Today marks the beginning of the last 100 days of the year and you know what that means around here... the beginning of the Healthy Holidays Challenge 2016! Woo Hoo!
As of a few minutes ago there are now 14 of us signed up for this challenge. I'm pleased. It's a little nerve wrecking for me, because I personally know at least half of them. [insert scared eyes emoji] (I need to figure out where those are for blogs??)
I have no problem sharing my story with perfect strangers, but when people I know or people who know people I know start finding out about my "secret life with weight issues" I get a little nervous.
I know I can't be the only one who feels like that, but I do.
Those as slightly embarrassed as I get I also get excited, because I haven't given up.
There's no need to be ashamed or even embarrassed, because my story hasn't ended. It's had bumps in the road, but it's not over. It's become something I'm passionate about, because if I can change anyone can and that's the message I try and share.
My desire to share this message is why I decided to hostess this challenge and it's what helped me post this photo comparison to Instagram this week. My type A personality likes to follow rules and be honest, so I decided I would show everyone exactly where I'm at. If they are going to follow me on a challenge then they deserve to know I'm honest and I'm right there with them on this journey.
It was hard.
I didn't like showing that I'm not the girl in the middle photo anymore. This is silly since most people already know that. However, it's one thing to have everyone know, and even to know yourself, it's another thing to actually admit to it and be okay with it.
Only really in the last week or two have I finally come to a place where I am okay with the 35-pound gain I'm carrying. I'm finally able to see that these past 2 1/2 years back have taught me a few things about myself and how I handle stress.
Funny, but I'm ultimately coming to a place where I am okay with the fact that we will always keep learning as we age. I didn't realize how hard I fought with being a perfectionist until I faced some struggles and couldn't grasp the fact that "at least I am learning it now".
Before I go on with that thought, suffice it to say I'm okay with that now. I'm beginning to feel at peace with what I've gone through, that my way of handling things was how I handle things and whether it was the best way to handle it or not it's okay.
I've taken note and I'll keep working on it.
And I will continue to strive to inspire others with my journey and encourage them not to give up on their health during busy seasons or stressful times. Thus, the challenge.
But one more thing... even if the challenge ended today, the response I've had to my honesty about where I'm at has been so inspiring back to myself. I'm challenged to be a hostess/leader that this group deserves, and I am looking forward to sticking to my own goals and seeing what this season brings to all of us.
Have a good weekend folks! Thanks for stopping by and thanks for indulging me in my long-winded posts. [insert heart emoji] Yeah...gotta go figure that emoji thing out... LOL :P
This is going to be a wonderful 100 days and we are all going to succeed together!!
ReplyDeleteLori, Your excitement is contagious!! :D
DeleteI love your blog because it doesn't hide that real life is tough. Giving yourself grace when needed, and a kick in the pants when deserved, is a delicate balance that you seem to have mastered. :)
ReplyDeleteI am excited to be part of your challenge! My week was a good one - I got more than 2 days of exercise, so a win in that column. And I'm on track to be more than a pound lighter going into October, which is an exciting prospect. Not too many holiday treat temptations yet, but I try to exercise my "no" whenever I can to make it more of a habit. And I didn't make this an official goal, but I have been reducing my Diet Coke and upping my water the past few weeks. I have always insisted that my Diet Coke habit was a vice I wasn't willing to give up, but we'll see if I can at least rein it in a bit.
Suz, Northern Virginia
Suz,
DeleteThank you for your kind words! You are smart to practice the "no" now... I may need to try that.
I, too, have "middle pictures." Two or three of them. I'm determined, for the sake of my health, to make this my last round! LOL...Having said that, today hasn't started my week off very well. I want to eat ALL THE SUGAR!, I'm feeling generally annoyed at everyone for no reason, I want to eat ALL THE SUGAR!, I feel that those close to me are demanding certain things of me that I'm unable to do, and I want to eat ALL THE SUGAR! But I have to take a step back and realize that this may be demonic, at least in part. We just signed the lease on a permanent church building (we've been the incredible wandering church for over a year!) and our first service there is this Sunday. I'm sure all hell is against that! ...so probably I'm feeling some of that opposition. Also...and I'm looking for encouragement from the challenge group community, to be perfectly honest...I can't seem to get a good workout time happening. I won't go into my schedule here, but I do know that we all have 24 hours in a day, and we all always have time for the things that are most important to us. Time management may be my issue here...but one way or another I MUST find and/or make the time to do my workout!!!
ReplyDeleteIt does sound like there's a spiritual strategy at work as well.
DeleteI like how you're taking note of your days and looking for ways to make time for exercise. It's hard when you're busy.
PS I think...at least it's how it works on my Mac, if you put your cursor into any text field, then click "edit" on your top task bar, it will show an option for "emojis and symbols" on the bottom of the drop down menu. Click on that and it will open your emojis. Search google for using emojis in any text field on the type of computer you use if it's not a Mac.
ReplyDeleteI have a Mac and I'll give that a try. Thanks!👍🏻
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