Giving Up is NOT the Answer

I use the website myfitnesspal to track my exercise and participate in a community of people who are all working to get fit, whether that means losing weight, gaining muscle, or some combination thereof.  It's a great website and I highly recommend it to help you stay on track (you can also track calories really easily if that's something you want to do).  Feel free to friend me if you want to join the site.

The website includes a number of different message boards where people can post questions about anything.  Whether they're looking for meal ideas, want answers to why they're not losing weight, searching for buddies to keep them motivated, etc., there's a message board for every topic.  I've noticed over the past few weeks, that at least once a day someone posts a message about wanting to "quit" or "give up" on their fitness or healthy eating plan, often after only a week or two on the plan.

Since it's such a common concern on the message boards, I'm guessing some of you reading might feel the same way.  Perhaps you changed your eating habits and lost weight the first week but the second week you didn't lose anything.  Maybe you "only" lost a pound this week and feel like throwing in the towel.  If that's you, or you want to give up for another reason, I have a message for you:

Giving up is not the answer!!!

I know this journey can be slow and arduous.  I know that it can be incredibly frustrating and I know it isn't fair that some of us have to try harder than others to lose weight.  I get it; I really do.  I've been overweight my entire life with the exception of about one year in high school.  But what good is giving up?  I gave up for a couple months last semester and gained 25 pounds!  How is that helpful?!

You did not get where you are today overnight.  It probably took months or years to get where you are now.  How can you expect to get to your goals in a week or even a month?  I've been working hard for over two months and I'm still in the obese category, I haven't gone down a pant size (though I think I'm getting close), and I certainly don't have a six pack.  I'm still a very long way from my ultimate goals, but that's ok!  My heart and lungs are healthier from all the cardio.  My muscles are stronger, which makes daily movement easier.  I've lost 15 pounds of unnecessary body fat which makes my joints happier, and my insides thank me for the highly improved nutrition I've been eating.  It doesn't matter what the scale says: what I'm doing is making me a healthier person.

And what do you get if you give up?  You're way of life isn't going to just remain the same.  You'll probably gain more weight, incur more weight related health issues, and your quality of life will likely deteriorate.  Maybe not today, but a year or two down the road it will.  Don't let one bad meal, a disappointing weigh-in, or one missed workout cause you to throw in the towel.  You are worth every effort you make to get healthier.  Let me repeat that: you are worth the effort!

I'm not saying you have to stick with a workout program that you don't enjoy or an eating style that isn't working for you.  What I am saying is that you should never give up on trying to get healthier.  By all means change the type of workout program you're doing, but don't give up on working out.  Feel free to try a different way of healthy eating, but don't go back to eating junk.  No program is right for everyone, but doing something is always better than giving up.

If you feel like giving up, send me a message, friend me on Facebook, join my fitness support group, reach out to someone and get back on track.  You can do it.  It may not be as fast as you'd like, but you will get there, and I will be here to help you.  All you have to do is ask.

Stay healthy!  (Because giving up is not the answer.)