Success is dependent on effort. - Sophocles

It doesn't get any simpler than that. Your success is dependent on the effort you put in.

People have asked me over and over again, what are you doing, how are you losing weight? I don't have some unknown secret or a magic pill, I've just decided to put forth the effort. The effort being learning how to eat for health, making time to exercise, and learning why these things are better for me than my previous lifestyle. If you are struggling with your weight or just an unhealthy lifestyle, you have to ask yourself "what am I willing to do differently to get the results I want?" Are you willing to be uncomfortable? There were many, many times, and even sometimes still, where I was uncomfortable doing certain exercises. When I first began this journey back in November 2008, doing jumping jacks were challenging for me. Challenging because I hadn't done any cardiovascular exercise in quite a long time. But also challenging because for someone like me, with a lot of excess body fat, feeling that fat bounce up and down with every jump, was just awful. I was so self conscience of it. I felt as if it would never get better, it would never feel more comfortable. But I knew better. I kept at it, kept putting forth the effort. It didn't happen overnight, but now, jumping jacks don't even phase me. And forcing myself to be uncomfortable, feeling everything bounce, has contributed to a nearly 50 lb. weight loss. So, ask me, was it worth it? Absolutely! The point of this post today is that if you don't put forth the effort consistently, you will not find success. And each and every one of us deserves success.

To be tested is good. The challenged life may be the best therapist. -- Gail Sheehy

Sorry about my recent disappearance from my blog, but I am back. I was hitting some roadblocks and thought that because it's not positive I shouldn't write about it. After giving it some thought, this is the best place to share my challenges. So, here it goes. Every few weeks my weight kind of stands still for a little bit, and even though I know better I still get frustrated and wonder why, and so on. Then my stress eating kicks in, and I went ahead and ate 4 smores, and then I was eating cake icing out of the can! What? I went a little overboard but thankfully Justin was there to rip the can of chocolate icing out of my hand and tell me NO! I can't do that. What I learned is that every few weeks I have to stop and evaluate what I'm doing, why I'm doing it, and is it working for me. If it isn't, I have to spend time thinking about what changes I have to make to get me back on track. So I am, back on track, and I've already lost 5 lbs. since my smore attack. Another thing I think was getting to me was that I didn't have specific goals set. When I started this journey back in November my goal was to lose weight. Not really a specific amount, I just wanted to get healthy. A few weeks ago someone asked me how much more I want to lose, and I answered with "I don't know." I guess the weight is becoming less important to me as opposed to concentrating on fat loss and muscle building. So, I asked my trainer (Jenn Nash, aka Fitness Jenn www.fitnessjenn.com, for those of you that didn't know) to help me set some goals, and here is what she came up with:

Performance Goals:
1) Plank Holds - 3 minutes
2) 30 push ups - military style
3) 9 minute mile

Body Goals:
1) Down 10lbs by July 18th (6 weeks from Saturday, June 6th)
2) Down 8 more total inches by July 18th

So here I go again, reset & refocused. Thanks for your help Jenn.