Mental Aspect of Weight Loss as Motivation

I wanted to address what I think is the most import aspect of weight loss. In my experience, I have had to keep my mind focused on what I want the most when it comes to my weight loss journey. I call it getting my head on straight and that about sums it up for me personally. I have been a yo-yo dieter, an emotional eater and I seriously thought at 49 years old that I was too old and too fat to do anything about my appalling situation.

The truth is that I was at the lowest and worst time in my entire life. I was fatter than I had ever been before and when my family would try to get me to do anything about my weight and/or health I would do the get out hand gesture followed by the rolling of my eyes.

I don't know if I can pinpoint a time where I thought, "I need to lose weight", but on January 2, 2016 I decided I was going to try to eat better. That was all and it was that simple. I started working on my diet and about a week later a friend told me about the app “My Fitness Pal” and I've been logging faithfully ever since then.

When I stepped on the scale for the first time in dozens of years, I found I was 378 Lbs. I was pushing 400 and I was in the midst of a depression I didn't even know existed with massive back issues (I could hardly get out of bed my back hurt so bad) and high blood pressure.

I lost some weight and I started to feel better about myself but at some point, I did a little math as I thought about the journey I was just beginning. I completely freaked myself out because I suddenly thought it would be about 2 or 2 1/2 years before I could eat anything I liked again. I started to panic and I felt like I was suddenly on the edge of a precipice and ready to fall. I told myself to breath deep and I calmed myself down a little bit. Internally I made a deal with myself that if I wanted something to eat, I would eat it and deal with the consequences the next day. If I wanted to eat pizza or have a nice steak dinner whatever I felt I needed to eat, I would as I was giving myself that latitude. I knew in my head that my journey might take a little longer but I would eventually achieve my goal. For some reason that helped to get my head on straight and I haven’t looked back since.

I have found through this endeavor that I have tell myself everyday that I am doing a great job. I remind myself of how far I've come and what I can look forward to. The worse days through this entire process are those when I feel that I haven't made any progress and its those days that I need the reminders even worse of how I am doing the right thing with my healthier eating and the exercise program I have implemented. I try to remind myself where I came from and how much has changed in my life. I have to continue to keep my head on straight to continue the process. When I have "bad days" and feel that I haven't done as well as I should, those are also the days when I need more encouragement from myself than ever. I have found that my mental state can see me through any problems that arise in my life and I find I can mostly sustain the momentum that I have found during this process.

I cherish all of my My Fitness Pal friends with their positive attitudes and complete understanding of my situation. I find that I like to give back to anyone who needs help from me as I know where a lot of you are coming from.

I have lost 190 Lbs since January 2, 2016 and am currently at 188 Lbs - that is less than half of my original body weight. I am half of the woman I used to be and that's a joyous fact in my life. I have 73 Lbs to lose to get to my ultimate goal and I know that I will complete my mission!

The first photo was taken prior to December 2015, the 2nd was taken on 3/25/17 and 8 Lbs heavier and the 3rd was taken last Saturday at Six Flags. I am now in a size 14 jeans and in a large shirt. I was about 5x-6x in skirts and I never wore jeans when I was that heavy so I have no idea what jean size I would have been.




I hope this helps and remember that I am more than willing to help anyone who needs it.

Tina Marie