Small rant of sorts but really encouraging words to all MFP

bluiz13

i just finished this for my blog and realized that i wanted to share with the boards so more people could read....

i was just reading thru a really inspiring thread about what everyone weighed a year ago compared to this year and noticed an alarming trend...i know we all do it or have done it or will continue to do it....BUT seriously STOP with the comments like, "i've only lost 10lbs" or "Not a huge difference but..." or "still weigh alot but working on it" or "not much lost in weight..." or "Still have a ways to go but...." or "still a long journey ahead but...."

why do we all do this??? why can't we just celebrate our success....if you have made the decision to right your life and take control of you eating and/or exercising and make a change you have been SUCCESSFUL even if you dont lose a single pound.....you are making changes to your life for the long haul that will irrevocably change your life forever for the better.....just one step in the right direction makes all the difference in the world and when and if the weight comes off then YAHOOOOOOO....BUT in the meantime celebrate that you switched from regular soda to diet or that you dropped diet soda for water or that you take the stairs instead of the elevator or that you get up in the morning to workout even when you are tired or that you dont go thru the drivethru anymore but if you do you get a salad or a lighter option.....

i'm probably flipping out over nothing but nothing has bugged me more about how people view their successes than when i read the stuff i listed above...it totally dismisses all your success....

i have been on this journey for almost 3 years after having my second child....i have done diets before; i have done weight watchers, i have done jenny craig, i have counted calories and written them in a notebook daily, i have been a gym rat, i have done the wii fit, i have done the ea sports active for the wii...i have tried many things to lose weight...what i never tried to do before was make a change in my life that i could live with....that is the absolute key to success with weight loss....you have to make the changes you make a part of the life you want to live for the rest of your life...if you can't workout 6-7 times a week forever than don't start out that way....if you can't live without soda or diet soda or coffee or sweets, don't give those up - instead find a way to incorporate them into your new life....you have to make what you do a part of your life that you can live, in order for it to be possible for success....you can't do this as part of a financial competition like a biggest loser group, you can't do this because your husband or wife have said they are sick of looking at your fat *kitten* (this has never happened to me but i know it does happen), you can't do it because you have a class reunion coming up and you want to be the skinny you from HS, you can't do this because it's january 1st and that is what we do on the start of a new year.....you have to do this now and make this your january 1st....make the changes you can live with and then just LIVE.....

it has taken me YEARS to finally come to accept the losses i have achieved in the time frame i achieve them....i used to kick myself for "ONLY" losing 23lbs the first year and then "ONLY" 9lbs the second year and now "ONLY" losing 20ish lbs so far this year......BUT then i remember, oh yeah, i'm over 50lbs lighter than i was when i started this journey, i completed a 1/2 marathon in about 3 1/2 hrs, i exercise at least 5 times a week, my kids have a mom they can run and play with AND i have done amazing things in the almost 3 years i have been on this journey...amazing things to change my body and my life and i can't wait to spend the rest of my life continuing on this journey and living as i live today...happier, healthier and YES - SMALLER....but mostly just happier....

aunienue

So true...thanks for the coaching!

OLP76

I lost 2lbs within 5 days last week - and to me - it felt like I won a lottery...! I know people put to much onto themselves...My thankful to have a Hubby who reminds me 'things aren't goin' to change within a week'.
I do P90, P90X series, and they are right, when you take a picture every 30 days, so you can see results.

But, alot has to do with eatin' healthy, which some people may forget. And exercise plays a huge factor too.

I was feelin' pretty down yesterday - and it crossed over to - today...! BUT, I told myself 'Suck it up OLP' and went and pushed played, and now I feel so much better, than I was like an hour ago ....

Cheers baby! xo thanks for the blog much loves from Canada

JodiS75

Amen, sistah! :drinker: I was one of the few who weighs MORE this year!

xquiz8

LOVE THIS!! Well said!! :flowerforyou:

kaymac

Thank you for the motivation!!! I am constantly saying "I only lost this much" and my favorite is "I have a lot more to lose". Thank you for the "pep" talk. I needed it more than you could ever possibly know!!!

rurukidoo

Well said! I may have only just started on this journey, but I'll be keeping your words in mind, losing those first 2lbs felt like an amazing achievement!

mommaski4

Well said Denise! We need to learn to see the positive in the changes we have made. I am happy that I can now jog (albeit slowly for now - but working on that) for a mile at a time. I am happy that I get up several mornings a week to get some workout time in. I am happy that I have a hubby that is very supportive of that and gets the kids out the door so that I can do that.

I lost 22lbs since August. I am currently at 206. Last year at this time I was at 228+. I was miserable and unhealthy. I was having regular asthma attacks. Now, knock wood, none in months and that one was triggered by campfire smoke. I can get down on the floor this Christmas with the kids without worrying about how I was going to get back up.

I got the best compliment two nights ago. I was cleaning up the kitchen when my 13 year old son looked over from the table and said out of the blue, "Mom you look like you are losing weight. You are getting skinny." That comment made my night! I am still flying high from that. Yes, I still have 38 to go but with the 22 gone, I am feeling so much better!

bluiz13

Amen, sistah! :drinker: I was one of the few who weighs MORE this year!

BUT NEXT WEEK OR NEXT YEAR OR SOMETIME you might weigh less....make the changes now and you will see them forever..

bluiz13

I got the best compliment two nights ago. I was cleaning up the kitchen when my 13 year old son looked over from the table and said out of the blue, "Mom you look like you are losing weight. You are getting skinny." That comment made my night! I am still flying high from that. Yes, I still have 38 to go but with the 22 gone, I am feeling so much better!

your comment from your son just made me cry at my desk LOL....well tear up at least....good for him...and good for you...help your kids see the changes you are making are to make you a better mom not necessarily a skinnier mom though....i have made this distinction with my 6yr old son and my 3yr old daughter....mommy's working out so she is healthy not skinny...mommy is checking and writing down her food in her phone so she can be healthier...

shaweetie

Thanks so much for this. I love it!

cmriverside

I got the best compliment two nights ago. I was cleaning up the kitchen when my 13 year old son looked over from the table and said out of the blue, "Mom you look like you are losing weight. You are getting skinny." That comment made my night! I am still flying high from that. Yes, I still have 38 to go but with the 22 gone, I am feeling so much better!

your comment from your son just made me cry at my desk LOL....well tear up at least....good for him...and good for you...help your kids see the changes you are making are to make you a better mom not necessarily a skinnier mom though....i have made this distinction with my 6yr old son and my 3yr old daughter....mommy's working out so she is healthy not skinny...mommy is checking and writing down her food in her phone so she can be healthier...

This is the point, right here, though. If someone were to say to you, "You look great, but you still have 38 to go." - How would you feel?

Why is it okay to demean ourselves when we would be righteously mad if someone else did it.

Or how about

I am happy that I can now jog (albeit slowly for now - but working on that) for a mile at a time.

How about if your neighbor said "Hey I see you're jogging. Too bad you're so slow."

How would that make you feel? Don't put yourselves down! That tape that plays in your head must be changed to make any kind of lasting difference in the way you see yourself.

JodiS75

Amen, sistah! :drinker: I was one of the few who weighs MORE this year!

BUT NEXT WEEK OR NEXT YEAR OR SOMETIME you might weigh less....make the changes now and you will see them forever..

Yes, I actually gained about 20 pounds, so that's what brought me over to MFP! I have now lost about 15 of those 20 and plan on losing more! I love it :-)

bluiz13

This is the point, right here, though. If someone were to say to you, "You look great, but you still have 38 to go." - How would you feel?

Why is it okay to demean ourselves when we would be righteously mad if someone else did it.

Or how about

I am happy that I can now jog (albeit slowly for now - but working on that) for a mile at a time.

How about if your neighbor said "Hey I see you're jogging. Too bad you're so slow."

How would that make you feel? Don't put yourselves down! That tape that plays in your head must be changed to make any kind of lasting difference in the way you see yourself.

can you imagine if someone said either of those to someone working soooo hard to improve themselves????
excellent way to sum up what i was "trying" to say in my rant LOL

cmriverside

Back-handed compliments are one of my hot buttons.

Like when people say, "Your hair looks nice today" or "You look nice today." . . . . what, as opposed to how I usually look?

I don't like it when people say "Wow, you don't look your age." . . . . like there's something wrong with the reality of your age.


I know it's because they think they are being nice...but it just rubs me the wrong way.....:grumble: :laugh:

cmriverside

/highjack