Goodbye Excuses

So, it's come and gone...that ole Spartan Race.  And I did it.  And I loved it.  And I got home that night, got online and started searching for the next Obstacle Race I could get myself into.  I think I may have found my niche.  It was a crazy experience, the amount of people you were doing the race with, the different muscles and types of strength you had to use to get through it.  The most exciting thing for me was that there was only one obstacle that I couldn't complete (I knew I'd have trouble with it)...otherwise, I nailed all the others.  I was definitely surprised to see what my body was capable of. I'd run up these hills and get to the top looking for more!  I never thought after a 3.5 mile race that I'd instantly be thinking about doing more. 

But hey, when your life begins to change, when you start to focus on new things and taking care of yourself in new ways...your experiences and abilities change with it.  Not immediately of course.  When I first started hitting the gym I'd go to all these classes and I'd be falling all over the place...I'd be doing all the 'alternate moves' (i.e. moves for us out of shape folks) and sometimes just slump over out of breath.  Now, I'm hanging for the whole class, keeping pace with the instructors and other participants. The Spartan Race, exercise...it's something I call fun and I make my schedule fit around it! My diet continues to change, and while I've taken time to enjoy a brownie or pasta...it's definitely not entered the 'eat, drink, and be merry' category.  I eat because I need to survive and I need the energy it provides...somehow that seems more appropriate. 

When I started this Advocare journey, I was at about 245-250.  I couldn't make it up a flight of stairs without having to hunch over at the top.  I had every excuse in the book: I've got bad knees, I don't have time, I need to do it with someone, I'm just made this way.  Mandy would always bring up eating healthy or exercising and I would clam up hoping my silence was enough of a message to say, not interested.  And now...only 3 months since that day when my heart was challenged to make a change and steward this life I've been given...I cannot believe I am where I am.  I've lost 6 inches around the ole belly and I'm down to 217.  I cannot believe how far I've come...and I'm not stopping.

I don't know where you are at, or how you have convinced yourself you can't do this...but it's time to chuck that thinking out the window.  It's no good.  I believe in you.  Because if this lazy couch-sitting, Little Debbie-loving, donut-downing fat kid can make a change, so can you.  We've been given this body to steward...let me help you as people have helped me.  Sj Nieusma, Roisin Knapp, Michael Magrans...your journeys and passion inspired me.  Anthony Jordan and Diallo Lewis, thanks for turning me on to the nutrition I needed in Advocare.  Mandy, thanks for never giving up on me, for always calling me to make better choices and for the constant question of, 'Are you sure you want that?' 

What's your excuse?  Time to dump it!