What is Your "Why"?

In yesterday's blog, I wrote about realizing that boredom on this program wouldn't kill me, but obesity might. The change in my thought process two years ago helped keep me on plan and moving towards my goal. Had I not struggled for over two decades with my weight, and had I not been facing some health concerns, I don't know if I would have been ready to face the reality of the risk of my obesity to my health and longevity.

I have a friend who was recently diagnosed with gluten intolerance. She has struggled with a number of health issues over the years and even though she's in her early 50's, she hasn't felt well for a long time. I'm not sure why it took such a long time for her to be diagnosed, but with the diagnosis and the elimination of both gluten and sugar from her diet, she is a new person. All of the symptoms she's had for so long, including aching joints, is gone. She talked about how expensive it is to shop in a natural foods store for the specialty items she needs, and she brings her own treats with her when she gets together with a group of friends for coffee. She always had a real sweet tooth, but she won't even take a bite of anything now because she knows eating things with gluten and sugar will make her fill sick. I asked her if she's ever tempted to eat some of her old foods and she said, "Sure, but I'd have to be certifiably insane to ever eat them again, because I feel so much better now." Knowing how long she was sick prior to her diagnosis, she said she wished she would have been diagnosed years ago. I asked her if she would have been willing to make the permanent changes years ago, or if it was being sick for so long that enabled her to do that. She thought for a moment and then said that she probably wouldn't have followed the diet restrictions years ago because she wasn't as sick then, and acknowledged that the tipping point for her was getting so ill and then seeing the difference in her health once she eliminated the source of her illness.

To make permanent changes, most of us have to reach a point where either the risk of staying where we are is no longer tolerable or the vision of where we want to be is clear enough to keep us moving. We are creatures of habit and we tend to return again and again to our old habits. The catalyst for changing old habits and creating new ones has to come from within us.

What is your motivation for being on this program? Why do you want to change? What are you hoping to eliminate? Most importantly, what are you wanting to create in your life? Once your goals are clear and you know why you're doing this, it's much easier to make the hard choices every day.

Today my encouragement to you is to identify your "why" - write it down - then choose wisely :-)