HardwYred

Reflection/Conclusion           If you have read through this entire series, let me take the time to thank you for reading, but I am sure at this point you are wondering: what is the point? I can assure you that I did not write this to be congratulated or to get recognition for achieving what I have. The actual idea came to me Sunday night as I was driving home, and I started to realize as I was writing it the actual point.           I wrote this because I know that God told me to write it; there is someone out there that this was meant to reach, and my hope it that it reaches that person. Simply, my point in writing is that I hope that even one person can benefit from reading this. I am a very impulsive and distracted person that finds it difficult to stay focused on one thing for an extended period of time, but I am. Maybe this will give some hope to someone that needs to be shaken up or that wants to make a change in his or her life, but is struggling to find a way. That is

Spirit           I guess I could have seen the connection between the physical and mental when I started as I am sure there is plenty of research to back up the claim. However, what I did not expect was the tremendous spiritual growth I would experience along the way. While I could see how this is less connected to my newfound routine, I still believe that a line can be drawn back to the physical work.           I consider myself to be a strong person of faith, and I know that my relationship with God has been stronger than it has ever been, but I believe that this relationship (like any relationship) requires work and maintenance. In a way, I believe I had gotten lazy in my faith in that I did not put in the effort to grow my connection with Him; I had just been settled in to a routine. So, as I began to feel a change in me, I began to channel the positivity in to my faith, and the results have been amazing.           Each morning on my drive to work, I listen to K-LOVE and

Mind           Prior to starting this new workout program, I don’t think I ever understood the direct connection between physical positivity and mental positivity. However, I have noticed quite significant changes in how I go about the day and how I interact with others.           I have never considered myself to be a bad person, but at the same time, I know that there were certain parts of who I am and how I interact that were not up to par with the person I want to be. By feeling better physically, I have been able to carry the positivity in to every other aspect of my life. For instance, at work, I find myself much more optimistic about my day; that is not to say that I absolutely love my job. I am just much more patient with my coworkers, more willing to help, and less disappointed as my day goes on. I am able to appreciate that a few of my coworkers are constantly under pressure and busy so I am happy to help in any capacity.           More than my work, I have found that m

Body           I think the most obvious change (and the one I had most sought after) was too my body. After the holidays, I felt miserable with both how I looked and how I felt. I had not been doing anything physical and had consumed more food in a short amount of time than I had done all year. This state of mind is what led me to undertake this journey in the first place.           However, unlike when I was going to the gym, I chose to also completely change my diet. I decided that to completely invest in the program, I needed to quit sabotaging my own results. I gave up on almost all sugars, quit drinking soda, and began monitoring everything that went in to my body. While it is not only more expensive, but also more time consuming, to change my diet, I have found the results to be well worth it.           I have found that in only two months that the changes have been night and day. I have completely lost every bit of weight that I put on during the holidays as well put mysel

Background           I figured the best way to start this would be to give a little background to this as I am sure the title is not exactly the most self-explanatory thing in the world. It is not as if I decided to one day start waking up earlier than normal knowing it would change everything; the actual story goes a little bit differently.           This whole scenario can be traced back to me moving. At my old residence, I would drive to the gym every day after work; this kept me in decent shape and helped me stay active. After I moved, it became too much of a hassle to drive there everyday so I quit going. I would say this was not such a big deal until the holidays. Between the amount of food and the sheer fat content, I felt tremendously out of shape so... I decided to make a change.           About two days before New Year's Day, I made the decision that I was going to start the Insanity program again; however, this time, I was going to workout in the morning instead of