I don't know about you, but I'm now a great believer in acceptance being the key to progress.

Over the years my experiences have taught me that my resistance is what actually has taken me further away from my goals and dreams. At times it ate away at me, my self-worth, my confidence, and has even been the major cause of depressive episodes I have gone through in my life. But what I came to learn was that if I could accept exactly where I was at, I could move forward. This is the irony of acceptance.

Let me give you an example from my dating days before I met my husband Craig. 

We hear some pretty inspirational stories about people don't we. You know the ones. Like this guy.

Clearly he's had huge obstacles to overcome in his life, yet here, he is headed for the sports field.

It's too easy to make excuses. It takes no effort at all. Or at least that is my opinion and experience in my life.

For many, many years, I made excuse after excuse about why I couldn't (or wouldn't) lose my weight. In fact, so many years that I'm actually really embarrassed to admit that it has been 26 years since I have been the weight I am now. And I regret not doing this sooner. I really do. But I don't beat myself up about that.

Like many of you, it's been a yo-yo pattern for me too over the years with a few kilos off, then back on, then off, then on again. Maintaining my weightloss has always been a challenge. Until this year.

For the first time, I have managed to keep my weight off and it's now been eight months. 

The key this time around has been keeping my focus on four key areas.

For the last seven years I've been experiencing full-on menopausal symptoms - hot flashes, mood swings, irritation, crashing fatigue, and migraines to name a few. 

Prior to that, it was 10 years of peri-menopause.

It's been a long road. 

My weight became a big issue during this seven years. Whilst I hadn't put on any more, I was at my highest point more times than I had been in my younger years. 

And no matter what I did, I could not shift it. 

I'd lose a few kilograms, then put it right back on again.

Until recently.

​Ingredients
Angel Bay Gourmet Meatballs (from Countdown)
Blue cheese, segments
Avocado, sliced
Cucumber, thick slices
Sundried tomatoes
Lettuce

Method
1.  Pan fry meatballs from frozen and set aside.
2.  Slice cheese and vegetables.
3.  Thread onto skewers.
4.  Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve cold.

Until next time,

Remember to keep Taking Care of Me. 
​

I'm definitely a visual and tactile learner, I have known this for many, many years. 

Both of these ways of learning and retaining information have come in very handy in monitoring my weight loss, and they really work for me!

Coming up with ideas is something I'm never short of, and it's the same on this journey. Whether it's one of my own or something I've found online, I love adopting new ways of doing things.  

It's important also to keep it simple.

For 10 long years I have been using one excuse after another as to why I couldn't or wouldn't lose the weight.

Oh, they were endless - menopause, past issues, being in the crazy busy corporate world, not finding a diet that would work, being sad or depressed, and next came creating and operating a start up business. I could always find a new excuse.

What I have actually proven recently is that none of those excuses were real.