100% - All in!

These past couple of weeks have provided a life lesson in what it means to be "100% - all in." To reach my health goals (or "Reach my potential," as the master Leif would say), I am now on one of the strictest nutritional programs since my weight loss journey began and working out at the highest cardio level thus far since I left the Fitness North campus just shy of one year ago.

For fun, I have named Leif's nutritional plans. This one - by far the "strickest" to date - is not-so-fondly called - Starvation Lite. (Only because I had already named a 1,200 calorie plan the Starvation Plan! And this one is stricter!)

I joke, but the truth is, this is the first time in nearly a year that I can honestly say I am hungry and feel some deprivation. That's not all bad. It's how we keep losing weight after a 160 lb weight loss in 11 months! I get it. And, according to Leif, I am getting all of the nutritional value my body needs. Plus, I did ask him to guide me to a 25+ weight loss in 6 weeks so I can reach a new all-time low weight by Christmas. So he is just doing his job - and quite well I might add. (Thank you, Leif!)

The topic of today's blog is about the process of committing yourself to something/anything at 100% - going all in, if you will. And, to stay the course at "100% - all in" especially when the going gets tough. Like on this plan where I end my evening meal each day quite hungry. (In the old days, my binge time.) Or, when I don't want to get out of bed in the morning 30 minutes earlier to do my additional cardio. Or, when life happens and family members are in car accidents, clients need you after hours, and you can't get to everyone and everything. Or, when hormones strike and unexpectedly mess with your head as well as your body weight. It's in those moments that it is most difficult to stay the course and stay committed at 100%. It is in those moments that sometimes, even when you go all in, you falter.

This morning (Friday) as I drove back from a kick-ass workout with Sandra Swami, my trainer at Balance for Life Fitness Center, I realized that "100% all in" does not necessarily mean perfection. For me, it means committing to something and exerting a level of effort that is 100+% - bar nothing. Leaving it all on the court. It doesn't mean that you will achieve perfection. The fact is, we're simply not perfect beings. Not me. And not you. Aaahhhhh, there is that lesson again - progress not perfection.

But the truth is, when you give 100+% and put everything you have on the table, good things will happen. Progress will be achieved. The results will be there. But you WON'T always be perfect or do it perfectly. And thus the results may not be perfect. That's okay. The thing I have to remind myself is that perfection is not the goal. Giving it your all, doing your very, very, very best and keeping your eye on the prize. That's the goal.

I expect to end this week on my new "Starvation Lite" plan with great results to show for my 100% all in effort. Not perfect, but great. And I can honestly say that I have exerted a "100% all-in" effort and focus throughout the week. I feel good. I feel strong. Nope, I didn't do everything perfectly at every meal and every workout all week. I slipped. But the thing is, I didn't hold back. I focused every day and consistently followed the plan to the best of my ability. One foot in front of the other. One day at a time, and the scale will show it. I will take what comes and know I did my best.

And with it, I will take the lesson that I am a committed, passionate, 100% all in human being who is totally rocking this journey! Sometimes I make mistakes and slip. It just means I am human. And when life intervenes and realities keep me from perfection, I won't beat myself up. I know am not perfect. In fact, who really wants to be perfect anyway. How boring?!

So, onward and upward (or downward on the scale) we go! "100% all in" feels pretty good to me. I have achieved amazing results both physically and emotionally this past year by being 100% all in. Which to me means determined, consistent, committed, passionate, and focused. It doesn't mean perfect.

What does it mean to you?