Lucky girl...

How awesome would it be if all it took was finding a four leaf clover and then you'd have luck on your side?! My mother in law can walk into the middle of a field of flowers and weeds and I swear, she can look down at the ground and find a four leaf clover.. over and over. It does seem a little magical to me. March has me thinking about St. Patricks Day and feeling lucky and clovers and how there is magic in all of that. I'm not sure if you've ever thought like me, but if I could've had one wish, I always said I would wish to be thin. I hated hated HATED struggling with being over weight. It was a life long battle of wanting to lose weight, wanting to be healthy, wanting to feel like I could do anything I wanted too... I always wished for those thing. There have been times I've heard people say, "Wow!! You're so lucky this worked out for you!!!" or "Hey!!! Tell me the secret!! What's the magic secret when it comes to losing weight?" Unfortunately it's not as easy as finding a four leaf clover in the middle of a field or finding a genie in a bottle to grant you that one wish.. there is not a secret or no luck to it at all, it's simply hard work! It takes perseverance;

steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement. That means not quitting when it gets tough. Not giving up when your emotions just aren't in it anymore. It's a mind battle more than anything. It takes determination;

the act of coming to a decision or of fixing or settling a purpose. Taking that step and finally deciding THIS IS WHAT I AM DOING! I have discovered that if you want something bad enough, you'll make the decision with your mind and heart and you'll just go after it.. and not stop until you get it! Focus; a point of concentration, directed attention. Keeping in mind your goals. Remembering why you started this journey in the first place. I have found that setting goals and not quitting until I hit that goal has become a habit of mine. I keep my eyes focused on something, whether it's a finish line or a challenge I set for myself and I refuse to quit until I hit that mark. A few other things that I find are invaluable to this journey.. being able to forgive yourself easily. We tend to be harder on ourselves and get down on ourselves when we mess up. I understand that, I still deal with this in other areas of my life. But when it comes to losing weight, you cannot allow yesterdays mess ups keep you down today! You have to forgive yourself and move on. Plan!! Plan ahead as best as you can. If you can plan and prepare, you will be setting yourself up for a win! Keep good food in your refrigerator and pantry and keep the bad foods out. Write down what you eat!! Sometimes we think if we don't write it down than maybe that means I didn't eat it. Wrong. We just lie to ourselves. Find an activity or workout that you enjoy and do it! If you can do it everyday, do it everyday. Stay consistent with it!! Don't eliminate foods from your diet. I have always allowed myself to eat whatever I want. I've just learned to portion it out and to weigh or measure it. I do eliminate certain foods from coming into my home, but that's because I know I'll eat all of it!! Know your own limits. Be real with yourself. I have wonderful people that have been with me throughout this journey, but it solely comes down to it is my responsibility. I can have all the help around me, but only I know if I'm sneaking into the kitchen looking for a snack in the middle of the night! So be real and honest with yourself! I have found that if we want something bad enough, we will do whatever it takes to get it! Know this.. YOU are worth it!! You can do this!!! How bad do you really want it?!!! Bad enough to keep going until you reach your goals? :)

It's an emotional affair....

Do you ever feel this way? That you are having an emotional affair with food? You turn to it when you're down or when things aren't going your way? When the lights go out for everyone else, you find yourself in the kitchen looking for something to make you feel better? It happens to the best of us. I think for me, it's a habit I have carried with me from my childhood through my adulthood years. I believe this is a habit learned but can also be a habit broken. I have definitely broken this habit in my life, but truth be told, it creeps back in every once in a while. I relate it to someone that might turn to alcohol or bad relationships, it's something you do to make you feel better in the moment. And after you do it, you feel terrible. I have found that this can set me off and take me on a downward spiral of poor eating, not exercising.. it just triggers something inside you to eat more. There is definitely a fix to this problem. I can't tell you how to never feel sad or down, I wish I could, but I can tell you that there is a way to set youself up to not turn to food... well at least not all the time. I know life can be ridiculous and overwhelming and just plain old stupid sometimes, so for me to say emotionally eating will NEVER happen.. is hard for me to even promise myself. I have no idea what life might throw at me next year, next month or even tomorrow. But I can do my best to set myself up for a win. First thing, make sure you have some good people that you can count on. I know for me, I have some wonderful people I can go to when I need to talk. I have people I can say, "Hey.. I need to cry, got a minute?" Or if I need to tell someone that I've been sneaking food at night and I need help stopping this, I have people that will help me. They come in the form as friends, family and accountability partners. Food can never be there for you like a person can. Another thing, keep the junk out of your house. If you keep it out of your house it will never be an option. Believe me, I know, you have small kids and it's not fair to them to not have candy, chips... blah blah blah... do we really want our kids eating this junk too? I'm not saying NEVER eat this, but make it a treat. Only buy them in small portions or go out for ice cream or dessert. I know it slowly happens around here, before I know it, my pantry will be filled with junk. You should take the time to spring clean your pantry and refrigerator often. If we clean up our spaces, whether it be at home or work, then this journey is going to be a lot easier because we've eliminated the bad options. So say late one night you find that Halloween candy that you tucked away and forgot about over the months and before you know it you've eaten the entire bag, what do you do next? Some of us would probably feel terrible and figure since we've already messed up, we might as well finish off what we started... until Monday. Do not do this. I have learned that we have the ability to stop and pick ourselves up right then and there. Move on! I cannot tell you how many cookies, cakes, bags of chips, gallons of ice cream.. whatever.. I've thrown in the trash. This blog is not about eating those treats on purpose, this one is about eating those in a moment when you're turning to food for support. I eat junk and have treats, on purpose and there's nothing wrong with that. The issue of eating for support, that's dangerous. I know this is something we can control. We sometimes allow the belief of "We can't control ourselves" to come in, but that's not true. We can. You can! Do not allow food to be in control or allow your mind to believe that you're not strong enough. You are. You just have to believe it!