A friend of mine is embarking on a low carb diet. Everybody and their brother (or at least all my Facebook friends) knows I'm converting to a low carb lifestyle and on a serious quest to shed my pounds. My friend however has more class than I do and isn't outing herself to the world.
But there other day there was a hint about her making some weight loss effort, just a tongue in cheek comment about trying to overcome the allure of a french fry. And because I know about her weight loss goals, I told her to "step away from the french fries." But most of her other friends offered a different kind of encouragement, and it got me to thinking.
The Facebook feed was filled with comments like "you deserve it, go for it;" "enjoy!" or "a little won't hurt;" and "moderation over deprivation!!" And the truth is they all probably had sincere, loving motives to encourage my beautiful friend, but I think it's thoughts and comments like those that helped me get 81.2 lbs overweight!
I gave myself permission, dare I say the "right" to indulge over and over again. The big meal, the creamy gooey dessert, the cookies and milk in the wee hours of the night, they were all rights or rewards and slowly food became so much more than fuel for my body.
Now I'm not saying we shouldn't enjoy what we eat, but it shouldn't be in lieu of good judgment, or at the expense of our health.
Indulging in what I "deserved" had a lot of consequences: FAT, high blood pressure, fatigue, yeast growing on my skin, not being able to get off the couch, much less up the stairs without being wiped out. Not to mention years of hating myself for how I looked, how I felt. Years of avoiding the camera because I didn't want to remember how I looked.
The picture of me with my oldest son on his graduation day is humiliating. It was the final straw for me that changed my mindset from the "right to indulge", to the right to become the person I want to be: a woman with self-control, strength and wisdom.
The truth is, choosing to "step away from the french fries" is a step toward a healthier, happier, much more satisfying life. I'm going to indulge in my right to become the healthy happy person I want to be, inside and out.
I definitely relate!! People really don't get that for some of us there is no such thing as a reward meal. That reward meal turns into a month long french fry party and 20 pounds later we wake up to reality. I guess for some people that works but I am not one of them!!
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