After some recent reflection on my weight loss journey I
came to the realization that I was carrying around some extra baggage that
needed to be dealt with. While this “baggage”
may not have measured on my scale, it was really weighing me down. At this point, I have maintained my weight
loss for several years but I realized I still wasn’t satisfied with my body. I would look in a mirror and be disgusted
with myself- I would see my arm fat waving back at me, I’d get disappointed that
I had a 2 pack instead of a 6 pack, and even though I could lift heavy weights
with my legs I’d zone in on the small indentation on my leg and consider my
hard work useless. When people would compliment
me about the visible changes I had made to my body, instead of being grateful
for their encouraging words, I would respond to them by pointing out one of my
flaws. I am so embarrassed by this behavior now but I did this for years my
friends! I just couldn’t accept a compliment
from anyone about my weight loss or body because I was weighed down with a
flawed perspective, the lens from which I viewed myself and measured my success
was blurred. I was never satisfied! I
would reach a goal and not be happy because I had already found 20 new things
wrong with myself that needed to be fixed, it was an endless cycle and completely
exhausting! I was like a hamster on a wheel, going round and round. In hindsight, it’s so easy now for me to identify
that I was an incredibly ungrateful person! The things I didn’t have were
blinding me to all the things that I did have! I couldn’t see or celebrate them
because I was only fixated on what I didn’t have. Sometimes in life, we tend to focus on what
we want so much, that we fail to recognize and appreciate how far we’ve come.
We’re always looking for what’s next, we always want more and we never stop to
be thankful for the now. This flawed
mindset is evident throughout our society- we want the newest cars, the trendiest
clothes, and people line up for days to buy the newest iPhone even though they
have a perfectly good phone already in their pocket! We focus on better, more, faster… and as a
result we’re left feeling empty, never being completely satisfied with what we
have. To be a grateful person is a
choice one must consciously make, it’s against most people’s character to be
naturally thankful due to our cultural upbringing of being focused on more.
So you may be thinking, yeah all this sounds real nice and
all but how the heck does being a thankful person help with weight loss? Our minds
are incredibly powerful. Our thoughts- what
we chose to think about and focus on in our minds, often expand and overflow
into our lives. If you are constantly dwelling on what you don’t
have, you’ll never be happy with what you do have. If your mind is flooded with negative
thoughts, you’ll constantly be left feeling bad and honestly, it’s hard to make
good choices when you feel bad. If you’re
anything like me, you’ve probably experienced some form of emotional eating at
some point on your weight loss journey. Let’s
be honest, there are times when life sucks so bad that eating a big bowl of ice
cream or maybe straight from the carton (whatever, don’t judge me) is just what
you need to feel better. Chances are if
you feel like crap, you’re more likely to eat like crap! A sound mind is essential for making the
necessary good choices each day that help you eventually reach your weight loss
goals. The choice of which mindset you
will choose to embrace is yours. By choosing
to maintain an mindset of thanksgiving- being grateful for what you have and
how much you have already accomplished, will result in a much more positive
outlook in life, making it more possible to make better decisions and reach your
goals. Your grateful heart will become the
fertile ground, ready for seeds (goals and accomplishments) to be planted
and harvested. A thankful heart is ideal potting soil. It’s really difficult to grow a dream or goal
in bad soil. Perhaps you’re frustrated
that you haven’t made much progress towards your weight loss goal, could it be
that you have overlooked the soil you’re planting that goal in?
No matter your circumstance in life, there is always
something to be thankful for. You may have to do some serious digging at times
but you can always find something to be grateful for. You may not be where you want to be in life
but you can be thankful that you aren’t where you used to be! Each step you take in the right direction, no
matter how small it may be, is one to be proud of and thankful for! When I look in the mirror
now- yup, still no 6 pack, but I’m thankful I don’t have the baker’s dozen of
rolls that I once had! And yes, that arm fat still waves at me sometimes but I’m
thankful that I’m able to do all the crazy arm exercises that I once would have
never imagined myself being able to do! Today
I’m incredible grateful that I’m no longer a slave to running on that ridiculous
hamster wheel of never being satisfied and I encourage you, my friend, to jump
off that sucker too! The quickest exit
off is to cultivate a thankful heart and you’ll be amazed at the harvest you’ll
begin to reap when you finally have the necessary good soil to grow your goals and dreams
in.
Love it!
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