Sometimes first day is hard because you want to change your life and that can be scary, I am being honest, I must like being fat, it must do something for me, I just need to find out what and learn to replace negative with positive. Pretty heavy for first thing in the morning, but if I am going to change my life I need to figure out why I keep this shell over me, any thoughts, has anyone figured it out? In the meantime I am ready to do it, this is the first time I have reached out on boards for help and support, reading all your post has made me feel very focused and supported

Have a great day at the beach

Plumeria[/COLOR]

Congrats on your first day!

Hi Plumeria

Cant offer any insight into why we keep this shell over us - I think its a different reason for everyone, and even when we find the answers, it doesnt always help in the actual weight loss.

I've got plenty of emotional baggage and possible reasons for keeping my shell - but if there was one answer for all, the person who discovered it would get very rich very quickly.

Mostly now, I dont allow myself to analyze the why so much. I just try to get on with it.

Its hard to do I know. Especially those times when we seem to want to sabotage our efforts and we have pressed the "self-destruct" button!

As you've said, reaching out for support is a GREAT first step. This board really is a great place to be !

Congratulations on a successful day 1!

I agree, Artemis! I don't really analyze "why" I'm fat, I just know I am and now I need to modify my behavior to achieve the results I want. I think we all need to ease up on ourselves and not be held to the belief that there is something seriously emotionally or psychologically wrong with us just because we have a few extra pounds. There are lots of thin people with emotional baggage and scars and we don't see them analyzing why they are thin from their emotional problems.

I'm not trying to be insensitive and I do realize that some people are just more emotional than me, but I just hate it when I see women tearing themselves apart because they think something else just has to be horribly wrong with them because they carry around some extra weight. A number on a scale doesn't dictate the type of person you are!

There's an old saying that what you tell a child they are, they will be. Well, its the same for us, what we tell ourselves we are, we will be. We are not a big bunch of problems just because we have a little (or a lot ) of extra padding. I like to cook and I sure as heck like to eat, esp sweet sugary stuff...so what! That doesn't make me a bad person or mean that I have emotional problems. My body is genetically coded to eat and store fat so when a famine comes I will live through it. OK, so I am probably not going to go through a famine anytime soon so I just have to learn to modify my behavior and not eat so much and eat the right foods...that's it! We should be celebrating ourselves and focusing on all the good traits we have, like how much fun we are, how funny we are, loyal, kind, generous, beautiful....whatever...just focus on the positive and you will become what you focus on.