dI’ve been reflecting lately on how I’ve been able to finally turn the corner on my health. What made this time different? How was I able to keep going?

The answer to those questions(and many others) was answered in three questions I asked myself the first day I started. Unknowingly, the answer to these three questions shaped the foundation for my weight loss.

The first question I asked myself was “What do I want?” The question, at first glance, appears simple. However, it really required thought for me. What did I want? Did I just want to lose weight? Did I want to be healthier? It took about an hour to answer that question. Knowing what you want is essential. It begins to bring clarity to what you’re looking to accomplish.

With the answer to the first question in hand, I moved on to the second question. “Why do I want it?” When you figure out what you want and why you want it, you start to get an emotional tie. I’ve found that by having an emotional tie to what I wanted, a need to accomplish it was created. The need was so strong that I became almost obsessive over it. (I prefer the term laser focus.) That focus, obsessiveness, whatever you want to call it became the seeds of discipline that sprouted into a no excuses attitude.

Lastly, and maybe most important, I asked myself “What was I willing to give up to get what I wanted?” In my case, it was an hour of my day to exercise. I was willing to give up a couple of hours of sleep so I could exercise before going to work. I was willing to give up soda. You get the point.

Everything has a cost associated with it. You have to decide if what you want, why you want it, and the things you’ll have to give up (some temporarily I might add) are worth the cost. And if it’s worth it, are you willing to pay the cost.

For me, it was definitely worth it. And looking back on it, the price wasn’t nearly as expensive it appeared in the beginning.