health

Mothering with an Anxiety Disorder.

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I’ve mentioned in past posts that I suffer from anxiety. There are so many things that I seem to not be able to do because of this illness but how has it affected my mothering? In some ways it has made me a better mother because of how deeply I think about everything. I think deep deep thoughts much of the day and take my role of mothering very seriously. Yet I fall short. As most people do.

There are many illnesses that mothers can go through. Anxiety is just one of the many. Parenting with an illness or handicap is quite common. Life is unpredictable and suffering can be around any corner. We live in a fallen world, tainted by sin and sicknesses. I’ve met mothers with vertigo, some with depression, some in a wheelchair, some with hormonal issues, autoimmune diseases, I even know one young mother with cancer.

So why is it that I feel so ashamed about this anxiety? Maybe because it is a silent illness that from looking at me you cannot tell. Most people who know me closely say I have a calm demeanor, an easy going personality and am bubbly and joyful.  Which I am all of those things. The effect of anxiety on me is completely internal and mostly, cannot be seen with your eyes.

A racing, pounding heart, shaking (skin crawling) feeling inside my legs, arms and hands, racing thoughts, panic, painful shoulders when under stress, headaches, a tight chest and feeling like I can’t breathe, picking away at the skin on my thumbs and feet, clenched jaw, fatigue, insomnia, foggy brain, overeating, itchy skin, stomach in knots, nausea, diarrhea, (IBS), stomach aches, OCD compulsions (hand washing, checking things), feelings of guilt, shame and inadequacy usually follow.

Phew…that was a long list of crazy things going on inside my body.  I don’t feel all of these things all of the time. They come and go. Some never completely go. And I never can tell when I’m going to have a panic episode but I do know that I when I get overloaded with stress, even just normal everyday stress, this is when the symptoms worsen. I have chosen to live a simple, gentle life with not too many other activities going on besides the primary care of my family.

This was never meant to be a ‘woe is me’ type blog post but I thought that there may be other mothers and fathers out there with anxiety who could benefit from somebody taking about it.

If you are misunderstood I know exactly how you feel. Anxiety has been my ‘Achilles heel’, in which I can only seem to get so far in life before anxiety pulls me back like a chain upon my legs. Impatient people cannot handle me, as I pull out of things at the last minute. All. The. Time. I have been given labels like ‘unreliable’ and ‘full of excuses.’ (mostly by myself).

The Lord may heal and deliver me from this one day and I have grown stronger as I’ve gotten older. I no longer have the phobias and fears as extremely as I did as a child. But until that day I will fight this battle called anxiety.

Of course, there are many things that anxiety has not stopped me from doing and I am determined to keep going, keep trying, keep dreaming big, keep praising my saviour and keep on trying to be the best wife and mother I can be. Thankfully the Lord is full of grace and compassion and my sweet husband is too.

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Thankfully the Lord gave me the most gentle and patient man on earth to be my husband!

I always appreciate it when bloggers and YouTubers are honest and share from their hearts so I thought I would be honest with my readers about my struggles as well as the things in my life that I’m super proud of.

Thanks for reading!

Don’t forget to leave a comment, I read each one and reply when I can. Let me know if you would like more blog post chats about anxiety or hear about my current natural remedies to heal my nervous system.

Blessings, Peta xo

Watch us on Youtube HERE

 

 

 

Feeling Lonely As A Stay At Home Mum.

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It sounded simple. I was invited out by some friends for tea in the park. Come and join us they said, it’ll be fun. But I just couldn’t and I knew they wouldn’t understand. I had a baby, actually two babies really, under the age of two. It had been a long day. It was summer and taking the babies out in the searing heat wasn’t sounding appealing. Also, it was my little boys bedtime. Sure I could have taken him out past his bedtime. But not this day. He missed his nap and boy was he cranky! He needed to go to bed and taking an overtired toddler and a baby out at bedtime to me spelled chaotic disaster. I knew he would screech and pull me this way and that and I wouldn’t get to sit and eat, let alone get a word in with my friends. Then there was the baby. I would need to find somewhere at the park to breast feed him. Plus I would have to pack the pram, sippy cups, nappies, dummies, blankeys. And my baby was starting solids soon which would mean I would have to find a place to feed him at the park, probably sitting in the pram, and it would go everywhere. Plus how would I heat the food up while I was out?

With all of this swirling through my new mummy mind. I told my friend,

“sorry I can’t make it.”

No one in my friends group had started having babies yet and I felt very alone. I got married at 18 and had my first baby at age 20. They tried to include me. But after a few night time invites out by our friends to cafes, movies and eating out I knew that my life as a mum would be very different now.

I could let it get to me and vent about my lack of freedom since becoming a mum and live a miserable lonely life. Or, I could embrace my new role as a mum and move on to bigger and better things. Find new friends who also have children and change the way I go out, perhaps to play grounds instead of cafes.

I’m happy to report that I chose the latter.

Eventually. 

It did take me a few years before I moved on and embraced my new life as a mum and left my past child-free life behind me. It took an attitude change and the Lord gently guiding and directing my heart. I began to see my life at home as a mum in a whole new light.

I was listening to Vision Christian Radio this morning and they were chatting with a past radio host who had left on maternity leave to care for her baby. She admitted on air to feelings of postpartum depression and said she had been feeling lonely.

She spoke about the importance of reaching out to other new mums around us and to check in on new mums at our church and in our community.

It got me thinking about how hard it is sometimes to deal with the loneliness of being at home all day every day with babies and young children. It really can be challenging and lonely. I know too well what it’s like to want to reach out to others in the community around me. And to pray that others would reach out to me.

I have some mum friends who I love very dearly and we share the same values and hopes and desires for our families. When we catch up with a long chat and cup of tea it is like my soul and entire being has been deeply refreshed. But our times like this are few. Between homeschooling, appointments and day to day schedules, months will go by before we can have this kind of conversation again.

I decided last year, after we sent our older children to school that I would take the my little girls to the local playgroup. I wanted to get to know some local mothers from my town, not just for my own sake, but I felt like I wanted to minister to the hearts of young mums who may need some encouragement.

But it hasn’t been easy! I’ve had to fight somewhat, just to get there! Between my five children catching sicknesses and having to stay home, to appointments, other life things that pop up and sometimes, just plain “I’m exhausted and need to stay home, ” I haven’t actually made it to many play groups! This term alone, I have gone to 1 in the past 6 weeks!

What I am trying to get at is, sometimes even when a mum really tries her hardest, it is still sometimes almost impossible for her to get out to things.

This is one of the reasons I began blogging over five years ago. I found encouragement in the words of others mothers blogs. I read them for hours and felt like someone out there understood what I was going through.

The online community back then for me was a God send. I believe He put these virtual mothers online for me at that exact moment, for me to read words of hope, friendship and understanding.

So, what makes me continue opening up my laptop and blogging away, is the thought that other mothers out there who may be feeling lonely, like I was, will find some encouragement here. If I can hardly make it out of my house to offer my friendship and a listening ear to other mothers then at least I can do it right here on this blog. Lately I have really being enjoying Youtube too. I have found some really great stay at home mother’s on Youtube and have been learning a lot of wisdom from them. Lately I have really been enjoying watching Sarah from ‘Our Tribe Of Ten.’ I put one of her videos below.

 

So don’t feel bad if you have been feeling lonely while at home with your children. Even if you have just had a baby that you have been longing for a long time for. It is perfectly normal to feel some loneliness as you adjust to life at home with a baby. The more you fight against it though and wish for your old life back the worse you will feel. So look ahead. Having a baby is a massive blessing and can be a real joy! Look for joy in little things throughout your day and take one day at a time.

Thank you for reading!

Please leave a comment and connect! I am here if anyone needs a listening ear.

Please also check out my new Youtube channel: Here

God’s blessings as always –

Peta xo

Yes You Can Lose Your Pregnancy Weight!

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With each of my five full term pregnancies I gained 25-30 kgs! (55-66 lbs).

With my last pregnancy with Willow I gained just as much even though I was eating reasonably healthy foods. I didn’t gain much in the first and second trimesters but by the third trimester I really stacked on the kilos. I was really hungry and I let myself eat and eat without giving it much thought. I usually lost 5 kilograms by the time I came home for hospital (baby, placenta, fluid) and then a long road was before me as I slowly lost the weight I had gained.

But over the years I have learned some things about weight loss. Sometimes it was really hard. Sometimes I had great successes. Sometimes I couldn’t be bothered and was tired and emotional and gained a few kilos back. Sometimes I just ate too much because…well, I love food!

As I had these experiences I learned what worked. I observed other people who had too, been successful with weight loss. I took note and wrote a lot of information down.

I discovered dessert in a whole new way! I have now learned how to make all my old favorites in a nourishing way using whole food ingredients. As I lost weight I ate pancakes, carrot cake, choc chip cookies and brownies! Making desserts into healthier creations has helped keep me be happy, healthy and satisfied while the kilos came off.

Last year all I had learned about weight loss got written down…

…and became a book!!

And…I am very very excited. The moment I have been waiting for over a year for is here!

My brand new e-book is now online and available for you to download!!!

It is a step by step guide for your own postpartum weight loss journey! And anyone would benefit from this book, not just mothers.

If you are wanting to lose weight but you need a bit of cheering on. I will be your weight loss coach as you read the pages of this book you will be cheered and encouraged along the way!

I share the secrets of people who are successful with losing weight and keeping it off.

I share how to overcome problems people face and how not to regain weight.

Yes You Can Lose Your Pregnancy Weight is not a diet plan but a book to give mothers some encouragement to get healthy and kick out some bad habits.

I also have included 10 of my own recipes which helped me have success in my postpartum weight loss. As well as a full weekly meal plan to help kick start your weight loss.

Click HERE to get my new e-book Yes You Can Lose Your Pregnancy Weight

 

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Merry Christmas 2017 – photo shoot – thoughts – answered prayer…

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This year has been loaded with good things and also set backs. At the beginning of this year, instead of writing new years resolutions, I wrote a page of prayers that were on my heart. I cried out my heart to the Lord about these things daily all year long. I am deeply joy-filled to be sharing with you that many of those prayers have been answered.

I asked for someone to help me out with cleaning the house and baby-sitting as I could never seem to catch up on my workload at home and it was getting me down. – The Lord sent a lovely young Christian, home-schooled lady to come weekly and she has helped me clean the house from top to bottom. I feel so encouraged by this and she as become a great friend to me.

I asked for a large kitchen table particularly one painted white with a wooden stained top. And a dishwasher. – The Lord sent to us a local couple who custom built the exact table I was wanting that I saw at Harvey Norman for $3500. We paid only $450 for ours.

Our lease was not renewed at our rental house because the landlord wanted to renovate, which meant we had to move. Suddenly we were homeless. The Lord led us swiftly to a house only a few streets away. We were privileged to be shown through the house by the agent before it was even advertised. The new house has a dining area for our new kitchen table AND we were able to have a dishwasher installed in the laundry (only a few steps away from the kitchen).

I asked for wisdom and insight in dealing with my eldest sons constant aggressive behavior and mood swings. He was upsetting everyone in the house. We tried everything we could think of and were at our whits end (disciplines, spanking, time out, loss of privileges, earlier bed time, long talks, reward systems for good behaviour, more one on one time with him). I cried many tears over this. I was lead to discover he may have ODD (Oppositional Deficiency Disorder) And was reminded of an allergy test he had as a toddler which revealed he is allergic to wheat. I put him on a gluten and sugar free diet and within days he was back to his calm, happy self. The transformation in him has been amazing! I wish I had done this years ago. I might write a whole detailed blog post about this in the future.

I asked the Lord for a holiday. We had to spend our money shifting house and a holiday this year was looking like it wasn’t going to happen. I couldn’t stop thinking about my Auntie and Uncles holiday house by the beach. I didn’t even know if they still had it or if someone was now renting it.  I asked anyway – and they said yes! We can stay there! We are now getting ready next month to have a relaxing time away by the beach.

I asked for my mums healing for a condition she was suffering with. She told me last week that she feels the best she’s felt in years right now.

I always pray for the Lord to guide and lead me every day of my life in every area. I am completely surrendered to him and his will for my life. I have seen him provide for our family in amazing ways this year. He knows what I need and I have never been lacking anything. My life may not be fancy in any way – but it is certainly not lacking.

Thanks to everyone who supported my blog this year. Whether you liked a post on facebook or left a comment or just read a few articles. I really appreciate your feedback and every little bit counts and is noticed. I hope you are enjoying my new YouTube channel as well. Click here to check it out.

I’m excited for 2018 as I will be releasing my very first e-book. It is called ‘Yes You Can Lose Your Pregnancy Weight.’ And I pray it is a huge encouragement to many people. My goal for this blog from the very beginning when I started blogging back in 2012 is to encourage people, especially mothers, as they press on with the challenging and deeply rewarding task of parenting. I don’t make any money at all from blogging. I do it because I love it and I feel like I can help others with words of encouragement. However it does cost us over $100 a year to keep this sight online and by purchasing my e-book next year (hopefully in January) you will be supporting our family and the continuation of this blog.

Have a blessed 2018!

Blessings, Peta xo

I will leave you with some photos from our 2018 family photo shoot.

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One Week Of What I Ate For Lunch Trim Healthy Mama Style.

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Lunch for me most days is salad of some sort or leftovers. It’s summer here right now, but in the winter I eat soup, soup and more soup! I eat wheat free because of a food intolerance so these meals reflect that. I also try to avoid refined sugar as much as I can, but I don’t eat perfect all the time at all! These meals are all trim healthy mama friendly, though, I’m not following THM strictly anymore because I’m at a healthy weight and I don’t really keep track of whether my meals are E, S or XO anymore. I just eat what I feel like on the day and what I have on hand in the house. If we go out for the day I usually bring a packed salad with hard boiled eggs. Or a tin of salmon and beans or tuna and beans.

1st picture is of leftover brown rice with leftover roast chicken. I had a large salad of baby cucumbers, capsicum, avocado, sprouts, baby spinach and sprinkled with sunflower and pumpkin seeds. I usually top all my salads with extra virgin olive oil and sometimes lemon juice too. Sometimes I have mayo. I put sea salt and pepper on everything…well not everything. 

2nd pic of a quinoa, chickpea and pumpkin salad with some basil and baby spinach leaves. Also some I was trying out my mums pickled beetroot recipe and had a little of that.

3rd pic is of leftover lemon herb drummies (from the THM cookbook) with a salad and some leftover pumpkin and chick pea salad. Looks like I had a few slices of metwurst too.

4th pic is my fav, paleo bread ( this was from one of Lola Berry’s cookbooks) with cabbage, carrot, parsley, red onions and hard boiled eggs. This was my birthday lunch shared with my parents who came to visit that day.

5th pic is zucchini noodles with leftover bolognese sauce. I grated a little goat cheese over the top. I eat completely dairy free apart from a little goat cheese occasionally.

6th pic is a salad with some chickpeas and seeds for protein.

7th pic is pumpkin and chickpea salad with tin salmon and beetroot, red onion and greens.

If I’m still hungry after lunch or feel like something sweet I’ll have a few squares of dark chocolate or some coconut yoghurt and fruit. Sometimes a medjool date or two if I have some.

That’s it! One week view of my lunches. These meals keep me feeling healthy and give me a huge energy burst and are great for digestion. They don’t take me long to prepare either. If you have any questions about any of the lunches or the way I eat leave me a comment.

Blessings, Peta

You may also like to read: One Week Of What I Ate For Breakfast Trim Healthy Mama Style.

 

 

 

When Home Schooling Doesn’t Work Out. Dealing With The Disappointment Part 2.

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Here is part two of our story. We went from having a full on ‘it’s homeschooling or nothing’ mentality to sending our children to public school and eventually finding peace.

We were all prepared for homeschooling at the beginning of this year. (2017) I had ordered all the curriculum we needed, shopped for supplies like lead pencils and notebooks and had made up a schedule that looked doable.

I had been feeling a bit stressed with the children home all summer holidays though. It does seem to get to me a bit after a while. All the mess, demands, questions and sibling squabbles that go on when all the children are home at the same time for a long period of time.

Other parents I knew COULDN’T WAIT for their children to get back to school

…and I guess I can understand why. Don’t get me wrong, I love my children so much and love being around them and spending time with them. It is a true blessing and privilege to be given children by God and I do enjoy caring for them. But sometimes I do need a bit of quiet to catch my breath and perhaps think a clear thought.

Also one of my children has some very intense moods, and that, has always made homeschooling very challenging. He reacts in anger and when he’s in one of his ‘moods’ the whole household suffers.

By the fourth week of term one I was not very well. I became so stressed that it pushed my nervous system completely out of whack. I was in bed for days and couldn’t function properly. I guess I had some sort of nervous breakdown, I’m not really sure what to call it. My shoulders were so tight and painful, my pupils constantly dilating and in ‘flight or fight’ mode, and my body wouldn’t stop trembling. I was so wound up and began taking it out on my children by snapping and screeching at every little move they made. This triggered off my anxiety that I also suffer from. I saw doctors and a psychologist. I was put on medication, which I only took for a month because of the awful side effects. I did a lot of research and dove into some natural remedies and a herbal supplement regime instead. I was in bed for days and didn’t go out anywhere for weeks. It took me a few months to fully recover.

While this was going one Luke and I made the decision to send them to school.

It was clear that the pressure of homeschooling really got to me, and to him as well.

We did a lot of prayer, discussion and wrote up pages of notes on the weight of our decision. It became pretty clear that school was the right move to make. Our first choice was a private Christian school 25 minutes away in a nearby rural city. However it was sadly beyond our budget. Our second choice was a small local public primary school only a few minutes away from our house.

We are really happy with this school. It has small classroom sizes and a good behaviour management system. It seems to care a lot about each individual student. Being close to home means the boys feel secure that mum and dad aren’t far away and has made the drop off and pick up doable.

The first couple of weeks were hard. The boys didn’t really want to go and all the packing of backpacks, lunchboxes and buckling everyone in the car took some getting used to!

It was hard emotionally as well. I felt like a failure.

Was it really happening that homeschooling was not working out yet again!? Why can’t I be like other parents who make one decision for school and stick to it? Will my children recover from the roller-coaster ride of being pulled in and out of school? I felt lost for a few months and didn’t quite know what to do with my time during the day when I was usually homeschooling. Even though I still had 3 little girls at home to care for.

I knew I needed something to take my mind off the two boys being in school so I began a project of setting up a veggie patch in our backyard. Something I had wanted to do for ages but just hadn’t had the time for while I was homeschooling.

As the year rolled along I began to see how the Lord has used this situation for good.

Many positive things have happened through us sending our kids to school. – I have began getting out in the local community more and actually meeting other mums from this town. I have been taking the younger three to playgroup – something I couldn’t do while homeschooling and I have had the opportunity to witness to other mums.

I now get excited about all the new opportunities that our children are having at school like doing a swimming carnival and being involved in a musical. The boys are now thriving, have made friends and have both won respect for learning awards. I like doing other ‘regular school mum’ things like watching my children swim at the school lessons and seeing all the creative things they have made. The little crafts they made me for mothers day was so cute – I’ve never had that before because they have always been homeschooling during mothers day. Just little things like that make me smile.

My nervous system is so much better. The pressure of managing their education is off and I can just be mum instead of teacher. I no longer feel wound up and am better able to deal with stress. I have noticed that I am enjoying my boys so much more because I have a break from them during the day . When I see them at 3:10pm I get excited and can’t wait to hear about what they’ve been up to. I am well rested and a calmer, better mother than I was before. Having a rest during the day charges me up for a full on evening of homework, after school activities, dinner and bedtimes. I have been able to give the younger ones more focused attention too.

I have replaced worry with prayer.

Everyday I get up and pray for the Lords protection over them physically and spiritually as they go off to school. I pray for their salvation and pray for the Lord to lead them out of any temptations. It has bought me deep joy to see the boys being a witness for Christ in the classroom. They have given their classmates gospel tracts, Super Book DVDs, and spoken to others about Jesus numerous times.

We have nightly discussions about what the children at school do and say and how we, as Christians are to behave different. For the first time in their lives they are hearing swearing and atheist concepts like evolution. However, it gives us a chance for us to explain to them what the truth is and for them to see how unbelievers think and behave. They’re seeing for themselves how lost and hurting many people in this world are.

I’m now actually looking forward to having three children in school next year. As miss Savannah joins them for her first year of school. God is using our family for good in this community and in our local school. I’m excited about this next chapter of our lives. I know they will be okay – they are in the Lord’s hands.

It’s possible that we may try homeschooling again in the future if we feel like it’s the right thing to do. But not for now and not next year either. We will assess at the beginning of each year what the education path will be for each of our children individually.

How about you? How do you deal with the stress of homeschooling?

Have you sent your children from homeschooling to public school?

Are you plagued with guilt and fear from sending your children to school or have you also found peace?

May God bless you as you press on with the challenging and important role of parenting your precious children.

me Willow sand

Blessings, Peta

You may also like to read:

When Homeschooling Doesn’t Work Out – Dealing With The Disappointment Part 1.

Having a homeschooling mentality while your children are attending school.

Homeschooling and managing a home while in the third trimester

Homeschooling – What I Love and What I Really Don’t.

 

 

 

 

 

Vlog – Day In The Life Of Us and What I Eat In A Day To Maintain My Weight Loss.

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In this video:

What I eat in a day to maintain my postpartum weight loss.

Come with me for my bike ride and see a day in the life of us including seeing the aftermath of baby Willow eating her tea. Also see a little of our family devotion time and family worship.

Blessings, Peta 

One Week Of What I Ate For Breakfast Trim Healthy Mama Style.

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Should I lose another 2 or so kilograms? I’ve reached the point in my postpartum weight loss where I’m happy with my weight. I’m at a healthy weight. I’m fitting into all my size 10 jeans with room to move. But 4 years ago I was even lighter than I am now by around 4kgs. It was after I had removed gluten and dairy from my diet because of a whole heap of digestive issues I was having. My body responded to the diet change with a rapid weight loss. I could even pull on size 8 jeans quite easily which is thinner than I was in high school! My hubby thinks I look great the way I am! Yet sometimes I wish I could just lose a few more kilos and put those size eights back on!

I’m back doing Trim Healthy Mama again for the next month or so to see what happens. If my weight wont budge then I will officially continue maintaining my weight and continue being happy. But if I lose a kilo or two I will also be happy!

Here is what I ate for breakfast over the past week in no particular order:

breakfast 1breakfast 2breaky 3breaky 4breaky 5breaky 6breaky 7First image is of an omelette with spinach and a little goat cheese.

Second image is of a smoothie with collagen, banana, coconut oil, almond milk and frozen strawberries.

Third image is of muesli (store bought and not on plan but I hadn’t been shopping yet and was out of most ingredients) Bonus points for making my own almond milk. And a green tea. I have a green tea with breakfast every morning. I’m not a coffee drinker and green tea is great for metabolism and waking me up.

Fourth image is of scrambled eggs with some walnuts and goat cheese.

Fifth image is of pancakes from the Trim Healthy Mama cook book with some nectarine jam and a few slices of rock melon.

Sixth image is of leftover THM pancakes with maple syrup. (Maple syrup is not on plan but sometimes I just have to live a little!! I would have had some banana on top too but was all out)

Last image is two gluten and sugar free boysenberry muffins balancing on my knees in the car on the way to church! And my green tea.

My favorite healthy breakfast is definitely pancakes. Eating pancakes while losing weight and being healthy is my cup if tea!

I created my own nourishing pancakes recipe which will be included in my new ebook ‘Yes You Can Lose Your Pregnancy Weight’ which is being released early next year. Stay tuned for it and keep checking back on the blog for the release date announcement.

What is your favourite healthy breakfast at the moment?

Blessings, Peta 

 

Holiday vlog – farm stay – Colin Buchanan concert – boots full of water – puppies eating my shoes!

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I kept the camera handy in the past week and filmed snippets of our school holidays. Follow us in person to see Colin Buchanan live in concert, what I packed for a day out in the city, how we buy all our children an ice cream each at the mall large family on a budget style, see our holiday cottage on my parents farm, picking asparagus, hiking up a hill, catching tadpoles, my sisters puppies eating my shoes, and a running commentary from me of all that’s going on.

CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO WATCH THE VLOG!

 

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Blessings, Peta

 

My top 5 ways to motivate yourself to finish losing weight

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Have you lost some weight but still have a bit to go? Did you begin your weight loss program with enthusiasm but now you just ‘can’t be bothered’? Do you find yourself finding 100 excuses why you can’t keep going and lose the rest of the weight?

I’ve done this. Here’s my top ways for keeping myself motivated to reach my final weight loss goal.

  1. You need to do it for yourself. You can have many reasons for wanting to lose weight but what motivates me the most is the fact that I wanted it. I really wanted it. You have to want to be slim so much that you are willing to pay the price it takes to get there.

2. Get some inspiration. Read a pretty weight loss book. Buy a fitness magazine. Read a weight loss blog. Find something that triggers your motivation to keep going. Other people’s weight loss success can be inspiring.

3. Get out some clothes that don’t fit you yet that you hope to fit into once you  lose weight. If you just keep going these clothes will fit you again.

4. Get some air. Do some exercise outdoors. Go for a walk, run or bike ride. While you are out think about why you really want to lose the rest of your weight and imagine yourself as the new slimmer you.

5. Change your program. If you can’t be bothered to keep going with your weight loss program but you were enthusiastic at the beginning, chances are that if you begin a different program you will get excited and motivated again.

All the best with your weight loss!

Blessings, Peta