Thank you. It helped remind me that I am doing this for me because I want it for me.

Great post. Great bump. So amazing to see the dates and know that people can continue for so long and still be so on top of this.

DC You are Amazing!! Thank you so much for this post!! Im sitting here in tears because I really needed to hear this today........ thanks

I know there haven't been many posts here in a while, but I have to say Thankyou for this!!! This is the exact reason I've "failed" at diets in the past (I use the word failed because while it was always a learning experience in what I do and don't like, can and can't stick to, etc, I still put the weight back on... with interest). Two things are different for me this time:

1. I'm not dieting, because I hate rules. Diets make me eat cake and loads of it. Intuitive eating works best for me. I realise now that there's no ultimate diet that works for everyone, it's all about trusting and believing in what works for you. And I can finally say that I trust myself enough now to know what works best for me, which brings me to...

2. I love myself now! The past 3 years, I went up from about a steady 180 that I'd been throughout my 20s, due to reasons like being made redundant in 2008, nearly having my house repossessed, losing my next job following a mental breakdown, a sucky experience with antidepressants, losing my next job through unfair dismissal, having my period for 9 months following the depo shot, family problems, panic attacks, an ex-friend being a psycho and leaving me in a lot of debt, etc etc etc. If all this had happened to a friend, I'd be appauled. But since it happened to me, I hated myself. So. I forgot about weight loss. I was still uncomfortable with myself (still am) but I decided to forget the crazy pressure I was putting on myself. I thought long and hard about what I want out of life. I drew lines with people in my life who were taking advantage and decided not to be a victim of circumstance any more. I saw a therapist. I thought some more. I got to the point at the end of last year where I came across intuitive eating quite by accident. I let it get into my head, I ate whatever I wanted (I binged a lot) and I was mindful of how that made me feel. I admitted I had an overeating problem. But most importantly: I looked at my body and I felt so sorry for how I'd treated it. I hoped it would still respond in a healthy way when I started treating it better. I cut down on sugar as I noticed my hunger signal was all over the place. I hated the heartburn. I hated my lungs burning if I ran 20 feet for the bus. I became mindful of everything and I still feel so sorry for what I subjected my body to. But... I started losing weight! I walk most days. I feel fitter. I can run a short distance if I need to, and I don't feel sick, weak or out of breath.

So in the end, yes, I DO want to wear that Herve Leger bodycon dress and look fantastic. But I still want it to fit in 10 years. This is what's different: self-respect.

Sorry that was so long, this thread inspired me into a cathartic rant. I'm frustrated that I still don't like what I see in the mirror, but this is the perfect reminder of why my patience will be worth it! :)

Thanks for bumping this one. It's one of my favorites. I think it's probably the single-most inspiring post I've ever read.

Yeah, I am bookmarking this for sure. It's going in the skinny folder on my phone, where I put every web page I might want to look at any time of the day or night if I get down and lose heart with the entire thing. Which I do, and that's why I was so happy to find this thread :)

Great post, congrats on your transformation!

I just read this and it really struck a chord with me. I think I needed to read/hear something like this. Everytime I have failed in the past it's been all because of a little slip up. And the slip up would then make me think "no, I'm not good enough to do this" and that would be the end of it. Everytime I start feeling that way, I will go back to this. Thank you.

Glad this was bumped, so I had the opportunity to read it. Great post! She hit the nail on the head for me.

Thank u for posting that! If I could figure out how to print that I would hang it up on my wall!

Maybe you could copy and paste it as a word document and print it from there.

I'm glad you bumped this back up. I posted on this thread in 2011. Somewhere along the lines I forgot about me and didn't continue. Thanks for the reminder.

This post needs to be bumped every so often. :)

I just read it and it's definitely making me think!

I think this post is one of the most important posts I have ever read. DCHound if you are still around Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

You have made my day...This is all so true and you wrote it so eloquently.

We all must love ourselves. Like I have read before some of the words we say to ourselves we would NEVER say to another person. So why do we think it is alright to belittle ourselves.

I love me!!!! My new mantra.....

This is exactly what I was looking for today.
 

Thank you.