I took some time to sort through our family photos last week. If you're envisioning a lovely, creative scrapbooking moment - don't. Much as I'd love to, I'm not at that point in my life right now. I just wanted my photographs and disks safe, unbent and not falling out of their shoeboxes. Anyway, as I was trying to get them somewhat organized, I was struck by how MUCH I had yo-yoed over the years. I don't think I was ever the same weight three weeks in a row!
No one wants to spend their life yo-yoing up and down and up and down the weight scale. We don't want to be on a "diet" of deprivation or foods that taste like plastic just so we can look and feel good for one afternoon. None of us relishes four different wardrobe sizes (or more) stuffing our drawers and falling out of our closets. And yet that is how so many of us live our lives.
One time I was working on a public relations brochure for our local Chamber of Commerce which entailed overseeing a photo shoot with then Connecticut Governor John Rowland. A month previous we set up the appointment with his staff. I decided I would wear my black and white checked skirt which looked professional and fit me perfectly. When the morning of the shoot came I slipped the skirt on over my head, but had a hard time pulling it down over my hips. How much had I gained? I could only zip the skirt half way up. I decided to put a safety pin under the zipper to keep it from sliding down. My jacket would cover the unzipped section of the skirt. But when I checked in the mirror, I realized to my horror that while the front of my skirt hung beneath my knees, the back of my skirt was a good six inches shorter! This was ridiculous. I rolled the front waistband of my skirt up a few times in the front to even off the hemline. But now while it was even, it was also way to short. It looked like I was wearing a mini skirt! I sucked in and somehow managed to get the zipper all the way up, but it hurt terribly. I knew I would pay for it by the end of the day. I took a good hard look at myself in the mirror that morning - something I usually avoided. I was completely disgusted with what I saw. My face had become so masculine, so distorted from what it used to be. What was I doing to myself? I remember saying these words: "Well, you look terrible Kim, but enjoy it because this time next month you'll WISH you looked this good." I wasn't trying to put myself down, I was simply being a realist. The truth was I was still gaining, daily.
There ARE people in this world who have weighed the same amount their entire adult lives. I know they exist; I've even met one or two. But they are becoming a rare breed indeed. For most of us, remaining a constant weight takes focus, determination and a lot of hard work. And it begins with believing.
Part of the problem is that many of us who HAVE always yo-yoed believe we WILL always yo-yo. Why would this diet be any different? What in the world makes us think our life can change now? THESE ARE LIES! The truth of the matter is, it doesn't matter how long you've struggled with your weight, it doesn't matter how much you have to lose. Lifestyle changes DO happen to others and they can happen to YOU. Don't give up! The only way you'll NEVER lose weight is if you stop trying.
be•lieve
-verb (used without object)
1. to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so: Only if one believes in something can one act purposefully.