My weight loss struggle

Today I want to share my weight loss story with you. This is a story that has no ending because my journey to a healthier version of has not ended, and it never will. I chose to change my lifestyle instead of going on a short-term diet.

I have always been struggling with my body image. My weight would always fluctuate depending on how serious I was about what I ate and how often I exercised.

I hit my heaviest point after giving birth to my daughter (our second child). That pregnancy was hard both physically and mentally (more on that in another blog) and left me with over 20 pounds of extra weight. I tried to lose it for 2 years without any luck.

Mindset change

So what finally changed? What has helped me lose that weight?

I finally defined my WHY and it completely changed my mindset.

 

I started asking myself: why am I trying to lose weight? In the past my answers were always something like I want to look good, I want to feel better, I want to start feeling comfortable in my own skin.

And while all those are still my valid motivators to lose weight, they never were enough for me to put those chocolates away for longer than a few days (if you did not know I love, love, love chocolate).

Finding my WHY

A realization came a few months after my dad passed away. He died in his sleep. He was 58. Reason? Heart disease. He had heart problems for a long time, and high cholesterol and blocked arteries were his constant struggles. He had a 5-bypass surgery when he was 40 years old!

After his passing I realized that I am genetically pre-disposed to heart disease, which was later confirmed by my doctor. I finally got my blood work done and while my results were within normal limits, my cholesterol levels were getting very close to the upper limit of what is considered optimal.

At that moment I finally had an honest heart-to-heart with myself and came to realization that if I want to be here when my kids are having their kids I need to take care of my health.

Because I know what it is like not to have a mom by your side when you graduate from college, get married, and have your kids. I know how painful it is to not have that emotional support when life gets hard.

My mom died in a car accident when I was 17.

So I made a promise to myself that I will do everything I can to be on this Earth for my kids as long as possible. Obviously I cannot control everything, but I sure can control how I take care of my body.

And that is my WHY.

How finding my WHY changed everything

That made all the difference for me.

I started exercising 6 days a week and eating a clean diet. I have been using Beach Body programs on and off for a couple of years and I always like the workouts but I never stayed committed longer than a few weeks.

But once my WHY became clear, I started their 80 Day Obsession workout program and here I am 8 months later and still going strong. And what’s more important – I’m loving it!

Working out and eating healthy has become part of my life. And I lost all the baby weight and then some. My body is NOT perfect but it is so much healthier!

Finding my WHY for other life challenges

I learned that WHY must be the foundation of all my important life decisions. I found that a deep understanding of the reason why I want to make a specific choice in the first place is the most effective way to make sure that I am staying on track and following through with my decision.