The Beauty in Patience

Thoughts are heavily racing through my head as I sit down to write this blog entry. I believe I have already changed the title about four times, trying to find the perfect words to describe the overall message of what I am trying to write. I get a lot of messages asking what I do to lose weight, supplements I take, and especially "how quick can I lose X amount of weight?" Sometimes I get messages from the same people asking the same questions over and over again. They will ask the same question multiple times over a period of a couple of months. It appears that is because they give up too quickly, then as time goes by they want to start again. If you are looking for a quick fix, I cannot help you. It is not what I stand for. My journey of losing weight has been incredibly much more than just changing my body. This journey has changed my life and helped me discover who I am. One of the most important things this journey has taught me is the beauty of patience, and the struggles we have to go through to master it.

In 2008 I was at the heaviest I had ever been at 19 years old. Who really wants to life their teenage years and 20's being overweight and obese? I did not. My weight gain significantly started to increase in early 2007. I of course noticed it then and wanted to change... apparently not bad enough. I wanted all of the weight to be gone in 3 days. I would tell myself that today was the day that I was going to change my life, eat better, and exercise more. It would last for about 2-3 days. I would get so aggravated because I had been working so  hard for that whole 72 hours and I had not lost 15 pounds. Weight loss doesn't work that like. And it took a lot of starting and quitting before I finally realized that. As you have probably heard multiple times before; "You did not gain the weight all over night, nor will you lose it that quickly". I know it's clique, but it is so true.

Now that I have suffered, struggled, and pushed myself through the past 2 years of trying to get my body to where I want it, I am happy for the time it has taken. I have learned so much about the word patience. Mastering patience does not do anything but make us better. Since the weight loss has taken a long time because I solely have done it through dieting and exercise, I have become a much better person. When you are being patient but still pushing along - that is a journey. A journey involves struggles, challenges, patience, and learning. That is what I have done and that is what I want to help you all accomplish.

Because my journey has taken time, and I have been patient, I have learned that I can hold myself accountable and still succeed. Patience taught me accountability.  I did not use a trainer except for just a few times to learn some different things. I pushed myself, set new goals, and made myself accomplish them. I cried and grew angry when I did not see huge results right away, but I kept working. Patience taught me to be stronger. Over time I watched my body change and watched my work outs become over 300% harder. Patience taught me gratitude. All of these lessons I learned from my journey helped me in other parts of my life too; like going through a big break up, trying to find a new career, becoming independent, and extremely focused on making the best life for myself.  Have patience with your weight loss journey and in other aspects of your life. It only makes you a better person.