My motto

Over the past few months I've been trying to reflect on my journey towards being healthier and happier and really try and appreciate how far I've come (this is all part of my plan of letting go and being as happy as I can with what I have now and accepting myself the way I am). I've started really thinking about how far I've come and remembering where I was about a year ago (just about to start bootcamp, 30 pounds heavier, eating way too much junk...). I've realized a couple things, but there's been one big thing that has stuck out at me, so I've made it my motto:

'It's not hard, it's just hard work!' Maybe it's dorky, and maybe you don't agree (and I'd love to hear why...) but that's how I feel. When I think back to where I was a year ago I'm not filled with memories of how hard it was to lose weight and how much I really struggled. It's not like a mathematical equation that just won't add up; it's not hard or difficult in the sense that it is unsolvable. That's the easy part, actually. Losing weight and becoming healthier is a pretty easy thing: stop eating so much junk, pay attention to the fuel you're feeding your body (because at the end of the day, food is fuel), and get off your ass and move. That isn't difficult. This isn't to say I didn't work my ass off in the last year. I sure did. It was hard work, I earned every pound I lost in blood, sweat and tears (usually it was sweat!) So, that's how my motto came to be - it's not hard, but it's hard work.

Sometimes I get really frustrated with people who say they just can't lose weight and they can't find the motivation. In many ways I struggled with the same things, so it does kind of feel like the rock calling the kettle black, but I'm sorry. If your excuse is that you're not motivated or you can't lose weight you just really don't want it badly enough, and you really aren't working hard enough. Like my motto says - it's not hard, it's just hard work. You have to put the work in and really make a commitment to get the results - and ANYONE can do this. It doesn't have to be some big, giant task that seems insurmountable, it's all about small changes like cutting out soda and chips, not snacking after dinner and promising yourself to go to the gym or become active at least 2-3 times a week.

I'm still working hard at the gym and I'm still watching what I eat, and I still have things I want to accomplish with my fitness (I swear, I will turn that 1-pack (it's there I promise!!!) into a 6-pack), but I'm happy where I am - a lot happier than I was a few months ago when I had body-image tunnel vision. It wasn't hard, but it was a lot of hard work get where I am. And my journey is nowhere near complete!