Weight loss transformation begins with a choice

Six years ago life was very different.  Sometimes it’s seems like things were simpler back then because I didn’t worry about having to make gym workouts and I didn’t care about what I ate. Dinner usually came from the drive through and nights were filled with pints of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. I was still always on the go but I wasn’t on the go to go run a marathon.

Transformation Tuesday

There are a few things I’ve learned a long the way that I would like to share with you about the weight loss transformation.

  1. Transformation is a choice.  You have to choose to lose weight.  You have to choose to educate yourself on the process.  Most importantly, you have to choose to committ to the process.
  2. To transform, you must put in the work.  That includes making sure you do your workouts, prep your meals and work on yourself.  It’s important to learn why or why you don’t do certain things in times of pain and stress.  It’s important to learn you reward behavior and how often you issue those rewards.  It’s important to learn what makes you happy and why those things make you happy.
  3. Transformation requires you to change.  That sounds pretty simple, right?  You will have to change.  You will have to develop new habits.  You will sometimes need to get a new circle of friends.  There’s no point in trying to fight the change or make the change work in your favor.  It will only cause heartache and confusion.  If you choose to transform you life, you have to take the ride and learn as you are on the road. I spent so much time fighting the changes that it became exhausting and it wore me down.  My relationships changed with others and my relationship changed with myself.  Sometimes it was hard because I didn’t fit in the places I use to fit and it was hard to adapt.

I know this was a little bit heavy for today’s blog but it was just something on my mind that I wanted to share this morning.  If you want to change, you can change.  Weight loss is journey that will open up your life to many more things; you just need to make the choice.

#TourDeAngie: Weight loss and alcohol.

#TourDeAngie: Weight loss and alcohol.

Thursday night I made my trek to state #17, North Carolina, for the Tobacco Road Marathon which is tomorrow. I had a late flight and didn’t get to my hotel until after midnight because I lost an hour. Oh, did I forget to mention that I lost an hour and will lose another tomorrow due to DST? Oh well, at least the race starts later due to the time change. Yesterday I picked up my packet. I’m never available for first day packet pickup so I thought I should go. It was a small expo but it was nice. There…

View Post

Finding yourself is part of the journey

Finding yourself is part of the journey

Happy Monday afternoon everyone.  Things haven’t been great in life and I’ve pulled away from blogging because it’s hard to remain transparent in really trying times.  It may have made the problems deepen a bit because it has become an internal issue.  Today Willie posted something on his blog and brought some things to the forefront. I really do hope you take the time to read his post. I really want to encourage everyone to find what it is in life that will make you happy.  Without happiness, nothing else will fall into place.  I lived many many years not…

View Post

Motivation: If you don’t succeed, try again

Motivation: If you don’t succeed, try again

Happy Monday everyone!  It’s time for a little Monday Motivation for you about trying.  I just want to let you know it’s ok to fail, it’s ok to make mistakes and it’s ok to do less than your best.  It’s not ok to let those missteps keep you from moving forward. If you don’t succeed, try again! Let’s all make the committment to live life and that includes trying…and possibly failing. Sometimes there is a need to take chances and step out of the comfort zone. For many years, I would stayed stagnant by not attempting anything new. I was…

View Post

Don’t put in the work; don’t …

Don’t put in the work; don’t expect a good result

Many of you are giving the “WTF” comments on my post about getting my run life together. This is a lesson that can be taken to every aspect of life so I wanted to explain to you why am I getting my run life together. I get where the WTF comments are coming from because you see me running all the time. That’s the thing, I am running all the time, but I’m not running consistently. Basically, I haven’t been putting in the work. I’m just going through the motions and that’s not what I want RIGHT now. I want…

View Post

Having fun at the Louisiana Marathon weekend

Having fun at the Louisiana Marathon weekend

It’s currently 2am and I can’t sleep.  I really thought I was going to sleep the whole night but I woke up around midnight and couldn’t go back to sleep.  I thought I should do some productive things so I packed up my stuff, uploaded some pictures and now I’m blogging.  Some people sleep well after a marathon, and then there’s me.  There’s no sleeping for me.  This is not news. The Louisiana Marathon weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year.  There is just something about this race that I just can’t get over.  The atmosphere is…

View Post

Updates on a long week, fitness & weight loss

Updates on a long week, fitness & weight loss

It’s been a very busy week. It’s launch week at the gym so I’ve been teaching and trying to attend classes as much as possible. It’s always exciting to get people excited about working out and trying some new stuff.  It’s not exciting to not want to sit on bike by the week.  Plus, I’ve been really busy with work.  My mom had a knee replacement surgery during Thanksgiving but she hasn’t been cleared to drive so I also need to make sure she’s taken care of in the meantime.  It’s just been a lot at one time. And of…

View Post

You CAN make a healthy CHANGE

You CAN make a healthy CHANGE

Sometime after leaving the gym yesterday and the ride home, I got sick. I’ve been down and out and haven’t been able to eat anything. I woke up this morning feeling a little bit out of whack but I’m hanging in there right now. Thank you to everyone sending me the well wishes. I think I’m on the mend. This past weekend, Willie and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. It’s hard to believe that we’ve been married for six years because a lot of things have changed. Our wedding anniversary coincides with what people are now calling our “get…

View Post

We’ll be on the TODAY Show Monday …

We’ll be on the TODAY Show Monday and ending the year

I’m really excited to tell share with everyone that Willie and I will be on the NBC Today Show on Monday morning. I do believe we will be on the 4th hour of the show talking about our weight loss and running. We are really excited to be able to share our story with more people. This will be a great way to start off the new year. Today is the last day of 2015 and it’s been a learning experience. Ending the year is a time for self reflection and to see how far we’ve come or didn’t. The…

View Post

Start new year goals now

Start new year goals now

It’s almost the new year and people are trying to get their stuff together for the new year. Developing new routines and joining the gym are top of the list for the new year but you don’t have to wait until the new year. It’s only a few days away, why not start now? Don’t say you’re going to start meal prepping next week? Start your new years goals now. Why start now? It’s best to start now so that when the new year comes there isn’t PRESSURE to succeed and stick with it. Now is the time to test…

View Post

Motivation Monday: Be the best for yourself

Motivation Monday: Be the best for yourself

Hey all!  Today’s motivation Monday was sparked by a Facebook comment. I ran a race yesterday. I know you’re shocked, right?  I’ve been feeling way under the weather and I wasn’t expecting much.  The one thing I was counting on that it would be a horrible experience.  I was still sleeping 20 minutes before the start of the race. Something happened after the race that made me WANT to make this video. After I finished the race I posted this: I finished and I didn’t do horrible either. Ran the half in 2:18 and I was sick. Nice way to…

View Post