Happy Friday All!
Just wanted to share a thought with you about weight and not really sure if this is the right place. I'm sure it will be moved if not.
I was watching some weight loss show a few months ago and something a guy on it said struck me like a bolt of lightning.
He was telling a woman on the show what he thought about weight loss and self esteem. The woman he was addressing was bitter about her sister being slim and happy and apparently she always compared herself to her. He told her: "There's nothing special about being thin. Yes, your sister is thin...Lots of people out there are thin, but there 's something special about being a happy, approachable person."
I kind of stopped and realized I was focusing too too much on appearances and not on the other parts of my mental well being. I think I'd been hanging all my hopes (self esteem)on the weight loss and not taking care of the other parts as much.
As well I kind of wanted to thank the kind ladies (and men) on this site for sharing their thoughts and struggles. It really helps out knowing you're not alone.
-Green
I can agree with that. I wouldn't want to be a miserable, unhappy, bitter thin person. There is much, much more to every human being than just their size.
That said, given a choice between "obese" happy, approachable person and "normal weight" happy, approachable person, I'd rather be the latter. I don't even think in terms of "thin." What does that mean, anyway? Movie star with eating disorder? Normal weight would be just fine for me--oh, and physically fit!
Yup. I believe the best benefit of weightloss is actually physical health. While it helps our self-esteem and such, I find it hard for a lot of women who've lost weight to be anything other than critical. I find it also much easier to be healthy and keep to it if I think of it as a habit for my physical being- you see, while I'm only 22 now, I care for my heart. A lot. And the rest of my body. But to lose weight for just an appearance, I would've never been successful (to me it would've been just, oh, look at me! I'm fat! instead of what it would've been right now, oh man this is going to take a toll on my eart if I continue eating like this long term!)
Having been a formerly thin person in my younger years (ages 18-26 or so), i have first hand knowledge that being thin doens't necessarily make you a happy person. sometimes when we are trying so hard to lose weight, we think that if only i can hit that magic number, all my troubles will disappear. Oh how wrong that is. I will still have a car payment that i struggle to make, i will still have a house payment, i will still have children who complain if they don't have what another child has, i will still have a teenager who thinks i don't know what is best for them, i will probably still have relationship problems (everyone has issues in their relationships). Life does not magically get better just because you hit 120 on the scale or fit into a size 4 jeans.
While working on our weight loss goals, it would help us to remember that even if people like our outside appearance, it is our inside that will keep them with us. Too many hot guys have the most aweful personality that instantly made them ugly on the outside to me. Lots of guys i didn't think were necessarily good looking on the outside became very attractive to me because of who they were on the inside. It's important to make sure as we lose weiight to improve our outside, make sure our inside stays just as beautiful.
Another not looking to be thin here. I just want to be healthy. Now for me, I AM happier because I'm HEALTHIER. Not because I'm no longer overweight. But I can do more, enjoy more, have more energy and THOSE things make me happiER. I was happy before, just tired all the time. So to some, it may not have seemed as if I were very happy. Never wanted to go anywhere or do anything. Just wanted to sit down and do nothing after a hard day's work. Now I can't stand to sit still for long. Gotta keep on the move.
I was thinking about this today. At school and every where else I dress like a bum and am waiting for a certain weight to "start dressing stylishly". Instead of worrying about when I deem myself "good enough", I'm just gonna treat myself better and be happy, WHILE I work on myself. No reason to hold back on yourself. Accept your weight, but keep on improving! Treat yourself to things now because you deserve them for changing, and you deserve to feel comfortable at all times!
You shouldn't wait to feel happy about yourself until you get to a certain goal! That's what I'm gonna try to do. This school year I'm going to go out and get some nice clothes to wear for my current body. Too bad I waited so long...But that's okay.
Like gamerchick, at my HW, I dressed like a bum and wore frump girl clothes because I thought I was too fat and ugly to dress nice. Losing 15 pounds has really helped with my confidence, though - I no longer allow myself to be frump girl, AND after I lost 10 pounds, I got a MUCH needed haircut.
I was "thin" once and I'd LOVE to be "thin" again, but I'm just NOT naturally thin, so I'll settle for "medium" and "physically fit". At least this time around, I'll be more satisfied with my body than I've ever been.
Also, I've felt a lot better physically since I've been losing weight. I was getting weird stomach problems at my HW and I'm not sure why, but I think it's probably something as simple as the fact that acid reflex happens a lot more when you overeat. I don't miss the feeling at all.
I think there's some truth to this. I think a lot of people who start well over 200 pounds, for instance, equate Onederland with Wonderland -- a magical place where all your problems go away. In fact, most of your problems (life's problems too) are still there, but being a healthier weight may help deal with some of them better.
I very much started this process to be fitter and healthier, though I have to say that fitting in smaller, cuter clothes is definitely fun!!
It's important to make sure as we lose weight to improve our outside, make sure our inside stays just as beautiful.
This is how I feel! I can't wait to look better but I know there is always someone out there that will look better than me on the outside. I have to make sure I still look better than them on the inside!
"...nothing special about being thin"
I don't even think in terms of "thin." What does that mean, anyway? Movie star with eating disorder? Normal weight would be just fine for me--oh, and physically fit! 
