A Picture of Health
Recently, I saw a post from someone celebrating her weight loss. But there was something very unique about her post- there was no "before" picture. There were just a few pictures of her, looking happy and feeling good in her own skin. Her success wasn't measured by what she used to weigh or look like. Her success was measured by how her weight loss made her feel.
A couple weeks ago I picked up my one year coin for working on food addiction. It's been a long journey with ups and downs, literal gains and losses. One day at time, I've finally been gaining traction. So I wanted to do the same thing as that girl. But as I was summoning the courage, I found myself caught up in many of the lies society tells us about weight loss and body image.
"You haven't lost enough weight yet to start bragging about it."
That one's almost humorous. What's the magic number at which it's socially acceptable to start talking publicly about your weight loss? 30 pounds? 50? 100? Who gets to decide the appropriate number of pounds lost that makes it okay to start sharing our success with others? It seems trivial to try to ascribe a value to such a thing.
Here's an idea... any amount. If you're putting real effort into getting healthier, it's okay to brag about your success at any and all steps. Maybe you haven't lost any weight yet... That's okay. Share about your journey.
"Don't post about it. You did that before and gained almost all of it back."
Ah yes, because if at first you don't succeed try, try again... but don't tell anyone about it. Get back on the horse! Just make sure it's a quiet one. How interesting are the lies we tell ourselves. If our journey was worth sharing once, it's worth sharing again... in fact it's probably worth MORE the second time. Those second-chance stories remind us life is about progress, not perfection. They give us hope and motivation to get back up and keep going.
"If you don't post a "before" picture, people won't recognize how much progress you've made. All they'll see is that you're still fat."
After taking the photos, I picked out every flaw. I found every curve that "shouldn't" be there. Wondered if I looked "good enough" to be posting pictures like these. And critiqued myself on how I should have stood at a more "flattering" angle. We are so cruel to ourselves. Let's stop holding ourselves to impossible standards. Progress isn't measured by what was. Beauty isn't measured by what should be.
I'll end by saying this. It's been a little over a year of really hard, diligent work. I've put a lot of work into getting healthier by exercising more and eating less. As a byproduct of that, I've lost weight recently. I'm not going to share how much, because I don't think it matters. What I will share is that I feel healthier. I feel more comfortable in my body. I feel more confident emotionally and spiritually. I'm starting to feel good in my own skin again. So here are some pictures that capture THAT- not a specific amount of weight I've lost, but how much healthier I feel.
A couple weeks ago I picked up my one year coin for working on food addiction. It's been a long journey with ups and downs, literal gains and losses. One day at time, I've finally been gaining traction. So I wanted to do the same thing as that girl. But as I was summoning the courage, I found myself caught up in many of the lies society tells us about weight loss and body image.
"You haven't lost enough weight yet to start bragging about it."
That one's almost humorous. What's the magic number at which it's socially acceptable to start talking publicly about your weight loss? 30 pounds? 50? 100? Who gets to decide the appropriate number of pounds lost that makes it okay to start sharing our success with others? It seems trivial to try to ascribe a value to such a thing.
Here's an idea... any amount. If you're putting real effort into getting healthier, it's okay to brag about your success at any and all steps. Maybe you haven't lost any weight yet... That's okay. Share about your journey.
"Don't post about it. You did that before and gained almost all of it back."
Ah yes, because if at first you don't succeed try, try again... but don't tell anyone about it. Get back on the horse! Just make sure it's a quiet one. How interesting are the lies we tell ourselves. If our journey was worth sharing once, it's worth sharing again... in fact it's probably worth MORE the second time. Those second-chance stories remind us life is about progress, not perfection. They give us hope and motivation to get back up and keep going.
"If you don't post a "before" picture, people won't recognize how much progress you've made. All they'll see is that you're still fat."
After taking the photos, I picked out every flaw. I found every curve that "shouldn't" be there. Wondered if I looked "good enough" to be posting pictures like these. And critiqued myself on how I should have stood at a more "flattering" angle. We are so cruel to ourselves. Let's stop holding ourselves to impossible standards. Progress isn't measured by what was. Beauty isn't measured by what should be.
I'll end by saying this. It's been a little over a year of really hard, diligent work. I've put a lot of work into getting healthier by exercising more and eating less. As a byproduct of that, I've lost weight recently. I'm not going to share how much, because I don't think it matters. What I will share is that I feel healthier. I feel more comfortable in my body. I feel more confident emotionally and spiritually. I'm starting to feel good in my own skin again. So here are some pictures that capture THAT- not a specific amount of weight I've lost, but how much healthier I feel.
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