MOTIVATION. Let me share some of mine!

Motivation is sometimes hard to come by when you're facing a large amount of weight to lose. I equate it to what one of those people on the TV show Hoarders must surely feel. I can imagine their thoughts: “I know I need to clean this place up, but where do I start?” Sometimes, finding motivation is as simple as looking to your friends. I thought about some people that have been great motivation to me in the last few months of dedicated changes in my Steps to a Healthier Me journey. Here are their stories. 

Vickie Black is one of the sweetest people I have been blessed to meet in the recent years of my life. She is a giving person to her family, friends, community, and she is a nurse. She is so amazing, but is so humble about how much her willingness to share her journey is helping others! I at first was going to pull quotes from her response to my questions, but they are just so wonderful that I want to post them all for you to benefit from too. Be prepared…it is great!

What made you decide now is the time to work on your health? “I’ve been making small changes for a long time. I’m very weary of change. LOL. So I had to sneak it in, but I’m getting older, I don’t want to miss out on my life. So, now is the time to get it together for the rest of my life. 

What made you want to create a FB page like Fit & Fabulous? https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fit-and-Fabulous 

“The page was created because I wanted to share my life journey with others. Anyone can make a change, but you have to start somewhere. For me that was learning to accept myself, to love me for who I was and to stop judging myself according to what I weigh. I love me. If God loved me enough to let his Son die for me then how could I cheapen his love by demeaning my self worth based on someone else’s view of fat? I was not lazy. I didn’t eat all the time. As a matter of fact, I starved myself a lot. Yes, I binged. I battled depression. Then I decided I was not hiding from family portraits anymore because I am a good mom, a good wife and a real friend. My fat didn’t define that. I wanted to be remembered for that. God made me who I am. Who can argue with that? So I wanted people to have a place of acceptance, no matter how they achieve their healthier lifestyle. I also wanted them to have a place to learn to love themselves at 400 pounds or 100 pounds. We are all beautiful in His sight! We just need eyes of love…that creates acceptance…and when you remove all the self disgust then you can move forward!”

  

What is the best motivator you have when the slump days get you? “Sometimes nothing helps. I just crash and burn. LOL! But, I get back up a whole lot quicker now. If I blow it, I don’t wait until Monday, my birthday, New Year’s, etc., to start back. LOL! I can start eating right or moving in the middle of the day. Besides giving it to God, I’m a control freak you know!, I love how my friends on Fit and Fabulous support each other…it is an amazing thing!”

 Is there any one thing in your better health/fitness routine that you plan on never giving up if any way possible?  “I am not an exercise freak. LOL! I just want to keep moving, whether it is playing with the kids, walking, dancing, etc. I love social networking. It opens up so many doors. I never want to quit sharing it gives me the strength to keep on keeping one. Sharing success and failures…it is empowering to not be alone!  Oh, and I love me some Spark Leah! Sometimes it’s the little boost I need. It keeps me away from quick carbs! LOL!”

Power!!! Sharing!!! Motivating!!! I know that those of you who are seeking better health via weight loss got some encouragement from her words too!

The next person on my list is Christie Cooper Wallace pictured to the left with her husband in December 2011 and to the right with her Grandmother in December 2012. I've known Christie for years. Christie had worked hard to get weight off with success of her own via exercise and a better diet. Then she hit that hated PLATEAU! I asked her the same questions I asked of Vickie and here is what she had to say.

“I decided to take this journey to become a healthier me. I have let myself go for years, I have constantly been a yo-yo dieter and realized this is not working for me. I haven't always been in the greatest health having insulin problems and high blood pressure. I knew I was too young to let myself continue down this bad path having to take all kinds of medications. I knew I needed to lose at least 80 to 90 pounds and everything I was doing was not working. I was exercising but something just wasn't right. I wasn't losing the weight I needed and still lacked a lot of energy. I needed big time help and that's when Advocare entered my life and has changed it beyond words. The three products I can't live without, which are Spark, Thermoplus, and Omega Plex. When I am having slump days, I just think to myself “I have worked hard and if I don't continue to work hard, I will just go back to that no energy, 48 pound heavier lady who had lost her confidence and zest for a lot of things in life.”

Another person that has had a very powerful impact on my life in the last few months is Eric Tate pictured here with his sweet wife Meredith. He is another one of those people I have known my whole life. 
Eric at one time had a big soda habit. Four or five Mountain Dews or Dr. Peppers a day.  He said, “I had tried to stop before only to feel drained and have headaches. Spark solved all that. Just by replacing the drinks I dropped 15 lbs. in the first month.” Yes, just by making one change he dropped 15 pounds!!! (The amount of weight sugar drinks can add to you is staggering!)  Talk about a motivating experience! 
This caused Eric and his family to  look into changing more to get healthier and that is exactly what he did.  Eric said, “I was excited about the initial weight loss. So when I discovered the 24 Day Challenge I was even more excited. It motivated me to think I could possibly lose another 15 lbs in the coming month. And I did, I lost 16 more on that first 24 Day Challenge.”
Once again, Eric had found a source of motivation via products that worked to help him reach his health goals. He also states that, “My oldest daughter and my wife did that 1st Challenge with me. It was a lot of fun for us to start a healthier lifestyle change together.” And that my friends, is one of the biggest motivators of all…a family on a journey to better health. Encouragement in the HOUSE!!! 

There are many forms of motivation. Your life and your successes may motivate others, the same way the lives and successes of others motivate you. When we open ourselves up to share our journeys, it is amazing to see how people are willing to share with you their journeys. Traveling the hills and valleys in life with people that inspire you to keep one, keeping one as Vickie said, is where the real motivation is found.


This week has been tough for me as I nurse a foot injury. However, my detailed plan that I WROTE down and determined in my head that I WOULD FOLLOW NO EXCUSES, motivated me to modify exercise to keep this body on my path to Steps to a Healthier Me. I have found the new DVD of exercise videos AdvoCare came out with this year to be very helpful. The 24 minute work outs, and the ability to modify them to accommodate Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced was very helpful to me. I can happily report that I am 6 pounds down since last Friday’s post!

It does not matter what the number on the scale is. Your life matters because God made you. If you need encouragement please contact me anytime. I truly understand the trials of weight loss, emotional eating, yo-yo dieting, etc., etc., etc. One of the worst feelings is to feel alone while coping with a serious problem. I hope you will take a look at Fit and Fabulous. It is a very positive place for me. I will post links below to Fit and Fabulous and to a link about the Can You 24 video.

Please visit Steps to a Healthier Me and leave encouraging posts, tips, etc., for me to enjoy as well as others. I will be trying to post on that site daily with a word of encouragement and any health tips that I may find. We are all one bad day away from failure, and one great day away from success. And sometimes it is the boost we get from a motivating word, picture, product, etc., which pushes us from failure to success!

I thank you as always for your encouragement on this journey. Today in a very special way I thank Vickie, Christie and Eric. The three of you have been great encouragement to me this week for sure.

God bless all of you, and may you do well on your own journey to better health!

Contact information: stepstoahealthierme@gmail.com

Follow me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Steps-to-a-Healthier-Me/277083562304037?fref=ts and www.facebook.com/leahmorris

Visit AdvoCare at: www.advocare.com/120819680

Can You 24 DVD information site: advocare.com/canyou24