There are several reasons why I was not able to maintain my weight loss in the past. Starting with my food choices and ending with mentality. I have a new plan in motion for training myself to truly eat healthy. I'm excited and slightly nervous for this new plan of attack. If you follow me on IG you will probably start noticing some changes in my Photo Food Logs this weekend (and it might look a little strange for the first few days). I will explain more soon!
People (myself included) don't get to be majorly overweight or obese just because they're lazy or love food too much. There is an underlining issue. You're hiding from something. You're trying to over-compensate for something. You're looking for comfort or acceptance. You're scared or crave control. Any or all of the above. Or maybe it's a different reason entirely. Everyone's story is different. If you watch the Biggest Loser or Extreme Weightloss, than you have seen the trainers help contestants get to the root of their problem. This is an essential part to maintaining weight loss.You must heal the inside to make it match your new exterior. Happy and healthy inside and out.
This was the part I was missing before. I did the work. I lost the weight. I worked out constantly (probably a little too much), but I was living in denial. Denial of things in my past. Denial as to why I had those 50+ lbs to lose to begin with. It was far more than just a little too much take out. Losing the weight and fitting into a size 6 did not heal the pain in my heart. In fact, it intensified it. I couldn't hide behind my extra fat and pounds of chocolate weren't there to dull the pain anymore. I felt more vulnerable than I ever had, so I unconsciously sabotaged myself and put the weight back on.
This time around, my weight loss WILL stick, and in order to do that, I have to heal myself completely. There are things I need to deal with in order to live a happy, full, healthy life. Many of these things I'm not so sure I will ever feel comfortable addressing specifically on the blog, but I will be making an effort in my personal life.
I reached my 20 lb lost mark 2 weeks ago. As I saw that number on the scale, I knew I needed to start the process of getting down to the root of my "problems." I'm chipping away one thing at a time, starting with attitude. I am horrible with "negative talk." I look in the mirror and I pick myself apart. Occasionally I will call myself fat or chubby in day to day conversation. I'll grab some cookies off the shelf thinking, "You know you're going to come back for them anyways." "There's no way you can eat healthy 24/7 for an entire week, so don't even bother." "You look horrible in that." "People will be looking down on you." And on and on.. you get it.
So, today I am pledging to myself to have a more positive attitude. To make a conscious effort to think uplifting thoughts, not only about myself personally, but about those around me and life in general.
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My entire world changed when I decided to be more positive about life, weight loss, etc. I've always been an upbeat person with a sunny disposition(outwardly) but I was also a worry wart at heart. I've been on weight loss journeys before. In fact I became bulimic for six years due to weight loss mixed with issues from my past. This time around I decided to give my weight loss efforts over to the Lord along with my attitude. I've always loved the Lord but I still held on dearly to anger, rigid rules, and worry. When I learned to be positive about things and to cut myself some slack I learned that weight loss was actually coming along more easily and I was enjoying the process. I really felt the heart behind your blog considering that this lifestyle change has only just happened within the past 5 months.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that you are doing it healthy this time around and are having so much success. It's so important to enjoy the process!
DeleteCongrats on making the move to change your habits! It's really incredible to think about how much of successful weight loss is the mental and emotional work that needs to be done, not just the physical work! It looks like you're off to a great start.
ReplyDeleteI just launched a new summer weight loss challenge on my blog today if you're interested in joining in.
Have a great weekend,
Caitlin, from Weights and Measure
Keep it healthy and kick some ass!
ReplyDeleteThere is no question that (the wrong) foods can be a knee-jerk reaction to stress or emotional turmoil. So that does need to be addressed. But still, at the core, has to be a real committment to eat healthy in good times to bad, and a real appreciation that sugar-fat-salt combinations trigger the cravings, particularly when we are upset.
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