The Right Way

Someone said something the other day.

At first, I was kinda irritated by it. The first thought in my head was..."seriously."

But then, the day went on and I thought about it more and more. The more I thought about it, the more I decided to become empowered by the statement.

This is the first time in my life, I've had to lose weight. I put on way too much weight when I was pregnant with Olivia and now I'm paying for it. I have no one to blame but myself and I take the responsibility of eating everything in sight while pregnant.

Yes, the weight isn't coming off as fast as I would like. I have good weeks and bad weeks. Last week being a pretty bad one. But, I've decided to not punish myself for eating my weight in unhealthy foods and I'm doing good so far this week. I realize that it's going to take time and yes, I'm not going to be in bikini shape by the summer, but I'm okay with that.

At the beginning of the year, I had joined a "biggest loser" challenge thing with some friends. I won't say much about it, but basically, the thing fizzled out. I thought that competing against others would make me lose the weight, but I realized during this whole thing that the only person who can challenge me to lose the weight is me. I haven't talked about it much in awhile, but I've lost 42 lbs. of the 54 lbs. I gained. I've lost 14 of those pounds since Christmas. I'm now 17 pounds from my goal weight.

Ironically, losing weight is one of the hardest and most simple things in life. The simple part is all you have to do is burn more calories than you take in. The hard part is doing just that.

A good number of people in my family are overweight and I've spent my life watching others go from diet to diet and take this pill or that. The outcome...they are still battling that same battle.

I have though been fortunate to see two people close to me fight that battle and win it. My dad and my Aunt Janie have both lost over 70 lbs. each and you know how they did it? They started moving more and ate healthy foods. The didn't take any short cuts. They took it slow and pound by pound. And you know what? They have both kept that weight off for several years now.

Ask either one of them how they did it and they will both tell you the same thing....it's a lifestyle change. Not some magic pill or special diet, just hard work and time.

Yes, there may be others who will lose the weight faster than me and may be ready to sport their bikini's this summer, but that's fine by me. I'm not in a competition with anyone but myself in this battle. I will be the one happier in the long run because I know I'm doing things the right way...slow, steady, and naturally.

I WILL be the one to do the hard work and I refuse to have something else do it for me.