Ten things that I have learned since losing 130 pounds:
1. For those of us who have spent most of our lives overweight, no matter how much we lose, we still feel like we need to lose more.
2. When I look in the mirror, I still see the fat person. When I look at pictures, I can see the thinner person. This is not rational but it's true.
3. Along with the attention I get from desirable sources, I now also get attention from undesirable sources. Not ever having developed the proper "radar" to tell the difference, I have to be extra careful about how I respond to ANY attention.
4. Even though I am healthy, I will never have the body of a model, super or otherwise, and to hold myself up to that kind of standard is futile and damaging.
5. The people who were my friends "before" are still my friends "after." I can trust those people always. The friends I've made only "after" do not have my full trust because part of me wonders how they would have treated me "before." This is not fair to those people, but it is true nonetheless.
6. People DO change. I have changed - not only outwardly but spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. My thought processes are still changing. My compassion for people is greater. My tolerance for shallowness and judgmental behavior has decreased.
7. Regardless of how much weight I lose, there will be those who will still not like me, those who will not find me attractive, those who will not want to be my friend. Their attitudes have nothing to do with my weight and their opinions have no bearing on my self-worth. In the big scheme of things, some people are just not meant to be friends.
8. I see all of my flaws even if I try not to let them bother me too much. I realize how little those flaws matter when people I least expect to, are able to look past those flaws and see the "me" behind them.
9. No matter how much weight I lose, there are still some things I should never wear. Frankly, there some things NO ONE should ever wear, but that's a subject for a whole different note.
10. Regardless of how much I've learned thus far, I know that learning about myself is an ever-changing and continuing process. As Yogi Berra said, "It ain't over til it's over."
1. For those of us who have spent most of our lives overweight, no matter how much we lose, we still feel like we need to lose more.
2. When I look in the mirror, I still see the fat person. When I look at pictures, I can see the thinner person. This is not rational but it's true.
3. Along with the attention I get from desirable sources, I now also get attention from undesirable sources. Not ever having developed the proper "radar" to tell the difference, I have to be extra careful about how I respond to ANY attention.
4. Even though I am healthy, I will never have the body of a model, super or otherwise, and to hold myself up to that kind of standard is futile and damaging.
5. The people who were my friends "before" are still my friends "after." I can trust those people always. The friends I've made only "after" do not have my full trust because part of me wonders how they would have treated me "before." This is not fair to those people, but it is true nonetheless.
6. People DO change. I have changed - not only outwardly but spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. My thought processes are still changing. My compassion for people is greater. My tolerance for shallowness and judgmental behavior has decreased.
7. Regardless of how much weight I lose, there will be those who will still not like me, those who will not find me attractive, those who will not want to be my friend. Their attitudes have nothing to do with my weight and their opinions have no bearing on my self-worth. In the big scheme of things, some people are just not meant to be friends.
8. I see all of my flaws even if I try not to let them bother me too much. I realize how little those flaws matter when people I least expect to, are able to look past those flaws and see the "me" behind them.
9. No matter how much weight I lose, there are still some things I should never wear. Frankly, there some things NO ONE should ever wear, but that's a subject for a whole different note.
10. Regardless of how much I've learned thus far, I know that learning about myself is an ever-changing and continuing process. As Yogi Berra said, "It ain't over til it's over."
