Let me start off by saying, I am by no means full of myself, if anything I doubt myself more than I should. However, when it comes to weight loss, I like to think I know a thing or two about it.
Back in late 2009 when I started my fitness journey I had no idea that by 2010, I would be celebrating a 100+ lb loss. I also truly had no idea that I would keep that weight off until today... an entire decade later.
You see, all of my attempts before 2009 were not successful. I tried all of the fad shakes, teas, weight loss programs, women’s gyms, counting points, you name it. But each and every time I would find a reason to stop following the program and I would lose “motivation”.
It wasn’t until I changed how I looked at things and I began addressing my mindset that real progress began to happen.
It came down to intention vs motivation for me. This is what ends up being the catalyst for a lot of people when it comes to achieving their goals.
When you sit around waiting to be motivated, you put your fate into the hands of an outside force.
We're all guilty of turning to Pinterest for some motivational quotes to fire us up. Maybe your motivation comes from Instagram but then you end up feeling bad about yourself and your progress after scrolling through everyone else's posts.
Comparison is the thief of joy. Stop comparing your daily life to social media highlight reels!
It wasn’t until I intentionally began to schedule my workouts and my meal prep, that I found success and began to see the progress I was hoping to achieve for so long.
Pro Tip: You can't hope for results, you have to work for them.
Once I made the things that would get me to my goal a non-negotiable, a positive shift began to happen. At first it seemed like a punishment, like I was denying myself things that I loved and needed, but after a little time I began to look forward to these changes, because I saw and felt a shift in my life.
Scheduling my workouts and setting aside time to meal prep became self care. They were important things that I did to take care of myself and ensure I was actively working toward my goals. Making yourself a priority is a good thing. It's something we all need to do. I'm sure you have all heard the saying "You can't pour from an empty cup." Well, you can't have energy to do the things you want to do when you don't eat nourishing foods and take the time to move your body.
When you eat processed food that are full of crap and lay on the couch binge watching tv all day, you will feel like crap. End of story.
This is not to say that you can't enjoy less nutritious foods from time to time or enjoy Netflix. If you have been following me for a while you know my stance on this. I am all for balance and balance is not what we think it is. It's being okay with not having everything operating at 100% all the time.
We schedule things like doctor appointments, play dates, haircuts, volunteering and lunch/dinner with friends, so why shouldn’t we schedule workouts and meal prep for ourselves?
Would you cancel any of the above things last minute, because you just wanted to sit on the couch and watch Netflix? I’m going to assume the answer to that is no, but I know you should never assume anything.
What I have found to be the key with any kind of life change is not motivation, but rather intention.
Intention puts all of the power in your hands. It puts you in full control of the outcome because you’re not relying on an outside force to motivate you into action.
Basically it means you have to Own Your Own Shit. There is no blaming anyone or anything else when you live with intention. This is not an easy pill to swallow, but if you're looking for a magic pill when it comes to implementing life change, consider this your magic pill.
It's an important dose of reality that we all need on this journey - no matter if it's weight loss, working on your mindset or starting a new business.
See how powerful that shift in mindset can be? See how important it is to take ownership of your life? It's the key to unlocking your power and reaching your goals.
So quit relying on motivational quotes and other people to lift you up and keep you moving in the right direction. It's time to be intentional with your goals. Write them down, decide what you need to do on a daily basis and then schedule these tasks into your day.
It's up to you to make the change you want to in your life. So will you leave it up to chance or will you start making intentional change starting today?
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