Just Keep Swimming!

It's been just over eight months since I started losing weight, and I sit here down 54 pounds. I feel great! I have more energy, I can breathe better, I have less headaches, and I just feel better. Such a wonderful feeling!

And I feel like I have learned so much on this journey. I still have a long way to go, but it finally seems manageable. To sit and think "I need to lose 100 pounds" is a daunting thought, and I found it weighed me down immeasurably. But I broke down the goal this time. It wasn't about the total 100 pounds anymore, it became, "I will lose 10 pounds." And then once I did that, it was easier to say "Well, I lost 10, I think  I can do another 10." And each goal built upon itself, and here I am now. I now have less to lose than I have already lost. Which is totally awesome! And along the way, I have learned some valuable emotional health tools as well. Having my half cup of ice now and then is not "cheating." I am not "bad" because I choose to indulge in a snack. And you know, since I no longer label myself as "bad," for having a sugar-filled treat, I no longer feel compelled to think "Well, I'm already 'bad,' might as well finish off the whole tub while I am at it." I don't berate myself anymore for a food choice. I am not a bad person, I am not an evil person. I simply enjoy sugary-foods. And sugary foods (ice cream, cookies, cake, etc) ARE NOT BAD. They can be eaten in over-abundance, they can be over-indulged in, but they are not BAD foods. And because I recognize that a treat now and then is not bad, then I am no longer a bad person.

And why did I think I was a bad person? I consider myself to be caring, intelligent, kind, and successful. I try to help others, I try to watch my temper, and I try to be better today than I was yesterday. I haven't killed anybody or assaulted anyone. I don't rob stores, I don't steal from others. I don't break the law, even traffic laws. So why did I tie my food choices to my moral character?? I do not have the answer to that yet, but I do know that I was wrong to do that, not bad, but wrong. And that is okay. When we realize we are wrong, and accept that we need to change, we can do that. 

And so to you I say, you are not a bad person because of what you choose to eat. Unless you are choosing to eat your fellowman, your moral character is not determined by what you eat.