People who haven’t known me my entire life are usually surprised when I tell them I used to be severely overweight. Well, obese, but I don’t like that word. They’re surprised because they are used to seeing the fit version of me, that wakes up at the break of dawn to go to the gym. To their surprise, I’ve actually lost a total of 115 pounds until I reached my current (stable) weight.
What Got Me Motivated
When you’re severely overweight, it is hard to imagine yourself after major weight loss. I found motivation in seeing celebrities lose some weight. Throughout my weight loss journey, I looked to different celebrities for Inspiration. Whether it was seeing Gucci Mane fit or observing the weight loss struggles Kirstie Alley faced with maintaining her figure. These are people who are under the constant scrutiny of the public eye and they had the same issues that I was having, so I had hope. I felt that I was not alone, and that motivated me to try at first, then helped me keep going.
Difficulties I Faced
Let’s just get one thing out of the way first, there is nothing easy about weight loss. Even if you are motivated to begin your weight loss journey, there is a lot more hard work to do that goes beyond the physical difficulty of exercising. The emotional stress and setbacks that we face when we are trying to maintain a healthy weight will require a lot of determination and a strong will. So many people will mock your progress, and you may even be your harshest critic. I faced all this, and my addiction to food was not easy to get over as well. I used to treat food as a source of my happiness, and it was not uncommon to find me binging on food when I was sad or depressed. To make things worse, looking at my body (and the slow progress in my weight loss journey) only made me more depressed, which in turn made me eat. It felt as if it was a never ending cycle.
How To Keep Going
I won’t give you some fake advice like “go to the gym for 2 weeks and it will be a habit”. That’s nonsense, and we all know it. One of the most important things for weight loss is your emotional state. Keep reminding yourself that you are trying to lose weight for you, and have reasonable goals. Rome wasn’t built in a day. You didn’t gain all that weight overnight, and so you won’t lose it over night. Small steps will get you to the finish line and setbacks are only temporary.
The Bottom Line
Weight loss, no matter how big or small, is not easy. There are so many pressures we face from society that it can be difficult to keep from breaking under that pressure. If you want to start your weight loss journey, or have difficulty sticking to it, remember that you aren’t alone.
