I’m inching ever closer to my target weight now. Forty-five ugly pounds gone for good, and ten more to go! This morning when I glanced at myself in my full-length mirror, I immediately said out loud, “Oh, so that’s what I’m supposed to look like!”
Isn’t it funny how easily we get used to seeing a fat person when we look in the mirror? The weight can come on so gradually over the decades, and then suddenly by age 45 or 50 we can hardly imagine ourselves any other way. Getting back to only overweight on the BMI instead of obese may seem absolutely out of reach.
I have learned so much with the instruction I have received through Slimgenics:
Weight loss is a journey which begins by believing that you MUST change your life NOW, and then admitting you need some serious instruction and support. Especially in your first few months when you are struggling to believe it is even possible for you to get back to a healthy weight, one-on-one support is so essential. Otherwise, who are you going to cry to when you feel so many mixed emotions about the changes you are going through?
Weight loss is all about getting rid of the rules you learned as a child and the norms you see around you EVERYWHERE. You need to first trash as much as you can of your previous assumptions about what you should be eating, what you need to feel satisfied, and what your new normal will be. I’ll bet I now consume about one third of the total calories I used to consider “normal.”
Starving yourself is your shortest path to obesity! When you wait until you are super hungry before eating, you will find it almost impossible to fill yourself up. Just like waiting to take a pain reliever until you cannot stand the pain, it will take that much longer to stave off your hunger. I now eat 4-5 what I call large snacks each day and I NEVER allow myself to feel true hunger.
A fair amount of “hunger” is in your mind, not your belly. Sitting around thinking about what would taste good right now is not the same as HUNGER. Weight loss may require you to find lots of new interests and ways of distracting yourself from focusing on food full-time.
Believe me, it is possible for you to find a much healthier way to live. However, it may require counseling to help you change the way you see everything in your life. It may even lead to a midlife crisis!
So, what’s the matter with that? It beats the heck out of dying prematurely of a heart attack, cancer, diabetes or any number of other obesity-related illnesses.
Besides, this just feels so great!
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Kudos to you for your huge accomplishment. It takes work and dedication (not to mention will power). So many of us struggle with weight gain, especially in our ‘mature’ years. As my doctors says: eat less, move more. Lovely post!
Thanks Tammy! The rewards are multiple and often surprising! – Laura Lee