Living in Color

Tomorrow I begin a new Beachbody Challenge Group, this one is for Core De Force which is an intermediate/advanced program. Six months ago, when I joined my first Beachbody Challenge Group, I muddled my way through modifying the 21 Day Fix workouts just hoping I wasn’t going to die. Now here I am, excited and getting ready to rock Core De Force.  Or am I?

I have been waiting for this program since Beachbody gave the first sneak peek, there’s something awesome about kicking and punching your way to a healthier you. For me those kinds of movements are such a great stress reliever, a total mental distraction combined with a total body workout.

As I do before every new round, I started to get my workout calendar mapped out for the month. Because I’m still nursing a knee injury that doesn’t want to go away, I am planning on alternating Core De Force with a lower impact workout every other day. I know that this is what I need to do to take the best care of myself yet something in the back of my mind shouts “that’s not good enough.” WHAT THE HECK is that all about? Why the negative self-talk? Arggggggh! I thought I was past that crap. But no, that self-doubt creeps in every once in a while and it’s important to be aware of it and to learn how to move beyond it or it will put me in a strangle hold and I will stop moving forward.

As a (recovering) perfectionist, learning how to approach my wellness in a balanced way has been a struggle. When you’re a black and white thinker, it’s all or nothing baby. I’m either doing my very best or my very worst. I’m on top of my game or I suck. Can you relate?

Over the past few years I have worked hard to change this behavior, to stop my black and white thinking and start living in color. I whole-heartedly believe that this is necessary not only for weight loss but for maintenance and is a big part of my being able to maintain my (40+ pound) weight loss since 2012.

My coach Erica loves Tony Horton’s saying “do your best and forget the rest.” Yes, this! Why can’t it just be that simple? Why can’t we be happy with our best efforts, even on the days when they weren’t the best? We showed up. We did the work and that should be enough.

Black and white thinking leads to quitting. When you’re in all or nothing mode, what looks like failure is just real life happening:

• You work a long day and don’t have time for a workout
• You overindulge when you go out to dinner (damned bread basket)
• Your body is so tired you take a rest day
• You eat a whole pile of Halloween candy (hypothetically speaking)
• Your day goes to hell due to a sick family member

When real life things happen your black and white brain registers failure and then you shut down your efforts thinking if I can’t do this right, I just won’t do it at all.

And so, you wait, until that perfect time when all of your planets will align and the heavens will open up and sing the hallelujah chorus and all will be right in your wellness world. It will be amazing!

For reals? Ah, no. Sh%@ happens and we need to develop the mental fortitude to not define those moments as failures. It’s just life. And as long as we’re showing up, working hard and doing the best we can with what we’ve been given, we are living in color.

My fitness level has changed immensely since I started Beachbody in May. It has changed so much that what I am able to do still surprises me. That’s what I will continue to focus on and I will celebrate how far I’ve come. Someday, maybe even in the near future I’ll be able to do Core De Force in full force, until then, I’m still a bada$$. I’m a working Mom doing her best to make more good choices than bad, to be an example to others and to bring people with me along with way.

I am enough and you are too!

Commit to the choice. Ask for help. Continue with courage.  

Hugs and friendship,

Tara

Pin Your Tail

As a Beachbody Coach and former Weight Watchers leader, one of the most frustrating patterns of behavior that I witness is when people are plugging along on their wellness journey, consistent, persistent, sometimes absolute rock stars and then…they stop. As a Coach it makes me want to scream- “please DO NOT give up, whatever you do, DO NOT stop!!!” As a person who has struggled with her weight for a majority of her life, I get it. That’s where I was in 2008, 2009, 2010, stuck in a vicious cycle of stopping and starting, of believing and doubting, of succeeding and failing. To be honest, I was dilly-dallying (anytime I can work that word into my blog I will). I was half-assing it. Part of my brain shouted  “I so desperately want to lose this weight” while the other part whispered “why try, you’ll fail.” And so the evil little gremlin won out, time and time again. Self-doubt undermined my best efforts and intentions. How? How do we go from being locked and loaded, in the zone, fired up about losing weight to throwing in the towel?

Does anyone remember back in the day how simple children’s birthday parties used to be? Some box mix cupcakes, party hats and games? Is it just me or have children’s parties gotten extremely extravagant with the bouncy houses, rented venues and fancy cakes? Rant over. Anyone remember playing pin the tail on the donkey? The game itself is such a simple concept. You wore a blindfold, someone spun you around a few times and gave you a gentle push in the right direction toward the donkey. You toddled your way forward with the paper donkey tail in hand and did your best to tape the tail in the right place. Then you took off your blindfold and saw where you pinned the tail and most likely had a good laugh at how far off you were.

Is that how your weight loss effort is feeling right now? Are you blindly making your way through your journey, just hoping you’ll get to where you need to go? And sometimes you find yourself so far off it’s laughable and not in the funny, ha-ha kind of way? If so, it’s time to face some facts and take action.  

Take off the blind fold and stop spinning around.

There is a reason why you’re not reaching your goal, why you are stopping and starting your weight loss journey again and again. That reason most likely goes deeper than the surface excuses of being busy or it’s not the right season in my life. That reason is probably deeper than the fear of failure OR the fear of success. But we don’t usually want to go there, to those dark places and truly examine what is holding us back because that self-examination might just bring up past or present hurts and it’s much easier and less painful to keep the blind fold on. I’ve come to learn that for me, the extra weight was a kind of armor I set up for myself, a way to self-protect (or so I thought). Part of the reason I carried around the extra weight in my twenties was because of a deep dark hurt. I was sexually abused when I was younger. I realize now that I used my weight to protect against sexual advances. I hoped that being heavier would mean that men would not be attracted to me. It’s hard to even write these words because I remember that time and how I felt so exposed and how I just wanted to hide from the world and I hid behind my weight. Later in life I did the same thing for different reasons. I am (sometimes painfully) introverted. I know that surprises some of you. Up until a few years ago, I used my extra weight as an excuse to not be social. To retreat into my cocoon of comfort and quiet. I used it as a barrier to not talk to people, to not take risks or to push out of my comfort zone. I’ve worked hard to change many of my behaviors and I’m proud of who I am (and always was) now. But here’s the deal, you have to look hard into that mirror to figure out why you keep getting in your own way.

Find someone who can push you in the right direction when you get off track.

The weight loss journey is not filled with unicorns, sprinkles and rainbows. It can and will be hard. There will also be some amazing moments along the way. Sometimes those amazing moments, like being able to go up the stairs without being out of breath, or running your first mile, or fitting into a pair of jeans, or doing your first push up; some of those moments will carry you forward. And sometimes they are just not enough. That’s why you need to find your tribe. Whether it’s an accountability partner or group. Do not do this alone. Find ways to plug in using social media or in person groups. Trying to lose weight alone can be discouraging and isolating. Connect with people who have similar goals, who will keep it real with you and will help you to reach your goals, even when you want to stop.

Pin Your Tail.

Remember earlier when I talked about toddling forward trying to find your way to pin the tail on the donkey? Stop with the toddling and write down your goals. Mini goals, big hairy audacious goals. You have to know where you want to go to get where you’re going. Defining goals can be scary. Because then (oh crap) you might actually have to achieve them. Do you have goals in front of you to keep you focused and moving forward? Stop being so afraid of not achieving them that you don’t even try. Or like me, you dilly dally and keep spinning in circles because you don’t truly believe in your heart of hearts that you’ll ever get there.

Commit to the choice. Ask for help. Continue with courage.  

Hugs and friendship, 

Tara

Living Life Beyond Your Limits

We all have limits. Some we were born with- physical or mental limits. Some we were born into- poverty, neglect, abuse. And some that we place on ourselves- fear, loneliness, isolation, self-doubt, poor health.

Maybe I’m an optimist but I believe that there’s a way that each and every one of us can choose to live our best life beyond our limitations. Let’s face it, there’s always somebody who has it better and somebody who has is worse than our current circumstances. 

Having a chronic neurological illness has been a test of my mental fortitude because very few people ever see me when I’m hurting, only my closest family and friends. I decided to share this picture because you can actually see what happens in my body when I have a trigeminal neuralgia attack. You can see that the vein above my temple is swollen. When my vein swells it pushes on the trigeminal nerve in my brain and triggers a variety of pain responses from a swollen face, to numbness, to feeling like bees are stinging me over and over again. From pain in my teeth and ear, to blurred vision, to feeling like someone is drilling a nail into my head, to the most severe- the lightning bolts of punishing pain that shoot through my head until I can barely breathe.

People that don’t know my story ask me how I stay motivated to maintain my weight loss (43 pounds if you’re new to my blog) and to take the best care of my health.  As a food lover, addict and emotional eater, it’s not easy. But let me tell you this, I cling to the moments when I feel well. When I feel energized, positive, emotionally present, focused, joyous and grateful to be alive like I do in this pic from Hawaii. Those moments sustain me through the times when I don’t feel so hot.

I choose to live my life with an urgency to be well because I know that there will be days when my wellness is limited by my illness. If I know that my illness will already limit me, why on earth would I choose to put even more limits on myself? Yet almost every day in some way, we do.   

• ·         We don’t believe in our physical aptitude and strength, or our stamina, or our ability to persevere- so we don’t try a new fitness regimen because hey- we’ve failed in the past. Or we get injured or a life event gets in the way and we use it as an excuse to stop and to never restart.

• ·         We don’t think we’re talented or smart enough. So we don’t apply for the promotion, talk to our bosses about our skills and willingness. We don’t go back to school because someone, maybe even years ago, told us that we weren’t that bright.

• ·         We don’t believe that we have self-control and discipline, so we succumb to addictions big and small- overspending, overeating, drugs, alcohol, sex. We bury ourselves so deep that we have no idea how we’re going to get out.

• ·         We don’t understand our worth. Maybe we were raised in an abusive or neglectful household and no-one ever said “I love you” or showed you love in a hurtful way that made you feel like you never wanted to risk your heart again. So we look to other things and people to make us feel valued.

I was watching a speaker who said that fear is not a real emotion. Now as a person who wears a ring that says Faith Over Fear I was like- say what? My fears sure seem real when I’m smack dab in the middle of them. He went on to say that fear is a chosen reaction to our current circumstance. How powerful is that? That we have the power to control our reaction to every single circumstance.

And this is why I work so hard to live my best life beyond my limits, because I know that I can. Because I have the power to. Because the control is in my hands. When I went through counseling a few years ago for a serious life trauma I was going through the counselor reminded me to focus on what I could control. And so that’s what I do, one small step forward at a time, one small change at a time. I forge ahead- some days I’m marching and some days I’m just dragging myself along kicking and screaming, my own worst enemy. I choose hope and I choose faith and I choose possibility.

What do you choose? Commit to the choice. Ask for help. Continue with courage.  

Hugs and Friendship,

Tara

Cold Feet

Have you ever jumped into something and once you committed thought “oh crap, what have I gotten myself into?"At that point you know that you have two options: 1) quit 2) plow through your fear.

That’s where I was last month with Beachbody. Now some of you may be thinking- ah Tara, it’s a little early on to get cold feet (just two months in)- but no, not really. Becoming a Beachbody coach was an even bigger risk than becoming a Weight Watchers leader- why? The big fat “R” word- rejection. In the Weight Watchers meetings, while people would come and go, for the most part I had a captive and engaged audience. Not the case with Beachbody, I have to work for it.  

Perfectionists and people pleasers don’t do well in the land of potential failure and rejection. I have always wanted people to like me, to show me some level of approval. As I mature and as I remember that I’m a child of God and he’s really the only one that I need to be pleasing, the need to be liked has decreased, but it’s still there. It creeps up on me every once in a while.  

I just got off of an incredible three hour Beachbody webinar. One of the things that they talked about is that not everyone is going to support your journey and you have to be OK with that. On the flip side, there will be champions who surface who you didn’t even expect. This was a very important reminder to me. Haters gonna hate, right?!? As long as you love what you’re doing, why should their opinion even matter?

The biggest battle I’m fighting right now is getting over the NO. This one is seriously a character builder. I know that a year from now I’m going to be blown away by how much I’ve grown by being willing to put myself out there. You don’t get if you don’t ask. But the asking, it can be so scary. Maybe that all comes back to me translating a NO into people not liking me. I know that to succeed in running this business I need to get past this. So as I found myself at a crossroads last month, quit and cower or plow through my fear, I chose to plow through. How could I not when I wear the same ring each day that reads-faith over fear?

I am confident that I am exactly where God wants me to me. That he has set me up for this moment. That everything I’ve learnt and every person I’ve come into contact with is spilling over into this opportunity. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so excited about something!

I don’t have to be the shrinking violet. The person who works behind the scenes who’s afraid to speak up. Always the back-up singer, never the lead. That was my choice, nobody put me in those roles but me.  And now it’s my choice to shine. To lead. To follow my calling. To work my ass off. To blow my goals out of the water. Because I can. I control my choices. I control my actions and reactions. I choose to be well. I choose to help others to be well. I chose to plow through, one plodding step at a time. Because dammit, I have never EVER felt better and I want people to have a chance to achieve their goals and to pursue what they once thought impossible.

I’m throwing some socks on these cold feet until they’re nice and toasty. I’m not going to wait to do something until everything is lined up in perfect order. I’m just going to do and I’m going to work. Have you ever looked at a time in your life when you went through tremendous spiritual or personal transformation? And you can pinpoint exactly what you were doing and what transpired to get you to that moment? I know that is what 2016 is going to be for me. What do you want to do and what or who is stopping you?

Go back to school. Look for a new job. Change careers altogether. Pursue a new friendship. Walk away from an unhealthy relationship. Start a wellness plan. Try a new hobby. 

Fear is not a real emotion. It’s something that we create based on our current perception of our reality. Some people may look at a snake and be terrified. Some people love snakes. It’s the same snake. It’s our thoughts that change. It’s our thoughts that need to change for us to move forward. 

For the past two months, I’ve been operating in a steady state of discomfort. I have a little flutter in my belly and I know that flutter leads to growth and change.

Decide. Commit. Succeed. Be all in, don’t be a dabbler. Tomorrow is not promised.

It starts with the decision to change. It continues when you put yourself out there. When you share your commitment and ask others to hold you accountable. Surprise yourself with your success. Knock your own freaking socks off! 

Just Hold On

Last week it was time to say goodbye to my good old laptop. I was filtering through and saving the most important stuff, my pictures, and came across this one. I remember how I really hated taking the pic, but I needed to create a work profile pic so I didn’t really have a choice. It’s amazing how that one pic can jolt me back to how I felt at that time in my life.

I was barely holding on. Only those truly close to me probably knew it and most I’m guessing didn’t. I was completely and utterly lost and defeated. My chronic neurological illness had beaten me down to where I started to lose hope. And I’m a rather hopeful person so it takes a bunch of crap to break me down. Besides being in almost daily physical pain, topped with the lightning bolt pain that comes with my neuralgia, my life wasn’t panning out the way I wanted it to. My job? While I was thankful for it, I was far from doing what I enjoyed but honestly I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do with myself when I grew up. I was struggling big time to lose even a pound of weight. I was disgusted that I had gained almost everything back I had lost on Weight Watchers. And while I kept trying to get the scale to move, it just wouldn’t budge.

Of course I had many blessings in my life. My husband and kids, family and friends, an awesome church family. Our finances were pretty solid. Overall good health (minus the neuralgia part). Yet I was feeling pretty restless and unsatisfied. My kids were in their pinnacle of busyness, multiple sports and activities per kid made our week nights and weekends a blur. I had gotten so caught up in the idea of being Ashlee and Josh’s Mom that I didn’t realize I had lost who I was and what I wanted. I wasn’t even really sure what I wanted, I just knew that there were some great things in store for me, I could just feel it.

I remember sitting in my acupuncturist’s office for my first appointment. I just broke out in a sob because I was so darned exhausted. I said to her “I just can’t do this anymore. I am at the edge of my rope.” At the time I didn’t realize that I was talking about more than my chronic pain. Life wasn’t working for me, but I couldn’t figure out what wasn’t working or really what I wanted.

If you’ve followed my blog at all, or know me well. You know how far I’ve come since that time. I am absolutely incredulous at how the pieces of my life have fallen into place since then to make this new me. This is the part that’s hard to explain, how it feels. It feels peaceful yet energizing. I am at complete peace with the person I am yet driven to keep getting better. I’m not a sports person (by far) but this must be what I feels like when an athlete is in the zone. When all of their training leads to their moment.

What I realize now is that it’s a culmination of everyday moments that lead to these big moments. I could not see it then, but everything (even the super crappy stuff) was breaking me down to build me up into someone stronger. The career path I’ve taken, the friendships I’ve made. Growing my faith through church groups and missions. Learning to focus on my health, being willing to explore holistic treatment options. Writing this blog, writing for Grace & Such. Taking control of my eating and behaviors. Becoming a Weight Watchers leader and now becoming a Beachbody Coach, helping others while learning how to run my own business. 

I’m so ecstatic about this life I’m living that some people might want to smack the enthusiasm right out of me. Maybe you’re one of them- LOL. But if you know me, you know, I’ve worked my ass off to get here. 

I’m writing this because I want this for you. If you’re feeling lost, stuck or at the end of your rope- just hold on. Hold on for dear life dear friend. What you may not realize is that in this tug of war called life, people are pulling for you. Dig in your heels, and pull hard in the direction of your dreams.

Commit to the choice. Ask for help. Continue with courage.  

Hugs and Friendship,

Tara

Arrivederci Weight Watchers

In the summer of 1996, a year after getting married at my heaviest weight, I walked into my first Weight Watchers meeting. I was 24, exhausted and depressed, a lost soul. I had no idea if the program was going to work for me or if I’d be willing to put in the work. Six months later I was 40 pounds lighter and I not only fell in love with how I felt as a new healthy me, I fell in love with Weight Watchers.

I’ve been a Lifetime Member of Weight Watchers since 1997, now that’s some program staying power. As many of you know, I’ve been somewhat of a Weight Watchers evangelist. Those who know me know that there are two things I get really excited about- Jesus and Weight Watchers. Of course over the span of 20 years I wasn’t always able to maintain my weight. That thing called life happened on occasion. In 2011 I went back on the program, got back to my goal weight and have been maintaining ever since.

Since then, I’ve blogged about how Weight Watchers has changed my life and indeed it has, not just physically but emotionally. One of the biggest changes that came with my (more recent) weight loss is my willingness to take risks. Deciding to become a Weight Watchers leader was a HUGE leap for me. I’m an introvert so standing in front of that room could have equaled pure torture- yet instead it led to pure bliss. I found out that I kind of (shhh- don’t tell anyone) like public speaking. More importantly, I LOVE helping people to reach their goals. I love seeing the light come on in their eyes and in their souls when they realize what they can accomplish. When they begin to see what’s possible for them.

When Weight Watchers let me go as a Leader because I couldn’t lead in the winter due to my neurological illness I was devastated. Devastated! I had finally found the thing that makes my heart sing. I honestly didn’t know what to do with myself. I cried about it. I blogged about it. I got good and angry about it. I prayed about it and was met with silence.

If you know me, you know that I’m a little impatient. Because I’m a mover and a shaker (on most days), I expect things to happen. Waiting a year or more for something to happen, well…that’s simply unthinkable. So I started writing down goals on my vision board. I truly believe that you can think something into existence. By speaking your goals out loud, by writing them down, by keeping them in front of you.

Suddenly, I went from feeling stuck to feeling incredulous at what began to unfold in my life. I began to co-lead a weight loss support group at my church. While the group remained small, I met some truly amazing women who continue to have an impact in my life. One of the women who came to my group is my current Beachbody Coach Erica. She came and shared her successes and struggles and also talked about Beachbody. She led a Cize (dance workout) for the group and brought in some Shakeology samples.

While I was curious about Beachbody, I wasn’t overly eager to learn more about it because being a Weight Watcher had been ingrained in me for 20 years and it was working for me. Erica and I kept in touch over Facebook and I watched her continued success on the program. I loved her enthusiasm and energy and what I really started to get intrigued about were the workouts. While Weight Watchers has a solid nutrition plan and they encourage you to be active, they do not offer a fitness component as part of the plan. Since I was already at goal, I really wanted to start to transform my body, changing fat into muscle.

Fast forward several months from when Erica came to my weight loss support group…and all it took was one ask…Erica asked me if I wanted to join a Beachbody challenge group. While I was hesitant (I blogged about my entire 21 Day Fix experience here), I decided to give it a go to get rid of some winter weight gain and to start to tone my body. I was intoxicated by the results. So much so that my addiction to feeling fit and healthy is now overpowering my addiction to food (and I LOVE food). That’s a statement right there folks.

I believe in the program so much that after my first challenge group I decided to become a Coach. Can I tell you what a blessing it is to be able to help people again? It lights my soul up from the inside out. Can I tell you what a God thing this is? That I found a program that I love as much (if not more) than Weight Watchers, that allows me to help myself, to help others, to run my own business, to make a profit and to do it at my own pace and on my own schedule? A-maz-ing! Beachbody is an incredible company that provides ongoing support, motivation, personal and professional development. In the short month that I’ve been a Coach I’ve received more training, development and recognition than I ever did at Weight Watchers (as an employee). And the people---they are passionate, driven and inclusive. It’s like having an instant wellness family.

I’m a firm believer that everything (I mean everything, even the super crummy stuff) happens for a reason and that many times it doesn’t happen at your desired time, but it happens at the right time.

Weight Watchers will always be my first love. Just like when you think back to your first love, you get that nostalgic feeling and maybe breathe a heart-filled sigh, that’s what Weight Watchers will always be to me.

This is why I’m saying arrivederci (until we see each other again) to Weight Watchers. It’s a part of who I am. The behavior changes and the friendships I made during my time as a Weight Watcher will always be with me. I’m just packing them in my suitcase and bringing them along on this new adventure. 

Make the choice. Commit to the choice. Continue with courage. 

Hugs and friendship,

Tara

New Day New Way

Last night we watched Eddie the Eagle. I was enthralled with the main character Eddie- his never quit mentality and his consistently sunshiny outlook. Come to find out that Nate (my hubby) felt this way, direct quote- “I was looking for a sharp object to dag my eyes out.” Well, I guess we had two different takes on the movie.  None-the-less it inspired some wellness related thoughts for this post.

Starting a wellness journey, whether to lose weight, transform your body, or both can seem like a task of Olympic-sized proportions. Especially if say, you’ve been there and done that before, perhaps again and again only to never reach your goal. At some point in that vicious cycle of self defeat, you may decide “why bother” and you settle for a life that’s “good enough” because it takes too much out of you to consider trying again.

I get that. I’ve been there. Several times. But I’m so glad that for some reason this time around I decided to see it through and I think that one of the biggest reasons why I was successful was a change in my mindset.  

Mindset is more important than skill set.

Eddie, who decided he was going to be an Olympic ski jumper, had no training or skills to be a ski jumper. Yet he got in his mind that he was GOING to be a ski jumper and that nothing was going to get in his way. He may not have had the skills but he had the right frame of mind. Skills can be taught, a positive mindset comes from within. When you decide to have a positive frame of mind, you start to take control of your choices. You become the victor not the victim. Every day you wake up you can make the choice to be well. Will there be obstacles? Yes. Will there be crappy a$$ days? Hell yes. Getting healthy is hard work and it comes from consistently and persistently making one small choice that leads to one small action that leads to one small choice that leads to one small action that eventually, EVENTUALLY can lead to your Olympic-sized change.

Glory comes from seeing that the everyday moments are actually the big moments in the making.

At one point in the story Eddie’s coach tells him that he’s settling. That in choosing to do the 70m jump in the moment rather than training longer and working harder toward the 90m jump, he’s selling himself short. This one I agree and disagree with. Of course you’re going to shoot for that big moment- whatever that moment is for you. Getting to your goal weight. Running a half marathon. Being a certain size again (or for the first time). Doing a triathlon. Whatever it is, you know that it’s within your reach AND it’s going to take a lot of sweat and tears (and perhaps good cry here and there) to reach it. It’s important to keep our eyes on that big moment so we stay focused, but we don’t want to miss out on the everyday moments that are getting us there.

Preparing a healthy meal. Exercising when we don’t feel like it. Trying a new food. Starting fresh when we screw up. Increasing the weights or reps during a workout. Noticing that our clothes fit looser than they did before. Baking food instead of frying it. Cooking something at home instead of eating out. Passing on the bread bowl while eating out. Drinking water instead of soda. Having a single scoop ice cream cone instead of a double. Swapping out white bread for whole grain bread. THESE are the moments, that require determination, that require resourcefulness. These MOMENTS lead to the big moments. Don’t forget to celebrate these small wins.  

Your past does not determine your present.

Eddie was surrounded by naysayers, but that did not stop him. Eddie knew that doing his best was his only option and that’s how he approached each day. He decided to prove people wrong. He decided to prove himself wrong. *movie spoiler alert* That state of mind is what got him to the Olympics.

Just because you’ve always been overweight doesn’t mean you always have to be. Just because you always stress eat doesn’t mean you have to be a stress eater. Just because you always try and fail on a “diet” doesn’t mean you have to fail this time. Eddie said these words out loud “I am a ski jumper” before he even was one and then he did what it took to make it happen.

What would happen if you started saying things like “I am fit” or “I make good choices” or “I am an athlete” or “I am strong” or “I am healthy”?

A new day can equal a new way, if you so choose.  Face your fears head on and give it a go. Sometimes you just have to take that first jump.

Commit to the choice. Ask for help. Continue with courage.  

Hugs and Friendship,

Tara