In one year plus some change, I will be 30.  I’m far from being in the best shape of my life.  Recently, I realized I needed to change that.

It’s hard.

It’s really easy to want to quit.

There are so many excuses.

But, I refuse to buy bigger clothes and I refuse to have a double chin.  That may seem shallow, but there are inner self goals as well.

Insecurity SUCKS. (Sorry mom and Jody, you hate that word, but it best describes it!)

I have struggled with insecurity for as long as I can remember.  The bullies in middle school weren’t so kind and when you gain weight easily….well, it’s  really easy to start to feel bad about yourself.  The problem is, for a long time I just didn’t think or want to do anything about it.  It is so easy to take a so what mentality.  I’ve decided that that isn’t good enough for me anymore.  I’m still at an age where I can do something about it and I really don’t have an excuse to not try.

My dear friend Sarah, who I’ve always looked up to, is nearing the 100 mark in her weight loss journey.  Can we get a round of applause and an amen!?  It makes the 25 I need to lose seem like a pretty wimpy goal in comparison, but for me it’s definitely a mountain standing in my way.  But – I know once I get started, it does get easier.  Like today.  We went for a run and had planned on steak and potatoes for dinner.  After the run, I decided we really didn’t need to ruin the good work by eating potatoes (because that meant we’d be eating them tomorrow as well for lunch).  We went with cottage cheese and fruit instead AND I got over a serving of fruit which pretty much never happens.

A few other things that have helped me get motivated:

1. Making a killer workout playlist.  Keep adding/subtracting songs so you don’t get bored.

2. Buying dedicated work out clothes.  They don’t need to be fashionable, but it’s a lot easier to work out in clothes that are meant for that job.

3.  A good pair of running shoes.  When I started, my old shoes didn’t have enough support and it would take me 2-3 days to fully recover from a run which isn’t really ideal.  I just ran in my new shoes and feel great!

4.  Having people keep me accountable.  I’ve come up with an achievable goal (it’ll be hard, but is possible) and now I’ve told y’all so…I don’t like to fail!

I will attempt to update as much as possible how I’m doing which adds a whole other level of accountability.

I don’t know if I quite trust calling these spring tunes as spring really hasn’t bee working that hard to show its face around here.  Temps are slowly on the rise, but still not as warm as I’d like them to be when it is almost APRIL.  The only plus for the cooler temps is that maybe it means summer won’t be so beastly? We can hope! These are the songs in constant rotation around here.  Happy listening!

1. Wild – Royal Teeth

2. Just Give Me a Reason – Pink

3. Stay (radio edit) – Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko

4. Let it Out – Girl Talk (language warning)

5. Pompeii – Bastille

6. This is the New Year – Ian Axel

7. I Love It – Icona Pop (language warning)

8. Fjogur Piano – Sigur Ros

9. Do You Hear the People Sing? – Les Mis OST Extended Edition

10. Paper Ships – Dead Man’s Bones

11. If I Lose Myself (Acoustic) – OneRepublic

* I stopped linking songs to YouTube and the likes because the links seemed to keep going dead.  I prefer to listen to music online using Grooveshark, but most of these songs are also available on YouTube and Spotify