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OK, so back to this “story in my head” business…

I have a confession to make to you my friends and loyal readers…I’ve been quitting.  I realized this yesterday and oddly enough again it comes back to Jillian Michaels and the No More Trouble Zones workout!

I think I’ve been quitting on myself now for awhile. Oh, I’ve made huge progress for sure with my weight loss, healthy eating and exercise BUT I have been letting myself off the hook big time!

I give up way to easily sometimes…do you? Think about that! How many times do we just assume that we can’t do something? It’s too hard or I’m too tired…I’m too big to do that or I’m way too out of shape to be able to do that.

I’ve been doing this workout for awhile now..at least a few months 2-3 times a week. Initially I REALLY believe that I could not have gotten through the whole routine. Back at the beginning I worked to get through the whole first set and then would be happy if I did 5 reps of the second set of the harder exercises. (for me, these were the upper body/shoulder moves)

I’ve just been listening to the voice inside my head that was saying that I couldn’t do the whole thing. Yesterday I set a goal for myself to at least try to get through the whole dvd in honor of my putting it on the shelf for a month next week while you and I enjoy our 30 Day Shred Challenge with one another. 😉

Miracle of all miracles…in fact I CAN do it all the way through! And guess what? I felt more amazing than ever doing it before because I had really pushed myself to achieve it!

I wonder if there are other things I’ve been quitting lately? I’m not a quitter…I would never say that about myself, BUT I do sell myself short sometimes. I am stronger than I realize. I’ve accomplished more than I give myself credit for at times. I am a woman who IS achieving her goals!

I say this, not because I’m doing the impossible. I am no different than you.

We are the same, you and I…full of endless possibilities, full of greatness not yet realized, full of achievements yet to come to fruition.

Let’s STOP quitting on ourselves. We can push harder and be greater than we were yesterday!

I owe that to myself and YOU owe that to yourself!

Onward my friend…

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Yesterday an Ah-Ha moment occurred for me. I’ve had more than a few on this weight loss journey for sure, but this one was a biggie!

I’ve been rolling something around in my brain that I heard trainer Jillian Michaels say on the premier episode of The Biggest Loser Season 8.  She was talking to contestant Shay as she was struggling on one of the pieces of gym equipment.

This is what she said to Shay:

“This is a story in your head. None of it is real. All you have to do is change your mind.”

What?! Wait a minute! Shay is like the biggest female contestant that they’ve had on the show thus far. (and you go Shay!) If she feels that her body cannot do something, is that incorrect? I mean we do have physical limitations…don’t we?

Hmmmmm…..

Yesterday, I did Jillian Michaels: No More Trouble Zones as I’ve been doing for weeks now. Every time I do this dvd, there are certain exercises that I cannot (really?) do all the way through. One of these is the dreaded surrender move where you hold your dumbbells over your head while kneeling and raising to standing position.

So, yesterday I realized that maybe this “I can’t” business was only a “story in my head”….maybe if Jillian was right about Shay and Shay has been completing amazing fitness tasks – maybe I could do this silly surrender move all the way through! OK, go figure! Changed my story, completed the move!

Could it really be THAT easy?

Change the story in your head, CHANGE YOUR LIFE, even?

I remember the day I decided to buy a bicycle. I had lost about 48 lbs at this stage of my weight loss journey and was weighing in at about 230 lbs. I had been thinking about this for awhile, but I honestly had the idea that it was something that I needed to wait for. After all fat people cannot ride bikes, can they? Doh!

I made the decision to go to the bike shop and literally stood there talking to the salesman with hands on hips saying…”OK, Am I too fat to ride a bike?” Of course, he denied this and sold me a bike that completely revolutionized my exercise routine! When that story in my head changed, the weight started coming off even more rapidly because I found a type of exercise that I completely enjoyed! Riding the bike that first time is one of my favorite memories during this journey to health, fitness and FREEDOM!

My weight loss journey DID begin with a decision back in 2006. There was a story playing in my head at that time that had all the makings of a very sad ending…a sad life. I had tried so many times to lose weight and the story I was telling myself was that I could only fail again, but was that real? Could it be only a thought and could I decide something else?

What is the story you are telling yourself today? Have you failed time and time again at losing weight? Are the words you hear in your head, reality? Or are they simply words?

If other people have lost the same weight or more than you have, is it possible that you could also achieve success?

Can you change YOUR story?

I know YOU can! Decide today that YOU deserve every positive thing that you could imagine coming your way…regardless of the past, regardless of the story, regardless of the obstacles that are before you.

What’s the NEW story in your head….I can’t wait to hear it!

Let’s do this together!