Mind Your Business

Well ladies and gentlemen, I have finally reached my my half way point and have lost a total of 50 lbs. Now, most people would say that it wasn't easy, but in all actuality it hasn't been that difficult, and I am going to tell you why.

For the last month I have been seeing my body transform, my clothes fall off, and my physical endurance increase, and it has made me really think about all the work that I put in. When I am in the gym, I go hard. As I have said before, I am extremely competitive and I always have been. Competition is part of my motivation, but most of the time I don't have anyone to compete with besides myself. The reason that I don't quit, and I work so hard when I am in the gym is because of my mental toughness. Over the last 9 months, I have not only been trying to get myself physically fit, but also mentally fit. 

What I realized was that my mental state determined my physical state. Let me break it down for you. When I was constantly telling myself that I wasn't good enough, that I was too fat to do certain exercises, and that I would always be fat, I stayed fat.Obviously I couldn't do anything that I thought that I couldn't do. I was depressing. Not only was I preventing myself from being the best Tiffany that I could be I am sure that I was making the people around me miserable. Now that I have a new perspective I see how annoying people that are self-loathing and sad really are. Not to mention that depressing ish is contagious. I realized that I was parasite to the people that I was around, and as I started to change my attitude for other areas in my life, I also started to see a change in my attitude and performance in the gym. I give 100% every day. Well, except for two days before my period. 

With my new positive attitude, and ingrained competitor nothing can stop me. Seriously nothing. I tell my trainer that I want to go harder, and I give him suggestions for workouts. When everyone else leaves the gym, I stay. I started running in December in hopes to complete a 5k. On Tuesday I ran with Black Girls Run, a running group black girls that run around the city, for the first time. When I run, I usually just run until I can't run any longer. I rarely know the exact distance, and I don't time myself ever. It's just me, the road, and my Jeezy pandora station. But on Tuesday I decided to put on a timer since I was officially running a 5k route. I ran it in 30 mins, was at the head of the group and over heard some seasoned runners say that was their best time. On the inside I was yelling "I'm a boss!" When I say your mind controls everything, it does! I was the largest of all the girls that I finished with. I realized that my size does not prevent me from doing anything. I can compete with girls half my size and win. Talk about satisfaction! 

My success is all attributed to my change of mindset. Do not let your emotions control your behavior. I still feel loneliness, frustration, and sadness, but I do not let those emotions control me. I deal with them, then I let them go and keep it moving. I try to challenge myself everyday in some new way. In order to see real results, faster than ever you need to mind your business, meaning, focus on your goals. Keep them in sight at all times. Inspire yourself so that you do not lose track of what you are reaching for. This isn't just about weight loss, this can be applied to any goal that is set. I have reminders of my goals in many places in my house. I have a goal book by my bed, old picture with small weight loss check points in my closet, exercise reminders on my mirror, and when I feel like eating something I shouldn't I take a look at my fitness board on Pinterest and change my mind. 

For all of my readers, I hope that you can take away something from this post. I really want to inspire those of you that are struggling with negative emotions that tell you that you can't accomplish your goals. I understand that I could cliche, but you can! Get your mind right, get off your butt, and get going! 

Your fellow fatty, 

Tiffany