When I'm thin I'll......

12^th April 2014

Today you are you, that is truer than true.  There is no one alive who is youer than you. Dr Suess

I just read that quote on Pinterest and I love it because right now at 44, I like me, I don’t think I could’ve said that at 24, I know I didn’t feel that way at 14, 34 I wasn’t there either, at 34 I was probably at my unhappiest I’d been in a very long time although that year I achieved one of my life ambitions, those 2 weeks weren’t enough to make up for the other 50 weeks of not so good!

I read or heard somewhere yesterday that people who successfully lose and keep their weight off long term usually make big life changes!  I don’t know if there’s any truth in that as I haven’t researched it but I can confirm that I made some major changes to my life that year.  I left a job I no longer enjoyed and started in one I loved, it paid less but I didn’t care I had decided I’d rather be skint and happy than miserable with money.   That wasn’t the only change I made in the next ten years but it was the main one.

I spent about an hour having a good natter yesterday with a mate and we discussed ‘life’ and his future and where he was going to go next and what he was going to do and how he still didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life.  After he’d gone I sat and thought about some of the things I’ve done over the last ten years particularly, up to then I was just finding who I was in the world or more importantly who I wanted to be.  So although my mate was concerned about his future, he doesn’t need to be because he still has time to decided, he’s 20 years younger than me, he’s still got ten years he can mess about with, finding himself!

We’re all different of course, we all want different things from life, some know exactly what they want, others get what they want by accident, some get what they think they wanted then realise it wasn’t and start again and some I guess just never know for sure so keep switching from one thing to another, and as long as they’re happy with that path, it’s all good.

How did I end up content with my lot?  Who knows, all I know is I read a lot, did lots of personal development stuff, a few courses but ultimately I think I accepted myself, I decided to be the me I was born to be, not to try and fit into the worlds stereo typical role of a woman, or to try and fit in with particular ‘groups’ of people -  I choose to be me 100% and I liked me, and what turned out to be even better was other people seemed to like the real me too!

Do you accept yourself as you are?  Or are you trying to change something, whether it is your weight or the way you think about things, or the way you dress or behave so that you ‘fit in’.

It’s a question some people find difficult to answer, our initial response might be “of course I do!” but really think about that question, it’s a simple yes or no answer which isn’t so easy to answer, because self-acceptance has to be completely 100% yes, not a mostly but I’d like to change …..

Self acceptance means just that, accepting yourself fully for the person you are, all the things you like about yourself and the things you don’t’ like so much.   It doesn’t mean you are accepting the way you are and never changing, no it means you’ll most like find changing easier. 

I believe that self-acceptance is an important factor to successfully losing weight and keeping it off, because the opposite self-loathing, hatred and criticism sure ain’t going to encourage anyone to do anything, it might however keep you tied into a continuous battle with yourself and your body.  Constantly ‘wanting’ that ‘perfect body’ so you can feel better or do whatever isn’t healthy, and it sure won’t make you happy. 

Today I want you to think about the things you aren’t accepting about yourself, those things you want to change and then you’ll be happy.  Then look at those you love and think about the things you’d change about them or they’d maybe change about themselves, do those things make you love them less, do you wish they would change because then maybe you’d be able to accept them for who they are or have you already accepted them warts and all because you love them?  If you’re in the “accepting those you love warts and all” gang, isn’t it time you put yourself in that group?

Just a thought BeYOUtiful xx

Have a nice day, Eat Gorgeous and focus on the Healthy & Happy