From A to I...FAT to FIT.

Could I have a round of applause please?

Not only for me, but for all those who have chosen 

to re-invent themselves in a healthy manner

There are nine letters between "A" 

 and "I"

And by doing so, 

YOU change FAT....

to FIT...

A= Acceptance:

Accept that you need to change. 

Not necessarily to please someone else,

but to make yourself happy.

We all have "those" fat photos...

The ones that show us how we really looked, 

even though we did not want to admit it to ourselves.

I was one of those...

Fat was a synonym for successful...

or so I thought!

Eventually, when none of the clothes in my cupboard fitted me,

 I was ready to accept...

Oh, and a major physical that showed some possible

life-threatening issues.

B= Beginnings:

We all have to start somewhere, don't we?

Any journey begins with the first step.

So why are we so keen to start "...on Monday..."

Why not start immediately?

Are you eating something unhealthy as you read this?

PUT IT DOWN or, better yet,

THROW IT AWAY.

There is no better time to start than right now...

C= Commitment:

How committed are you?

10%? 25%, 50%, 75%

100%?

Remember, you will only get out what you put in.

Your journey is an individual one.

You are in total control...

and failure or success is in your hands.

D= Determination:

Are you determined to succeed?

What are you prepared to sacrifice?

Be resolute in your decision,as there will be haters.

People will be derisive and will test your fortitude and resilience constantly.

Why?

Because it is innate part of human nature to break down 

instead of uplift.

E= Effort:

Doing one push-up does require effort,

if you have never done one before.

That being said, if you have done one a day for a week,

it is time to move it up a notch. 

But effort might not be all physical...

It could be putting gym/running kit out

in order to make certain that you train.

It could be food prep, which can be time consuming

But more importantly, if you have been sedentary for a long time,

the mere act of thinking about eating correctly/ exercising

could be perceived as an effort.

So the choice is yours...

and it always is!

F= Failure:

Yes, I wrote the "F" word!

Why? 

Because failure causes us to focus...

The Chinese have a proverb that states;

"In every crisis there is opportunity"

Substitute the word "failure" for "crisis"

and you will realize what I mean.

We can never succeed 100%,

we stumble, we fall on the road to our goals.

But...do we perceive these as failures

or an opportunity to reassess our end game.

Perhaps we set our original targets to high...

Is wanting to lose 5kg in a week realistic?

Probably not without starving yourself.

But we see it as a failure when we only lose 1kg.

Think about that...1kg is more than you lost the week before...

Embrace your failures, learn from them and move forward.

G= Gratitude:

Since starting out on this journey 

I have become grateful for SO many small things.

Waking up early to go and train or run

Regaining my self confidence that I lost as I gained kg's

My wife and daughter, who each have taught me different things about myself

This community, for being who and what they are.

The list could go on indefinitely...

and I am certain that if we look inwards,

we will discover our own traits to be grateful for.

H= Healthy habits:

Are what will get each and everyone of us

to a place in our lives that we can be proud of.

Remember that is order to create a habit,either good or bad

takes 21 consecutive days of application.

Note the use of the word "consecutive",

miss a day and you return to Day 1,

much like a game of snakes and ladders.

The first week can be hard as your body fights to maintain the status quo.

But "rage against the machine" and you WILL be the winner.  

I= Inspiration:

Find it wherever you can.

Motivational books, inspirational quotations

mentors, trainers and yes...even the Internet!

But we within SG do not have to look too far,

we have each other...constantly! 

And that is a good thing!

Even though I did not have to lose an enormousness amount of weight,

the stories that I read and the pictures that I see of people within the SG community

who have lost almost as much weight as I weigh inspire me beyond words.

And here I am...

in a better space that I was a year ago, 

and more importantly,

both feet firmly placed on the ladder to continued health

Yes I can!

And YOU can too.

The age old question

"How do you eat an elephant"..."one piece at a time"...

applies to the tasks set in this challenge as well.

Need to do 50 push-ups?

5 sets of 10 sounds easier to achieve.

And a tip...

In the final set count backwards, 10 down to 1,

psychologically it makes it seem that there are less to do. 

This is my commitment to myself,
and by extension to my family as well.

There will be Burpees and there will be days that I don't feel like training

or eating clean...
but I will persevere!