A sweet family approached me a couple of weeks ago and asked me if I knew of any resources that could help them make a healthy lifestyle change. I get approached with these kinds of questions quite often actually. See, for those of you who don't know me, I'm a completely different person, inside and out than I was 2 years ago.
All my life I remember being on the heavy side. Bigger than society deemed appreciative and overweight by medical standards. I suffered from poor self-esteem which often times was more like self-loathing. I hated the way I was but the thing is, if I'm honest, I didn't want to do anything about it. I didn't want to change what I was eating. I avoided physical activity because I didn't like it and well, it was hard.
Two years ago I had just had my 3rd child. I was at the heaviest I had ever been. I was sad, depressed and lonely. I was tired of feeling guilty. I was tired of crying over what to wear when I had to go out in public. I was tired of not having any energy to play with my kids. I was tired of feeling crummy all the time. I was tired of being tired.
Then one day I decided enough was enough. I looked at my 3 girls and I knew I didn't want them to end up like me; sobbing over what to wear, avoiding mirrors, hating their bodies and eating in secret. I decided I wanted to change.
For me, my changed started with the bible study Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst. Now I love this study so much that I've gone through it 5 times and every time I love it just as much as the first. However, as wonderful as this study is, it's written to the heart of a woman who struggles with food. And it should be. But where do I refer that sweet family or that man who is struggling too?
I'm no Lysa TerKeurst, but I decided I've learned a few things in the last couple years. I'm also blessed to be surrounded by 5 groups of women who are now on their on their own journeys to a healthier version of themselves and who are also a wealth of knowledge.
So this is my before and after. Quite honestly the before is a hard picture for me to look at and was even harder to find, since I was never one to want to be in front of the camera. I've lost close to 100 pounds since then. I stopped counting because at some point my goal wasn't a number on the scale anymore. It was to feel good in my own skin.
Dropping that kind of weight has had some seriously great side effects. I get sick far less often than I used to. I have less aches and pains and way more energy. And I learned first hand that when you start to feel good physically, you feel good emotionally too.
So how do you get there? You start. You decide that today is the day you want to make a change. It's not about starting a diet the won't work or won't last. I'ts not about starting some fitness boot camp. It IS about committing to changing your lifestyle...forever. It's not looking back, it's always looking forward. It's about progress, not perfection.
It's about quieting the voice in your head that says "I can't". It's about telling yourself that you can and you will do this. And then invite God to join you on this journey (and some friends and family too!).
It won't be fast and it won't be easy. But, friends, it is so worth it.
Lazy people want much but get little, while the diligent are prospering.
Proverbs 13:4
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