I have used every excuse that you can think of to not exercise or eat well. "I'm waiting until I can strengthen my back, right now it wouldn't be able to handle a workout." "I am so busy and I don't have time." "My children need me to be happy right now, not grouchy and starving." "I'm going through a hard time and need my comfort food!" "It's too cold (or too hot) to be going outside." "I need to research first." "The holidays are coming, I'll start next month." "Now isn't a convenient time." There are many, many other excuses that I have made for my lack of fitness over the years and they all made sense to me at the time but now that I know more some of them sound flat out idiotic! How many of those have you used?
I had a major scare during my last pregnancy when I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and post-pregnancy hypertension. The GD is gone but I am still on blood pressure meds and borderline diabetic. I knew that my health was in serious trouble if things didn't change. But I still made excuses! Now, I will admit that having newborn twins that I was exclusively pumping for was an okay excuse for not having the time or energy to get involved in a serious fitness plan, but there really was no excuse for how I was eating. I kept telling myself, "You've already lost all the baby weight, you're fine for now!" But I knew that I wasn't.
So something was brewing inside me. I knew that I had to be healthy for my children. They needed a strong mama who could sit on the floor and play with them or run outside with them. They needed a mama who would be around for a long time. They needed a good example NOW before their habits were set in stone. I had been thinking a lot about how I could get down to a healthy weight without compromising who I was. I wanted to continue to enjoy life and not eat boring food and spend a big chunk of my day working out. I didn't know how to do any of it. I passed on an opportunity to do the 21 Day Fix in the spring because I wasn't ready but when my friend started a couple's challenge group for October, I jumped on it! Something inside of me clicked and I was suddenly ready. My husband joined the challenge with me and we ROCKED our first round of the 21 Day Fix. We discovered that healthy food didn't have to be boring and that working out just 30 minutes a day was all that it took. We both lost a pretty significant amount of weight and we discovered that we were so much stronger than we ever thought. We had a blast working out together! Who better to work out with than your best friend?
The whole experience was summed up for me in one morning. I fell and twisted my ankle during a workout when I only had 3 days left to go. My first thought was, "Oh no! I can't work out any more!" AND I MEANT IT! I was devastated. My ankle hurt for a few days then was fine, but I realized that morning that my determination to get things right this time was stronger than all of the excuses I had ever made. I realized that determination isn't just an attitidude, but it is a choice that you have to make every day.
Here are some things that I have learned over the last couple of months:
- WANTING to be healthy and being DETERMINED to be healthy are two different things.
- Eating well doesn't mean you have to eat less. You eat less of the junk and more of the GOOD stuff.
- Food preparation makes eating clean so easy!
- Making a new change isn't about dieting, it's about a lifestyle change.
- The more GOOD stuff you eat, the better you feel. The better you feel, the less you want to fill your body with junk.
- Healthy food can be mighty tasty! Coconut oil makes every vegetable taste so much better.
- Exercising and eating well is fun.
- Saying "no" to temptation gives you strength!
- You can do ALL things through Christ when you trust in Him (this is something that I knew before but had to be reminded of constantly)!
So we are starting our second round of the 21 Day Fix today! We are really excited about all that is happening in our lives and we can't wait to share it with you! I'll be sure to keep you updated on our progress. We are FAR from our goals and we still have a lot to learn but we WILL get there. I'm not here to sell the 21 Day Fix or anything but I do believe in the program so if you are interested, contact me and I can get you in touch with someone who can help you! No more excuses. Just get it done!
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13
