Maintenance

4 Lessons I Have Learned from Losing 170 lbs and Maintaining It for 7 Years!

February 12, 2019 by HSM Team

Here we are again!

Seven years later and I am still maintaining my weight in the range of 150 to 160 pounds. It still feels incredible to me, but there are always new challenges and struggles. I want to share with you the lessons I’ve learned this year and the topics I’ve been focusing on with my coaching clients and community members.

I know that thinking about maintenance in the beginning of your weight-loss journey can feel overwhelming, so I want to demystify maintenance and explain why it’s so important for your long-term goals and mindset.

I want to help you make peace with your current journey and know what to expect when you reach maintenance. Please learn from my experience—the more you know about maintenance, the more effective and prepared you will be to make decisions, set goals, create healthy habits, and finally lose the weight in a sustainable way.

Lesson 1

The first lesson I’ve learned is that the lowest scale weight you ever hit—more than likely—will not be your maintainable weight. And that is okay.

I’ve been checking on people I interviewed back when I started the Half Size Me show in 2012 and other long-term maintainers. What I am learning is that many of them gained some weight back.

I’ve learned that when you talk about long-term weight maintenance, the weight you are at on you lowest weigh-in day is not going to be the weight you can comfortably maintain. There’s always water retention and normal fluctuations on the scale. Beyond that, most of us have discovered the effort required to maintain our lowest-acheived body weight is not something you’ll want to commit to on a daily basis.

After years of doing these repetitive behaviors—which no longer provide you with the reward of seeing the scale go down—will probably lead to you re-evaluating your maintenance weight. You could also find a relaxed approach where you feel comfortable maintaining your weight while still enjoying your life.

Many people reach out to me to say they feel like they’ve failed because they lost 100 pounds and gained back 20. However, they are keeping off 80% of the weight they lost and are enjoying their life.

That is a huge win! It is NOT a failure!

Lesson 2

The second lesson I’ve learned is that a higher maintainable weight is not actually the problem. The thoughts you have about your maintenance weight is the problem. And those thoughts can sabotage all of us.

Let’s say you hit a low number one time in your journey and assume that’s where you “should” be. But what if you chose an intentionally higher maintenance weight and then stayed there for 6 months to a year to see if you could maintain it before dropping down to a lower maintenance weight?

For example, if your lowest goal weight is 130 pounds and you get to 145 pounds, stop there and maintain it for 6–12 months. See how you like maintaining at 145 before progressing to 130. Then, if you decide to get to 130, you can create a maintenance range that is realistic for you on a day-to-day basis. You can choose a weight range that will allow you to enjoy your life and still keep the majority of your weight off.

It is normal to gain some weight back; most maintainers do. Unfortunately, I think many people, even longtime maintainers, struggle with that lowest-ever number. Back to our example, you may reach the 130-pound goal but discover it’s more comfortable to maintain at 145. But then you feel like you need to constantly pursue 130. It’s a never-ending cycle.

After 7 years of successfully maintaining my weight loss within a 10-pound range and witnessing the weight fluctuations of other maintainers, I can honestly say you shouldn’t expect to stay at your lowest weight. I’ve reached 150 pounds (and have gone even lower). But I’ve decided to settle in around 155. This allows me to live my life and enjoy treats. I get to find pleasure in my day-to-day life, which is more important to me than trying to chase after some weight loss goal all the time.

(If you want to hear more about how to find a range and how to think about your weight loss goal, listen to this Coaching with Heather podcast.)

Lesson 3

The third thing I’ve learned is you will have to constantly battle between two versions of yourself.

There’s a version of me that wants all the cake and all the ice cream all the time. I refer to this as my inner toddler. Some people call this your lower brain or your primitive brain, but whatever you call it it’s the part of your brain that doesn’t think about consequences.

This never goes away. Even after 7 years of doing this work. I know that’s a disappointing truth for some of you. But here’s the good news: over time, you can strengthen other parts of your brain to become stronger, more resilient, and louder.

The parts of you that understand keeping this weight off will lead to a better life.

The parts of you that want to say no to eating all the things all the time.

I’ve spent a lot of time with my coaching clients helping them win each battle even though the war continues to rage on. You have to acknowledge your own inner toddler. You have to say no to it using the logical and reasoning side of your brain.

I call it putting on your adult pants. I know this is easier said than done, but realize your inner toddler doesn’t have your best interest at heart. If you allow them to run the show, you won’t have a life you feel good about.

Lesson 4

The fourth lesson (but not the final one because there’s always more to learn) is that life happens.

There will never be a time when this is easy. You will need to develop various levels of behaviors and habits to deal with different life circumstances. The more concrete your habits, the easier it will be, but it will always be a challenge.

As you build healthier habits, you have to realize that as life changes so does the rulebook. Often we get comfortable in our routine, thinking we will continue doing it indefinitely. However, every time a major life change occurs—divorce, marriage, break-ups, having a baby, kids going off to college, new job, moving, losing a job, anything that could disrupt the flow—is a time to go back to the basics and ask yourself, “How am I going to change my expectations?”

To help myself this year, I have been focusing on refining my own minimum, basic, and preferred behaviors. I’ve also been helping my coaching clients and community members with this skill.

I’ve become more attuned to watching out for life changes, When they happen I either need to switch my behaviors or my expectations. Recognizing challenging situations before they up-end my life is key to knowing how I can change what I’m doing.

I’ve realized I had to stop expecting life to be easy and problem-free. There will always be roadblocks and issues. You have to learn to adapt and find other ways to move toward your goals.

All I’ve learned over the past seven years and every issue I’ve faced has made me more resilient. Because of these experiences I’m able to lead from a place of compassion and understanding.

Is this journey is easy? No! Habits can become easier the longer you do them, but—make no mistake—this is daily work.

But is it worth doing all this work? Absolutely! You will grow in self-efficacy the longer you do this. You will become wiser about your body and your actions as you reflect on your choices and ask yourself, “What can I learn?”

Your body will change. Your life will change. And you will learn to change over time.

You can do this.

If you struggle with adapting to changing circumstances, I’m creating a way to help you. It’s a coaching cast called Refuse to Quit Again! If you’re on my VIP newsletter I’ll be sending out how you can get this valuable tool very soon.

You can get on the VIP newsletter by clicking here.

Six Years of Maintaining My Weight (Or How Not To Be Another Weight Loss Statistic)

February 1, 2018 by HeatherRobertson

I’ve always said I refuse to be a weight loss statistic.

What this means is I want to beat the odds of regaining weight. Oftentimes, we get so discouraged by hearing about the large number of people who regain their weight after substantial weight loss.

What I realized was there are some ways I can make myself successful in maintaining my weight loss. Over this past year, I had more challenges and wonderful celebrations than usual, but I still managed to keep the weight off.

I want to share with you some of what I’ve learned in my weight maintenance journey — the things I know were the most important to me this year. I’m going to start by recapping 2017 so you can understand why this year was a little trickier than others when it came to maintaining my weight.

A YEAR FILLED WITH CHANGE

From a family and life perspective, we paid off all of our debt. We had been following a modified Dave Ramsey approach for the past nine years and had been paying off various credit cards. This year, we bit the bullet and paid off the remainder of my student loan.

In total, we paid off $180,000 over the past 10 years between credit cards, car loans, and student loans. This is a huge victory, and it has brought many life changes. We are now focusing on selling our home and moving into an apartment to simplify our lives. By removing the house mortgage, we will be 100-percent debt free, and we’re extremely excited about this new phase in our lives.

On a physical note for me, this year also brought a lot of change. My menstrual cycle started to become extremely irregular. I spoke to my gynecologist about this on more than one occasion. She assured me I was too young (at 41) to be going through perimenopause.

However, I knew something was not right with my cycle, and there were other symptoms I was struggling with, like hot flashes at night, night sweats, breast tenderness, and generally feeling exhausted. She agreed to let me have a hormonal panel, and we found out my hormones suggest I am going through perimenopause. I have not used birth control in the past, but she recommended I start because they found a cyst on my ovaries.

I haven’t used birth control in a long time, but my doctor recommended I start because a cyst was found on one of my ovaries. Thankfuly, after I took the birth control for six weeks, the cyst disappeared. This was extremely good news, but all the stress and changes in my hormones caused my weight to fluctuate this year. I have usually not gone above 160 pounds, but I reached out to the Half Size Me community in November and shared with them how much I was struggling with my weight. I was hitting numbers I did not like — 161, 162.

My weight usually does not go above 160 pounds, but I reached out to the Half Size Me community in November and shared with them how much I was struggling with my weight. I was hitting numbers I did not like — 161, 162.

The reality is I know that if I don’t honor my commitment to keep my weight between 150 and 160, there’s a good chance it will just keep going up. I also know from experience that suffering in silence, keeping it to myself and hoping it will just get better never works. That behavior caused me to gain hundreds of pounds in the past.

So, I allowed myself to be vulnerable. I shared my truth and was able to get refocused. The scale started trending back down to under 160 (159.5 as of today).

BE CONSISTENT…

As you can see, 2017 was full of wonderful things, scary things, and lots of life changes.

What I have learned is that we all are going to change. Our bodies will change, our lifestyles will change, and this is why I stay firm with my commitment to this statement:

To lose weight, you must do what you are willing to do for the rest of your life because this is the only way to know you will be consistent with it.

This year in My Fitness Pal, I hit over 1827 days straight of logging. No matter how crazy my life gets or how distracted I may be, I know I can be consistent with tracking my food. However, tracking my food does not mean I micromanage my food.

It means that when I eat a doughnut, I write it down. It means that when I have an extra piece of cake, I choose to put it into My Fitness Pal. It doesn’t mean that I “can’t” or “shouldn’t” eat certain things, and it doesn’t mean passing judgment. It means being consistent with journaling or tracking what I eat. That’s all.

I also give myself lots of permission to switch out the ways I journal my food. So, if I were to list the things I find are the most helpful for weight loss, the ones that are imperative for weight maintenance, the number one thing would be consistency.

Find a way that you can consistently manage your food. Make it something you are willing to keep up with, day in and day out. For me, it’s tracking calories or points or portion sizes, but I always track. Always.

…AND MIX IT UP

The next thing I find to be important to maintain is finding new ways to keep it interesting. This year, I did a lot of fun physical activities. I added in Yin Yoga. I did a jump rope competition in the summer and a pushup challenge with the Half Size Me listeners and followers.

All of these activities were fun and made my exercise regimen way more enjoyable. I find that by adding in different forms of exercise or giving myself new things to focus on, it keeps the journey exciting and helpful to me.

BE YOUR OWN BEST FRIEND…

Another thing I recommend focusing your attention on — and this is the one that affects all the others — is your mindset. If you find yourself struggling with the “all or nothing” mentality, with perfectionism, with beating yourself up for not doing a good job, then you need to work on cultivating your relationship with yourself. You need to become your own best friend.

This year, I became Heather’s best friend more than ever. This doesn’t mean any “woo-woo” fluffy stuff. What it does mean is, for example, if I don’t make Heather’s lunch for tomorrow, she probably won’t be able to make as good a choice. I know that situation stresses Heather out a lot, so I’m not going to make her deal with that. I’m going to watch out for her.

Being your own best friend means knowing your own areas of weakness, knowing the areas where you need support the most, and being proactive. That way, you set yourself up for your best-case scenario, and it helps you avoid your worst-case scenario.

…AND LET OTHERS HELP YOU

The last tip I want to offer is that you DO NOT do this alone! I lost weight with support, and I maintain my weight with support. I do not go at it alone. I’ve given that up. I’ve given up telling myself, “I should be able to do this. I’m a smart person. I don’t need anyone. I’m capable. I can do this on my own.”

I used to believe those things, but what I’ve learned is that attitude does not set us up for success with weight loss or weight maintenance. And this year, more than ever, reaching out to the Half Size Me community pulled me back from a possible cliff I did not want to fall over. I know my weakness is food. I know that when I’m stressed, tired, exhausted or frustrated, I’m more than likely going to gravitate toward food.

I need to have safety precautions in place, so that when I feel myself slipping, I have people to reach out to — a place where I know I can be myself, where I know they get me, and where I don’t feel like a freak.

So, that’s exactly what I did. I reached out to the Half Size Me community, spilled my guts, shared my reality, told them about the cyst on my ovaries, the birth control pills, the weight, all of it — and I felt free. Free enough to start making better choices.

So, these are a few the tips I wanted share with you after maintaining for six years. Don’t think that someday it will all just get easier. It won’t because your life doesn’t stay stagnant; it’s constantly changing. Your body is constantly changing. What I have learned this year is that just because my body changes, it doesn’t mean I have to become a statistic. It just means I may have to change a little bit of what I’m doing to make those changes work for me.

I hope you are having much success in your journey. If you need any support, you are more than welcome to join us in the Half Size Me Community. If you would like to work with me personally, you can click here.

I look forward to hearing from you!

SaveSave

What Life Is Like 3 Years After Hitting My Goal Weight

March 18, 2015 by HeatherRobertson

Editor’s Note: This article was originally sent out to our email subscribers back in February. If you’re interested in getting posts like this, extra audio content, and other FREE resources, please click here to subscribe to the free Half Size Me Newsletter!

There are a few dates that will forever be seared into my memory: the day I got married, the day each of my three beautiful boys were born and the day I hit my goal weight, which was Jan. 7, 2012.

It was a battle I never thought I would see the end to. It felt like it took forever. Each pound was a victory. I dreamed about getting to my goal. The closer I got, the more antsy I felt. I wanted it bad. But believe it or not, there was one thing that meant more to me than getting to my goal. That was keeping the weight off.

It hurts more than words can describe to work your butt off for something, deprive yourself of food, do the exercise, feel the pride and satisfaction of getting to your desired weight—then to gain it all back. I know; I have done this before. It hurts. You enjoy weight loss with others. You are cheered on and you are congratulated, but when you gain it back, you are on your own. No one speaks about it. No one acknowledges it. No one offers to help.

That is why this time was so different for me. I would not just lose 170 pounds; I would make it my mission to live a life I could sustain, so I never gained those pounds back. I would build self-trust and efficacy in regards to my fitness and food. That meant eating cake, taking rest days and being human.

When all I focused on was the scale, I did what it took to just move the scale down. When I focused on maintenance, I lived life and accepted the gains and weeks of no loss. Things had to be different this time so I would never have to experience regaining the weight again.

I am beyond elated to say that for another year I have stayed at my personal goal of 150 to 160 pounds each week. This is a victory for any maintainer. Another year of habits being strengthened. Finding mental security in knowing you are capable. Knowing you are in control.

There have been many lessons I have learned in the last three years, and I want to share them with you. Even if right now you are in the middle of your weight-loss journey, I feel you will benefit from having a maintainer’s mindset. It may change how you face day-to-day decisions and better prepare you for what is to come.

Remember, you may spend one to five years losing the weight, but you have the rest of your life to maintain. Most of your time will be spent finding the balance necessary to keep the weight off.

The following are 10 things I see successful maintainers do to stay healthy and remain at their goal weight.

#1 They continue to live with the healthy habits that helped them get the weight off in the first place.

They continue to journal their food and exercise, plan menus, find support and make time for personal improvement.

#2 They find a weight that is sustainable, not just achievable.

They focus on finding a happy medium where they eat in a way they enjoy and exercise in a way they enjoy, and they let the scale balance between these two paths. They allow their habits to dictate what they will weigh, rather than a BMI chart or height/weight chart.

#3 They do not overly rely on cardio, and they prioritize weight lifting.

Many maintainers realize there is a limit to how much continuous cardio they can do. They may have relied upon cardio to get the weight off, but they realize that the longer they do it, the less effective it is if they do not increase time or intensity. Many successful maintainers have realized that weight training has a better metabolic effect and allows them to spend less time in the gym, with more benefits from added muscle.

#4 They find a way to cook that replaces their favorite food.

If they love pizza or Italian food, they find ways to incorporate the flavor in other dishes to satisfy their craving without going back to eating the foods they did at a heavier weight. They invest time in learning to cook and experimenting in the kitchen. Eating broccoli and broiled chicken may work when you are losing weight, but it will not sustain you long term.

#5 They eliminate or cut back on negative and toxic relationships.

People who make them feel unhappy or who do not help them with their goals are directly or indirectly removed from their lives, or exposure to them is minimized. If you want to keep the weight off, staying around a person who is abusive or who acts as an emotional trigger will make it more likely you’ll turn to food, especially if that is what you have always done. Maintainers find ways of coping with emotion without using food, or develop enough self-respect to limit unhealthy relationships.

#6 They find a way to stop resenting the process of healthy living and instead embrace it and find joy in it.

They stop focusing on what everyone else gets to eat and comparing themselves to others and find gratitude in finding what works for them to sustain their weight.

#7 They prioritize self-improvement.

They may find they need to tame their temper or work on their gratitude. Maybe they see things in a negative light and know it brings them down. They realize they are not one-dimensional, so they want to continue to put time into creating the best version of themselves.

#8 They find a way to maintain their weight that is not driven by fear of gaining the weight back.

For many, after a life of obesity, the transition to maintenance is scary. You may feel you are walking a tightrope and fear going back. However, fear will only work for so long. Successful maintainers find a way to do it because it makes them feel good both mentally and physically, and they see it more as a positive in their life than as something to fear.

#9 They see this as a permanent way to live, not a temporary state of being.

Successful maintainers realize that they cannot stop doing all the necessary steps to remain healthy, and they come to a place of acceptance that this is for the rest of their life.

#10 They find a way of eating that they can maintain, and they don’t stay on a diet.

Most people who have long-term success find a way of eating enough food to sustain themselves and increasing calories to maintain their weight. Those who try to eat at their weight-loss calorie level find they binge eat and struggle with maintenance because they are not getting enough to eat. Most maintainers do a metabolism reset or reverse diet to get their calories up to an appropriate level for their activity.

I hope these 10 tips help you when focusing on your weight-loss journey, or if you are maintaining, I hope they help you know you are not alone and that, with small changes, the process can get better.

And f you are like me and feel there needs to be more help for maintainers, please join us in the HSM community www.halfsizeme.com/join. We have a maintainers’ meeting once a month, and this has been very helpful for me. Hearing what other maintainers experience and setting new goals makes all the difference.

You can lose the weight and keep it off; you just have to be willing to try new things and find your way in this journey. Please share where you are in your journey and let me know if I can help you.

9 Things You Can Learn about Losing Weight and Keeping It Off from Successful Maintainers

January 13, 2015 by HeatherRobertson

There are a few dates that will forever be seared into my memory: the day I got married, the day each of my three beautiful boys were born and the day I hit my goal weight, which was Jan. 7, 2012.

It was a battle I never thought I would see end. It felt like it took forever. Each pound was a victory.

I dreamed about getting to my goal. The closer I got, the more antsy I felt. I wanted it bad. But believe it or not, there was one thing that meant more to me than getting to my goal. That was keeping the weight off.

I know; I have done this before. It hurts. You enjoy weight loss with others. You are cheered on and you are congratulated, but when you gain it back, you are on your own. No one speaks about it. No one acknowledges it. No one offers to help.

When all I focused on was the scale, I did what it took to just move the scale down. When I focused on maintenance, I lived life and accepted the gains and weeks of no loss (which I shared here) . Things had to be different this time so I would never have to experience regaining the weight again.

I am beyond elated to say that for another year I have stayed at my personal goal of 150 to 160 pounds each week. This is a victory for any maintainer. Another year of strengthening habits. Finding mental security in knowing you are capable. Knowing you are in control.

Remember, you may spend one to five years losing the weight, but you have the rest of your life to maintain. Most of your time will be spent finding the balance necessary to keep the weight off.

The following are 9 things I see successful maintainers do to stay healthy and remain at their goal weight.

1 They continue to live with the healthy habits that helped them get the weight off in the first place.

They continue to journal their food and exercise, plan menus, find support and make time for personal improvement.

2 They find a weight that is sustainable, not just achievable.

3 They do not overly rely on cardio, and they prioritize weight lifting.

4 They find a way to cook that replaces their favorite food.

5 They eliminate or cut back on negative and toxic relationships.

People who make them feel unhappy or who do not help them with their goals are directly or indirectly removed from their lives, or exposure to them is minimized. If you want to keep the weight off, keeping a person around who is abusive or an emotional trigger will make it more likely you will turn to food if that is what you have always done. Maintainers find ways of coping without food or find enough self-respect to limit unhealthy relationships.

6 They find a way to stop resenting the process of healthy living and instead embrace it and find joy in it.

There is a pivotal point for most maintainers when they resent having to continue the habits they formed to lose the weight, but they come to the realization that this is forever. They can accept it and find the pleasure in it and even enjoy the process once they see it differently. They stop focusing on what everyone else gets to eat and comparing themselves to others and find gratitude in finding what works for them to sustain their weight. Successful maintainers realize that they cannot stop doing all the necessary steps to remain healthy, and they come to a place of acceptance that this is for the rest of their life.

7 They prioritize self-improvement.

When they reach their goal, that is not the end of them getting stronger, healthier and happier. They begin seeking out more self-development opportunities and ways to improve. After years of feeling they could never lose the weight and keep it off, realizing they can makes them wonder what else is possible. They may find they need to tame their temper or work on their gratitude. Maybe they see things in a negative light and know it brings them down. They realize they are not one-dimensional, so they want to continue to put time into creating the best version of themselves.

8 They find a way to maintain their weight that is not driven by fear of gaining the weight back.

9 They find a way of eating that they can maintain, and they don’t stay on a diet.

I hope these tips help you when focusing on your weight-loss journey, or if you are maintaining, I hope they help you know you are not alone and that, with small changes, the process can get better.

If you are like me and feel there needs to be more help for maintainers, and those who want to have the maintainer’s mindset, then please check out the Half Size Me Community today at http://www.halfsizeme.com/join. We have a maintainers’ meeting once a month as well as weekly support meetings.

You can lose the weight and keep it off; you just have to be willing to try new things and find your way in this journey. Please share where you are in your journey and let me know if I can help you.

Two Year Anniversary

January 16, 2014 by HeatherRobertson

January 7, 2014 marks my two year anniversary date since hitting my goal weight. I’ve learned much during this journey and I share it all with you in a very special Heather Weighs In episode.

I wanted to share some of my personal weight loss history with you. I hope this post makes a visual point of demonstrating that it doesn’t matter how many times you “fail,” it only matters that you never give up.

It is possible to go from battling your weight your whole life to achieving a healthy weight. Even if you’ve never done it before, or if you are like me and have gotten there, but don’t know how to stay there.

Here I am at about 2 years old. I started the way most of us do: thin and healthy. I was so thin my grandmother jokes with me to this day that I was the only little girl she knew who needed suspenders to hold up her pants.

The problem for me was I was emotionally sad at a very young age. I felt like I had little control over it. So how did I deal with these negative emotions? I started my love/hate relationship with food. I loved to eat. It made me feel better in the moment. But I hated how it changed my body and the guilt I often felt afterward.

The weight came on slowly. But it became noticeable to me around second or third grade.

Looking back over my elementary school photos I noticed that I don’t look genuinely happy. It’s sad to see a little girl filled with so much pain.

As I got closer to puberty, I noticed my weight still increased even though I was a fairly active kid.

I don’t have many photos of me at my heaviest in high school. But I weighed 225 pounds my freshman year. I went on an extreme calorie diet and over exercised out of pure desperation.

As you can see from this photo taken at my Junior year prom in high school, the results of my desperation paid off in the short term. I weighed approximately what I weigh now, and I felt like a “normal” person for the first time in my young life. (And yes, that’s my future hubby…with hair. We dated in high school.)

However, I was struggling to keep the weight off. I hadn’t yet learned the art of maintenance.

This is me just a few years later. I had the moment in the pretty dress, and I knew what it was like to be smaller and get attention from boys and feel good in my skin.

But that all went away when I went back to my old eating habits and stopped exercising. Here I am about 290 pounds. This weight gain occurred in the span of only a few years. It didn’t just hurt physically, but it was devastating to me emotionally and mentally too.

Compounding the problem, my hubby and I decided to lose weight together. He far surpassed me as you can see in this photo from 2004. He got down to his goal weight and I was staying in the 250-290 pounds range. I knew how to lose weight, but felt so defeated because I’d gained it all back in such a short time.

I stayed this size for years.

The day after having my first son I stepped on the scale and found out I weighed 313 pounds. I finally decided to fight for myself, but I knew I needed to do it differently. I decided I’d focus on maintaining my weight, not just losing it. I could not handle the pain of gaining it all back again. I had to deal with the issues that made me want to self-medicate with food in the first place.

Now, I’m proud to be two years at my goal weight. I hover between 150-155 pounds and I feel amazing!

I started in 2008 really tracking my progress and my waist was 48 inches back then. Today my waist is 30 inches. That means I lost one-and-a-half feet from my waist. I’ve managed to build muscle too and I’m so happy and grateful with all my progress.

It is possible. You can do this. If you want to know what I do now to maintain my weight, I urge you to listen to my the latest Heather Weighs In (episode 8).

Below are just some of the documents that reflect more than a decade of starting and stopping my weight loss journey.

Even though these documents aren’t “flattering” I need to share them with you. If you’re like me, you have a drawer in your home where you keep these type of documents safely hidden. And they represent all the times you took a shot at getting what you really wanted but fell short.

You may look at them from time to time and wonder why you’re not able to get to your goal weight. I know I did.

But now I see them as symbols. They show me that even if I fail or fall short of my goals it doesn’t mean the goal is impossible to achieve. It just means I need to keep trying and take the time to learn how to get where I want to go.

Whenever you look at your own records or photos, realize that, one day, you’ll view them as badges of honor for a job well done. Like battle scars proving you never gave up the fight.

Be patient and kind with yourself. Look at photos from when you were young and innocent. Fight for that little kid inside you who wants to be free.

You can do this!