Day 2.2

One of my girlfriends today told me that she sees herself right now as a "big tub of lard," and "a weak blob of fat."  That sounds so familiar to me.  I feel that way, too, Friend.  I can respect that!  And I feel your pain.

Through my transformation of going from super-fat to Xena Warrior Princess (my alter ego), I had many thoughts.  These might help.  

"Think like Xena.  Eat like Xena.  Train like Xena.  BE XENA!!  If I think like my fat self, I'm going to be my same ol' fat self.  If I think like Xena, I will either be Xena, or I will know that I am on my way."  It's a paradigm shift.

Look at the habits of the overweight folks around you.  Really notice what they eat, how they eat it and how often they eat it.  You'll make the connection, I promise. Now observe what, how and how often they move. Notice the connection again? There's a reason they are what they are:  garbage in, garbage out.  That was me.

I made it a point to live "good stuff in, good stuff out."  When I lived it, I became it.  Slow and steady, little turtle.  Just a few changes at a time.  Don't make lots of change suddenly - you'll set yourself up for failure.  I have another friend who loves soda.  She cut sodas out all together and guess what happened?  Yep, she crashed hard after about a week and a half of soda famine.  Baby steps is the key. Focus on creating a "get moving" habit for a few months.  Then begin the next step in the process, which might be weening yourself off soda - s...l...o...w...l...y.

When it comes to your support system, let me share my story.  My friends and colleagues looked and behaved like me.  Fat.  When I started my body's transformation, their behavior toward me changed (some of them, not all of them). Some folks started making fun of me for getting up at 4:30am to hit the gym.  Some made fun of me because I didn't eat the donuts in the teachers' lounge.  They really rubbed my nose in it, and that hurt, but just for a while.  As I shrunk more and more, I had a great comeback:  "No junk food tastes as good as thin feels, Mrs. Krispy Kreem.  I don't feel like a donut, but I'll bet you do."  What could they say?  Ha.  Yeah, I used to be fat, but now I'm fabulous, so put a sock in it and put your fork down, Crisco.  Those were vicious feelings, but I'm being completely honest, here!

Dr. Phil quotes in his book, Self Matters, "Jealous people always flip-flop on you.  They work for you when you are failing and against you when you are succeeding."  Watch out for these people, they can be toxic to your progress.  They can and will find ways to bring you back down to their level.  God willing, you will never encounter these negative forces. But in my experience, I had to learn to deal with these kinds of folks.  I thought vicious thoughts, but then I figured out that they were just hurt because I was getting smaller and they weren't.  They were lashing out at something they didn't understand and/or feared.  It wasn't their fault they were saying nasty things.  It's human nature.  Offering a kind word works better than spitting venom.

I began to surround myself with new friends.  These folks were healthy. I called them "the beautiful people." Most of them I met at the gym. I knew that if I wasn't at the gym bright and early, they'd be dogging me the next day. Or worse, they'd call me at 5am:  "Get up!  It's time to get to spin class!"  Translation/affirmation:  "It's time to tighten up and get hotter than I was yesterday!" 

Off the subject:  who wants to be healthy and fit?  Not me.  I just wanted to look good.  I was tired of people looking at me because I was fat.  I was tired of being invisible.  I wanted to be the girl that everyone was looking at for the right reasons!  I wanted to be skinny!  I wanted to be hot!  I wanted to wear stylish clothing and look like Barbie!  I wanted to wear high heels and not punish my poor feet with my ridiculous body weight! I was tired of shopping at the fat-lady store.

Back on the subject.  I say to my friend who thinks she is "a big tub of lard:"  Yesterday, you did one thing to improve your negative situation.  Today, do one thing (if you haven't already).  Do one thing every day, I believe in you.  Make it a habit to do one thing everyday for a week.  Then shoot for one more week.  That week will turn into 2.  Etc. you get the idea. You will see small changes. Then, you will use that motivation to do 2 things every day!  More changes, and before you know it, you will see big changes.  It's a snowball, just KEEP IT ROLLING!  

I believe in you.  You can do it.  Just one thing today.  Don't think about it, just do it.