IT’S A LONG JOURNEY; BUT YOU WILL GET THERE!

Who was that guy?

Can you spot the difference?!

A wise man once said “the most important step to achievement is showing up!” I agree wholeheartedly with that statement and would like to add TAKING ACTION! You can have the best plans on paper or in your head but if you don’t take the plunge, that leap of faith, feel and taste your fear, make mistakes and learn then my friend you will never conquer.  What am I going on about today? Motivation.

Motivation is needed in just about every aspect of life, but I am more particular about your health and fitness, I chose fitness because we all desire it. if you say NO who are you kidding? It’s like you saying “I’m ok with my 130kg body, high cholesterol and high blood sugar and I don’t care”! Well to you I say BULLSH*T! Of course you care; you just can’t get the motivation to do something about it.

I am just recovering from a bout of Malaria laced with typhoid for good measure and it has left me weak, tired, lost about 5kg of muscle and feeling unmotivated. So, I decided to give both myself and you a kick up the backside and remind us of the reason we first decided to get fit and healthy and hopefully restart our journey back to fitness together, i am going to tell you a quick story.

It was the year 2006 and I had a job that put me on the road a lot; I drank too much alcohol, eat too much junk food and never got enough sleep. The result was I ballooned from a fit 6ft, 92kg to an unfit 110kg  lump , but wait it gets worse!

On the 7^th of May 2006 I was involved in a nasty car crash and I broke my right leg in 3 places!  After 7 months, 2 operations and 1 titanium implant in my leg, I now weighed 127kg and walked with a pronounced limp, also my right leg was now nearly a half inch shorter than my left i.e. I was a mess!

Well I kept on eating and drinking and feeling sorry for myself till I couldn’t tie my shoelaces anymore, couldn’t walk for 5 mins at a stretch , I had man boobs, couldn’t see my belt and had developed high blood pressure.

It took 2 years of denial but I’d finally had enough. In 2009 I joined a gym and started to workout, I was so ashamed of my pot belly and flabby arms that I used to wear sweatpants and large T shirts to work out. Somehow I kept at it, I learnt how to walk without limping, then how to jog and then progressed to running, I had relapses and pitfall along the way too, bad eating habits, quitting for months at a time etc. However, I always came back!

I had to educate myself on weightraining, proper nutrition, supplements etc., the more I learned the better I wanted to look and feel, today I look and feel great, weigh 92kg, a lot of it is lean muscle and I have more, strength and stamina than I did when I was 20!

It’s been a long journey and I am nowhere near the finish. It’s never too late to start my friend; you are never too old, too fat or too weak! I will be 40 years old next year and I am just getting started!

So if you dream about being slimmer, fitter, stronger, healthier etc, all you have to do is show up every single day and do what it takes to get what you want! Show up and take action.

 It might be as little as walking a bit more, driving less, or reducing your portion size at dinner ( Hint: to do that eat with a smaller plate than you are used to!) just take action and be consistent and you will see results.

I leave you with this  simple quote:  “All great achievements require time”- Maya Angelou