New You

Before I get started on today's blog post, I wanna ask you all what you wanna SEE or have me WRITE about, yes I will take suggestions and make videos. I'm trying to take my blog and journey to an entirely different level and I'm ask YOU what you would like to see?!

So today I'm going to talk about the whole "new year, new me" that everyone talks about, PLUS I'm going to give you tips on how you can drag that attitude out long term. 

It's no secret, I used to be that person who would always talk about change. Changing my life, my attitude, my eating habits, and my laziness. It took me YEARS to actually do it. 

Growing up, I was the fatter sibling. My oldest sister weight 80 lbs, my other sister was a size 2, my brother was a soccer player, and then there was the tubby younger sibling (if you haven't guessed, that's me). 

Every Monday, every first of the month, every new year, I said that was my day. But for about 3-4 years it was bullshit. When I was at my heaviest (165-170lbs) I was eating every hour on the hour, but it was unhealthy foods. Initially I gained a ton of weight as my hormones started to change in my pre-teen years and it stuck. I found myself HATING the way I looked and it brought my self esteem down, my mood down, and my entire outlook on life was pretty much shot. Dramatic, right? Well not necessarily, you can't be happy in life when you aren't happy with yourself. So one summer morning I was up early and threw on some runners and I ran till I couldn't run anymore, and then I walked, then ran again. And so it started. I had no idea what I was starting that day, my eating habits didn't change and even though I was being more active I was struggling. So one day I decided I wouldn't drink soda, a week later I ran a little longer. Periodically I began removing my unhealthy habits and tracking my progress in running. By the end of that summer I was down 20 lbs and I felt GREAT. Since that day I've kept pushing forward. Eventually I got a gym membership and boy was I lost. I started researching workouts and how to correctly train them and it helped. Then I purchased my first workout guide for women and I worshipped that book. I read it front to back non stop. From there I've developed my own training style. I love lifting heavy weights, but I also like to sweat and get my heart rate pumping. Over the time I got down to about 123 lbs though I have put some back on, I still feel amazing. 

Tips to sticking it through:

• Make yourself accountable
• Focus on the long term goal
• Do NOT deprive yourself, because you will have a breaking point and will binge
• Be proud of yourself
• Have mini goals to reach the big picture
• Track your eating, once you see it, you'll change what you eat 
• Eat EXACT serving sizes of the unhealthy foods
• Find a motivated gym partner
• If you fail for a day, week, or month find your way back 
• Ask for advice