Weight Loss and Happiness

What Makes YOU Happy?

When I was 250+ pounds, I was very depressed. I thought "if only I weighed 150...I'd be happy like everyone else." It took a lot of hard work but I reached 150. 143 was the lowest my weight got, and I didn't stay there very long.

I've previously mentioned that I put on about 15 pounds this year. In a few weeks I'm going to go back to weighing myself once a month again. While I was losing weight, I weighed myself twice a week. It was a good thing to keep me in check and when I lost weight it made me happy! Seeing a 2, 3, 8 pounds loss made me ELATED! On the flip-side, seeing no loss --or worse--a gain, I'd be depressed and beat myself up for what I ate. I didn't take into account that I was a woman and certain times of the month we can gain around 5 pounds due to PMS, bloat and water retention.

The reason behind weighing myself only once a month is because I don't want to get obsessed with the scale. I went through a phase where was I was. It's an easy trap to fall into but it's not healthy.

The hard part is learning to love your body no matter what weight you are at. Find joy in losing 5 pounds, being able to walk a flight of stairs without panting, running a mile. I struggle with this every single day. I have good days and bad days. I'm not worried about being "heavy". I'm athletic and will never be "skinny."

If you're having a bad day about how you feel about your body, take a few minutes to look up pictures of professional athletes. They are NOT skinny (well, maybe the marathon runners). My favorites are Michael Phelps and Serena Williams. Serena Williams is a massive woman. Have you ever seen her THIGHS? Dang! But you know what, she's healthy!

It's a hard thing to accept sometimes. Athletes aren't skinny. You need food as fuel. Simple, right? Then why am I so hungry all the time?!