FACING THE BOULDERS ON THE PATH TO HEALTH & FITNESS

My journey down the path to wonderful health and a fit body has MOST definitely been a struggle, a battle….no...it’s been an all out WAR with myself. My journey started in 2003. Yes, that’s right! I was 0.2 pounds away from seeing 170 lbs. on the scale and I couldn’t bare to let that happen. My feeling was..."Rodney (my husband) weighs in the 170's!" So my relationship with Beachbody began.

I’m so thankful to them on many levels, but mostly for giving me variety in my workouts within the comfort of my own home and teaching me how to properly fuel my body with food. What I didn’t expect back then was finding a family I didn’t know existed. Over the years, I’ve truly found another family in my life. A family who loves me like one of their own, who encourages me, who lifts me up when I feel like a “loser”, and helps me to keep on going. We are friends for life! I won’t start listing names as this family is quite large! You know who you are! If you’ve sent me a message, given me advice or encouragement, you are part of my big, wonderful Beachbody family!

Anyways...onto the purpose of this blog…

I’ve re-discovered something this week about myself and I wanted to talk about it, maybe you or someone you know is experiencing this as well about their own journey and I hope it will help.

I decided to do the 3 day Shakeology Cleanse again. I did it last year and had great results! But later that year, fell off the clean eating ladder, limited my workouts and gained 15 pounds!!! (Lori shakes head) I was 13 pounds away from my ultimate goal weight last year. But now I’m struggling once again to get back to where I was and go beyond and finally reach my goal weight.

So, last weekend I went on a short trip to Michigan/Ohio with my husband and did extremely well, food and workout wise. I felt wonderful! I brought healthy food and snacks with me, ate salads out for dinner, and bought fruit at the grocery store. Workout wise I brought my DVD’s with me and all my resistance bands and continued with my scheduled workouts! I had recommitted to pushing hard and eating clean. Avoiding gluten, sugar, dairy, caffeine, & alcohol. It was wonderful to feel back on track and to have a plan and to have succeeded that weekend away from home and not gaining any weight as is the norm.

So this past Tuesday I decided to go with the momentum I had and really take things up a notch! I started the 3-day Shakeology Cleanse….It was going great until yesterday afternoon! I began to really struggle! I found myself wanting to QUIT! With only my dinner meal (Salad & chicken) to go. Why?

Why do I get so close to the end and take the detour? Same thing seems to always happen when I schedule a workout program. Whether it's a 90 day, 60 day or 30 day....I get to the final week or two and BAM....I change course. I give up....through in the towel...QUIT! Why?

Peeling back the layers yesterday and lots of tears, I found myself attending an all out self pity party for one! I realized...I don’t believe I’ll ever see my ultimate goal weight of 123 on the scale! I realized...I’m afraid it will never happen! I realized….I don’t believe I have it within myself to succeed! Sobbing....I cried out to God to help me! To give me the strength! To help me finally win this war once and for all!

Then it happened… "Choice”… “This is not about your family, your friends, your job, or anything else.” “This is about you and YOU alone!” “This is your path!” “You know what to do!” “You have ALL the tools!” “You make the choice!” “Every time...it’s your choice and only YOU!”

So I thought, “There's a fork in the road and I have two choices! Go down the path and quit (which would lead be back down the road to obesity)....or go down the path and FINISH WHAT I STARTED ONCE AND FOR ALL!” I don’t have to tell you what I decided! I know the reward will be so much greater down the 2nd path! I WILL Succeed!

My dear friend told me yesterday that the 2nd path ROCKS! What he didn’t realize was that that word resonated with me in a different way. You see my company name is "Straight Path Fitness". All my life’s decisions have been made with the guidance of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. The ultimate life coach! The decision to start up my own fitness coaching business was no different. My favorite Bible verse over the years is Proverbs 3:5,6…“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” I chose this name, since my health and fitness has been a long winding road journey which will eventually lead me towards the straight path. Well...I never realized there would also be rocks on this path! Or as I picture it...large BOULDERS! The kind you have to push aside, crawl over or go around. LOL I’ve had quite a few BOULDERS on this journey over the years to deal with!

I take full ownership of where I’m at today! I believe God has given me these struggles in order to be the best coach I can be! I relatable one, understanding, compassionate, and straight forward. It really comes down to ourselves and our choices! My choice in my life. Your's in your life.

So where am I today? I’m on the path to my future, fitter, healthier me! With each step, I'm investing in my older self. I'm grateful that through the choices I've made and detours I've gone on, I found my way back on the right path. Sure, I’ll have more boulders to face, but it’s up to me how to get past the next one. Right now I feel like I just might throw a stick of dynamite in it and blast my way through!!! :)

Thanks for your time in reading this!

I love you all.

Blessings and hugs!

Lori :)