GET YOUR BODY MOVING: PERSONAL MOTTO LED TO 125-POUND WEIGHT LOSS
When Tawni Gomes stopped making excuses, she started losing weight—almost half of her body weight, in fact.
Tawni’s epiphany came one day in September 1996 as she watched The Oprah Winfrey Show on television. Oprah’s guest was her personal trainer, Bob Greene. As Greene explained the basics of
weight loss to the audience, Tawni began to feel inspired. At 300 pounds, she knew that she had to slim down. So the San Francisco resident headed for the nearest bookstore and picked up a copy of Make the Connection, Winfrey and Greene’s book. She read it cover to cover that very night.
Over the next month, Tawni struggled to stick with the exercise program. Excuses like “There aren’t enough hours in the day” and “I don’t have a personal trainer” conveniently prevented her from making a serious commitment to slimming down.
Then she heard that Greene was coming to town to speak and do a book signing. Book in hand, she went to hear him. “A woman in the audience asked Bob how she was supposed to find time to exercise with four kids, a house, and a full-time job,” she said. “Bob looked her straight in the eye and without hesitation said, ‘You’re not ready to lose weight.’ He turned to the rest of the audience and said, ‘Next question.’”
Tawni’s jaw dropped. “I was so shocked by his bluntness. But I had to admit that I was making the exact same excuses,” she says. “Everybody has the same number of hours in a day. If people with kids and tighter schedules than mine can find time to exercise, then, I figured, so can I.”
The very next morning, Tawni rolled out of bed at 4:00 A.M., laced on her walking shoes, and headed out—alone—for a brisk walk. It was the start of what would become a daily ritual. “With my work schedule and family commitments, that was really the only time I had to exercise,” she says. “At that early hour, it was so quiet and peaceful that it gave me a chance to think about my life and clarify my goals.”
Over time, Tawni switched from brisk walking to running. She also began lifting weights and performing stretching and toning exercises. The combination enabled her to take off 125 pounds in 3 years.
“No excuses” remains Tawni’s life motto. At age 34, she continues to work out regularly, and her weight is holding steady at 175 pounds. “That’s about right for my height and bone structure, though I’d like to lose about 20 more,” she says. She now has an online support group to help others get on the road to “no excuses.”
WINNING. ACTION
Make time, not excuses. We all have things that we need to get done, so we end up doing what’s important to us. Decide what’s most important for you. When you make yourself and your desire to live a healthier life a top priority, that’s when weight loss will happen for you.
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