Be Inspired

Many times, I would run into someone who I had not seen in a while and they had managed to lose weight and look fabulous.  My first reaction is sadness, disappointment, and ultimately jealousy.  I would think how could they have done it and I not?  They are the better person than I because they were strong, and I am a loser that I could not control my eating.

Then I got to a place where I thought they were in my life for a reason.  Perhaps they will inspire me – maybe out of jealously or shame or just to surround myself with others who knew what to do.  I came to a point where I stopped looking at those people who were successful as the “enemy” and instead welcomed them into my world as a source of inspiration.  Having lost weight, they obviously knew where I have been or am.  They know about the challenges of overeating and were able to overcome the behavior and learn to lose the weight.

My feelings were not all negative.  I think it was mostly towards people who lost weight who I believed didn’t need to lose weight in the first place.  If I knew of someone who truly struggled as I did, I could be genuinely happy for them.  They found the strength within themselves to break through the “wall” and lose weight.

You can find inspiration to get you motivated in many different places.  Watching infomercials about exercise equipment or weight loss to feel healthy and get into a healthy mindset.   Surround yourself with people who have a healthy mindset and like to be active.  You can draw strength from people around you that have lost weight or have always been healthy.

You can be inspired by others who have faced challenges in their lives other than battling weight.  Inspiration can come from people who have overcome obstacles in their life other than losing weight.  You can adopt the same principles that people use to overcome any kind of challenge whether it be physical, emotional, mental, or even financial.  What was the common thread that helped them to succeed?  Read their stories to find the answer.  I would be willing to speculate that they started with a goal, had a plan and worked to stay positive and focused on that plan.  Again, read their stories and talk to these people, be uplifted from them and be inspired.

Going Over the Edge

Something unexpected has happened to me by sharing my stories from my past.   The hurt and pain has bubbled up to the surface.  I didn’t think much of it until something recently happened to me that put me over the edge emotionally.  Something seemingly insignificant was magnified in my emotional psyche and I lost it (didn’t want to say “lost my cookies” because that would never happen!).

I’m not going to go into detail, but I found myself back in fourth grade feeling embarrassed of myself.   That said, I recognized what was going on in my mind and compartmentalized fourth grade and now.  What I understand now is that I can only control my self-talk and my actions and own only that.   I have no idea what others are thinking and what is going on in their life and it would be silly to assume otherwise.   People are good.  I am good, and I will continue to share.