Never Give Up on You

Somedays do you feel like just giving up on yourself and everybody else? When we face difficult situations in our lifes or we have a trial that we deal with everyday, it is so easy just to give up on you and everybody else. It is hard when somebody gives up on you and looses their faith in you but I feel it is even harder when you give up on yourself and loose your self value as a person. This can happen in every aspect of life but this can really happen when you have an addiction. This addiction can be anything. When dealing with food addictions and realizing you are food addict and dealing with self image issues it is so easy just to walk way from yourself and give up on you. When this happens you feel worthless and no longer a being in existance. People can come and go out of your life and situations happen that is just called everyday life but when you give up on yourself you have chosen to loose who and what you are. No matter what we face in this life it is extremely important to NEVER GIVE UP. I am sure everybody preaches this everyday and people do not want to hear the same thing but in reality it is true if you give up on YOU what do YOU have left. When you wake in the morning look at yourself in the mirror and say no matter what happens today Ia m going to be ok and I am not going to let it defeat me. Have faith in yourself and love you for you. Instead of giving and using food to comfort you get up and stand in front a mirror and say I love me and go and do something for yourself that will make you feel better about you. It does not matter what other people think about you. If you can not have enough respect for yourself then other people will not respect you as well. Respecting yourself comes from within. Love you and never give up. Go to that mirror and look at you and embrace what you see.

Losing Yourself

You may be asking yourself what does Losing yourself mean? This is a question I have tossed around many times in my head and still I do not quite understand this thought myself but I am starting to. When you start shedding layers of weight most people take that comment as ounces, inches, pounds, etc. but you must also consider shedding layers could mean loosing heavy baggage that has been weighing on your mind and heart for years. That title could mean multiple things but I feel one thing, there is a similarity. You can lose excess weight and also lose who you are as a person as well. There are many times in this life we may feel in order to fit in with others, especially being overweight we have to please everyone. This is not the case, you have to learn to please yourself first and embrace who and what you are. Never loose who you are in order to please something or someone else. It is so easy to get caught up in the situations of this world and start going against what you believe, who believe, and what dreams you wnat to accomplish in order to make someone else happy instead of making you happy. Is it wrong to care for others? Absoluetly not but when you start caring so much about other people and other things and no longer value your own heart or opinion, then there is a problem. When you lose yourself and self value and no longer respect who you are as a person, then there is another problem. There are so many senarios to "Losing Your Self". Yes it is possible to shed unwanted pounds and extra garbage and not lose who you are as a person. You have to embrace the person you are today and know the person you want to become if you feel there are any changes to be made, but you have to be the one to change. No one can change you or fix you. So whatever avenue you are facing rather it be losing weight, remember not to loose yourself as a person in whatever you choose as a path in this life.

When you lose, don't lose the lesson

Emotions

Do you ever wake somedays and ask yourself why me? Why do I have to be the one that goes through difficult situations. Snap, poof, back to reality. Quit feeling sorry for yourself pick up the pieces and move along and smile. This is how I feel somedays but I remind myself that things happen in our lives for a reson and our past is what creates who we are today. Yes, being overweight for years took a toll on my self esteem but finally this year I have learned to embrace my body and love me for whom and what I am. Everyday, I struggle with emotions of feeling bad about myself and then I want to turn to food and that is even after I had gastric bypass (we have to remember our brain was not operated on) but then the light bulb comes on and I snap out of my mood and realize to be thankful for who I am and to continue to strive for what I want in life. We are going to face obstacles every single day, that is going to try and fade our dreams but we also are the ones that can break through obstacles and continue to reach high and go after what we want. My world has been rocked most of my life and I bounce back and I have a network of friends that always have been my cheerleader. It is important to have a strong support system in whatever we do in life. My world was just rocked again a couple of months ago and what a rush it has been. This time when it was rocked I did not think that I was going to be able to move on but here I am again. I am picking up my pieces and continuing to strive forward. I do not want to be left behind in this life or do I want to result back to using food as my security. So I am facing my demons head on and fool force ahead and there is nothing going to stop me from reaching my dream in life. That is why I am calling this segament EMOTIONS. As indivduals we are full of emotions and it is how we express those emotions that make a difference in our lifes. I am choosing to take my emotions to help others. I feel I have been placed on this earth not to problem solve for people but to be there for people to help them out when they fall. Not only blogging is going to help me but I feel it may be able to help someone and to let them know that there are others that go through the same thing every single day. It is all about Mind, Body, and Soul. Rather you are spiritual or not, I feel everyhting goes back to your soul. So let's live this life and work at it together and not apart. Lets not rely on food or other addictions to find our happiness. Our happiness comes from within and if you cannot be happy and love yourself, you will not be able to love someone or what we have been given in this life. I was driving home today looking at the leaves and kept thinking to myself man it is cold but then it dawned on me sometimes we are like leaves that fall off of the tree and we are crumpled and then we blow away feeling sorry for us and then once the dust as blown off we are a new soul that has been lifted and molded in something beautiful. Strive to Be The Best of Who You Are!!

Stepping Out Of The Layers

Some people may ask what do you mean Stepping Out Of The Layers??

Growing up I was a heavy toddler, little girl, teenager, adult and until one day my heart could not take the pain anymore and I woke up and decided I am tired of being overweight and I am ready to start stepping out of these extra layers. Many thoughts went thru my confused head. I had tried so many things to loose but did I really try or set my heart to it? Finaly I felt the only option that I did not even consider was slapping me in the face. That option was Gastric Bypass surgery. I tried so hard to fight with my heart and mind because I did not want to have surgery to help me loose weight. I considered myself defeated because I had to have a doctor create a pouch in order to loose weight. (PLEASE) I can do this on my own I thought. Well obviously not or I would have already done something about it. So here I was at 29 years of age comtemplating having surgery. I started gathering and researching information regarding this popular surgery and decided to set up an appointment for a review session. After I had a consultation with my primary doctor he referred me to Dr. Peter Muscarella at Ohio State University. I remembered the day I had my appointment and feeling very ashamed of you and what I was. When I walked into that very cold room and waited for my new soon to be surgeon not sure at that point to come in I had horrifying thoughts racing thru my head. When the door flung open and in walked a guy who looked younger than me the first thought in my head was there is no way I am going to let someone younger than me operate on me. After he shook my hand and we started talking I felt comfortable around him. Sitting there I listened to his speech and what this surgery could do for me. He handed me more information and his words to me was this will change your life. Well after those words I finished my appointment and decided it was time for my life to change and I was ready. It was like the gates opened and I was ready to be set free. Free from the layers. I went home and continued to research and thought I am going to go to one of the gastric bypass support meetings to see what other peole are saying. When I arrived and sat through the meeting I felt at ease knowing I was not the only one going through this. Well after that meeting I made a phone call to start the process in order to have the surgery. On October 31, 2001 I walked in at 555 pounds to the OSU Medical surgery and my life changed that day and continues to change. The surgery has changed my life but just because you have surgery does not mean there is not any hard work or dedication that comes long with the process. Seven years later I lost a total of 338 pounds. I had put on 60 of those pounds in the past years but now have lost the 60 pounds that was gained and my goal this year is to loose the rest and continue to maintain... but with that said I could not be happier. I am changed person. I created this blog because I want to help people with weight issues. I am a walking billboard that proves yes it can be done but yes you can go the opposite direction and put the weight back on. People should relaize that being healthy is working at it every single day. Being overweight is an epidemic and I hope sharing my story may help someone else. It is scary but keep pushing forward and know that there are people out there that truly care and I am one of them.