I have often compared our journey on Sparkpeople to a cross-country road trip to our destination of "Health & Fitness". It's a good comparison for many reasons.

1) Our points of origin vary a great deal (some have 150 to lose some have 20).
2) It requires planning.
3) We encounter obstacles and detours on the way.
4) We have to stop to refuel, sleep, and sometimes get repairs.
5) There is much to enjoy ON the way.
6) The destination promises many wonderful things.
7) We can vary our pace.


I have even suggested that we need our GPS to help navigate us there.

G - Good Nutrition
P - Personal Fitness
S - Sparkpeople involvement (accountability, encouragement and knowledge)

Here is the thing I most want to convey to you today.

THE DESTINATION IS NOT OPTIONAL!

This is about health and wellness. This is about quality of life. WHO doesn't want that? WHY would you ever QUIT! Sure you may take a detour (go on a vacation where you don't lose at the same pace). Sure you may have to have repairs (surgery). Sure you may idle your engine at a roadblock (not exercise). Sure you may see a gain on the scale (detour that takes you way off course) BUT...

YOU DO NOT QUIT.

If you set out on a cross-country trip to the Grand Canyon would you quit just because you had a flat tire? Would you quit if your car ran out of gas? How about if you made a wrong turn and went 40 miles the wrong way?

Do you see my point?

I have had my own detours. Multiple surgeries, months of home nursing care, family crisis of the kind many of you will never face, loss of loved ones, illness, depression, etc. BUT I don't give up. Somewhere deep inside of me I know this is one journey that HAS to be made.

YES - you will stumble. YES you will have weeks, months of little progress. YES it gets old. I really understand.

The KEY to this whole journey is embracing the destination. Once you do you realize that you aren't on a temporary program. You aren't making a quick jaunt around the corner. This is the one body you have been given to see you through life. There isn't a new car waiting at the local dealer. You can't trade-in the model you have.

I stepped on the scale today (navigational aid) and it showed me still on course but making a slow pace (I lost 4/10ths of a pound). It's a "WEIGH" point on the journey. There are others. Measuring tape, loser clothing, more energy. Keep everything in perspective. This is a JOURNEY.

Just PRESS ON!