Own It.

If you have read some of my previous blog posts or know me personally, you know that I have struggled with my weight for quite some time. I have tried several different diets and exercise programs and products. Nothing worked for very long and I lost my motivation quickly.

This February I decided, once again, I needed to get healthier and take care of my body. I researched a few different gyms and, thanks to Facebook, found that one of the gyms I was looking at, which was owned by a friend, was having a sale on their membership if you locked in for a year! I talked with my husband, physically went to the gym to check out the environment and what it was like (also to get a feel of the drive), then JUMPED at the chance!

I am LOVING the classes! But I've also hit a few hiccups where I haven't gone as much as I would like to. But I have also learned something. Having an investment in the gym makes me have skin in the game so I CAN'T give up. And having a couple friends who are at the same gym makes going so much easier!

I've also learned that I can no longer say, "I'm going to try." When I do that, I set myself up with an out and thus, for failure. If I say, "I'm going to try to eat healthier and work out" I give myself that chance of when I do miss a workout or eat no so healthy to say "Well, I tried. It didn't work though."

NO! Never again!

I am putting those words out of my vocabulary! I have to own it!

I WILL eat healthier and work out. I WILL lose weight! I WILL be healthy! I WILL get into shape!

This concept really hit home lately when I became an independent distributor for It Works!. I really just wanted the free product credit! (Which I got!) I found myself thinking, "I'll try it out as a company." My awesome upline kept telling me, "You have to say it like you've got it. That is how you will succeed!" But the voice in the back of my mind kept reminded me how I've failed before.

Suddenly, I snapped. If I want to succeed, I have to own it! I'm not just going to try it as a business.

I WILL succeed and help Tanner and I pay off our debt and put money aside for the deductible on our health insurance when we decide to have a baby.

I WILL make money with MY business!

I started MY OWN business, and I WILL ROCK IT!

Of course, I go to God every day and pray that He leads me in the way He wants me to go. So far, it's lead me here. I firmly believe he led me to It Works! and to Dawn and Macie and the rest of my team. I just had to be ready to hear what they had to say and willing to let Him handle the how. He has blessed my business thus far and I am SO grateful for that!

Take "try" out of your vocabulary. Rely on God and own what you do.

It's Just a Number.

Weight. For a female, it's one of the biggest things on our mind. For a lot of us, every morning we get up, step on that dreaded scale and see what the number is, praying it has gone down even just a little.

We hide that number, don't we? We don't want anyone to know how much we weigh. It's the unaskable question. Everyone talks about losing it or how they've gained it, but no one dares utter how much. (Unless it's a weight loss campaign or something.)

Here's what I've come to conclude. It's just a number.

Would I love to loose weight? Yes! Would I feel better about being lighter? Absolutely!  Do I need to eat healthy and exercise? Very yes!

Am I going to be ashamed of the number on that scale if it's higher then I think it needs to be? Not a chance.

I remember the first time I started loosing weight. I was so excited. I was telling some fellow young women about it and saying how much I started out weighing (185) and how much I had lost (20 lbs) bringing me to what I weight at that time (165)! I didn't pay attention if there were guy around me. (I married. Who do I have to impress but my husband? :P ) One of the girls finally said, "I love how you just say your weight."

I almost had to stop for a second and think about it. I occurred to me that while I did care about being healthy and getting to a healthy weight, I didn't care who knew how much I weighed.

So, my fellow women, I encourage you not see the number on the scale and feel like you are not good enough or pretty enough or whatever enough! It's just a number! What really matters is what is in your heart, where your treasures lie!

What you see on that "dreaded scale", it's just a number. It doesn't define you.

(Please note that I DO condone healthy eating and exercise! I need to do more of it myself! (Ugh.))