The thing with losing weight is that unless you have some underlying medical condition, anyone can do this! Seriously, anyone who really wants to lose weight can make the lifestyle changes needed to lose weight and become a healthier, happier version of themselves.

The challenge in losing weight really is more mental than physical. When I started working out in 2014, I was obese, pre-diabetic and on high blood pressure medication. I also have had asthma – exercise and allergy induced – diagnosed when I was 9, and arthritis in my knees and feet. This was not where I thought I would be in my early 40’s and I mentally knew I had to do something, so I did – I made the mental choice to start exercising and it helped, within a couple of months I was off blood pressure medication and was no longer pre-diabetic. Can’t do anything about the asthma and arthritis, but oh well that’s what inhalers and Advil are for right?

It took another year of working out for me to be mentally ready to get serious about the weight loss too. I needed to be ready to commit to it, I needed to stop making excuses, stop procrastinating and just do it – jumping in headfirst. No secrets, no special diets, no magic pills – just a good common sense healthy meal plan. I had to make the decision to do it for me. No joke, that’s all it took – the conscious mental decision to change my lifestyle PERMANENTLY.

Is it easy? No, it’s not; it’s a lot of work. It’s meal prep on Sunday afternoons so that the crap people bring into the office isn’t tempting. It’s working out, a lot. It’s tracking your calories and learning to say no, and changing your entire life. But you know what, it’s worth it.

And not just for the compliments, which are great when I really stop and think about it and don’t just get embarrassed by them. But for the stamina, the feeling that you get when you can do something you couldn’t before, the feeling of success when your doctor is shocked and you are no longer on medication – all of these little things that other people took for granted, are now part of your life – and that is amazing!

42 pounds and 6 months later, all I can say is get out there people, because if I can do it ANYONE CAN!