Endurance

I'm nearly 5 months into this health makeover and I'm thoughtful, frustrated, and excited with where I'm at...those things may seem to conflict, but for me they go hand in hand. I have made minimal progress since I began as far as weight loss goes for a multitude of reasons (nutrition absolutely being the main challenge) which has made me more frustrated with myself than I thought possible. This frustration though is also strangely exciting because to me it means continued work on the biggest challenge of my life and I'm proud to be far from giving up. Week by week I am working on the same issues and although to some degree that sucks, I know that if I don't give up, eventually I WILL find the other side. This is the most challenging, frustrating, emotional, exciting, hope-filled, rewarding experience of my life.
Blogging has been a great way to get thoughts out and keep some accountability, but I have to admit there are holes where the challenges lie. I feel as though I don't want to be the girl who week after week is writing the same story of the same (often embarrassing) challenges....the truth is, however, that sometimes that IS the story. Everyone's path is so different and mine happens to include some really boring and really important parts that I (and you) need to endure to get to the end.
The other day I was watching "Extreme Makeover Weightloss Edition" which is unusual because despite their popularity, I hate weight loss shows. The guy they were featuring on this particular episode caught my eye and strangely it ended up having a lot of impact. So many things about James' story hit home for me including embarrassment (after deciding to make some changes he worked out only in the middle of the night so no one could see him face his challenges) and 1/3 of the way through his year long project he had lost only 11 lbs (in case you don't read the update section of this blog - I am about the same amount of time into my health project and also at 11 lbs lost). After this emotional weigh-in, James had a breakthrough and ended up cutting his weight in half over the next 2/3 of the year. It was a great reminder and encouragement to me that making big changes come with big challenges and not to give up....as Buddha wisely let us know "Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2006327/Extreme-Makeover-Weight-Loss-Edition-James-loses-record-breaking-313lbs-1-year.html




I wonder if 2012 can expect half a Leah?