The 3 Keys to my success this year

I was thinking about what has led to my success this year.  I broke it down to 3 things.

1) Keaira LaShae - I have mentioned her before but honestly - I couldn't do it without her.  I am constantly challenged, encouraged and motivated to better myself.

2) Diet Bet - I am competitive by nature and this only fuels it!  Not to mention that there is a social aspect that just makes it fun.  I won my first Diet Bet (Chris Powell Challenge) and am working on a 6 month transformer challenge now.

3) My Fitness Pal - I have used other trackers before and loved them.  MFP is built to cover all of the variables.  It also has a social component that is highly enjoyable and motivational.  I like to help people and this gives me a chance to share what I have learned as well.

Every person is different...from motivation to calories to workouts.  You absolutely need to do what works for you.  1 of the lessons that I learned this year was that I need to feed my body.  I was trying to eat 1,200 calories with a 200+ pound body.  That wasn't enough.  I am now consistently eating 1,600 and still dropping the same amount of weight.  I was introduced to Carb Cycling this year as well.  It has made a huge difference in my relationship with food.  I also learned the value of limiting sodium.  I feel better.  The only way to find out what works for you and what doesn't is by tracking.  I really cannot stress that enough.

I will admit that doing all of these things can be time consuming and is not always the easiest thing to maintain.  We are all busy.  Our responsibilities may be different, but we all have things that we need to focus on outside of ourselves.  On the flip side, I have to take care of me or there won't be anyone to do what I do.  It's a choice.  I choose to get healthy.  I have struggled my whole life with my weight and I will continue to be aware of it forever.  I have achieved significant results and am confident that I have a handle on my goals.  I am not saying it's easy - because it's not.  But it's certainly a lot more manageable if you have a plan.  Keep that in mind as you continue on your journey and achieve your goals.