Motivation Through Adversity

I've struggled with my weight my whole life. As far back as I can remember, I've felt bad about it. I was stuck in a body that wasn't what I wanted, that didn't fit with how I really saw myself and to me, it represented a weakness. Andrew Carnegie once said, "People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents." In my heart and mind, I felt this struggle was keeping me from self mastery and frustrated the heck out of me.

Well, I'm thrilled to tell you that over the last year and a half, I've gone through a transformation. I have finally found what motivates me. Not only is my body healthier, my entire life exploding with energy and I no longer have that stagnant energy of the excess fat holding me back.

I'm not there yet. I have maybe sixty more pounds to go. However, I'm closer than I have been in decades to the ideal weight. That's a significant step, I'd say.

So what was the impetus? How did I change my way of being for over 40+ years? My turning point was a death sentence. My doctor told me if I didn't change, I was going to die. He had written me off. He said I had become diabetic and had almost died from a diabetic coma. He told me that I was going to be on insulin for my entire life and that I would going to have to inject myself every day and live my life (short life?) on pharmaceuticals to combat the disease. I didn't like what I was hearing. I didn't like the vision of my final years. After 140 pounds, I'm not on insulin, not on prescription medication, and I'm now the poster child for how to successfully deal with diabetes.

The first trigger here was that the doctor told me it couldn't be done, basically, and this pissed me off. I told him that no one was going to sentence me to death. I also realized that if I continued on my path, my children wouldn't have a father. I wanted to see them grow up and get married, I wanted to spend a long life with my wife, I wanted to continue to do my work. My physical discomfort and appearance were not enough to snap me out of my carbohydrate/sugar stupor. I found that to shock me out of that, I needed to get really angry. I needed someone to prove wrong, in this case that person was my doctor.

So I got myself a weight loss coach and began to learn all about nutrition. He said to me, 'If I ate as many carbs a day as you do, I'd be on insulin within a month, I'd be big as a house, I'd have one foot in the grave.' He explained to me that the human body simply cannot process that much sugar. Either I had to figure out the right amount of fuel my body needed, or I was going to die.

What did I need to do? Well, I had to start eating protein and cut out simple carbohydrates. No more prepared foods, low fat, no fast food, no prepared foods, exercise consistently and smartly. . .all the things you know you have to do to lose weight. I'm not there yet. I'm not perfect all the time, but I'm determined and I'm happy to say that I feel great and my family is going to have me around for a long time.

A desire and willingness to do something isn't necessarily enough. My trigger was anger.

Where are you stuck? Are you stuck financially, physically? Are you stuck in a relationship? Are you on the cusp of greatness, just on the edge, but can't seem to make that next big step? What will your trigger for change be?

I would love to serve in the same capacity for my students and clients that my doctor and coach did for me. Let's work together to clear out that stagnation.