Start Again

The common theme on most of these weight loss blogs are the same. Gung-ho on day one, and then the drive slooooowly fizzles out. What is the deal, man? I have been the worst offender, I can promise you that! How many times in the past 7 weeks that this little blog has been alive have I committed and recommitted? I just spoke about this same thing last week. And yet, here I am again wondering why my personal goals for the month of June went unmet. I had set a side-goal for myself. In addition to running of course, I aspired to "plank" 3 full hours in the month of June. Once again, I fell VERY short. And so, it seems, have a lot of my new friends on their fitness journeys lately. So what is it that gets us so fired up and passionate only to fizzle out before the real progress shows up? Where does that spark go when the alarm goes off in the early a.m. and you wrestle with whether to go back to sleep or find your running shoes? And what do some of these women have that I don't have? These women that make it look so easy with snug, fashionable yoga pants, toned shoulders, and bustling energy. These moms that show up with full-make-up at the gym carrying their happy kids to the play area and prance like gazelles to the treadmill. What are their secrets? What is their motive? And where do they get their degree in "how-to-make-a-messy-ponytail-look-sexy"?! It's mind-boggling, to say the least. You're lucky if I show up in my hubby's t-shirt and gym shorts with a smirk on my face. I like my sleep. And that, is the understatement of the year as a mom. We barely sleep as it is! 

Yet here I am trying to uncover the secret to success in fitness and weight-loss. Beyond starting over every Monday. Cause you know that's when all diets begin. LOL. 

I must say, I look at people like my mother-in-law in awe and envy. She's a grandma of four now and quite possibly in the best shape of her life. After months of engaging in the Weight Watchers diet, she got down to her goal weight and took up running. Now she runs half-marathons and can run laps around ME any day of the week. In fact, I would love for her to run a few laps FOR me! That could be helpful. But regardless, she inspires me. And I think to myself, what does she have that I don't have? Self-discipline, motivation, drive, confidence that she can do it? I think more than anything, she had courage. Courage to do whatever it took to be different...to be healthy. It takes a lot more courage to get off the couch than it does to just sit there. Because failure is so inevitable in this journey. Failure wounds us daily. We need to be courageous enough to stand back up and keep on going. I think this is something I lack. Something I am just now realizing about myself. 

I need courage. 

Mom-in-law took the 3 hour Plank-A-Thon challenge with me and let me know yesterday that she did it. She DID it! All three hours in comparison to my 2 hours and 14 minute shortcoming. And so, I ask myself, what should I do today to be more courageous?...... Start again? It would be easy to pick a new goal. I almost did. But I've decided to start my plank-a-Thon challenge over again. This time, I'll make it too. This time I'll have a bit more courage. I'll accept my failures and decide to begin again--even if it's not Monday yet. 

And to all those out there like my mother-in-law......all those Malibu Barbie Moms at the gym, and to every last one of you who have inspired me to keep going...thanks for the courage! Thank you for assuring us that this thing isn't impossible. That we will one day reach a point of progress if we keep starting over. Today is a day for courage. Brush yourselves off and start again!