On last week's Biggest Loser, a contestant named Mike wrote a poem to discuss what he has learned about himself in his weight loss journey. There were parts I could really relate to, in that I also have that negative voice in my head, the "lesser" woman, who tells me I can't do what I want to do or be who I want to be so I should give up and just eat. It is a struggle and a fight against this lesser woman and I am hopeful my coming surgery will help silence or at least diminish the lesser woman. In case anyone wonders, here is the poem:

I fought against the lesser man within
For he is a coward, a drunkard and a fraud.
He is lazy, he is good companion no one
Yet he is and lives and breathes.
He is not my flesh and blood
But he is in me.
He says less and less these days
For I am no longer interested in what he has to say
Or how he is feeling.
He always repeats his cacophonic chorus
He always feels the same-lonely.
No, I have finally heard the infant song of my better self.
I am here to nurture and love it as a child’s
To grow it strong and sensible
And teach it love and humility
To give it kindness
And to listen to its needs and cries
In a way this is both a birth
And a rebirth.
I can never be reborn too many times.
Yet a house can only have so many rooms
And the birth of a new child in an old house
Leaves no spare room for the imposter to occupy.
And though he may never completely leave on his own accord,
I can at least guarantee that his stay while here
Shall never be a comfortable one.