What Motivates You?

Hello, everyone! In my last post I told you I would be more accountable to you and I am going to follow through. The other day my cousin sent me a text to ask how I got started running... and I asked which time? In all reality, it's hard to stay motivated and we all have periods in which we fall short of what we know we need to do. But that's okay. Just because I might have eaten a little to much during one meal doesn't mean that the whole day's efforts are moot and I can go binge. Just as we can apply Christ's Atonement to our lives by repenting and starting with a clean slate every day, multiple times a day, we can use the same outlook for working on our goals, whatever they may be. And I am going to focus on weight loss... of course.
Starting is, and always will be, the hardest part of our journey. Sometimes we have to keep starting over, and over, and over again and it can be frustrating. But each moment is a chance to change. We just have to find the things in our lives that motivate us to change now. Here are some of those things for me:

• Wanting to be healthy and live longer.
• As you all know, I've been suffering with health issues, and a lot of them will be lessened (and might even go away!) if I lose weight. Plus, those added years of life that my current weight is taking away is also some motivation, which leads me to my next point.
• Wanting to be there for my husband, kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, etc., etc.
• If I keep up the way I had been living, I won't have the strength or energy I'll need to take care of my future family. Or the added years I referred to earlier. How sad would it be if I didn't get to see my grandchildren because I didn't take the time to take care of myself? I feel like if I don't take care of myself I'm essentially telling my children "I love you, but I like living an unhealthy lifestyle more." What is your treasure?
• Wanting to feel good about myself.
• Yes, wanting to feel good and healthy is great, but sometimes it's just not enough. Sometimes my motivation to change lies in the moments when an outfit I think is really cute won't fit or when I see the fat rolls that become more visible when I sit down. These are the moments that my thoughts turn destructive and it's hard to see how beautiful I truly am, and I don't want to degrade myself like that.
• Knowing that my body is a gift from my Heavenly Father that he has entrusted me to take care of.
• This is probably the biggest one for me. God loves us so much that he gave us these wonderful masterpieces to dwell in while we are on the earth. And though our masterpieces may not always function as well as they should, they continue to work for us no matter how badly we treat them. Show God that you love Him and don't treat His gift to you like garbage. You're going to need it for the eternities!
• Being able to see my progress.
• This is something that you can't see at day one, or maybe even for a few days, but there are many ways to track your progress. And sometimes seeing how far you've come goes a long way. In earlier posts I've shown progress pictures and apps that have helped me along the way, as well as measurements and other various things. But there is something I am really excited about that I found yesterday on Excel. Yes, Excel. They have multiple templates for various things and weight logs are some of them. There are a few options, and it is awesome. Here is one of the ones I'm using (the data isn't mine, it's from the template):

So, those are some of the things that motivate me. Find things that motivate you and please share them in the comment section below! I'm always up for more ideas! Have a great day and keep working hard to make your dreams a reality!

My Progress:

Pounds lost: 4.2

The Struggle Is Real

Hey, Everyone! I know, I know... it's been quite a while since my last post. I'm just going to come out right now and tell you all that this post is going to be really honest and surrounding something that one of my mission companions and I jokingly tell each other all the time: "The struggle is real".
In my last couple of posts I've been trying to figure out my health issues and my conflicting diets as well as trying to be more motivated in my fitness without hurting myself. Meanwhile, my body is fighting against my efforts to lose weight. The most frustrating part of it all is that I have gained almost all of my weight back and the journey begins again.
However, with all these discouraging things I've continued to learn about my body and have realized that not all is lost even though I have gained the weight back. You may be asking "What isn't lost?" Well, let me tell you.

• Freedom from the weight of thinking there is no way out.
• Before I originally lost the weight, I just let myself suffer and think that I was just going to be overweight my whole life. I wallowed in self-pity and hated myself for not being a healthy weight like all the people I saw around me. NO MORE.

• A new love for exercise.
• I really can't believe I am actually saying this, but I actually like to exercise now. It's not my favorite thing in the world, granted, but I still enjoy it a lot more than I used to. There is nothing like the sense of accomplishment when you get into the shower and wash all of the nasty sweat off. My exercise time is one of the only times I really feel like I can completely tune out the rest of the world and work on bettering myself. I may be sore later, but I feel great. And, even with the weight gain, I can still do hard things that I couldn't before! I even signed up and finished another 5K and it was a BLAST!!!

• A better knowledge of how to live a healthier lifestyle.
• Before I tried to lose my weight originally, I didn't really have a clue of how I could possibly lose weight. Maybe part of the problem was that I wasn't able to see a way out. I'm still not perfect, but the knowledge that I've gained will never go away and I will always have it in my arsenal in this battle. I know it has worked before, and I know I can make it work again. Nothing is going to stop me now.
• And finally, a better relationship with God and my Savior.
• Throughout my journey to be able to lose the weight and go on a mission in the first place I really learned what it was like to truly rely on God and trust in Him. I learned that all things are possible with Him, even when we cannot always see how it will work. And then I went on my mission and learned EVEN MORE. It's hard to believe how much He truly is in the tiniest details of our lives. To me, this is the greatest gain.

So, even though things may seem to be back to square one and it can be SUPER frustrating (trust me, I totally understand), not all is lost. For those of you who are struggling and have had some setbacks, remember that although the "struggle is real" and can be hard, it will always be worth it no matter how many times we have to do things over again. Keep trying and don't give up on yourself. Good things come to those who are willing to work for it. Keep your chin up and work to make your dreams come true.

In the meantime, let's remember to help each other out and cheer each other on as we face our individual struggles. I'm going to start by being more accountable and trying to learn more to share. What are you going to do?