Day 25

How are you doing with your health and fitness goals? Are you noticing change? Are you developing habits? I hope you are!


I've been learning a lot over the past 25 days!

One of the biggest things I've been learning is that it's all about habits. Right habits are what bring the results - and what help you have confidence even if the results aren't coming at the pace or in the measurement you wanted them.

I haven't lost weight in about a week. I seem to be stuck at this number right now that's so much higher than where I want to be. But I've been keeping up my habits! I workout for 20 minutes or more every morning. I'm keeping up the habit that I know is right, even though I don't see the results I wanted right away, and I'm able to feel pretty great about myself because I know that I'm doing the right thing.

25 days ago I started this with the idea that I was going to find a magic routine that got the magic results I've been looking for since I was 13. I figured I just wasn't committed enough, wasn't "hardcore" enough, and to some extent I was right! But I also had a lot of misconceptions.

For example, I was focused on numbers. Remember when I said I was going to lose 2 to 5 pounds a week? I was incredibly focused on that. To the point that for the past few days I've been really freaked out and depressed because I haven't lost any weight this week.

Fortunately I have some awesome people in my life.

Like my mentors, S and T. They've been teaching me to take time to reflect. Reflection is important, because if you don't take some time to look up at the scoreboard and interpret what it says, you don't know what you need to change to win the game.

And my amazing husband, who is always so very supportive of me. He likes to see the best in me, and he's been working to help me see the best in myself.

So today I took some time to reflect, and a lot of that reflection happened in front of the mirror. I took a long, hard look at myself. I really, brutally assessed myself physically, mentally, emotionally, and you know what I came up with?

I really like how I'm doing!

Sure the scale doesn't say anything has changed. In fact, I've actually had dreams where that dang thing laughs at me! But I've got other things to measure by, and I shouldn't let myself forget that.

And neither should you.

You see, progress is more than the number. And sometimes the number is going to stay right where it is for a while but we're still making progress.

My reflection showed me a couple of things today.

First, I *am* actually losing size! I noticed that my arms are toning up, and my waist and stomach are starting to look thinner. The dresses I've bought recently look better than they did a few weeks ago, and my legs are showing more muscle.

Second, I'm getting stronger. I noticed as I was working out this week that there are some movements that are getting easier. I can drop deeper on my squats and lunges, move faster for longer in my cardio work, and I'm going to need to buy some heavier weights!


Third, I'm feeling so much better about myself. I spent so long thinking "I'll feel good about myself when I'm size 12" or something similar. I thought that my feeling better was dependent on my *looking* better.

Thanks to my mentors, I've been spending a lot of time reading some amazing, powerful, truth-filled books. And one of the things those books have been teaching me is that just about everything that goes on in your head or your heart is your choice. So I've been taking charge recently, and focusing on the good things. I've been deciding to be happy, deciding to enjoy life, deciding to not get offended so often - even in cases where I know the person was probably trying to offend me. It's given me such a new sense of joy and peace in life. Have bad things stopped happening in life? Well, no. Stuff still happens. People still get mad at you, random health issues crop up and cause problems, life is life.

But in the middle of life being life, I'm ok. That's new, and wonderful.

I'm "making right decisions," as S would say. And that's enabled me to start feeling really great about myself. No matter what anyone else says, no matter what things try to block my path, I know that I'm doing the right things and that those things are going to bring me the results I want...even if it's not on the timeline I originally wanted.

My reflection told me some pretty satisfying things today. As another mentor of mine, Papa Sev, would say:

I'm not where I want to be, I'm not where I could be, I'm not where I'm going to be...But thank God I'm not where I used to be either!

I'm making great progress, and it *can* be measured. I bet you are too! And I'm so looking forward to having a beautiful beach body and shamelessly spending time in the sun with you!

We can do it. Just keep those habits up!