Becoming who I was meant to be...

There are obvious health benefits to being fit. Everyone knows it's beneficial to them to keep their bodies in motion and eat clean. Not everyone does it but we all know it's what's best for us. I know for myself personally I'm in the best shape I've ever been in but this new lifestyle has given me something else that is even more important to me. It's given me a confidence and happiness within myself that I don't think I've ever had. Sure I've always been a happy person, but this is different. I spent a lot of years disliking my body, when I was at my heaviest I felt disgusting and hated seeing pictures of myself. I let myself get to a really low place and I felt like I was trapped there forever. I think it will take me a while to fully get over being overly judgmental of my body, but where I am now compared to where I used to be are MILES apart. The self confidence this fitness journey has given me is the best gift I could have given myself. Life is too short to spend it being sad and unhappy, when you have the power to change it.

Obviously trying on clothes is way more fun now, there is so much I can buy and wear that I never would have in the past. But the best shopping trip since I've lost weight was shopping for my wedding dress. Not to sound like I'm totally full of myself, but even the dresses that I thought were ugly and I didn't like, still looked good on me haha. It made my decision hard because I liked the way a lot of things looked on. The dress I ended up picking is gorgeous. I'm head over heals about it and it has all those little details I wanted. It is also something I probably would have never picked prior to my weight loss. I don't even know if I would have been willing to try on this particular fit/style. The new me, feels amazing in it.
It's still a process, it always will be. The inner me and outer me aren't exactly on the same page yet, but I'm so much happier now. And I have myself to thank for it. I made the change, I put in the work, I have chosen to continue on this new road, to challenge myself with my workouts, to eat clean and to live fit.

You get out what you put in...

To say that you need to START eating right and working out implies that there is a finish. For me there will never be a finish line. Someone at work today was commenting on how they had lost 10lbs but gained it all back. They then commented on how I've been doing so good, how I lost my weight and been keeping it off. I replied, "It's a daily chore. I think about my food, every day. I think about when I'm going to get my workout in, every day." It's not an obsessive thing, but a choice I have to make daily. I was never a size 4 in the past because I never took the time to plan my meals and work my ass off in the gym. It has never just magically come to me, and it never will. This person at work had been on a diet plan that worked for a while, I mean they lost the weight, but then what. Because it was a diet and not a lifestyle change it didn't stick. You then come to that "what now" crossroads.
Knowing how hectic my schedule can be at times I really struggle with hearing people make excuses. They want to lose the weight but they have excuse after excuse as to why they can't go to the gym, they can't eat healthy because they love food too much. Unfortunately for them I'm pretty good at finding solutions haha. And I've found people don't really like that. They want to come off like they care, that they want to try but they don't really because they have excuses. So when you strip all that away and give a way to make it happen, they make some snotty comment and walk away. Haha. It's true, it's happened to me before. For example someone was giving me the "I can't afford a gym membership" excuse. Ok well I can understand that but how about working out at home? "Well I can't buy what I need for that, and I don't know how to do the movements." Really? You gotta try harder then that. Do you know how to squat? Do you know what a push up is? How about burpees? Those ring a bell? No joke folks, where there is a will, there is a way. The food excuses are always the lamest. Because they're not even good excuses, you might as well just cop to it and say that you're lazy. Because that is the only reason to not prep healthy meals for yourself.
Do not put off for tomorrow what you can do today. There is no rule anywhere that says you have to start something new on a Monday. Go home tonight and make a healthy dinner, and bam just like that you've made the first step.
The results I've achieved were not effortless and it will not be effortless to keep them. I have messed up, missed a week of workouts, eaten terribly but I never let that derail me. It's easy to mess up and say, forget it. It's easy to have vacations and family visiting knock you off your normal routine, but that doesn't mean you just let it go altogether. It's back to the grind as soon as the dust settles. The bottom line is you either want it or you don't. If you really want it you'll know it, you won't let anyone or anything stand in your way.