The importance of remembering where you started

daffodilsoup

I had been "big" for my whole life. It wasn't that I made poor nutrition choices, I just liked to eat. A lot. I mistakenly equaled "nutritious" with "low-calorie". I never really ate typical "junk food", I just ate way too much. I liked to cook, and eating made me feel good - whether I was hungry, depressed or just plain bored. As a result, my 5'7" frame carried 220 pounds on the day I graduated from college. I carried it well (as well as you can carry it, I guess), but I still didn't feel like my outsides matched my insides.

In 2011, I moved to China for six months teaching English to high school students. Maybe it was a result of being surrounded by a million tiny, waify people, but I finally decided that enough was enough - I joined a gym (an adventure in itself) and began using MFP to track my daily calorie intake.

Over the past year and a half, I've gone from about 220 pounds to 155 pounds. However, despite this loss, I have spent the last few months firmly planted around 155 pounds, my weight fluctuating by about two pounds on either side on a regular basis. And, while losing slowly has been a great thing for me, as it's allowed me to maintain a sustainable lifestyle and not feel deprived, it can certainly be frustrating when yet another week passes, and no movement on the scale.

As a result, I found myself beating myself up about this "stall", the more weeks passing, the more frustrated I grew. An incredibly active person, I was engaging in a lot of negative self-talk for not having reached milestones I figured I'd have hit by now - where are your abs? What are you doing wrong? Why aren't you trying harder? Why is this taking so LONG?

This morning, weighing in at 157 but still feeling "small", I took the picture on the right and compared it to my "before" picture, taken on October 25, 2011.



Seeing the comparison made me remember one of my favorite quotes - "I may not be where I want to be, but I'm sure as heck not where I started." Sometimes, we can get so caught up in how long we have to go that we forget how far we've come.

Instead of beating myself up, I should be celebrating my success. Not only have I changed how I look, but I've made great changes as far as endurance - I can run for an hour! I biked 50 miles for charity! I should wake up every morning and pat myself on the back, because every little good decision and positive change adds up over time. So when you find yourself feeling negative or frustrated or as though nothing is changing, do yourself a favor - step back and take a moment to look over your shoulder and see what amazing progress you have already made.

coco3382458

you look amazing. Great attitude to have !!! you have come a long way

ninerbuff

And this is one of the reasons I like you as one of my favorite friends.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

zoeysasha37

You look wonderful!!!!!!!! I'm so used to seeing the opposite on here..it was so nice to read this !! Thank you for sharing !!!

Amym26

Very inspirational! Thank you so much for sharing.

krc99080

You look great! I can only hope to have success like yours!

marciebrian

You look amazing and beautiful! be proud of all you've accomplished. its awesome:flowerforyou:

CosmicBella

You look amazing... What an accomplishment! :flowerforyou:

daffodilsoup

And this is one of the reasons I like you as one of my favorite friends.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Right back atcha, Niner!

CherylP67

You are beautiful and you have a gorgeous feminine yet fit physique. I like what you wrote too, often we are so mean to ourselves and focus on what we don't have instead of what we do have.

kmchambers64

I love this, and especially your quote. My own weight loss has been agonizingly slow, despite adding weight lifting and lots of cardio. But I agree totally with your sentiments. Where I am is better than where I was. And quitting will only take me backwards. So every day is an opportunity to move forward. Yeah You!

rhondaec

You look great! And loved your story!

Iron_Lotus

You look amazing!!!

bdahlia13

That quote is a good motto to live by and you look AMAZING!

Schlackity

I often have the same thought when I'm walking and I feel so tired that I can't wait to get back home, but then I turn around and look back and where I was just walking and realize how many steps I've taken, and remember that just two months ago, I couldn't do even a quarter of what I'm doing now.

We do need to remind ourselves that we're doing a great job, even if we don't always recognize it. You look fantastic by the way!

michelle7673

You look phenomenal. Period.

ehenningsen

Wow. You look amazing!

SweetTea111104

Here here! Well said!

umekanzah

You look absolutely amazing and gorgeous! Thank you for sharing such a beautiful and encouraging experience.

AlysonG2

You have the PERFECT body! I have no idea why you're still trying to lose! Go to the beach and rock a bikini!

DJsmom129

I know how you feel! I know that you don't know me, but I am proud of you, it's hard work, but in the proverbial end, it is worth it! Great job!!!!