That little voice inside........Don't believe it!

When I first set off on this journey towards a healthier lifestyle I knew that it was not going to be easy. I knew that it was going to take lots of hard work and determination. When it comes to eliminating certain foods from my diet that is relatively easy compared to the change in exercise.  Now I am definitely not saying that cutting back or eliminating certain foods is easy. What I mean is that for a person of my low fitness level increasing my exercise is much harder. I have had to totally revamp my life. I am at the gym 5 days a week. The time that I am there does vary depending on what I have to do that day while I am there. On days that I have Personal Training I am there longer than on the days that I do not. Exercise comes as easy as breathing to some people. I am NOT one of those people. Exercise is HARD! There are times that it hurts and I want to just stop. When I feel like this I have to take a minute and think about how far that I have come since I began this journey. I have come a LONG way.    

No matter what change you are working towards in your own life there will be periods of ups as well as periods of downs. This is all a part of life. I am finding out that even when things seem hard if you think that you can do whatever it is you are trying to do than 9 times out of 10 you will achieve whatever it is you are trying for. When I am at the gym and things are hard I think of our family friend Tony. Tony was a very healthy and athletic guy. He loved life. He LOVED the gym. He didn't understand why everyone didn't love the gym. Tony was killed in a car accident in November. When I get to a point when I feel like stopping before my time is up I think about him. It makes me smile and it also makes me find that thing inside of me that says you can do this. Exercise is physical, no doubt about that, BUT it is also mental. If you think that something is too hard you are more than likely going to quit. It is human nature. There are times during training that I almost feel that I can't do one more rep of what Chris is asking me to do. There are also times that he will ask me to do something and I think that there is NO WAY that I will ever be able to do what he just asked me to do. He told me once that he will not ask me to do anything that he does not believe that I can do. Wow! What confidence he has in me! I think I mentioned before just how awesome of a trainer I have. The thing is though is that he truly believes in me. He encourages me every single step of the way. I think that no matter what you are trying to achieve it is always great to have someone believing in you. It helps to tell that little voice in your head that is saying " There is no way you can do this!!!" to just be quiet! You can do anything that   you set your mind to!

Last week I had training on Thursday. It was a great session. I left the gym feeling like my trainer kicked my butt! I was sore, I was tired, I was out of breath and oh so very sweaty!  I knew that I left nothing there, that I had given it my all. This alone is a good feeling because just 3 months ago I could not have lasted through 1 set of exercises that Chris would have had me do. To see myself making progress it is a very nice feeling. I am convinced that if I can make these changes in my life that absolutely anyone else can to. No matter what it is that you might be working on or wanting to work on. Sometimes that hardest thing is just taking that first step.

On Friday we had to go up to the CHP Academy for a scholarship presentation. My daughter received a scholarship from the 11-99 Foundation. The drive is about 90 minutes. When I went to get out of the car I could hardly move. I thought this isn't good. The drive home was a bit longer due to traffic. When we arrived home getting out of the car was even harder. The following day it was so much worse! I was so sore and could not even sit down easily. Each move I made was hard. I was so SORE! My trainer text me wanting to set up an appointment for the upcoming week. I told him sure if I can move by then. I said my trainer tried to kill me!  He first asked me if I had knee pain. I told him no just muscle soreness and stiffness. He replied by saying good, I'm happy. I have learned that feeling sore is not a bad thing, it is actually quite the opposite. It is a good thing. It only means that I am on the road to feeling stronger. So I will be off to training this week and we will see what Chris has in store for me.


It is important to remember the old saying  " Mind over matter" .  I believe that there is so much truth to it. No matter what you might be working towards in life, weight loss, exercise, improving your health, personal goals basically anything you are trying to improve upon, those words are golden. Our minds are strange things. Little voices live inside of them that are always so happy to pop in with doubt when we are going through situations. Just remember to shut them out. We all have the strength inside to achieve what we desire. Tell that voice that says you can't to take a back seat and then show it you can!