This time it feels real.

georgeinthecord
georgeinthecord Posts: 84 Member
edited November 20 in Success Stories
It's hard to post this because this time feels real. Like, I may actually reach my goals and it's scary. Also because I don't really open up about this subject. Ever.

I've lived my entire life hating the way I looked.

A few years ago I lost 99lbs. I was 1lb away from my giant goal of losing 100lbs and I woke up and weighed and looked in the mirror and still hated, HATED, the person I saw. You see magazine ads about people losing 20lbs and looking like supermodels. Well, I lost almost 5 times that much aaaaaaaand, I was still gross. I just couldn't handle it and gained a lot of my weight back.
I tried lifting weights. I tried running. I tried a combination. It was just the same outcome. Lose some, hate who I saw, and quit. It's a hard cycle to break. Everything out there just tells us how flawed we are.

After attempt 39473626, I decided it was now or never. I'm either going to buckle down and do this or I am going to get weight loss surgery. Anyone who knows me, knows that is the LAST thing I wanna do. I have no limitations... it's a giant cop out.

Around this time, I saw a post from @nourishandeat (Instagram!) that said "if hating yourself could have made you happy, you would have gotten there already. Try something different." And something just clicked. It just changed my perspective on everything.

I still am not crazy about how I look, but I am incredibly proud of the work that I've done. That I did. No one else did it for me, I did. I was the one who was getting up at 5am to run. I am the one who joined a weight management clinic and a gym totally out of my comfort zone to improve myself. I am the one who is skipping the not so great food to eat something healthy. (Although I legit still eat too much bad stuff, but it's a process, right?

I'm fighting through my emotion and posting this because this makes it official. The negative self-talk has gotta stop. I wanna succeed. I deserve to succeed. And I will succeed.

And just in case someone who is struggling is reading this, you deserve it too.

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(if it matters to anyone, the comparison pics are an 82lb difference.)
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Replies

  • BlondeButtercup127
    BlondeButtercup127 Posts: 750 Member
    I'm so happy you posted this!! It's so inspiring and will help someone today.... :star::star:
  • AliNouveau
    AliNouveau Posts: 36,287 Member
    Amazing transformation. Congrats. Hope you're learning to love yourself a little more every day and I'm sure your words will inspire many
  • MysticGoalie
    MysticGoalie Posts: 328 Member
    Fantastic B)
  • Zac1644
    Zac1644 Posts: 1,173 Member
    Bro that's awesome! Great work!
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    "if hating yourself could have made you happy, you would have gotten there already. Try something different." And something just clicked. It just changed my perspective on everything.{/quote]

    Good for you. It took a lot of co-pays for psychological counseling and reflection to finally get to the point of accepting that I was the only one who made my choices of what to think about me. If I choose to be happy, I can be. No one is stopping me.

    I think you are cute as a button in both pictures. (I can use expressions like cute as a button because I am at least old enough to be your mother.) That smile is killer. The dimples, too!
  • WildAngelJoy
    WildAngelJoy Posts: 140 Member
    George...I am proud to call you a friend and an inspiration!! This post will touch many people...so many of us hide the way we feel, hate the way we look, feel we don't deserve happiness. We are out own worst critics!! We need self love before we can turn things around (it is a process) and we DO deserve happiness. You look fab in both pics but you know what?? In the "before" pic, I see a forced smile. In the "now" pic, I see a smile with REAL happiness. I'm so proud to be a friend along your journey, you deserve the best and you've done hard work. Blessings to you and your beautiful family :) Joy
  • Syneea
    Syneea Posts: 451 Member
    Great progress, physically and otherwise! :-)
  • Nmarine1996
    Nmarine1996 Posts: 166 Member
    You look amazing!!!!
  • EJBarner
    EJBarner Posts: 68 Member
    George, you are looking fantastic -- and most importantly, you look HAPPY. Congratulations on your progress so far, and on your perspective shift that got you here! That moment of changing perspective really is worth its weight in gold. Well done, you!!
  • RenaTX
    RenaTX Posts: 345 Member
    You are great looking guy! Thank You for sharing your success story and so true!
  • IAmTheGlue
    IAmTheGlue Posts: 701 Member
    Congratulations! Not just on the weight loss, but your change of mindset, your new healthy attitude, just everything. Good job!
  • timtam163
    timtam163 Posts: 500 Member
    Legit! I love this quote. I've tried self-loathing as a way of getting healthy... wonder why it never stuck! :) You have to keep being proud of the progress and you have to feel you deserve what you've worked for in order to create lasting change, and self-loathing undoes all that. Love trumps hate always... hate eventually runs out of steam :)
  • bluets2011
    bluets2011 Posts: 241 Member
    So good to read this today. I don't take my pictures often and dodge them as often as I can. I know how daunting it is to post publically. I did it and felt kind of good. You look great in both pictures, in the second one you're shining with happiness! Well done!
  • Panda8ach
    Panda8ach Posts: 518 Member
    Congratulations :)) I needed this today too. Inspiration. Awesome life change, well done :#
  • smudge521
    smudge521 Posts: 12 Member
    I think you are extremely attractive both before and after!!! Thank you for sharing your very personal struggle. It is always amazing to find out what someone is thinking when you would never have guessed it. You should be really proud of your accomplishment. Yours is a very inspirational story. Thanks for sharing.
  • kattgirl1998
    kattgirl1998 Posts: 5 Member
    Wow, amazing post! You look sooooooooo good, however your change in mindset and the joy that is clearly on your face and in your eyes is what is most inspiring. Your struggle resonates deeply with me as I am terribly hard on myself, too, as you well know. :-) I am constantly fighting the negative self talk, too. I will think I am fat and gross and get frustrated with my plateau and sometimes it is debilitating. I think you are incredibly strong and brave to share and I am glad you did. Thank you for the incredible inspiration to keep trying no matter how many times we fall. So proud to be your friend in this journey and don't know what I would do now without your inspiration, kindness, positive attitude and support. You're the best!
  • georgeinthecord
    georgeinthecord Posts: 84 Member
    I will say that a lot of the joy in the picture is because I just finished having dinner with my bestie. hahaha :smiley:
  • MyLovesMyLife
    MyLovesMyLife Posts: 424 Member
    Great job! I too feel like this time is different. If you don't mind me asking what kind of clinic did you join? I visited a nutritionist a few times and though she was helpful to an extent she thought I was crazy for trying to lose weight while being a mom to 7. Like I should wait 20 years until they move out lol
  • georgeinthecord
    georgeinthecord Posts: 84 Member
    MyLovesMyLife wrote: »
    Great job! I too feel like this time is different. If you don't mind me asking what kind of clinic did you join? I visited a nutritionist a few times and though she was helpful to an extent she thought I was crazy for trying to lose weight while being a mom to 7. Like I should wait 20 years until they move out lol

    I joined a place called Carolinas Weight Management here in North Carolina. It's through one of our local hospital systems. So far on the non-surgical path I am taking, I've met with a general doctor, fitness trainer, and registered dietician. They also did a metabolism test. The general doctor and fitness trainer didn't do much for me, but meeting with the RD was great. She let me know that it's okay to not be overly restrictive and to not be so black and white/hard on myself. Then we had a 5 minute conversation about Ben & Jerry's. hahaha!

    And good luck! 7 kids! It is hard to have 2 kids and 2 dogs. hahaha
  • everher
    everher Posts: 909 Member
    You're amazing!!!!
  • MyLovesMyLife
    MyLovesMyLife Posts: 424 Member
    georgeinthecord wrote: »
    MyLovesMyLife wrote: »
    Great job! I too feel like this time is different. If you don't mind me asking what kind of clinic did you join? I visited a nutritionist a few times and though she was helpful to an extent she thought I was crazy for trying to lose weight while being a mom to 7. Like I should wait 20 years until they move out lol

    I joined a place called Carolinas Weight Management here in North Carolina. It's through one of our local hospital systems. So far on the non-surgical path I am taking, I've met with a general doctor, fitness trainer, and registered dietician. They also did a metabolism test. The general doctor and fitness trainer didn't do much for me, but meeting with the RD was great. She let me know that it's okay to not be overly restrictive and to not be so black and white/hard on myself. Then we had a 5 minute conversation about Ben & Jerry's. hahaha!

    And good luck! 7 kids! It is hard to have 2 kids and 2 dogs. hahaha

    Lol thanks I have 3 dogs and 2 cats too but the cats are easy!
  • km1ll27768
    km1ll27768 Posts: 4 Member
    Great job! It's a big encouragement for me!
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    I also am not crazy about how I look, dressed or naked. I can't stand how I look. I look horrible. To me.
    And you know what? I don't matter. My looks are my presentation to everyone else in the world and some few of those have said, whether it was a polite lie or not I can't say, that I look ok. So, I let that be. You look ok, dude.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    Kudos, George, for the weight loss and the honesty. <3

  • honeybearwarrior
    honeybearwarrior Posts: 1 Member
    You're very handsome and a big inspiration. Thanks for sharing.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    You're handsome AF! Great work!
  • tabletop_joe
    tabletop_joe Posts: 455 Member
    Wow! I have to say that I find it weirdly comforting to learn that a person as attractive as you (you're just about as cute as they come!) struggles with self-image. As in, maybe a lot of people do and it's not just me! I also feel bad that you've gone through all that because I know how it is.

    Good work on your weight loss goals!
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