What keeps you going when you just want to quit?

There are alot of little things that keep me going. Most of it is psychological. Let's face it who knows us better than ourselves? We know those little triggers that make us skip a workout or eat that food that we know is bad for us. I find that constant reflection on the goal we are working towards will help. It's hard to break habits that have been around as long as we have been living so we need that constant reminder of change. When I feel like slacking I do whatever it takes to psych myself up. I remind myself that I have done this before and lost 50 pounds. I remind myself of all the people I know that have done it with hard work. I remind myself of all the people on the Biggest Loser that overcome so much. I imagine that I am the one crossing the finish line at the end of a marathon. I think about the health risks I have inherited and have also created by my lifestyle. I remind myself that I have the chance to change them and break the curse.

Having this blog is another thing that helps. I have made a commitment to my friends and followers that I am going to do this. I have committed that I am going to lose 20 pounds by Valentine's Day. I constantly remind myself of how much I will feel like a failure if that doesn't happen. I hate the feeling of thinking that others don't believe I can do it. Once I psych myself up enough with that then I kick into high gear. Isn't it funny how if you tell yourself you can't do something you probably won't but let someone else tell you that you can't and it's ON!

Another thing that helps is health problem symptoms. Either hubby or I will have some weird chest palpitation or feel a sugar rush from eating too much crap and it's a great reminder of why we need to get healthy and FAST. The thought of losing him would devastate me and since I am the one who buys and cooks the food he's eating I would never want to live with the feeling that I could have changed it and I didn't. I also don't want my kids eating unhealthy and shortening their life either. I know I have fed my family with the same bad habits my mother fed our family. Mom's cooking sure is good but let's face it alot of it wasn't healthy. I notice myself buying lots of groceries the way mom did. Sometimes throwing it out because it went bad before we ate it. Most of the time it was the fruits and veggies that no one ate that went bad. Next shopping trip I would buy more because we needed to eat better. If I had a dollar for every pound of fresh produce that rotted in my fridge I would be a very wealthy lady!