I didn’t get my life back – I GOT A LIFE!

19^th October 2012

Chose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. Confucius

It’s been an emotional week! In my meetings we’ve been talking about none scales victories, the small or big achievements that you achieve from losing weight that can’t be gained just from numbers going down on the scales.  I’ve heard some fab examples from members including

-       Being able to zip up knee length boots.
-       Being able to wear your wedding ring again.
-       Being able to wear ‘one-size’ tights without the crotch being somewhere close to your knees!
-       Not having to ask for the extension belt on aeroplanes.
-       Having the water in the bath go all the way around you & not creating a damn one side.
-       Being wolf whistled in public when all she’d heard before was abuse!
-       Feeling satisfied after meals & enjoying your food. (Love these ones!)

The funniest one I’ve ever heard though was a woman who’d lost 8.5 stone being road raged by some idiot, now I don’t know if you’ve ever been road raged but it can be quite scary when they actually start following you!  Anyway she had to stop for the traffic lights and this idiot got out of his car screaming abuse, got to her car window and banged on it (she didn’t open but could hear the loudness through the window), she was terrified.  Then he shouted, “What were you thinking you SKINNY daft bitch?”  Well she was stunned, this had never happened before, she wound her window and said, “oh thank you, thank you, thank you young man!”  He looked at her like she was a looney and stormed off muttering to himself.  She couldn’t believe she’d just been called SKINNY every other aspect of the situation had gone out of her mind, she was made up!  You’ve got to love how a women’s brain works!

Yes, it was wonderful to hear the personal triumphs of so many, men and women because it’s just as important to both.

We then talked about our reasons, why we should make it a priority for us to lose weight, I used an example from a book I read last weekend, A Weight Watcher member named Edwin Hood to demonstrate why  it should be a priority.  Now I’ve read a lot of diet books, there’s not many things I haven’t read about regarding losing weight, why we are overweight, what it feels like to change etc etc, however Edwin said a line that moved me immensely!  He said, "I got my life back and I never knew it was lost."  How true is that!  If you’re looking for a reason to stay with it, that’s a good one!

This one line yesterday morning almost reduced me to tears in my meeting, even though I’d already read it out in every meeting prior.  For some reason as I read it, in my mind I went back 9 years to the person I used to be, a very unhappy, angry, anti-social woman (I’m there again now lol, cos I’m sat with tears in my eyes). I didn’t even realise I was unhappy back then – it was just my norm, it was who I was, I was abrupt, quite rude at times and didn’t really interact with new people well.  I remember once standing at a bus stop and a lady started making small talk with me and I stood thinking, “why are you talking to me!”

Boy how I’ve changed, now I’m the one making the small talk, I start/interrupt conversations in supermarkets all the time, I had a lovely discussion with an old lady Monday about cooking sponge cakes in the microwave (I’ll share that recipe with you another day).

So unlike Edwin, I didn’t get my life back – I GOT A LIFE!

I couldn’t be much happier than I am these days, I love everything about my life, I have the best job, I have the most amazing friends, I meet people every day who inspire and amaze me.  Even on the bad days, when I’m hormonal, or when moms playing me up because she’s like a big soft kid and doesn’t do ‘ill’ very well, or every thing is just going wrong – I’m still content, I realise it’s just part of life and you can embrace it or fight against it!

Now don’t get me wrong I’m not saying if you’re overweight you’re unhappy because that is absolutely NOT the case, I’m only saying that I was.  I don’t even know if it was being overweight that made me unhappy or being unhappy that made me overweight and you know what I don’t care and it don’t matter because I am not that person anymore.  I’m not for analysing my past, I’m more interested in enjoying my future.

If you’re struggling with your weight at the moment and struggling for a reason to continue, find your spark, find your reason to make it matter!  Ask David Kirchoff says in his book ‘The Weight Loss Boss’ “How do you make it a priority in your life? Ask yourself if you believe weight loss will have a meaningful impact on the quality of your life. Do it for the right reasons, but find the right reasons to do it.”

I’ll never forget my reasons, I may go up and down with my weight now I’m near my goal but I will never ever allow myself to go back to that state of mind and that weight I started at.  Oh on that note I did gain this week 1.5lb, if I hadn’t I think I’d have gone to the doctors because what I ate last week was too much.  I’m ok with that, as soon as I got home I planned my week out, I decided I love having toast for breakfast so I started there with two slices of Hovis seeded bread and worked from there, I roughly decided how many ProPoints I would spend at lunch and dinner and have made sure that with my weeklies and any activity ProPoints I earn on my pedometer I can indulge in that liquid that need not be named ;-)

 

On that note I’m off to prepare lunch, we’re having honey and mustard chicken with rice, using a Chicken Tonight low fat jar.  Ooo I had lamb shank in mint gravy last night (Morrison’s 2 for £7), the whole box is 12 but I had about 8pp worth and gave the rest to Alfie, it was very tasty.  Yep this week is all about comforting winter warming foods for me.  Oh my stew was ok by the way after I added a couple more oxo cubes and a splash of worcestershire and soy sauce.

YAY it’s FRIDAY! Whoop Whoop