Thriving once you have hit your weight loss goal

I have discovered over the last 2 years that my pursuit of better health and fitness has actually become more challenging since I hit my "goal weight." I put that in quotes because I actually didn't start my journey with a number in mind, but I know I am there because of how I feel at this weight verses being up or down a few more pounds.

In Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst, she states "Hitting your goal weight is a blessing entangled with a curse." She further explains that the curse is that false sense of freedom that we can just go back to all those things we gave up and turn back on the sacrifices we have made. We allow ourselves to "live it up" and celebrate our "victory" but it just ends up sending us back on the path to bad habits.

Why do we do this? What is it about hitting that goal that sets us back? As I was really trying to figure this out and while I was having many discussions with my best friend on this very topic, Lysa discussed it in Made to Crave (which we happened to be reading together at the time).

Once we hit our goal weight, we don't have that scale as in indication of how we are doing anymore. We don't have the excitement and gratification or reward of watching the numbers go down anymore. It isn't as fun to us once we get to that goal! When we stop having fun, we start to slip back!

Prior to becoming a Team Beachbody Coach, I would go through many cycles of doing a program, losing weight, getting stronger, feeling good, and then cycling back around to unhealthy habits, weight gain and feeling crummy.

I believe I have finally cracked the code on how to maintain AND continue to thrive once hitting my goals and I want to share it with you. My guess is you are either right there with me on this, or you will be if you keep at your journey long enough!

1. A Clear Why

You need to have a clear "why." You need to know why it is you want to lose weight and why it is you really want to get healthy. If you just want to lose weight to look good in a bikini, you might get there, but is that a strong enough reason to keep you there when temptations come flying at you?

You may initially start your journey because you know you need to lose a little weight, but you must really dig deep and peel back the layers to discover what you are really doing it for. If you why and want to are strong enough, you will have a far greater chance for success!

2. The Proper Support System

You need to have the right support system in place. You need to surround yourself with people who want to see you succeed and who will cheer you on when you need it, and help get you through the tough times when you are struggling.

I have the most amazing success partner and work with some amazing ladies in my groups. My success partner is there for me when I begin to struggle. She knows my "why and my want to" and is able to remind me of that when I struggle. She is able to speak to me and to my heart about what it is like if I give into temptation. She is there to help keep me motivated and moving forward on those days I just don't want to work out, eat right, or spend time in prayer. She, along with my groups are the accountability I need to keep pushing!

3. Changing things up and finding new goals

After I hit my initial goal and didn't have the satisfaction of watching the scale move anymore, I needed to set new goals to measure progress and change. I started looking at the weights I could use in my workouts, I started to count the increased number of repetitions and began measuring my flexibility.

I also mixed things up. I would complete a program and then throw a totally different kind of workout at myself to keep my body and mind challenged. I would go from a program that was almost entirely cardio in nature to one that was mostly lifting, to one that was mostly yoga/pilates, to ones that were combinations of all of the. I even threw in Dance type workouts to keep my body guessing and to challenge my mind and keep me humble!

Constantly doing different programs keeps me from getting bored and into "the same old routine," which keeps me looking forward to most days!

4. Finding the Spiritual Balance in the Journey

The most important part of my journey has been keeping Jesus right at the heart of it! I have found that without him, I don't have balance. Without Him, I don't have the discipline or the right want to. Without Him, I fall too easily into temptations and laziness.

Apart from Christ we can't be successful at anything that is truly important. Likewise, If we want to be strong in Christ, we MUST take our fitness and nutrition seriously. God cares about our health and wellness. He cares about our portion sizes and the foods we eat. He cares about our relationship with food and how we treat it.

If we want to be strong in Christ, we must work to be strong physically and nutritionally, and if we want to be strong physically and nutritionally, we must be strong in Christ!

Once this connection became crystal clear to me and became something I was very intentional with, EVERYTHING changed for me.

Is it time for you to get started? Is it time for you to find the right support system and group of people. I would love to CONNECT with you and chat more! Hit me up and let's CONNECT!