My story: I lost 150 pounds utilizing Take Shape For Life and became a FREE Health Coach to "pay it forward" and help other people bring health into their lives. I've maintained a healthy weight for 2 years now and am doing this "diet bet" for a little tune-up!
Today on my 3 mile run around my neighborhood I was amazed (again...always...) at how light I felt. Lighter than air, actually! Nothing jiggling, nothing wiggling, no black eyes (only women will know what I mean by that LOL TMI)....and I was simply ENJOYING being in MY SKIN. I was enjoying MOVING. I was enjoying listening to some great tunes on my playlist (Coldplay, The Script, Nickelback, Capital Cities, One Republic, the list could go on and on!), and I was just grateful. Grateful for the tools that provided me the opportunity to create health in my life. Grateful for the support system that I have and the people I have befriended along the way. Grateful.
Then I began to think about other people who I know who have brought a similar level of health into THEIR lives. I was grateful that THEY recognized their own capability to write their OWN stories of health.
I am not unique. There is nothing that I have been able to do on my journey that anyone who desires the same thing can't bring into their own, with the right tools and the right support (message me if you'd like my support!). Again, grateful for the tools and support Take Shape For Life has given me. I would recommend no other program! And believe me, I KNOW what is out there. Some of it is downright DANGEROUS.
I am reminded of those "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories that I read and loved as a teenager, and I was struck by how similar my journey to health has been to a Choose Your Own Adventure book. You know the ones I'm talking about, don't you? Those books where at the end of every section you have the opportunity to choose what action the hero/heroine of the story takes next, then depending on the action you chose you turned to a different page in the book to see what happened? And then at the end of THAT section there was ANOTHER opportunity to choose what your hero/heroine does and then turn the the corresponding page to THAT choice? There were many different story combinations you could end up with, many different adventures and endings depending on what you chose, contained in ONE BOOK.
I feel that way about my health journey. Just think about it, we have the power to CHOOSE our story, to CHOOSE what we will do, and to LIVE the life we desire based upon our CHOICES! How awesome is THAT?
We have always had the power of choice. I'm not saying that every choice I have made in my life had a happy segment to experience. In fact, many of my choices as regards my health in my college years and 20's and 30's had pretty dismal segments to read as a result. But it was NEVER too late to change the story, to change the outcome, to become the heroine of my own story. I simply changed my choices.
And guess what?!!?? YOU can change YOUR story too! Your story from here on out can be an exciting adventure of health and inspiration! I started somewhere 4 years ago in a new chapter of my choosing. Anything I have accomplished, anything I have done (which included losing over half of me and maintaining a healthy weight for 2 years now) is NOT UNIQUE to ME! I simply changed my choices!
Whether you are just beginning a new chapter, or are in the thick of the story, remember THIS. Sometimes things get a little messier before they get a lot better. It is the essence of story. What will YOUR story be in a year? In two years? In three years? In four years? Will you be writing a blog like this that says "Hey! I did it! I succeeded in bringing health into my life, I love my newfound health, I feel great in my skin, I love to move, I love to help others, I love to write blogs like this!"
Or will you, like in the game Candyland, keep making progress and sliding back down the slide time and time again?
It is YOUR choice. YOU choose the next section. YOUR adventure has just begun. YOU are the heroine. Now go write your story!
Here are the lyrics to an awesome song that is one of my favorites:
Unwritten, by Natasha Bedingfield:
"I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined
I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
Oh, oh, oh
I break tradition, sometimes my tries, are outside the lines
We've been conditioned to not make mistakes, but I can't live that way
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten"
Then I began to think about other people who I know who have brought a similar level of health into THEIR lives. I was grateful that THEY recognized their own capability to write their OWN stories of health.
I am not unique. There is nothing that I have been able to do on my journey that anyone who desires the same thing can't bring into their own, with the right tools and the right support (message me if you'd like my support!). Again, grateful for the tools and support Take Shape For Life has given me. I would recommend no other program! And believe me, I KNOW what is out there. Some of it is downright DANGEROUS.
I am reminded of those "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories that I read and loved as a teenager, and I was struck by how similar my journey to health has been to a Choose Your Own Adventure book. You know the ones I'm talking about, don't you? Those books where at the end of every section you have the opportunity to choose what action the hero/heroine of the story takes next, then depending on the action you chose you turned to a different page in the book to see what happened? And then at the end of THAT section there was ANOTHER opportunity to choose what your hero/heroine does and then turn the the corresponding page to THAT choice? There were many different story combinations you could end up with, many different adventures and endings depending on what you chose, contained in ONE BOOK.
I feel that way about my health journey. Just think about it, we have the power to CHOOSE our story, to CHOOSE what we will do, and to LIVE the life we desire based upon our CHOICES! How awesome is THAT?
We have always had the power of choice. I'm not saying that every choice I have made in my life had a happy segment to experience. In fact, many of my choices as regards my health in my college years and 20's and 30's had pretty dismal segments to read as a result. But it was NEVER too late to change the story, to change the outcome, to become the heroine of my own story. I simply changed my choices.
And guess what?!!?? YOU can change YOUR story too! Your story from here on out can be an exciting adventure of health and inspiration! I started somewhere 4 years ago in a new chapter of my choosing. Anything I have accomplished, anything I have done (which included losing over half of me and maintaining a healthy weight for 2 years now) is NOT UNIQUE to ME! I simply changed my choices!
Whether you are just beginning a new chapter, or are in the thick of the story, remember THIS. Sometimes things get a little messier before they get a lot better. It is the essence of story. What will YOUR story be in a year? In two years? In three years? In four years? Will you be writing a blog like this that says "Hey! I did it! I succeeded in bringing health into my life, I love my newfound health, I feel great in my skin, I love to move, I love to help others, I love to write blogs like this!"
Or will you, like in the game Candyland, keep making progress and sliding back down the slide time and time again?
It is YOUR choice. YOU choose the next section. YOUR adventure has just begun. YOU are the heroine. Now go write your story!
Here are the lyrics to an awesome song that is one of my favorites:
Unwritten, by Natasha Bedingfield:
"I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined
I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
Oh, oh, oh
I break tradition, sometimes my tries, are outside the lines
We've been conditioned to not make mistakes, but I can't live that way
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten"