Motivational Monday #87

Happy Motivational Monday! I don't know what I was thinking, but I totally spaced out that today was Monday until I went to write my blog post. It feels like it should be Sunday, but my kids went to school, so that doesn't really make sense. We got a couple of inches of snow yesterday, and it was so pretty outside today! It was actually the perfect day for being lazy and watching movies. Jerry was off work, so that's exactly what we did :)

I'm still counting my Weight Watchers points, but this week I've had a few moments that were extremely difficult. It took every ounce of willpower I had not to binge! The thing that has helped me to stay on track the best has been looking through my "motivation" photo folder on my phone. Seeing the photos of me at my goal weight last year make me really motivated to get back to that place!

I can't really think of anything about my week that makes me exceptionally proud. A couple of days ago, I was having a particularly week moment, and was very close to bingeing. Instead, I posted on Instagram a few screenshot photos from a video taken last year while I was trying to pogo-stick with the kids. I was at (or very close to) my goal weight in that video, and seeing those screen shots gave me the push I needed to avoid bingeing. So I guess that was a proud moment for me!

Here are a couple of motivating stories to start the week off:

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When Megan (on the right in photo) was born, there was never any hope that she'd one day be able to run. Her right hip wasn't fully developed, so she had to wear a brace that kept her knees to her chest for the first year of her life. Her tendons would also become hyper extended, which caused her a lot of difficulty with standing for more than 30 minutes or so at a time. She ended up needing steel braces on her legs just to be able to walk. After six surgeries over the years, her surgeon told her that it may have worked. She could walk normally, but would probably need another surgery later on in life. She stopped living in fear, and started working on being more active. Since then, she's lost 50 pounds, run her first 5K in 30:11, and signed up for her first half-marathon... all things that she believes are truly miracles of God. She has two active little boys, and she is happy to be able to set a good example for them.

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Erin just completed her first half-marathon after battling breast cancer--twice. She's a mom of four kids, and she was diagnosed with breast cancer at 29 and again at 34 years old. She has remained cancer-free for several years now, and after recovering from a 12-hour reconstructive surgery, she decided to start running. She signed up for the Indy Monumental Half-Marathon, and despite the 18-degree weather that day, she exceeded her expectations! She assumed she'd finish in around 3:30, but she ended up crossing the finish line in 3:22. She's looking forward to beating that time at her next race ;)

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If you have a photo of an accomplishment that you'd like to share, you can email it to me at Katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com, subject: Motivational Monday, along with a brief description, and I may include it on a future MM post!