If I were to write a book about my journey to healthy living, I would probably call it “Transforming Tricia in 21 Days”. Or something along those lines. You see, on day one of my journey I felt like I was standing at the bottom of a tall mountain. I was looking up, and no matter how far I craned my neck, I just couldn’t see the top. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t fathom losing 120+ pounds.
Don’t get me wrong, I knew I NEEDED too. And somewhere, deep inside I must have believed I COULD do it. But I was daunted by the numbers. I simply couldn’t wrap my head around it. That’s a whole (small) person. I needed to lose a PERSON. How do you do that?!
Well, according to the media and my peers and hello even most doctors, you do that by taking diet pills. Or you order food off an infomercial and see how long you can be happy living on processed cardboard. Or you have surgery. Or maybe you just accept that you’re a large person and instead of fighting obesity you just shoulder the burden and move on.
Well guess what? I can pretty much claim to have tried it all. If there was a “get skinny quick” claim out there, I bought into it. Over the years I spent THOUSANDS of dollars and abused my body in countless ways, desperate for a change. But you know what I hadn’t tried? Lifestyle changes. Oh sure, occasionally I’d try to eat healthy, but it would only last a day or two and then I was right back to my old ways.
This time had to be different. I knew that in order for me to lose the weight, and more importantly, be HEALTHY, I needed to form new habits. I had heard somewhere that it takes 21 days to make a habit. I decided to apply that principal to healthy living. Forget figuring out how to lose 120 pounds, I just committed to 21 days of eating well and working out.
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I’ll be honest and tell you: I gave myself an “out”. I said, if after that 21 day time period I hated the way I was living, or wasn’t seeing the results I wanted then I could quit. So I ate right, and moved my body every day for 21 days. Imagine my surprise when after 21 days I had lost TWENTY pounds, and more importantly I was feeling better and loving the way I was living. There was no turning back, the new habits were formed.
In a little under 9 months I hit the 100 pounds lost mark, faster than I ever thought possible. A few more months and an additional 28 pounds came off. Along the way I picked up a passion for healthy living. It all started with a 21 day challenge to myself.
So, why am I rehashing my story? Most of you probably already knew all that. I sat down and wrote this to remind MYSELF of the power of 21 days. The last couple of months I’ve been grumbling to my husband about my pants being tight and just feeling a little unhappy with where I am. I run and workout consistently,but have let all those miles I run be an excuse for eating far too many indulgences. I’ve picked up on this before, focused on it for a few days, and then forgotten about it. Silly cycle that’s left me gaining and losing the same 10 pounds. It seemed like an endless vicious cycle until last week I had a light bulb moment.
I LOST 128 POUNDS. I changed my life from one of excess to one centered about being healthy. I am 100% in control of my body. Instead of complaining about feeling squishy I need to do something about it. It’s time to break what has become a habit.
Last Monday I pulled out my calendar and marked off 21 days. For those days I promised myself I could be aware of how I am treating my body. I would be kind to it with what I fuel it with. Today marks one week. This past week I have been reminded how much better I feel when I eat healthy. I’ve lost 5 of those silly pounds in the past week, but more importantly, my body is HAPPY with me.
Once again I am reminded that small steps add up to great things.
I may only be talking to myself here, and that’s ok. But I have a suspicion that there are those of you out there that can relate. It may not involve weight for you, it may be something else entirely. The principal is the same. You CAN achieve those goals. They may seem daunting, but if you break it down into small, attainable steps you will get there.
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one single step."