Welcome To My Weight Loss Journey!
Hi, it’s Donna here and boy do I have a story for you about my weight loss journey! After years of dieting through some truly dedicated and (not so dedicated) attempts at weight loss, I finally reached a goal weight I’ve been striving for, for decades! I feel better, both physically and emotionally, than I have at any other time in my life! I have lost 50 pounds, several dress sizes and tons of self-doubt! Here is a snippet of how I did just that! It all started with 15-20 pounds of weight to lose. I simply wanted to feel more comfortable in my clothes. I started on WW and got bored with its program back “in the day”. I fell off after losing about 10 pounds or so….
Weight Loss Through The Decades
Fast forward a few decades on my weight loss journey. Not only did I regain that 10 pounds, but many more pounds after that. I had a lot of life changes for me over that time too. I moved to a new country and started a job I absolutely loved. The job took over me though and I was effectively “living for work”. It always seemed to come first for me and I had nothing I did that was just for me. I wasn’t a priority in my life but the job definitely was. One day I woke up and realized that everyone in my life seemed to have other things to do. They had family activities they did outside of work. Day trips they would go on. Hobbies they enjoyed. They had life outside of work, but that wasn’t me. I just had work. It made me feel resentful of what others had and what I didn’t. I felt dejected and in a rut. I ate for comfort and the weight kept adding up.
Through all of this I rejoined WW many times. I always managed to lose weight but never made it to goal weight. I knew how to eat healthy and I began to exercise regularly, but something would set me off on an emotional tailspin and I would quit. Someone would say something to me that gutted me inside. My work priorities would creep in and win the day in spite of my weight loss efforts. I also had periods of boredom that sometimes caused me to throw in the towel. Interestingly enough, I often had FEAR of reaching goal! How would I maintain my weight? What if I failed? These thoughts were scary enough for me to give up too.
A New Direction
I always felt there was something missing with WW. Over the years, I developed the belief that there was way more to weight loss than just eating the right foods and exercising. I had to understand how my emotions played a role in my food choices (and my overall choices in life to be frank). I kept thinking I wasn’t getting to my goal because there was something wrong with me. It’s wasn’t that though. I just needed to understand my emotional side better and develop better ways to adapt to it. Through a Google search, I found the Noom Weight Loss Program. Their program focused on the emotional aspects of weight loss and behavior modification to lose weight and keep it off long term. I was hooked! I ended up losing 50 pounds on their program and realized a goal weight I had been trying to reach for decades!
How It Changed Me…
I have learned many things about myself over these past 30 years. It was truly a combination of everything I had learned over this 30 year period about healthy eating, having a form of exercise that I enjoy and can do long term, and most importantly, understanding how emotions and how I react to them make me keep up with healthy eating and exercise IN THE LONG RUN! When I have my head in a good place, the food and exercise fell into line very nicely.
I understand what it’s like to give yourself fully to other people and other things and effectively leave yourself out of the equation. I am here to tell you that you are worthy!! Every one of us has the right to live life a healthy lifestyle we want and deserve! We are worthy of making ourselves a priority. We deserve to make time for ourselves so we can be the best that we can be. It doesn’t mean we can’t be there for others or help out. In actuality, if we make ourselves a priority, we can be the best for ourselves…and for others. We just need to know where that line is and empower ourselves for the best life that we deserve to live. Are you in?
It Goes Beyond Weight Loss
Beyond weight loss, there are other changes I have made in my life that have made me better and actually enhanced my maintenance journey. Becoming more “in tune” with what “makes me tick” caused me to understand who I was and where I was coming from. It ultimately helps me to make the best decisions with what is (and isn’t) in my best interest. This comes into play with food decisions and keeping exercise as a habit instead of just a “one off”. I also strive to live simply. To reduce the chaos and static in my life that doesn’t serve me. To keep healthy living as routine with planning out my day to day which includes my healthy lifestyle activities because they are important to me. To live without physical and mental clutter to give me the clarity and focus to live to be my best possible “me”. These areas changed my life in very positive ways and are very important for me moving forward.
Once again, I’d just like to thank you so much for stopping by Journey of Self Content! Beyond what I have written here, there are so many avenues to go down with this website. I invite you to please join me as I continue my journey. By subscribing below, you will receive weekly tips, free lifelong access to the Journey Freebies Library with resources to help you in your journey, and updates to all things Journey related.
Thank you so much for your interest in Journey of Self Content! Together we can be a part of a supportive community, that learns specific tips and strategies that lead us down the path we’ve always wanted to be headed down-less busy and with ourselves as a primary priority. I invite you to subscribe and as always….
Enjoy The Journey..
Donna