I'm just here to say that I've been obese for half my life, and I'm in the home stretch now - 30 lbs. of fat to lose before I'm finally, for the first time as an adult, at a normal, healthy BMI weight. It's taken me a long time to finally shake my old habits. I was very much a food hedonist - either very all or nothing. Took about 2 years of restructuring myself to get to a point of balance in my life. I feel better than I ever have. It's still hard some days and I know I'll have to watch myself for the rest of my life. Maintenance is going to require that I keep my healthy lifestyle a permanent thing, and weigh myself often to be sure I don't backslide. I accept that about myself, though, and that's okay. I'd rather have to spend my life watching myself than not watching and being fat. It was horrible. It's not just about how I look, obviously, as I feel younger at 26 than I did at 18. But at the same time, it is nice to look better. I enjoy being able to more easily find clothes that fit and look good on me. I also find that being a healthier weight makes me more emotionally stable and grounded. I deal with challenges a lot more level-headed than I used to, and I don't have near the temper I used to. I'm stubborn as hell, but if I can do it, anyone can. Deciding to learn how to move and feed my body in a healthy way is one of the best things I've ever done. Health is a gift you can choose to give to yourself, and it makes the rest of your life so much better. I have found that now I don't crave or want the junk food at all anymore, it doesn't even sound good to me. And I find that I also have to do something active every day - I never want to just sit around and waste another day of my life - I always want to do something active and constructive and live each day to the fullest.
how inspiring. i can relate to the "all or nothing" thinking. thank you so much for sharing this story. congrats and best wishes on the rest of your goals!! eace:
