Spark Spotlight: Liz (BIZZIEE)

By , SparkPeople Blogger
At SparkPeople, we love helping people accomplish big goals—but we believe it's equally important to celebrate the small successes along the way. Each week in the Spark Spotlight, we'll check in with a featured member about his or her proudest moments, biggest challenges and advice for others on living, thinking and feeling healthier. We hope these quick snapshots will help motivate you to keep moving steadily toward your own goals, week by week.

This Week's Spotlight: Liz (BIZZIEE)
Age: 54
Location: Kelso, Washington  

Liz's Small Success of the Week

Liz just completed her first 5K! Even though she had a million reasons running through her brain about why she couldn't do it, one positive thought pushed the negative aside as the mantra: "But what if I can?" Those five simple words were enough to keep her going all the way to the finish line!  

What's your overall goal? 

My overall goals are health and endurance. My father was a boxer and a runner into his 70s. I'm only 54 and I want to be healthy and active like he was. He was running marathons after he retired. 
 
How is SparkPeople helping you get there? 
 
By reading the daily articles, seeing the success of so many and relating to those who have the same struggles with weight and motivation as I do. The "before" and "after" pictures are priceless and inspiring. 
 
What's your biggest challenge right now? 
 
Not being in the best of shape and working 10-hour days with a one-hour commute each way. It's really hard to self-motivate when my everything is sore and/or my brain is exhausted.

It's so much easier to find an excuse to be lazy but I remind myself that poor choices, lack of motivation and time constraints is exactly what got me out of shape to begin with. I have been with SparkPeople since before you could access it on your phone. I was very successful in getting healthy then because of the motivation and competition for SparkPoints. I have found that points are a great push to get me to exercise more! 
 
What advice do you have for someone who just joined SparkPeople today? 

Give it a chance and document everything, even when you feel you may have failed. Failure can actually help you be more determined to succeed. Stop weighing yourself every day [because] it feels like self-sabotage if you don't lose weight. Don't give up if you messed up. Believe in yourself, even when the little voice in your head is negative. We are all worth good health. 
 
Want to be the next small success we spotlight? Share your successes on the goal feed or in the comments below, and you might be the next person we contact!