Mind Over Matter

      As I gazed at myself in the mirror today, I had the strangest feeling come over me. Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and wondered who was looking backing at you? It doesn't happen very often, but today was different. I looked at myself for the first time and thought “Wow, you have really done something”. Many people have told me that I look great, and that I have done such a great job on my weight loss. I however, have never really taken the time to appreciate myself. I have never given myself a pat on the back to say good job.  Today, I looked at myself in the mirror and after two years gave myself a smile.

At my biggest weight

     For me, I have never taken the time to appreciate the weight that I have lost. I have continuously have been more scared of gaining any of the weight back farther than enjoying the new body that I am in. I constantly look back at pictures and wonder how I let myself get that big, but never look at a picture now and think that I look good.  When losing weight, it is hard to get rid of the image of the person that you used to be. It is not easy to see the totally different person that is right in front of you in the here and now. It is hard to concentrate on the good in life, when you are constantly scared of going back to where you were before. The fear is good to an extent, because it keeps you from going back. However, the fear can come to points where it rules every part of your life.

    I have decided that it is time to make a change in my life. Losing the weight and exercising are just pieces to a whole larger puzzle. I want to be able to have a better self- image of myself. I think that many times people don’t realize the impacts of losing a significant amount of weight not only on the body but on the mind. Sure you can see the results, but you don’t necessarily see what happens within the mind of the person.

    It is the time in my journey to start working on all aspects of my life, so that I have a healthy mind and body. I have decided that now is the time to start realizing and celebrating the great achievement that I have made. Time to start helping other people with their journey’s, and time to let myself know that I have made it this far and I am NOT going  back to the former person that I used to be. So when you start to see the pounds come off, celebrate it. You have worked hard! Let the you that has be inside all along come out for everyone to see. That is the next challenge in my personal Journey to Health.

Taking the time to smile at my success