I am 28, 5'6, and live with my boyfriend, Carlos. We live in a town home 10 minutes north of downtown Minneapolis. I am very close to my three sisters and my parents. They are my best friends! I graduated in May of 2009 with my Masters in Organizational Leadership and work for a large company in the college campus recruiting department.
Growing up, I was always overweight. I have always been on diets. In fact, I can remember my mom buying me those richard simmons dancing movies! Ha...In August of 2007, I realized I was an ooompa loompa (proof below). Okay, well I wasn't as short as an ooompa loompa nor was I orange but holy goodness was I fat!
No more excuses...
I had to begin my journey somewhere, right? So I went to one of those weight loss surgery seminars! I sat there, listening to my options. I looked around and that was it. That was the dose of reality I needed!I left the seminar and decided that there was no way I was going to have a surgery that would force me to chew my food until it was liquid before I swallowed it. So in August, I signed up at a local gym and began to work out. I realized that its not about being on a diet. Its not about a quick fix surgery, its not about someone else holding me accountable. This was about me. I did this to myself, I was the only one who could fix it. It took years to get me to the ooompa loompa body, it was going to take just as long to get rid of it. For years, I used every excuse that I'm sure some of you have used.
- "I don't have time to work-out"
- "I can't afford it"
- "Dieting is unrealistic"
- "I tried a diet once, it didn't work"
- "It's just genetics that I'm like this"
- "I'm single and live alone, if I buy all that healthy food, it will just go to waste"
Guess what? These are all excuses. They make you feel better so that way you don't have to do the hard work. They give you a reason not to do something. Its called "rationalizing" (kudo's Carlos, that term came from you!)
Key lesson - if you want something
enough, you will do the work to get it.
enough, you will do the work to get it.
So, here we are. I lost 80lbs in the first year and daily work to stay healthy. I’ve realized this is not a get healthy and go back to my old lifestyle event. For the rest of my life, I will have to continue with the healthy habits and exercise. Accepting that has been so much easier then trying to fight it.
As you read my story and my post’s, remember to leave me comments or send me emails. I cannot do this without you and still need motivation. I also like to hear what tricks you have found, healthy habits you have, and funny stories & struggles you’ve experienced.
