The Moment I Knew?

Sometimes I get the question "When did it really click for you?  Was there a moment that you simply KNEW that you HAD TO LOSE WEIGHT?"

It's difficult to answer that question in an elevator LOL.  I don't have an "elevator story" for that because it's a pretty complex journey that I've had, and YES I've had a MOMENT of decision.  I've had many MOMENTS of decision which didn't pan out into action, and at some point the cumulation of those MOMENTS became so unbearable that the pain of staying the same was greater than the pain of TAKING ACTION.  In fact, I did a short video clip some years ago which was featured in the Huffington Post on one such "moment" of decision.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nn72x74I8c

That "moment" was one of those epic moments of decision for me, but I have had many "moments" since.

The moment I got stuck in the turnstiles at Disneyworld on my son's Make-A-Wish Trip.
The moment I saw that I couldn't ride the carousel because there was a 250 pound weight limit.
The moment I needed a seatbelt extender on the flight from Orlando to Phoenix MID FLIGHT...I hadn't needed one when I got ON the plane, but after using the restroom and coming back to my seat I couldn't get it fastened so I had to ask for a seatbelt extender.  I was literally expanding by the minute!
The moment our son's Nephrologist told us the best thing we could do as advocates for our son was to "model health."
The moment someone asked if my son was my grandson.
The moment my size 26 women's plus-size stretch jeans from Walmart were too tight to zip.
And the moments continued.

And I finally TOOK ACTION.

Gradually as I continued on my journey my focus CHANGED, in that at some point along the way I embraced the paradigm shift of "creating optimal health" in my life (as opposed to "weight loss") and I began to learn the Habits of Health that would be my vehicle (thank you Take Shape For Life and Dr. Wayne Scott Andersen for creating that tool and allowing me to be a part of it!).

But total transformation of the mind and body doesn't rest on "a moment" or "a decision" made some time ago.  Yes I CHOSE HEALTH way back when and put ACTION to my decision.  But the truth of the matter is that every morning I need to RE-CHOSE HEALTH with the same commitment of action.

Every.  Morning.

The mornings I DON'T re-chose health I struggle.  If that turns in to TWO mornings in a row, I struggle more.  If that stretches into a WEEK of not re-choosing health I start to feel it in my jeans which begin to get a little tighter.  If that stretches into a MONTH of not re-choosing health I can be up 10-15 pounds.

So it is VITAL that EVERY morning I RE-CHOSE to BE a fit and healthy woman.  After the choice, I follow it up with action.  I ACT in a manner which is congruent with my decision and with my goals.

I was thinking of that word "Act" a few days ago.  Sometimes it feels like I'm a character in a movie, and that I'm "acting" like the person I want to be.  Sometimes I don't FEEL the motivation, I don't FEEL like being true to my eating plan.  Hence, "Acting".  But then it hit me, that to ACT like a fit and healthy woman can also mean not that I'm an ACTOR but that I'm an ACTION-ER.  This means that I take the ACTIONS necessary to achieve my goals no matter how I happen to FEEL that day.

So, today I CHOOSE to ACT in a manner which is congruent to my decision to BE a "Fit and Healthy Woman" because that is who I want to be.  Because I didn't choose transformation once and for all and for always, I choose transformation TODAY, and tomorrow I will CHOOSE transformation again.

Rinse and Repeat!