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I would suppose that many of us here, quite possibly "have" or "have had" a weight problem due to some negative influence outside of ourselves that has helped us to create a distorted body image. Or is it just me? 
Let me explain: I grew up with an alcoholic father who, when angry would call me a "fat *** SOB!"(Forgive the language, please. Telling it like it was!) My mother was heavy, as was her mother, so as a small child I believed it must be true about me as well. Why else would my father call me that if it were not so? I carried with me the agonizing pain of how horrible I must look. In middle school when the teacher called on me to go to the chalk board to "work out" a math problem, which he routinely asked us to do, I couldn't even focus on how to solve the problem because mentally all I could think about was how all of my peers were seeing how big my fat a_ _ was! This is just one of the many scenarios I would find myself in as a teen-ager because I believed a lie. I wasted many hours, fretting and fuming, agonizing over how bad I must really look from behind. Often times I would wear my coat all day in school as a way to "hide" my fat a_ _! Sadly enough, after many years of believing this, it became a reality. A "self-fulfilled" phrophecy! I woke up one day to find that I did weigh just 4.5 pounds shy of 300 pounds.
Finally, as an adult, I began to realize that what my father called me was not really the truth about me at all.
After all, as I began to remember back, it came to me that my best friend, who to this day has NEVER been overweight a day in her life, shared the same size jeans as me. I know because we would often times share our clothes back and forth. Could it be that I really was thin? Did my Dad, in his alcoholic insanity, randomly choose that horrible name that he called me, right out of the blue? Maybe I really never was fat back then!!!! Hmmmmmmm? Maybe I was onto something here. But realistically, now, after years of believing the lie, I was fat! How sad! I, as a child, believed the lie. Oh! the years I had wasted! Now, as I sorted out fact from fiction, I had a decision to make. Would I continue to believe the lie????? Or re-claim myself? I chose to step out in faith and believe that I didn't have to wear the "ball and chain" of excess body fat anymore. I chose to empower myself and belive that there was a thin person inside just dying to come out! Wow! Once that light bulb went off in my head, things began to happen! I wanted to love that little, and I did say, "little" girl! I was going to reclaim her. I remember the day that I sat in my Dr.'s office, sobbing and telling him that I had uncovered the lie and that I was taking back my life, my health, and that I was going to recover the athlete inside of me! Hence the beginning of my journey to send 130 pounds of body fat packin' for good!!!
So, my point in sharing a bit of my story with you, is to hopefully prompt many of you to take a journey down memory lane. Could you be overweight because you have a distorted body image of yourself due to a negative person/influence in your life? If so, how long will you allow that person to dictate to you who you are or how fat or skinny you will be? Do you want to reclaim yourself? If so, let me encourage you to share your story here. With us. Cry. Purge your pain. Share it with someone....grieve the fact that the false beliefs you have had about your body have kept you in bondage and wasted your time!! Re-claim yourself now, here among friends.
With that being said, let me share with you some information I recently read in a SELF magazine article by Cristina Tudino. She says:
* "THINK YOUR BODY BEAUTIFUL! The biggest obstacle to appreciating your looks isn't the size of your thighs; it's what's in your head. Your mission this month:to learn to see yourself in a more forgiving light. Because there is no reason that, while getting the body you want, you can't love the skin your in!"
* "Banish your body hang-ups! You weren't born dissing your butt and belly. It's likely your inner critical voice is fueled by a few outside sources. Once you identify them, you can fight back. Here's how. When I consulted experts, they concurred:Many things influence our attitude about our looks--how we were raised, friends, where we work. 'The challenge is to question the negativity and think it through,' says Sabine Wilhelm, director of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Clinic in Boston...discover what's holding you back from body confidence, and then learn to embrace your unique shape."
* "SELF Magazine polled women about their body beefs. The results show that many of us could use an attitude adjustment: 83% feel worse about their body after shopping for a swimsuit. 79% believe life would be better if only they were thinner. 78% say that weight dictates their mood for the day. 74% have said no to an invitation because they felt bad about their body. 72% say negative body thoughts interfere with their enjoyment of sex."
Ok! I challenge all of you to re-write your thinking about yourselves and your body! Come on, let's embrace the power of positive thinking in our lives and come against the bondage and old baggage when it comes to how we view our bodies!
Ask yourself....can I see with my eyes? Can I think for myself with a clear mind? Do my legs carry me anywhere I want to go? Do my fingers move and allow me to perform amazing tasks? Does my skin allow me to feel a gentle spring rain or the blessing of a childs kiss on my cheek? Can my ears hear the sound of the birds singing in the morning? You know....they truly are pretty amazing machines, these bodies we live in! 
Let's love 'em, focus on what we can do and get out there and start livin'!
Blessings and Hugs Ya'all.....Go Get 'em.......the world is at your finger tips....you are unique, love you, love your body, right where it is at TODAY! Go light your world!!!
Let me explain: I grew up with an alcoholic father who, when angry would call me a "fat *** SOB!"(Forgive the language, please. Telling it like it was!) My mother was heavy, as was her mother, so as a small child I believed it must be true about me as well. Why else would my father call me that if it were not so? I carried with me the agonizing pain of how horrible I must look. In middle school when the teacher called on me to go to the chalk board to "work out" a math problem, which he routinely asked us to do, I couldn't even focus on how to solve the problem because mentally all I could think about was how all of my peers were seeing how big my fat a_ _ was! This is just one of the many scenarios I would find myself in as a teen-ager because I believed a lie. I wasted many hours, fretting and fuming, agonizing over how bad I must really look from behind. Often times I would wear my coat all day in school as a way to "hide" my fat a_ _! Sadly enough, after many years of believing this, it became a reality. A "self-fulfilled" phrophecy! I woke up one day to find that I did weigh just 4.5 pounds shy of 300 pounds.
Finally, as an adult, I began to realize that what my father called me was not really the truth about me at all.
After all, as I began to remember back, it came to me that my best friend, who to this day has NEVER been overweight a day in her life, shared the same size jeans as me. I know because we would often times share our clothes back and forth. Could it be that I really was thin? Did my Dad, in his alcoholic insanity, randomly choose that horrible name that he called me, right out of the blue? Maybe I really never was fat back then!!!! Hmmmmmmm? Maybe I was onto something here. But realistically, now, after years of believing the lie, I was fat! How sad! I, as a child, believed the lie. Oh! the years I had wasted! Now, as I sorted out fact from fiction, I had a decision to make. Would I continue to believe the lie????? Or re-claim myself? I chose to step out in faith and believe that I didn't have to wear the "ball and chain" of excess body fat anymore. I chose to empower myself and belive that there was a thin person inside just dying to come out! Wow! Once that light bulb went off in my head, things began to happen! I wanted to love that little, and I did say, "little" girl! I was going to reclaim her. I remember the day that I sat in my Dr.'s office, sobbing and telling him that I had uncovered the lie and that I was taking back my life, my health, and that I was going to recover the athlete inside of me! Hence the beginning of my journey to send 130 pounds of body fat packin' for good!!! So, my point in sharing a bit of my story with you, is to hopefully prompt many of you to take a journey down memory lane. Could you be overweight because you have a distorted body image of yourself due to a negative person/influence in your life? If so, how long will you allow that person to dictate to you who you are or how fat or skinny you will be? Do you want to reclaim yourself? If so, let me encourage you to share your story here. With us. Cry. Purge your pain. Share it with someone....grieve the fact that the false beliefs you have had about your body have kept you in bondage and wasted your time!! Re-claim yourself now, here among friends.
With that being said, let me share with you some information I recently read in a SELF magazine article by Cristina Tudino. She says:
* "THINK YOUR BODY BEAUTIFUL! The biggest obstacle to appreciating your looks isn't the size of your thighs; it's what's in your head. Your mission this month:to learn to see yourself in a more forgiving light. Because there is no reason that, while getting the body you want, you can't love the skin your in!"
* "Banish your body hang-ups! You weren't born dissing your butt and belly. It's likely your inner critical voice is fueled by a few outside sources. Once you identify them, you can fight back. Here's how. When I consulted experts, they concurred:Many things influence our attitude about our looks--how we were raised, friends, where we work. 'The challenge is to question the negativity and think it through,' says Sabine Wilhelm, director of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Clinic in Boston...discover what's holding you back from body confidence, and then learn to embrace your unique shape."
* "SELF Magazine polled women about their body beefs. The results show that many of us could use an attitude adjustment: 83% feel worse about their body after shopping for a swimsuit. 79% believe life would be better if only they were thinner. 78% say that weight dictates their mood for the day. 74% have said no to an invitation because they felt bad about their body. 72% say negative body thoughts interfere with their enjoyment of sex."
Ok! I challenge all of you to re-write your thinking about yourselves and your body! Come on, let's embrace the power of positive thinking in our lives and come against the bondage and old baggage when it comes to how we view our bodies!
Ask yourself....can I see with my eyes? Can I think for myself with a clear mind? Do my legs carry me anywhere I want to go? Do my fingers move and allow me to perform amazing tasks? Does my skin allow me to feel a gentle spring rain or the blessing of a childs kiss on my cheek? Can my ears hear the sound of the birds singing in the morning? You know....they truly are pretty amazing machines, these bodies we live in! Let's love 'em, focus on what we can do and get out there and start livin'! Blessings and Hugs Ya'all.....Go Get 'em.......the world is at your finger tips....you are unique, love you, love your body, right where it is at TODAY! Go light your world!!!
Then the confusion comes--how could my parents have thought I was underweight? Were they trying to make me eat so they didn't look so fat? (Both were overweight from the time I was born.)
I was lucky in that my parents never put any emphasis on looks whatsoever. I really did grow up thinking I was just perfect. I never saw them diet or say bad things about their bodies. I see myself exactly as I am. I do have a big belly and have 20 lbs on me I don't need. However, I also have great legs, thin arms and nice naturally curly hair
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