What keeps me going...

 Anchor.. something that keeps/holds you in place. Meet Johnathan, Kennedy & Jack, 3 of my anchors.

 They are the reason I first walked into Weight Watchers. I wanted to make sure I did what I could to be around for them as long as I can. I know life doesn't always play fair and we don't get to choose how long our lives will be, but I knew that there were things I could take control of to keep my life from being shortened. As we enter this holiday season of craziness, think about your anchors. Why are you doing this? It's so important to remind yourself why. I am so thankful I made the choice to change my life. I have forever impacted these three little lives. So when the season gets crazy and your time is given to everyone else, remember the best thing you can do for those you love is to take care of yourself. THEY are more important than food. THEY are more important than lack of self control. THEY are more important than giving in. I have friends that keep reminders on them as their anchors; a wedding ring that once was too tight and now slides around their finger, a picture of their heavier selves.. whatever it is, keep that with you as a reminder of what's more important. Here is a picture of my 3 kids in my old jeans. THEY are so worth the fight to keep going!

Those last four miles..

First, my apologies for not blogging in a while. I must admit, they changed the format of how to blog and I thought the blogging site was down and if I would've taken the time to read through the new instructions, I would've known it wasn't down at all :-O ! Maybe that will be a blog for some other time!

I recently set a pretty big goal for myself to run 125 miles in one month. I had set this gaol before and unfortunately didn't make it. But this time I did! I ran most days and enjoyed most runs. I even took one Saturday and ran my farthest run to date, 13.2 miles! My final day of the month I had just 4 miles left to run to reach my goal. I am not kidding, I felt as if those last four miles were going to last FOREVER. My 13.2 miles seemed to be so much easier than those last four. I checked my running app every min to see how much farther I had to go, it just seemed to go on and on. I would've never given up because I was so close to finishing, but I cannot imagine having to fight every 125 miles like the last four. I started thinking about how this relates to our goals. Most of the time our journey begins with this natural high. We are so excited about the new changes, about the early results, and that keeps us going. I say ride that out! Hold on to those natural highs. Of course we lose that excitement once the new feeling wears off, we tend to keep going because we can look back and see how far we've come. Sometimes we can even see a glimpse of the finish line, and that keeps us going. But for me, I think those last four miles, that last leg of the  race, those last few pounds, those things can be the most challenging. We know we're almost there and we are tired! We are so ready to be done! Have you ever heard a senior in high school say they feel like dropping out? It's because at some point you are just done. You have put in all this hard work and time and you are just ready for the prize. Can I encourage you to hang in there? Those last four miles are just as important as the first 121 miles. When you feel like you've given all you have and you just don't have anymore to give, give just a little more. I remember on that 13.2 mile run, at the 10 mile mark I was so tired! I didn't want to keep running but I thought, well I am farther now than if I quit and start again another day. Think about how far you've come. I am in a maintenance time in my journey and these last few months have been so difficult for me. I have gone through some personal things in my life that have been difficult for me and because of that, it hasn't been the easiest to stay on track. I do believe for me, maintaining is definitely a whole other level of challenges compared to losing. You have to remember the fight that got you there and you have to dig deep to keep fighting to stay there. I feel like sometimes we'll spend some time in that "last four miles" mentality, that's when you keep going just because that's what you're supposed to do. I think I'm writing today's blog for myself. No matter what, we keep going and we keep pushing through and even when we reach our goals, we don't quit.

Never give up...

Have you heard the recent story about Diana Nyad? Oh my goodness, this woman is so inspiring!! At 64 years of age, Nyad was on her 5th attempt to swim this challenging 110 mile swim. She did it! She swam for 53 hours only stopping for food/drink but  never got out of the water. Here's a quote from one of her interviews, ‘‘I have three messages. One is, we should never, ever give up. Two is, you’re never too old to chase your dream. Three is, it looks like a solitary sport, but it is a team,’’ she said on the beach." Her first attempt at this was in 1978. Can you imagine holding on to a dream for that long? I read in one interview that her mother had passed away and she was going through her life and the dream of completing the swim resurfaced once again.. 35 years later and it was still there. I believe if you REALLY want something bad enough and you don't give up on yourself along the way, you'll get there. Does it really matter how long it takes? We aren't in a race with anyone else it's just you alone. There's no one at the finish with a prize. The real prize at the end of the race is finishing. So many times I've heard people say that it's going to take too long and after a few weeks they give up. I think we get it in our minds that the people that accomplish their goals don't struggle with wanting to quit, they don't have those times they literally have to force themselves to keep moving forward. That is not true. If you want something you have to fight through. How do I fight through? You just do :) When the feeling of quitting pops up, you just don't quit. When the excitement is gone and you don't know where the motivation went, you just keep going. I think I've said this before but too many times we base what we do on how we feel. We allow our feelings to determine our sticking to something or just giving up. There are mornings I have to force myself to get out of bed and start the day all over. I have had many moments of tying my shoes and walking out the door when my hearts not been in it but I still put one foot in front of the next and force my feet to hit the pavement running. You see, if we based our decisions on if we were in the mood or if we were excited about it.. then yes, at some point you will give up. You will quit. You'll be making the same goals for the rest of your life but never reaching them. It's an all too sad common story...
I think about the swimmer and how she had to will herself to keep going. She kept her eyes focused on her goal. She wanted to finish. That was her goal. Make that your goal. To finish! You'll meet some roadblocks along the way and you'll have some times where your motivation will carry you and then you'll have some times where just your determination will have to drag you. It doesn't matter how long it takes as long as you get there!! I like the quote that says,

“Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.”

You might as well do something now!

http://www.boston.com/2013/09/02/bgcom-swim/gPMJoRHgxuehPpRaLaLYUN/story.html?rss_id=Most+Popular

There's always a starting line..

When I stand at a starting line there are a lot of emotions attached to that minute before they say "GO!" I feel excited and strong yet anxious and a little afraid I won't finish and I almost always feel like I have to go potty the second before the race starts. It ALWAYS feels good to finish! But the distance between the starting line and finish line can be so long. There's this space between that you have to tell yourself to keep going.. sometimes it's an easy run and sometimes it's challenging. My journey has been like that. I have to remind myself that I'm not racing against anyone else and it's just myself and when I get to the end I'll get there. A few months ago I accomplished a goal to run 100 miles in a month. I felt so proud! The following month I set another goal to run 125 miles in that month and unfortunately I didn't accomplish this goal. When I hit the middle of the month and accepted the fact (or maybe I just gave up) that I wouldn't reach my goal, I stopped running. I am not good at failing. I can beat myself up for a long time. Honestly since then I have ran, but not like I was used too. I made excuses why I "JUST COULDN'T" but they were just excuses. I really believe I hit a patch of feeling disappointed in myself and although I didn't give up entirely, I did allow myself to be stagnant for a while. Why do we do this to ourselves? We beat ourselves up if and when we fail or go backwards. It's as if there's only one starting line. I am finding the truth to be the opposite... there are many starting lines. Each morning can be a fresh start. You can set a goal to stay on track for a whole week and the next Monday you can start a new week... a new starting line. I don't know.. I was thinking maybe if we take the pressure off of ourselves to be perfect for a whole week or a whole month, taking it one day at a time can be more attainable. My pre journey days, I would say, "I'm going to start on Monday" or "I'm going to start Jan 1st" why not start now? Why not let this morning be a starting line and when you go to bed tonight, let that be a finish line and start again tomorrow morning? I have found breaking down my goals into smaller goals helps so much. My manager for Weight Watchers has maintained her weight for over 10 years. She recently told me she still sets weekly goals. There is always a fresh starting line. I decided to stop beating myself up and am going to attack that 125 miles in September. What can you set as a goal for today? For this week? For the month? This is YOUR journey! You get to choose the rules and goals. You get to say where the starting lines and finish lines are. Just because we "mess up" doesn't mean we are failures.. it shows that we are working towards something. I am proud of you for working towards goals. That is the only way you'll move from here to there. Start now and start tomorrow and start again tomorrow afternoon... just keep starting.

The ripple effect

It's really cool that it takes just a small pebble to disrupt a body of water! I do a lot of thinking when I'm running (yes, it's fair to say that since I didn't run much this summer that very little thinking went on ;) ) And the concept of the ripple effect came to mind. It's as simple as this.. there was no way that after my 4 mile, sweaty back, tired legs, heavy breathing self was going to come home and waste my run on a cookie. I am well aware of how many calories I have to burn in order to eat treats. I found this heart breaking chart recently that told me it takes an hour long aerobics to burn off a slice of apple pie, a 2 hr bike ride to burn off 2 slices of meat lovers pizza and a brisk 25 min walk to burn off a muffin. How sad. I know when I do a workout the last thing I want to do waste it on something that will take me 2 minutes to eat. So the ripple effect, when you make a small change it can impact other choices you make during your day. I know for me, just deciding what I'm going to eat for breakfast has a big impact on my day. I love english muffins with peanut butter and jelly on it. It's like dessert for breakfast! I can eat this if I want but it does trigger a sweet tooth throughout my day. If I choose something not as sweet, my day seems to go better. What is a small change you can make that can cause a ripple through your day? Maybe write down what you eat? Go on a walk? Eat a healthier breakfast? It really does work! Of course I always think beyond getting healthy.. any area that you want to see change in your life, start with a small change, a pebble size change. Sometimes we think that we have to change everything all at once, but we don't. Just a small change can set you in motion to make other changes. If you would just set things in motion they will have an effect in other areas of your life. Don't be afraid to drop the pebble. Don't worry about failing. Just think about today and the small change you can make, today! Cheering you on!! Looking forward to hearing about the ripple effects in your life :)

Facing your... cows?

You have no idea how much I love this picture. I met this cow statue on a recent trip to Michigan with my mom and sisters. We walked into a meat shop and I saw this cow standing there in this pose that demanded attention. He definitely got mine! I really wasn't sure how to title this post. You see, I wanted to say "Facing your demons" but it sounds so intense.. RAWR! But that's really what it is. You know those things that seem to call your name when you're doing well. Those things that stop you from staying on track and staying focused. That thing that lures you in the middle of the night that causes you to sneak into the refrigerator when no ones looking. That thing that makes you feel like you can't actually complete what you set out to do. I was thinking about some of my.. cows.. ;) and how facing them was and is the only way to defeat them. I have always wished I was one of "those girls" that when I got sad I could just starve myself. Like I was sooo sad that food just turned my stomach. Not me. I was the total opposite. Food seemed to be my resolve for everything! Sad times happy times bored times.. just anytime! I can remember driving through different drive throughs all alone and buying my favorite foods from the different places and eating the food while I just drove. It's so gross to think about that now. It's actually quite embarassing. I would allow food to comfort me when I felt alone. It would bring that temporary fix but not too long afterwards I would feel terrible about myself and turn right back around and feed that terrible feeling with food. It was an awful cycle! This is why a lifestyle change was the only way I was going to lose weight and keep it off. I needed to make some inside changes in my life. Most of the changes I made were inside changes. Habits had to be broken. Issues had to be dealt with. New habits had to be formed. I had to face the cows that I had allowed to win in my life. My mindset had to change on how I saw myself. Your mind has to be stronger than your body! Your mind has to be stronger than your habits! So what do you do? I think most of us know our habits. We know why we turn to food. There are practical changes you can make like keeping healthy options in your house, going on a walk when you feel that need to eat when you're not hungry kick in, calling a friend.. something to avoid the desire to eat. There might also be issues that you just need to resolve and let go of. Negative relationships in your life, maybe unforgiveness and pain you're holding on to.. whatever it might be. You want a better healthier you, so what do you need to do to get there? Face those "cows" and don't give up until you win! I think sometimes we see the changes on the scale and, yes, those are wonderful feelings!! But to keep the weight off, the habits have to change. My advice, change the habits, face the demons, let go.. whatever you need to do, do it while you're losing weight. Weight doesn't just come in the form of that mushy stuff that covers your body.. it's also that heavy stuff we carry inside of our hearts and minds. Don't quit!! Always cheering you on!!! xoxo

Reflecting..

A few months ago I was doing a photo shoot in Crown Point and I walked past one of the store front windows and caught a glimpse of my reflection. I can remember the countless times in the past seeing my reflection and turning my head because I didn't really like what was looking back at me. That doesn't mean I didn't like who I was it just means I didn't like what I looked like on the outside. Over the past 3 years my outside has changed. That's just the result of changing my mind and my thoughts and adding action to what I've learned. I'm still learning. I have spent the last year in weight maintenance. I always thought the toughest part was losing the weight but now that I'm maintaining, I believe the toughest is in maintaining the weight. You are no longer seeing results on the scale, you are no longer dropping clothing sizes..the excitment of losing the weight is past you and now you have to wrap your mind around not having those rewards anymore. You find your rewards in setting new goals and, in my opinion, seeing how much more you can grow in your will and perserverance. Over the past year I've discovered the will to stay and the perserverance to see it through has to remain just as strong. How you learn to lose your weight is how you will maintain it. I sometimes think that I will always battle the emotional eating issues and the way I push my needs, as far as taking care of myself, to the back burner to make sure everyone else is taken care of first. Battle them, not necessarily give in to them. For those of us that have struggled with weight issues most of our lives and know and understand the internal battle that goes on can understand what I'm about to talk about. We're told losing weight is easy, you should burn more calories than you take in.. they make it sound so easy. But see, if you haven't struggled with weight issues, if you haven't tried to lose weight a 100+ times, haven't read every book about weight loss and if given the choice between a million dollars or to be healthy and thin.. you'd choose thin every time.. if you haven't had these thoughts in your mind, you don't really understand that it is much more than just burning more calories than you consume. It is a battle of the mind. At times it can be so emotionally and mentally exhausting because you're so used to just feeding the issues with food that you have to fight against giving in and giving up. I have learned over the past year that, yes I've gotten stronger, but those tendencies still remain. Not as strong but they are still there. I'll be honest with you, when the percentage of people that regain their weight back is so high, it is very scary! The statistics are so gloomy. One statistic I read said that about 80% gain their weight plus more within 2 years of losing it. How depressing is that?! Now do I think that we should use that as an excuse to gain it back or to not even start losing in the first place? Nah :) My mind thinks about that 20%! You see, it comes down to a mind set change. The biggest battle is won in the mind! You see, the smaller clothes and the good reports we get from the doctor are all just a result of a change of mind. I have said this before, if you push through those barriers in your mind, those thoughts that say you can't do this, you will make it! You will get stronger!!! I am not going to tell you that you will never struggle, but you are teaching yourself how to persevere! Let your will win! I want to cry just writing this blog. This is something I feel so deep about. I know the struggle.. I know the desire to be healthy. I know the desire to feel good about the way you look on the outside. I know. I KNOW. I wish I could make it easy for you but I can't. It isn't an easy road but it sure is one worth traveling. I just want to yell.. "FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!! Fight hard for yourself!!! Don't give in to the mind when it says to quit!!" So to you, if you are on this journey.. FIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you are tired of just living this way.. FIIIIIIIGHT HARD!!!!!!!!!!!!! No more quitting and giving in!

Fight hard!
Mel :)