Motivation Monday - The Power of No

Hi There! I’m Kim from Recipes To Run On. And I am so happy to have been invited to guest post here at The Motivation Station. Thank You Martha!

I’m a Wife and Mom who, with a love of cooking for my family and friends, started a blog last summer called Quit Eating Out. My intention was to treasure my recipes, share them with others and to connect with other women in an online community. I had found myself starting to rely on restaurants to feed my family because I wasn’t planning meals ahead of time. Thus, the concept of Quit Eating Out {Recipes to Make Dining Out A Choice, Not A Chore} was born.

Meal planning and preparation quickly drew us back to our family dinner table. And I cannot stress what a blessing this time is for families. If you don’t already plan and prepare meals to share as a family, I urge you to begin investing in this area.

But, by February of this year, I realized that simply planning meals wasn’t enough. My love of cooking indulgent, heavy dishes and desserts was not fueling my family to be their best. And as a result, my husband and I had reached our heaviest and most unhealthy weight ever.

So it was in February that my man and I decided to make changes. We began Weight Watchers online. And we gave up being sedentary and started moving. With a debilitating back disease, my husband searched for exercises that would be best for him and began Reformer Pilates and Cycling. I started running (initially using the Couch~to~the~5K program) and joined a gym.

If you’ve ever gone from a sedentary life of eating whatever sounds good to making healthy exercise and food choices ~ you know it’s not the easiest transition. For a lot of us, food can be something we use to soothe our hurts, treat ourselves to as rewards, or be something we just can’t imagine giving up. Our natural flesh wants what it wants.

So after years of eating whatever I pleased, I remember a day in February when I realized I needed to tell myself, “No!”. No one was home. No one would’ve known what I ate or didn’t eat or how much. And in that moment, I realized that it was all up to me. Did I really want to make healthy changes to my life? Did I really want to lose the extra weight I had gained? Did I want to look good and feel good? Did I want to be a role model for my family? Did I really want to change?

We can all use whatever excuse we want. We can hide in the dark and think we are getting away with what isn’t seen. But the bottom line comes down to this: Do I want to be healthy or do I want to feed my flesh?

I’m so grateful and thankful to say that I chose to tell myself, “No!”. What does that mean? Well, it doesn’t mean that I eat perfectly and exercise 7 days a week. And I think what “No!” looks like may be slightly different for everyone. For me, it has meant learning to stop eating when I’m full. Regardless of how good something is. It means journaling everything I eat (especially important when I was first starting). This is where Weight Watchers was wonderful.... It was such a good illustration of where I was overeating. Using my points was critical in my weight loss. WW was also great because it gave me freedom to splurge. Saying "No" to my flesh also meant getting my lazy self MOVING. Running, Biking, Walking, Going to the Gym.

In this power of saying “No!” to myself, I’ve gained SO much. Food is no longer my reward. Yes, I enjoy indulging myself occasionally. But, my bigger rewards are how I look and feel. Not carrying around the baggage of excess weight frees you to be more energetic and alive. My rewards come from my kiddos cheering me on at racing events. And my rewards come from knowing I’m setting a good example for my family that will make lasting impacts on their lives.

If you struggle with food and exercise choices, know that you are not alone. No one {not even the crazy fit folks} has some natural inclination of being healthy. It’s a choice. Every single time I go out for a run or choose a salad instead of a burger it’s a choice. And not one that feels natural to me. But oh, the reward is so much bigger than you can imagine.

I recently redesigned my blog from Quit Eating Out {to} Recipes To Run On. I’ve shared my journey in my posts. And, I now include WW Points Plus values in all the recipes I share. I did this as one of the ways I’m holding myself accountable to my healthy choices. Because I know that I’m only as successful as the choices I make today. I don’t want this to be a phase, I want this to be a lifestyle.

Thanks again for allowing me to share my journey here at The Motivation Station! Wishing you much success in your journey....