It wasn’t until I started blogging that I really realized the difference that inspiration and motivation makes to weight loss. It doesn’t do it on its own, of course. If I sit at home eating cupcakes and feeling inspired, it’s not like the fat just melts off my body. It takes more than that.

Still, all those other steps that I take find their beginnings with inspiration and motivation. As a result, I’ve started to keep my eyes open to make sure that I see inspiring things when they’re there. Once I see them, I let them motivate me.

Here’s how I do it. To start, I’ve begun to focus a lot more on surrounding myself with positivity. As much as I can, I spend time around positive people. I’ve started reading books with positive messages (that is, even if they involve a tough journey, the underlying message is one I find to be a positive one). I subscribe to YouTube channels that talk about informative, positive topics. I have started working on my mental health to make sure I’m not holding myself back.

All these efforts have let me find some really interesting new parts of life. I’d never even known they were out there and now they’re an important part of my days. As I’ve done this, I’ve also come across an entirely different discovery: the community.

There are millions of people out there, just like me. I may not know any of them in real life, but they’re out there commenting on videos and blogs, sharing things on social media, and offering their support in forums. I’ve started interacting with this community and it’s as though it has taught me how to talk about things and think about them on a deeper level. I’m not trying to sound too profound here – because it’s really not that profound.

Still, it’s the difference between my knowing I love to sit on the couch and eat cupcakes, and my knowing why there are times when I feel I can’t do anything but that. Just knowing that has inspired me to talk about it more and to do something about it. It’s why I’m here. I just hope I’m bringing some motivation and inspiration to you, too. Once you have it, you’ll come up with a healthy weight loss plan, stick to it, and you might even inspire someone else, too.