Hey guys...I know you're out there! lol! Are you all laying low until 2018 is in the can? I don't blame you. It's been a rough year and I think most of us are hoping for a better 2019. There is not much we can control in this world. Most everything happens randomly, whether we are prepared for it or not. But what is the one thing that.. technically.. we CAN control? You know what I'm leading up to. That's right. Our choices, especially when it comes to our choices about diet and exercise. No one force feeds us. No one holds us back when we want to move. We are free to make good choices for ourselves, regardless of what is going on around us. It is the one thing we can control...of should control. But, as we all know, controlling ourselves can be harder then controlling climate change or politics or the price of your cable bill!

It takes a lot to make a major life change if you expect it to happen all at once. It won't. It happens one choice at a time. Baby steps. When babies are learning to walk, sometimes they fall, but have you ever seen a baby not immediately try to stand right back up? They never give up and neither should you! It doesn't matter how many times you have fallen. There is going to be a day when you are standing strong and feeling empowered and in charge of your choices. Food does not control you. Your thoughts do. Once you get your thoughts in line with your desires and goals, losing weight and getting fit will be your new obsession! I can 100% promise you that there is not one single bite of food, (or an entire buffet for that matter!) that is worth sacrificing your quality of life.

So take these last few days of 2018 and really do some soul searching and truth seeking. Your personal truth about how you've managed yourself and your choices. How many excuses or justifications you've made. How many times you were filled with regret, promising yourself to do better and be stronger. The jabbering that goes on in our heads can feel chaotic at times, but truth is quiet, peaceful, forgiving, positive. I believe that honesty with self is more a part of succeeding at weight loss then willpower.

Enough of my ramblings. I hope you have all had a lovely holiday season and are ready to welcome in the New Year with hope and enthusiasm and determination, but most of all a desire to be truthful to yourself and the peaceful knowledge that you have everything you need to make your desires for weight loss and a healthy lifestyle a reality. HAPPY NEW YEAR!