weigh down wednesday :: motivation (part 2)

So, I've been rethinking my weight loss lately.

In all honesty, I've been thinking more than doing.

Coming into a new busy season in my life I've realized that I need to find some new motivation, or inspiration, if you will.

Let me tell you a bit about my summer.

All was well and good on the weight loss train until the end of June.

What happened in June, you ask?

Well, simply put, I went vegetarian.

I know you're probably thinking, "how on earth did going meatless make you stray off of your diet program?".

Well, given the type of diet I was on, going veggie through a wrench in the plan, because a lot of frozen dinners/breakfasts have meat in them.

I also fell into the (false) thinking of things being okay and/or healthier because of their lack of meat.

Enter in more high calorie/fat foods and less and less of what was working before.

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Now, let me clarify and say that I think a vegetarian lifestyle can be very healthy and can definitely inspire weight loss.

If done right.

I wasn't doing it "right". 

I went from the ease of precooked, premeasured  meals and snacks and all of the sudden tried to make this gigantic switch over to a completely different way of eating.

And I did it for 4 weeks.

Let me tell you, 4 weeks is more than enough time to severely offset your eating habits.

Now, I haven't gained any weight and have actually still lost a little, but it is really hard to get back on the horse that I was on a few short months ago.

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I've been working harder this past few weeks to get back on track.
I still have some work to do to get back to the level of "dieting" that I was doing before,
but it's coming.

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What is currently helping to motivate me?
Lots of little things and two major things.
1. My 29th birthday  is 3 weeks away.
2. My 9th wedding anniversary is in a little over a month.
These two milestones are starting to help me push just a little harder.

I only have a little over a year left in my twenties and I want to end this crazy, life altering decade with a bang(ing bod!).
I don't want to start my thirties being self-conscious and not being at my best.
I want to be able to keep up with my kiddos and have the energy to take them on adventures (however big or small they may be).
I want my hubby to be able to recognize the woman he married, just a few years older.

Part of my motivation comes from me wanting to be able to feel good about myself and the way I look.
Some of it comes from me just wanting to physically feel better.
I don't want to be afflicted with some of the aches, pains, and health problems that commonly come with being overweight.
Extra weight is a burden on our bodies.
Our joints start aching.
We become short of breath super easy.
Feeling lethargic just becomes a part of the everyday.
I don't want this to be me.

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Slowly, but surely I'm achieving my goals.
I'm feeling better about the person I see in the mirror.
I feel healthier.
I don't hate going clothes shopping anymore.
I'm keeping up with my crazy job and schedule.

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I'm not to the end of this race yet, but I honestly don't think I ever will be.
There will always be food temptations.
It will always be easier to veg on the couch rather than get out and move.
There will always be someone who is in better shape than me.
But finally, as I'm getting closer and closer to 30, I feel like I can take all of this on.
I feel more confident everyday.
I truly know now, deep inside, that if I have a "slip up", I can get right back up and keep going.

xoxo.