Always On My Mind Podcast: Losing 135 lbs & 5 Lessons Learned

I almost did not record this one.

I had ADHD breadcrumbs all over my house this morning. All the things I had left out with the best intentions of coming back to finish. And isn’t that fitting… because the episode I was trying to get to is about a journey that took 14 years and was anything but a straight line.

I do not actually know my highest number. I never owned a scale at my heaviest. I was not ready for what it would say. What I do have is a bridesmaid dress fitting where a woman wrote down a size out loud in a room full of people and I just about died a little inside. And a picture at the beach in North Carolina that my cousin took where I dropped to the floor of my living room when I saw it. Completely and utterly defeated.

And then I decided something had to change.

I went at it from four directions. My faith. Therapy. Nutrition. And movement. I started walking. Found a friend who ran. Started Couch to 5K. And the road kept going from there.

These five lessons are the ones that still hold up. Every time I look back at this list I still feel them.

There will never be a good time to start. Never ever. Just start. Who cares how. Just start.
Be flexible in your approach but consistent in your effort. You only fail if you give up. You have to outlast yourself.
Work on your mind with your body or be forced to work on your mind to keep your body. I did not get to where I was by accident. It was on me to figure out what that was so I could keep the body I was working so hard to build.
Look relentlessly for your progress to celebrate. Silver line the mess out of everything. The road gets harder the longer it goes and the way you keep going is by finding things to celebrate along the way.
The basics are the basics for a reason. It did not have to be as hard as I made it. And if you do not know where to start find someone who can cut through the noise. That is exactly how my journey began and exactly why I became a coach.

I was so angry about how hard it was for me that I am just here now to make it easier for the next person. And if it is not easier… at least I am there with them.