What would you give? (guest post)

I love the interwebs, even more so over the past several years with the advent of social media growing so much.

It makes the world a much smaller place.

Without the interwebs, I likely would never have met any of the phenomenal fitbloggers I’ve had the joy of meeting in person, like our own MizFit (don’t EVEN get me started on how muchI freaked out excited I was when she asked me to write a guest post here – OMG!), our FitBloggin’ rock star Roni, or my amazing fellow writers over at the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans.
Not only have I met so many amazing new friends, but it’s also afforded me the opportunity to reconnect with some amazing people from my past.

As an example, last year I reconnected via Facebook with a couple of friends that I worked with about 15 years ago when I was living in Nashville working in the music industry. Of the three of us, only one still remains in Nashville. I moved on to California and the other is now living in Portland, Oregon.

Last week, the friend living in Portland posted a photo of herself on Facebook from 14 or 15 years ago. I commented saying something along of lines of, “Oh, that’s the girl I remember!”

She left a follow-up comment saying, “What I’d give to look like that again. Apparently getting off my ass and eating right isn’t what I’d give. ”

At first, I just giggled at her comment and left her a little wink comment back.

The more I thought about it though, it really gave me pause for deeper consideration.

I mean, we’ve all said that line (or something similar) in our lives. “Oh, I’d give anything to __________.”

Just fill in the blank with whatever goal/dream you like.

I’ve even said it before about my own weight loss, “I’d give anything to just be done with the weight loss portion of my journey so I could work on maintenance instead for a change!”

Since we’ve all been there, the question then becomes, what WOULD I really give to meet my weight loss goals?

Am I willing to give up a little more sleep in the morning to get up early to exercise?

If morning workouts aren’t a good option, then am I willing to give up that favorite TV show at night to get in a workout in the evening?

Am I willing to give up a little extra time each day to prepare my own meals rather than relying on picking up take-out or convenience foods?

Am I willing to give up that one (or more) particular red-light food that calls my name that I can’t seem to control?

I’m mean, seriously, if it isn’t in the house then I can’t eat it, so why do I buy it in the first place?!

Given I’ve been playing with the same 5-10 pounds for nearly a year, clearly I haven’t really been willing to give anything to meet my goals. Apparently all I’m actually willing to give it a lot of good lip service.

Perhaps you’re already at your ideal weight and aren’t on weight loss journey.

Perhaps you’re interested in improving your fitness, taking up running, doing that first triathlon, etc.

Perhaps you’ve said to yourself, “I’d give anything to run a marathon.”

So, what are you really willing to do?

Are you willing to give up some time a couple of times during the week to get in some shorter distance runs or do hill work?

Are you willing to give up a chunk of time on the weekend to get in a longer run?

The bottom line is this, lip service never got anything accomplished.

Only through hard work and dedication can we reach our goals.

So, what are you REALLY willing to give in order to reach your goals?

By day, Mel works full-time as an IT manager in the aerospace industry. She made the decision last year to continue her education, so by night, she is also a full-time student pursuing a degree in Information Technology in preparation to enter an MBA program with an emphasis on IT Management. In her spare time (ha!), Mel enjoys doing needlework (cross-stitch and needlepoint), reading on her Kindle, and playing Angry Birds or Bejeweled on her iPhone or iPad. Oh yeah, did I mention Mel is an uber-geek, ‘cuz she is!

Mel is a Contributing Writer for The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans and blogs about her personal weight loss journey at melgetsfit.com. You can also find her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

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