only give up one habit but to make a new habit. See, many people depend on food as a way to make them feel better. A comfort really. How many times have you had a bad day at work, feel down, stressed, and think to yourself "man what I day. I just want to get home, put on my comfy clothes and eat some comfort foods". People take that momentary "ahh" and turn into a regular thing, before you know it... It's a new habit. Then trying to break that habit is a lot harder than starting that habit. 

I tell you this because, I have been there. Most people just say that when they really haven't. You all know I have, if you didn't you wouldn't be here in my challenge, reading my blog, asking me questions and looking to me for motivation trying to change your lives. I'm not telling you it will come easy and I'm not telling you you can live your life the same exact way you've been living it and it will work. You can't. Living your life the way you have been is what brought you to wanting changes. You have to step outside of your comfort zone to do it. 

Weight loss and fitness is NOT simple or easy to do. I think everyone is starting to discover that as the first weeks luster wears off. You need to hold onto to that luster. Keep remember WHY did I start this? WHY did I make this investment? And WHY it will be 100% worth it when I stick with it. 90 days comes on a flash. Look back 90 days and think about what you did, doesn't it seem like it was just yesterday?! That's all I am asking from you all, 90 days of 100% commitment. Your life will be totally different in just 90 days if you truly commit yourself to doing this right. 

I did it. Against a life of constant dieting. Constant trying to lose weight. Having a medical condition that actually causes weight gain and makes losing weight that much harder. I have a child with me 24/7. I run 3 (yes count them 3!) jobs/businesses. And you know what?! I STILL did it! I beat all those excuses and reasons and succeeded! 

You can do it too. Take a hard honest look at yourself. Don't make excuses, don't hide from the truth.. Really look at your habits, and change them! You need support that's what I am here for. You need motivation that's what I am here for! I want you to succeed. I don't want you to fail. I have felt the misery of failing, and I have also felt misery of being trapped on a prison for years. Time for changes, time results. Commit, and your body WILL follow!