If at first you don't succeed...

For almost 7 months now, I've been telling myself I'm going to do this thing. I'm going to lose weight. I'm going to get healthy. I'm going to make good choices every day. I'm going to transform in all the best ways.

I've started and stopped 2 or 3 times since July of last year for various reasons, but as the saying goes, "Momma didn't raise no quitter!"

As I type, I'm wrapping up day 10 of my first full 21 Day Fix. (I started one in the fall but stopped after just a week due to strep throat... and then never picked back up.)

I have some before pictures to share.

Typical "before" in workout clothes. This was on Day 1.

273.5 lbs
Chest: 47"
Waist: 44.5"
Hips: 54.5"

These are some pictures I had taken today, on day 10, in an outfit that I bought last week. I want to see myself shrink my way out of those size 22 jeans.

10 days in and I'm already down 5 lbs. I haven't done measurements and won't until day 21. Then I'll start over again. Or keep going. Whatever way you want to look at it. And I won't stop because 1. I have a long way to go, but more important 2. Doing things on purpose to maintain good health and fitness levels is a life-long commitment.

Besides working the Beachbody nutrition and fitness programs, I'm also training for a 5K that I will complete on my 40th (??!!) birthday in 8 short week. I trained for a 5K for my 30th birthday back when I was crazy fit, so it's different this time. However, both then and now it was partly symbolic of my ability to do anything I set my mind to, and I think now is a great time for me to re-adopt that mindset.

I completed my first day of 5K training today. It was SO much harder than I anticipated, but I did it! Here I am sitting my car still sweating my face off several minutes after "cooling down".

I want to share a little something I sent to my fitness coach a few days ago. I wrote this when we were talking about me adding a 5K into the mix and I asked her if I should do my 5K workouts on top of or instead of my BB workouts. I guess part of me was hoping she would say "instead of", but she didn't, and that scared me:

"There is so much fear of failure on the line, to be honest. I'm afraid of burning myself out too soon. I'm afraid of starting something that I can't reasonably maintain and then feeling bad about myself. It's that all-or-nothing thing."

"That all-or-nothing thing" has been the devil that has lead me to failure so many times in the past. I got this in response, though:

"Just take those words and flip them. There is so much success on the line, to be honest. I'm going to rock this . I will start my training slow....and follow the schedule. I'm going to start something that I CAN reasonably maintain . I'm making this and me a priority. I can do it...and if I am not perfect, I won't give up."

Wow- perspective. I forgot how easily those negative and destructive thoughts can take over and kill morale. These are the words I will carry with me figuratively AND literally as I go forward.

So, here I am. I'm EXCITED and CONFIDENT and DETERMINED and OPTIMISTIC and PREPARED to be the healthiest me I can be.