Since the completion of my first blog, I have been trying to decide what I want to write my next blog about.  I have had lots of ideas.  When I was out walking, when I was taking a shower, when I was eating my dinner, I would be thinking about something and randomly tell myself that I could blog about that.  My worst fears, fad diets I have tried, gluten, diet pills, and unsupportive spouses.  These are all topics that crossed my mind over the last two days.  But I want to write about something that will inspire people:  something that will motivate at least one person to take one more step toward their goal.

So, then I thought about what motivates me.  Hearing stories about others who have faced challenges and overcome them helps me believe that I can do it too.  In my line of work, I have the opportunity to hear those stories often and I also have the opportunity to tell my story to my clients.  You see, I was a young single mom in an abusive relationship working minimum wage jobs and trying to support my family as best as I could.  It took me years to get away from my abuser but when I finally did, I was unstoppable!  I went to college while supporting my three children on my own without a dime of child support from their father.  I worked hard to give my children everything they needed physically, and emotionally.  Sure it was tough.  I remember working for five dollars an hour cleaning at a motel and barely being able to pay the rent.   That was only 15 years ago.  Many Christmases saw me going to the local “holiday project” for gifts for my children because I couldn’t afford to get them anything.  Night after night was spent doing homework and writing papers after tucking my babies into bed because I knew if I could just get a college degree I could get a better job and create a more stable life for my children.  There were days when I thought about giving up.  But I kept going and my hard work paid off.  I got a degree and found a job that paid twice as much as cleaning other people’s filth in that motel.  Then I landed a job that paid twice as much as that one! I moved out of low income housing and eventually into a house of my own.  My children are all almost grown now at ages sixteen, seventeen, and twenty-one and I can say: I did it! 

Over the years, many clients have come back to me and thanked me for sharing with them, believing in them, and inspiring them.  You see, I work with people that are living in poverty and help them set goals and create plans to get themselves out of poverty.  They have told me that just knowing that I started out the same way they did and that I was able to make positive changes to create a different life for my family helped them realize that they could do it too.

Now, with this blog, I want to inspire people to keep moving toward their weight loss goals. But how can I do that when I have not been successful at that?  Well even though I haven’t gotten to the top of the mountain yet, I still have had some success on the climb.  Take this week, for instance.  I was under my calorie goal every day this week!  I worked out five out of the last seven days and exceeded my goal of three hundred total minutes for the week!  I lost 2.2 pounds this week too!  As I’m writing about all my success this week, I am reminded that sometimes we need to pay attention to our small successes to help us believe in and inspire ourselves.  But in case you are having difficulty recognizing your own successes, I want you to know that I believe in you!  We can do this! 

"We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough.” Helen Keller