Week two in the books for Shape Up Jackson and the contestants are absolutely killing it out there!  I love the fact that each of you are helping with recipes, encouragement and accountability.  It’s great to see so many of you working out at the YMCA together and bonding over our journey.  Have you noticed yet how many people are genuinely caring at the YMCA?  I was always so afraid that I would get the “what is she doing here” look from other people working out and I never have!

The fear of what others thought kept me from working out in public.  I would do workouts in the comfort of my own home.  That way, if I chose not to work out, no one else would ever know.  Pretty good excuse huh?  I used it for far too long!   We can easily use excuses and fear to talk ourselves out of doing anything.  For me, fear of what others thought drove every decision I made most days.  It kept me in situations and around certain people for far too long.  This weight loss journey is so much more than simply losing weight.  It’s taking a long hard look at our lives and figuring out what exactly it was that got us to this point.  Putting in the work in the gym, the kitchen and in your mind.

The best thing I have done for myself this week is taking time to evaluate areas of my life that I would like to improve upon.  Intentionally, spending some time facing fears that I have pushed deep down.  If I am choosing to work on myself physically and putting in the work, I also need to make sure that other areas of my life are changing just the same.   I have referenced before, that I have used food to cover feelings.  Now that I am trying to utilize tools I have learned through Shape Up Jackson, I have come face to face with areas that I simply don’t like about myself.

When I sit in “quiet” with myself, I often purposefully think of a word to focus on.  This week, I focused on being uncomfortable.  Not only was I still in physical pain and discomfort from my Zumba class earlier in the week, but I thought a lot about what I do in situations when I am uncomfortable.  My initial reaction is to flee.  Run from pain, run from rejection and especially failure.  I was faced with a brutal truth that being uncomfortable isn’t necessarily a negative thing.  It’s often an experience that can lead to growth.  Being willing to sit through the most uncomfortable pain of growth is change.   I think we really can find happiness as we push through the pain of any situation.

As you approach week three of Shape Up Jackson, this is where things may slow down.  The weight isn’t falling off as quick as it did the first two weeks.  Let me encourage you to be patient with yourself.  Your body is trying to figure out what you are doing to it!  You are not where you were two weeks ago.  You aren’t where you were last week.  The encouraging thing, is that you won’t be where you are today, reading this, weeks from now.  It’s exciting isn’t it?

I found a quote from Ijeoma Umebinyuo and I’ll leave you with this truth:

Start now,

Start where you are.

Start with fear

Start with pain

Start with doubt

Start with hands shaking

Start with your voice trembling but start

Start and don’t stop

Start where you are with what you have

Just start

Be proud of yourself for showing up, it’s HUGE!  I can’t wait to continue on this journey with each of you!

-Jenny Lewis-