Constantly struggling!

Even after a large amount of weight lost I still struggle constantly. Every day I have to make choices to stay healthy. HARD CHOICES!  I love my new job however there are always opportunities to be tempted by food that makes me salivate and want to cheat. I don’t deprive myself by any means because what I know about myself is if I don’t allow myself to eat some treats I will crave them and then eat too many. Then I feel terrible about myself and that is just flat out counterproductive. I LOVE SWEETS. That is my biggest struggle. There are always donuts, cake, casseroles and so many other temptations available. I have to have just a little slice of cake or just a taste. I remind myself often how very hard I worked to get to where I am right now. It was a struggle but so worth it. I have changed my lifestyle and I intend to keep it that way. However, it is so difficult but I have a lot of strength and I want to continue to live a happy healthy life.

Get Motivated! Setting Small Goals!

The problem with motivation is that many of us believe it's something that will come to us if we wait long enough...that someday we'll wake up and finally want to exercise. Rather than believe in that fantasy, maybe we'd all be better off by realizing that motivation is something we create, not something we wait for. It is really easy to get motivated and excited about working out when it is a future goal. I almost feel like when I do think that way I have already accomplished something. My problem in the beginning was when it came time to follow through with it my motivation would start to disappear. That's when I have to push myself beyond my comfort zone and make small goals that are easy to accomplish. For example if I plan in the morning when I will exercise during the day. It is so much easier to follow through if I already have a plan in place.

Being prepared and setting myself up for success is really the key in following through with working out. For me I have to get my workout clothes ready the night before. I need to pack my gym bag, put my gym shoes in a place where they are easy to find. I fill up my water bottle the night before so it is all ready for me in the morning. This way I have no excuses!

One thing that really got me motivated was to buy a new outfit to workout in. I only bought a few with the mind-set that they weren’t going to fit me for very long. Having new gym clothes made it more exciting to get to the gym and workout. I made sure I felt comfortable in my new outfits so I was more inclined to wear them often.

My husband and I joined a gym and I started to go slowly. I made a goal to go 3 days a week. I really had to push myself and realize I was doing this for myself. I didn't want to go and made a million excuses but started to create a routine. After about three weeks surprisingly going to the gym became something I looked forward to doing. I really enjoyed working out. Before joining the gym I had very little experience with working out. It was very overwhelming and I had no idea where to start. I knew I wanted to lose weight but I really wasn't sure how to accomplish that. My husband has been a tremendous help in getting me started. He had already been attending the gym 6 days a week and was very motivational and held me accountable. He took me around the gym and let me know what he felt would work well for me to get the results I was looking for. Actually, I really had no idea all of the benefits of combining cardio and weight lifting. The results were amazing and I started to feel better as well. I felt better than I had in a long time. I really could not understand why I had waited so long to make these changes. I actually looked forward to working out. I thought to myself....I may succeed in this and that was a nice feeling.

“If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place.” ~ Unknown Author