Motivation Snowball

KatieTee83

Motivation is like a giant ball of snow. It takes work to push it off the cliff, but once it's rolling down the hill, it just grows and grows until it's this huge, unstoppable thing.

Each time I've had to contend with the weight loss process, I have to relearn this. The first couple of weeks are the pushing-off-the-cliff phase. You just have to keep plugging along, knowing that very soon you'll reach the top of the hill, even when it feels hopeless or too hard or whatever. And then, suddenly, your once too-tight pair of jeans is less tight, or you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and realize your arms look thinner or more toned, or you complete a workout that used to be hard without even breaking a sweat. And that's when the motivation snowballs.

Seeing tangible results of your hard work, at least for me, is the surest way to keep me going. Of course, there are still hard days, but it's much easier to do the work of dieting and working out when that snowball starts rolling. Look at it go! You don't want to stop it because it's clearly working, and suddenly, its way easier to say no to dessert, or yes to a hard workout.

For me, the snowball moment this time around was seeing my profile in the mirror and realizing, hey, my tummy is actually smaller, no joke. And when I weighed myself the next day, sure enough, I was down 5 pounds. After that, all I wanted to do was workout and cook some healthy meals.

What was your snowball moment? What keeps you going and makes you an unstoppable force?