Are you really ready to lose weight? It’s more than just having the will to do so. You will experience certain trying moments that will have to do more with just the number on the scale or the difficulty of exercising.

In the July edition of Marie Claire magazine, there is an article by Sarah Elizabeth Richards titled “What I Miss About Being Fat”. Odd, right? That anyone should miss anything about being overweight. In the magazine article, the author realizes that she put too much stock into how losing weight would solve her problems, only to find out that she was still the same person (having all the same problems and insecurities) with just less weight on her body.  I could totally empathize with the author of the article. Everyone I have ever spoken to concerning their weight loss goals, myself included, had an ulterior motive to weight loss than simply being healthier. We quickly came to realize [and sorry, if I burst your bubble;] weight loss is not the solution to insecurities, relationship problems or any of the things that you feel may be ailing you.

Weight loss has its benefits but by no means is it the cure-all. If anything, it brings on a different set of problems due to the huge change you are making to yourself. For example, ever felt too small for the current clothes in your closet but still too big for the next size down and no money for alterations? Yeah… I’ve been there. Here are few things that I’ve found to be true as well,

• If you are insecure about your body before you lost weight, you will still be insecure in your new body unless you practice loving yourself, perceived flaws and all.
• If you have the tendency to compare your body to others, or have a jealous streak. It will remain till you handle your thoughts about yourself and others.
•  If you lose weight just to keep someone around, you will notice they will quickly find some other excuse to leave.
• If you are a generally unpleasant person or have any bad habits, weight loss will not fix them in their entirety

Do you get what I’m saying? It all begins in your mind so prepare yourself for the onslaught of emotions because losing weight is as much a mental battle as well as physical. There is a level of discipline and thick skin you will need to build to achieve and maintain your goals. The thick skin will be necessary to deflect negative attention, positive attention or  too much attention. I can’t count the number of times people said “Oh you have lost so much weight!” in the midst of people I didn’t feel like discussing my weight around. Or “You lost too much weight, you look (insert some insult)!”. Or countless times, I have declined some meal because I wasn’t hungry was attributed to my weight loss, much to my irritation. Or someone would make a reference to my body in comparison to theirs as though we were in some contract of appearance. Each time I learned to bite my tongue, and let everyone adjust to the new change in me till it was no longer a novelty. You will have to do the same at some point.

Other people have told me they felt discouraged when no one made comment of their weight loss. The silence of friends and loved ones felt disapproving or meant they did not care. This may or may not be the case but the reaction or lack thereof from people will nonetheless weigh on your mind.

In summary, their will be inner and outer voices either encouraging or discouraging your progress. The hard part will be sifting through them and decide which is Truth. The truth for me was I was happy I could do things that I was unable to before, like run a mile without stopping. Such a small thing, not because I wanted to be a professional runner but like learning to play an musical instrument, it was a new skill I had. For you, it may be something like being able to wear a strapless bra without discomfort (okay, maybe that’s just me ).

The simplest achievements could be all the confirmation you need that your change is a good thing. Take that and let it fuel you.

Leave a comment. I’d like to hear what your experience has been as you try to get fit or stay fit. Thank you for reading, liking, commenting and subscribing