I Am NOT a Failure!

I have been trying to lose weight since I was 17 years old.  In case you’re wondering, I’m 43 yrs old, will be 44 later this year. I had some success, if you can call it that.  I didn’t call it success and this is why- - when I lost weight, it was never the full amount I was trying to lose.  And without exception, I always gained back the weight I lost and then some.  So no, I was not successful. In fact, I felt like a failure.  I thought I was a failure and that belief seeped into other areas of my life.  In a nutshell, this is what I thought:

“How can I be successful at anything if I can’t even lose weight?”

And then I tried to turn it into a positive thought:

“If I can lose this weight, then I can do anything”

HA!  I think that was even worse—what a setup!!!  Can you imagine the damage that either of those thoughts had on my confidence?   Not so much that you or even I would notice but just enough to keep me from going after big dreams and setting big goals. 

So what was my “aha” moment?  Well, every once in a while there was this quiet voice in the back of my mind telling me that “real failure is giving up”—and I finally started listening to it.  I told myself since I never gave up, I am not a failure. 

So, I kept trying, and trying, and trying until I found something that worked.  And I did! Better yet, I found a lifestyle worked.  I’ve been losing weight since December 2012 and I’m about 2/3 of the way to my goal.  Slow and steady wins the race, right?  More about my lifestyle changes in later posts but I’ll give you a hint—no pills, no special foods, no surgery. 

 

What thoughts are holding you back from moving forward in any area of your life?

 
Antoinette

 

Finding what works for you

How many gyms have you joined? How many diets have you tried that were supposed to make the pounds melt away? Did you take up jogging, Zumba, Insanity, or PX90 to shed those pounds? Let me ask you this - do you like any of these things?  Does it feel like a chore every time you go to the gym or start that wonder diet? Do you just dread the morning, because it will start all over again with little or no results?  I think the key is to find something that you enjoy and it will work for you.  If you like to walk, then walk. If you hate going to the gym then don’t go. Don’t jump on the diet that is popular at the moment, but find one that suits you and you like. In my weight loss journey, I found that it stressed me to no end to get on that scale every week. So you know what? I don’t.  I gauge my weight loss by changes in my cloth size and it works for me. Find what works for you and make your journey to a healthier life a fun and stress free experience.

Shirley

Movie Moments That Inpire Me

Inspiration can come from anywhere.  Over the years, there have been a few movie moments that inspired me to start or keep working out. 

Se7en

When the victim who represented gluttony was being autopsied, it occurred to me that one day I’m going to end up naked on someone’s autopsy and/or embalming table.  It seemed right that I should look my best.  I found a picture of that scene, it’s too graphic to include here but do a google image search for “se7en movie gluttony” and you’ll find it. 

Disclosure

Demi Moore looked amazing in this movie.  Her character was sexy and powerful—I was a plump 180lbs.  I thought to myself, “I can do better”. 

G. I. Jane

Demi Moore again!   I was over 200lbs when this movie was released.  She was so physically fit; I didn’t want her body, but I did want MY best body. 

Let me just say, I don’t aspire to have anyone else’s body, just my own but at its best.  I’m not there yet but I’m on my way.  Shirt size XXL in 2010, XL in 2011, L in 2013. 

What movie moments have inspired you to fitness? 

Fit & Fabulous at 62

Have you noticed that as you got older-entering your 40’s and 50’s- that whenever you had a pain or ache or gained weight you heard, “you’re just getting older”?  Well what exactly does that mean??  Does it mean that we shouldn't be mindful of getting better? That we should just accept sickness and pain as a sign of getting old? At 58 I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.  It was almost as if I should accept it and just live with it.  When I turned 60 I made a decision to take control of my life and health.  I found a plan that worked for me to lose weight and never looked back.  Now, at 62, I am completely off my medication for diabetes. Although my doctor claims that once you are diagnosed a diabetic always a diabetic, my numbers continue to be normal. So I am fit and fabulous at 62! Don’t wait; take control of your health now.

Shirley

                         

Age 58 

Age 62

Who Complains About Dancing?

There is only one physical activity that I can think of that people do not complain about—dancing!  Think about it. 

1.       At a party, people dance for as long as the music lasts. 

2.       People don’t complain about dancing all night but,

3.       People do hope the music is good enough so that they CAN dance all night. 

And when the DJ plays great song after great song after great song, people keep on dancing.  Even when our feet hurt (high heels were not made for dancing).  In fact, don’t we judge the skill of a DJ by his or her ability to keep the dance floor packed?  And more importantly, people are happy when they are dancing—happy and laughing as you can see in the picture below.  That’s me, center, in the red top, feeling the groove. J

 

When you think about it, isn’t dancing a form of exercise?  We just don’t think of it as such because it’s something we WANT to do rather than something we think we have to do. 

Why can’t working out be the same way?  Why can’t it be good for you and fun?  That’s what Hustle Fit™ is all about.  It was born out of my love for dancing, particularly line dancing.  It’s a lot of fun--try it out and let us know what you think. Just go to www.hustlefitonline.com and you can sign up to receive three free videos.  Enjoy!


Antoinette

Fit & Fabulous

One of our goals at Hustle Fit is the help you thrive.  We want to do more than help you lose weight or avoid illness. We want you to THRIVE.  We call it "Fit & Fabulous".  The dictionary.com defines thrive as,

1. to prosper, be fortunate, or successful 
2. to grow or develop vigorously; flourish

Thriving is a concept I was introduced to during the coursework for my Health and Wellness degree and it really resonated with me. I like the idea of approaching my life and health with the goal of thriving instead of avoiding disease and losing weight.  Now that my goal is to thrive, I'm less frustrated and I enjoy life more.  There are benefits that go beyond health.  For example--I woke up yesterday, looked around my bedroom and thought, "this is not the room of someone who is thriving".  So I jumped out of bed and spent the first two hours of day cleaning my room, lol.  

So what do you want?  Do you want to be healthy or do you want to be Fit and Fabulous?

Nothing Much Happening Today

What's going today at Hustle Fit?  Not much--putting last minute touches on the website to get it ready for beta-testing, a short partners meeting.  Writing this blog post.

I was given challenge by my life coach to write a blog post everyday for 21 days.  Although I missed one day--for no other reason than I just forgot to do it--I'm pretty proud of myself for doing my best to meet this challenge.  And I'm writing one today even though I really have nothing to talk about:)

I hope you all are having a great day and resting up for the upcoming week.  Take a few minutes to dance, here's an easy one.  It's called "Participation".