I Give Up Daily

Let's just be real here.  I mean hey, that is the reason the majority of you have messaged me about enjoying this blog, right?  No reason to sugar coat anything.  I'm human.  Just like you.  Yep.

I tell stupid jokes and laugh my tail off because it sounds funny when I repeat them.  I cry at weddings and during sappy movies.  Watching Jennifer Garner in Alias made me want to see if the Central Intelligence Agency was looking for applicants like me. 

I also set goals that I'm not sure if I can reach.  And when I don't reach them in my desired time frame, I feel defeated.  When I have cheated on my contest prep diet, I've felt like I just lost and it was time to give up.  I mean, I just cheated, so why not just go right back to what I was doing before?

There's this woman whose career I've followed as an athlete, a competitor, and trainer.  She placed first this year in the Women's Physique category at the Phil Heath Classic in Houston.  Erin Elliott is inspirational to me because I've seen her go through things that any woman/mother might go through, and she stayed the course.  One post she made a month or so ago was incredibly moving to me and helped push me forward.  In the post, she admitted to having a terrible cheat meal and was only 50-something days until her next show.  She felt guilty for having the meal, but decided afterward to keep moving forward. 

It sounds simple enough.  We've all been told we can pick ourselves up after a fall and keep pressing toward our goals.  But in the quiet solitude of our minds we often see our failures as detrimental to our success, and we give up.

That is the moment we lose.

It's not about the mistake you just made; the bad meal, bad drink or carb binge you just had.  Winning is a game of the mind. 

So you just lost that one meal.  Is it ideal?  No.  But is it worth quitting over?  You decide.

Today, and literally every day since I decided to do this, I've had to wake up and overcome me.  The doubts and fears in my mind and the fat on my hips telling me I won't make it.  I definitely have legitimate problem areas.  But if I decide not to keep pushing for my goal, then that's the moment I lose.

The battle isn't between me and some other chick; it's between me and my fearful, doubting mind.   I'm gonna overcome that mind... and doing just that feels like I'm winning each day.

So to all of you out there who have the issue with yo-yo dieting or not being able to lose weight because you cheat and then give up: remember that you've not lost until the moment you quit trying.


Thanks to my sweet friend, Jo, for sending me this video!!