It’s sort of encouraging how health conscious we are becoming these days. More and more people are taking pride in using food as their fuel, because living long, healthy lives is a priority. However, for many, living healthy lives is a struggle.

Weight loss is no different.  

It’s a pain to get up out of the bed in the morning in the name of losing weight. It’s hard to sacrifice fries and cake in an effort to shed pounds. It’s difficult to work out day after day and not see results, especially when your time could be used elsewhere. But the beautiful thing about it is that weight loss is doable and worth it.

Weight loss is more than going to the gym, taking supplements or doing reps. It starts off by being honest with yourself. Identify where you are and where you want to be. It involves establishing a realistic goal you want to reach and putting plans in place to strive towards it.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no soap out there that can wash unwanted fat away. There is no pill we can take to lose body fat. Experts say that at the core of any weight loss plan is dieting and exercise. With all the dieting and exercise, what they don’t really tell us is that the weight loss regimen takes discipline. It takes effort and consistency to eat right and exercise.

Discipline means we have to learn to say no to eating junk food every day. On the flip side, we have to say yes to workouts. We have to learn to push through the pain while learning our limits. Discipline means starting and following through. It means seeing your end goals as more important than temporarily satisfying a craving. Discipline means recognizing that dropping pounds doesn’t happen overnight and we will have to work hard to reach the objective.

Of course, it will be hard. The pain hits, and you will definitely want to quit. There are moments when you will be tempted to fall off the wagon. However, remember why you started in the first place. Remember your goals and work towards them with the help of an accountability partner. Don’t quit. Trust me. You’ll be happy you worked hard. That’s the truth. 

^{Photo by Anna Might (IG:@annamighttakepics)}