Believe.

I had one of those workouts last week.  The one that takes you from "I have to workout today" to "I LOVED my workout today"...yea, it was a run and was THAT good!  I was smiling while sweat was pouring off of my face!  What a feeling.  I had missed those runs and hopefully I see them more often :)  I finally believed in myself again...

 

Do you Believe in yourself?  with weight-loss?  your workouts?  

*If you truly believe you can do it, you will exceed ALL of your expectations.  You are stronger than you ever thought possible, so go for it.  

My clients used to come to me wanting to lose weight, reach a goal and they'd say to me, "when I exercise, I'm achy.  I can't walk very far without becoming short of breath, I can't climb stairs, 

I can't...I can't...I CAN'T"

When they'd believe in themselves, change their mind set, I'd see an entirely different person walk through those gym doors.  It was incredible.  

Think about your goals, what you want when it comes to your health and the health of your family.  I often times see women concerned with their own health, but they allow the health of their children to slip right by.  Our children need our guidance...they need a role model.  

They WANT to live healthy too.  

Is it okay to take care of ourselves, to exercise, eat healthy and not do the same for our family? 

It takes a lot of preparation, trial and error with helping our kids to eat healthy and exercise but it's worth it.  Growing up as the unhealthy, zero-confidence child I would have given anything to have realized healthy living earlier in life.  ANYTHING.  Our children don't need to be deprived of every cookie and chip in sight, but they need to learn healthy foods, moderation, portion control, fruits and veggies and find the ones they love, they need to get outside with YOU and be active!  Exercise with YOU!  

It's a double-edge sword because unhealthy parents model the wrong behavior sometimes but a healthy parent can often times not see that they may be eating right and exercising for themselves, but what about their husband....children...they matter just as much!  Are they falling victim to fast food obsessions, overeating, lack of exercise?  We must understand that your children may not be getting enough exercise at school through physical education-which is unfortunate but we can pick up the slack at home.  Designate Saturdays as the family fun-exercise day!  And your children don't have to be young to enjoy this, your teens and tweens can play a game of basketball or football in your backyard, jump rope on the porch...anything!  

I'd work with overweight children with Type 2 Diabetes, I'd help them find exercise and an eating plan, then I'd meet their parents (happened more than once) and they'd be in perfect shape, in workout clothes like they had just left the gym and been there for hours...I don't like to judge, but are they doing the same for their children as they are for themselves?  

Our youth's statistics are SCARY...more obese/overweight and unhealthy children by the day so next time you hit the gym, think about taking your kiddos for a walk when you get home!