Blessings: Part 2

We've all been given blessings and gifts in our lives. For many of us it's our children, family and friends, great jobs and hopefully good health.

For some of us our good health hasn't come easy, probably because we ignored it or abused the good health we may have been blessed with. For some of us we have been given a second chance (maybe a 3rd, 4th, 5th), worked hard to achieve our goals and then either slowly watched it slip away or in some cases completely threw it away.

Why would you ever want to start over again? Why would you ever want to go through the pain and agony of losing the weight all over again?  

Did you get lazy?

Are you just more comfortable being heavy, unhealthy and complacent?

Maybe you just want the attention of others..."poor me!" "I just can't do this!" "I'm too busy." "It doesn't matter what I do I just can't lose weight or keep it off!" THESE ARE ALL EXCUSES! And now you're just seeking attention, and asking people to join your pity party.

Some people just don't want to try and live an active, healthy lifestyle. Which is really a shame because I know of so many that eat healthy, exercise and still struggle with their weight because of health reasons. These people would KILL for what some people have been given and have had.

What do we need to do to maintain a healthy lifestyle? What do we need to do to get back to where we once were?

1. First question you need to ask yourself, "What am I going to do to change?" Are you going to completely change or modify your eating habits? Will you start going back to the gym? Are you going to prepare your food and pre-package it so you have each meal ready to go throughout the day.
2. Next. "DO I REALLY WANT TO CHANGE?" and if you do, see question #1. If you don't, then you're on your own. May God help you to live the rest of your life the way you want. Don't expect other people to enable your bad habits and unhealthy lifestyle.
3. If you ask for help from some one knowledgeable and they help you...listen to them! Otherwise you're wasting everyone's time.
4. Be someone's motivation/inspiration. For me, having the blog and doing the Challenge, being on TV a number a times throughout the year and working with The Biggest Loser RunWalk gives me all the motivation I need to maintain my healthy lifestyle and try to lead by example. But another motivation for most of us are our children. Our children look up to us; we lead by example with them. They will eat what we eat, they will drink what we give them. If we're active,s more than likely they will be active.
5. Remember where you've been and what it took to get healthy. No one truly wants to start over at square one. So don't! Maintain a healthy lifestyle, stay active, turn bad habits into good habits. Cheat once a week, not once or twice or three or four times a day. Stop skipping the gym or working out period! Working out not only keeps you healthy but it relieves stress and releases endorphins which can make you feel better. 

I believe we've all been blessed. We've been given a great opportunity to live a healthy life with these amazing machines...our bodies. Most of us take care of our cars better than we take care of our own bodies. Most of us trade in our cars every 2 to 3 years; our bodies need to make it for 70-80 years or more. So doesn't it make sense to start taking care of it? It's never too late to stat taking care of this vehicle.

So here are my questions for you.

What are you going to do to start taking care of your vehicle (your body)?

What is the one thing that you're going to change first?

Who do you want to inspire?

Count your blessings everyday. Thank those who have helped you and who are still helping you. Help those who ask for your help. Stay strong. stay focused and NEVER GIVE UP!

--Dan