The Scale Says WHAT?

There I was, staring at the scale which was reading 236 pounds. How could this have happened? I was strength training regularly and had increased my running to where I was burning about 1000 calories per session. I stood there looking at that number feeling frustrated, confused and hopeless, It certainly isn't getting any easier as I get older.

The truth was, I really knew why this was happening. As much as I had been exercising, I began slacking off, missing exercise days & making excuses that I would get back on track tomorrow. Starting tomorrow I would become more disciplined and be consistent. Does that sound familiar to anyone? My diet was continually in disarray. I would eat great while at work; eating a healthy breakfast & lunch. However, by the time I got home, I would begin eating whatever I wanted. Weekends were also a nightmare with food. I felt that because I was working out "consistently" I could eat anything (and everything) and make up for it during the week. It was always about doing better tomorrow. The problem was that tomorrow never came. If I can give you one piece of advice based on my years of experience, it's this..."you cannot out-exercise a bad diet." Just think about what I just said. Running on a treadmill for 30-minutes roughly burns about 250-300 calories. Any idea what 1 slice of apple pie or cheesecake (and I Love Cheesecake) is worth?

I have been involved in exercise and activity for most of my life. Even with my knowledge and experience, “Life” got in the way of me being healthy. Marriage, kids, career, all of these priorities got in the way of the the most important priority…my own health and wellness. I thought that I knew enough and was motivated enough to overcome the weight gain traps. And from an exercise perspective I did. I have a Master’s degree in Exercise Physiology, and a certification in Health & Wellness Coaching. You'd think that if anyone should be successful it would be someone like me. But I will be the first to admit that knowledge isn’t everything. It's also about taking that knowledge and applying it to everyday LIFE. My Life!

But improving health & wellness goes much deeper. Through this journey, I've learned that I was missing one of the most important components to making lasting change...working on the inside. Most people, including myself look at their bodies from the outside, and if they don't like what they see or how they feel, make a decision to start exercising and eating right. That's good. Problem is, most people never really dig deep enough (from the inside) to try to understand why they don't like what they see. What I have come to learn is that by first working on the "inside," the results will then begin to show on the "outside." It’s taken me many years to understand this and to finally incorporate it into my own life and guess what? My results have been incredibly different than any other time I have tried to change! It's been over 18 years since I weighed below 200 pounds (on a 5'8" frame) and at the time of this post, I am at 192. More importantly, I feel great, both on the inside as well as the outside.

Here are 3 things that I've learned about myself by first working to change on the inside:

1. My reasons to make a permanent transformation aren't about the physical characteristics (they're an added bonus). My purpose is to be able to be on this planet for my family as long as possible. The only way to achieve that is to FIRST...take care of myself.

2. It's not about perfection...it's about progress. My past battles to make a healthy change always ended because I "blew" a day of eating or didn't work out for a few days. I now realize, it's OK not to be perfect. As long as I continue to make progress, I will hit my goals. There have been weeks during this journey that I have gained a pound or two. Yet I continue to progress...

3. When I feel frustrated or things get tough and I don't feel like "doing it anymore," I just have to look at my right wrist and the band that I wear to remind me of my real purpose for wanting to transform. I wear a black band around my wrist that "triggers very personal" reminders as to why I do this. You cannot imagine how motivating this is for me to just keep going.

I challenge each of you reading this to explore your true why's from the inside. I'd love to hear your motivations to change or where you feel "stuck"?

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