Loving Yourself

This is something I've felt for many, many years. In order to be successful with this woe, we have to learn to love ourselves.

It's so easy to slip into self-loathing - I'm too fat, I fall off the wagon too often, I'm out of control, my clothes don't fit anymore, so I must be a worthless person.

Well, our worth isn't measured by the size of our body, or how much fat we carry (or don't!), or what size clothes we wear.

No, our worth is measured in what kind of person we are on the inside. Our kindness toward others, our willingness to help others, our honesty, our love for our family and friends, our good work ethic, etc.

Having eating problems doesn't make us less of a person, it's just something that we need to deal with (or not!). If we cave in at a party and have that piece of chocolate cake, well, that certainly doesn't make us a worthless person. Cheating on our eating plan is minor compared to other types of cheating (like, on an exam in school, on our taxes, on our spouse).

We have to really take a good, hard look at ourselves, each of us, and remember the good things about us. I look at myself, and I see a good wife, good mother and grandmother, a good employee, a person that people like to be around. If they judge me due to my size, then it's their problem, not mine! I refuse to judge myself based on my weight, my size, or my ability or lack of ability to lose weight. I like me just as I am, right now, in the present. If I lose weight, great, I'll be smaller and be able to buy different clothes. Big deal. I'm still me. I'm not much different from when I weighed nearly 350 lbs, just a little older and a little wiser. I can sit in some chairs easier, and I have a lot fewer problems with my arthritis, but other than that, I'm still me. And I like me!