The "Click"

Addiction is a cruel and strange thing; Addiction to food seems so unbelievable to most. It’s real, as real as any other form of addiction. I have lived my entire adult life eating feelings, finding comfort in food. Seeking a false sense of security behind a bag of McDonalds and a large Coke seems like a lifetime ago.  The reality is, it’s not! Conversations of the past with family that were truly concerned for my future are still vivid in my mind. I have mentioned in past posts my grandmother and how this always seemed to be the topic of every one of our conversations. Her concern was felt by me but it never resonated because my mental approach was never there.  I wanted the results, but was not willing to put in the time, commitment and hard work. 

Making strides against a food addiction starts with the mental game.  I often get the question “What made you change?” It’s difficult to nail down one thing that made me want this change. As time goes on, my desire to be as fit as possible only gets stronger.  The physical side gets stronger, but the results are being noticed in the mirror and in my mind. With each personal record in the gym and accomplishment in the food arena I gain strength and self-confidence.  In the beginning I was along for the ride, committed to the process, going through the motions. Don’t get me wrong, I worked hard in the gym and worked harder to stay committed to my meal plan. I am human and had moments of weakness, I recovered and quickly found myself on the path to Mario 2.0. This can be attributed to my mental approach, the difference between the old me and the new me was how I responded to my moments of weakness. I created a game plan, essentially refocusing my intentions and goals to ensure that I stayed on pace to reap the rewards of the hard work I was putting in.

I currently find myself in a new place, things have “clicked” and I attribute a large portion of that to my work at FNS. The goal coaching and the community have raised my level of awareness of what is right for me in my life. Another large portion that I can attribute this “click” to is my support groups.  I have several different avenues that I use for support and all are necessary. My wife is the most important of course! The others range from old and new friends and web based communities. I cannot emphasize this enough, support is key to your success when battling any form of addiction. I have reached a point of happiness that I never imagined possible, although my desires to improve outweighs the feelings of happiness! I still lack the confidence to push myself past my limits and that’s where FNS has made some significant change for me! It’s hard to explain, but when it comes to working out, a mental block still exist. I am working to remove “I can’t” from my vocabulary, I realize that there are things that I am limited to now but I have no intention of keeping those limits. I will rise to the occasion and work to achieve what might seem scary now!