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On January 1, 2012 I set out on this blogging adventure
of sorts. I started the blog “as one of
my New Year's resolutions to hold myself accountable.” I
was looking back at my first blog post from 1/1/12 and I weighed 153 pounds. I
had been in the 170’s five months before that.
I was not healthy. 153 is not a lot of weight, but it was more about how
I felt than anything else.
When talking about weight loss people have recently
said to me, “you have a different kind of chemical makeup. You’re just so
driven and I don’t have that.” Yes that is a quote and no, I do not have a
different kind of chemical makeup. We are all made of the same abilities to GO
AFTER what you want this life you have been blessed with to be. It is a matter
of finding your drive and staying focused to achieve those goals.
I have had others say, “It comes so natural to you.”
Ummm no it doesn’t. Where I am at now is years and years of figuring out what
it all comes down to for my body. And I do not
have it all figured out. There is still so much to learn. It is a DAILY
struggle. And I do mean DAILY! I work in an office as I’m sure you may too
where there are sweets around every corner, on every desk, in every office and
many times directly outside of my cubicle. Have I always been able to turn the
other way? No. It does take discipline to get to where you know you deserve to
be with your health. I will say that again because it is an important point. It
does take discipline to get to where you know YOU DESERVE to be with your health.
Yes, I will certainly agree that it has taken much
dedication (with some slips along the way); to lose my baby weight and get to
the weight I am at. Never ever ever ever in my wildest imagination did I think
that getting to the 120’s was possible. I truly think I skipped the 120’s in
Junior High School. Did getting there mean that I had to wake up at 5:00 AM
some mornings to work out or “push play” to do my work out at 9:30 PM some
nights? YES! Did attaining that goal I set out to accomplish this year mean I
would have to bring my own dinners to a friend’s house and skip the
wine/beer/anything not on the Reset menu for 21 days during the Ultimate Reset?
YES. Did getting to this place of health and fitness for me mean that I skip
the cake/ice cream more often than not? YES, BUT I do still enjoy ice cream now
and again and I do not deprive myself. Again, I do not deprive myself because
deprivation will just make me want it even more.
My point is that, yes, I had to “sacrifice” (if you
want to call it that) time to gain strength, to attain better health, to FEEL
better about myself physically, mentally and spiritually. I went through the ebbs
and flows that come with wanting to indulge and at times I did/do, but instead
of waiting for “Monday” to start over (b/c we all know that “Monday” never
comes); I learned how to “start over” at the next meal. Instead of loathing the
fact that I realized that eating “clean” was the best way to nourish my body
and (happens to be) a great way to lose excess weight too, I learned to love the foods I was eating. I now even
Google what some of the foods were doing FOR my body which heightened my
enjoyment while eating them. Try it…Google “health benefits of beets”. Humor
me.... I did it for you Some may think this is extreme to think of food this way and perhaps it is, but hey, it works for me
and if we don’t educate ourselves how can we expect to move forward on this
journey?
So, that brings me to “focus”. There were a few other “words” I was looking at when
choosing my plate, but I chose this for a reason. I’ve always wanted a plate
like this; I don’t know why really, but I felt that this was a good time for me
to take the plunge and get rid of 7805 JK and get “FOCUS”.
Why the word focus?
I have been working through a few self-help/self-motivational/self-improvement,
whatever you want to call them CDs in my car for the past few months and one of
them, Car Smart by Chalene Johnson
really spoke to me. I won’t list all the reasons, but I will say that focus is a huge part of her series. This series changed how I prioritize and how I look at life's tasks. It was and is transforming.
In 2012 I focused on getting my health back under
control. This focus will always be on my list, but in 2013 it will be to
maintain what I have accomplished. My MS symptoms are non-existent. Prayer and
the healing and guiding hand of God have made that possible, but Shakeology, my
workout regimen and the nutrients I feed my body all play a role in it too.
In 2013 I challenge myself and those around me to
FOCUS! Find your focus! Each time I get in my car, which is where most of my
time is spent, I will be reminded of this focus. Could I have gotten a sticky
note and put it on my dashboard, well yes, but this plate has a more profound
effect for me.
·
I will focus on my top priorities in life
which include (to name a few):
o
Being present for my family. Physically and mentally being present for my husband and my son. This
will mean taking some things off of my plate which has already begun to happen,
but this is one of my top priorities, so those things have to go.
o
To be focused on the mission of our church and to be involved so that we
can then focus our family on the love and blessings He provides for us.
- I will focus on what I have, not on what I do not have
- I will focus on the positives and not on the negatives
- I will focus on furthering my education in the Nutrition and Fitness fields to enable me to further myself in my current career.
- I will focus on my Beachbody business. I will continue to shout it from the mountaintops that these programs and Shakeology have transformed my life! In these past 10 months, they truly have. I will focus on continuing to pay it forward and help to decrease the obesity epidemic in my small way through Personal Training and these programs/products.
- I will focus on a way to make sure I am able to reach as many lives as possible to help people realize their potential through health & fitness. I will focus on helping get them to where they want/need to be.
When you have focus,
you have purpose. When you have purpose, you have something worth fighting for;
something worth being dedicated to. Something that when attained does magical
magical things in your life.
So, remember when I said that I started this blog
because I wanted to hold myself accountable? I have, but I would not have been
able to do it without the help from friends and family along the way. I look
forward to 2013. I look forward to all that He has in store for my family and I
along this journey called life. Cheers to you and yours this Holiday season!
Have a very Merry Christmas and HAPPY & HEALTHY NEW YEAR!!
“Always focus
on how far you’ve come rather than how far you have left to go.”
“Let go of the things you can’t change. Focus on the things you can!”
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