Tuesday 7 February 2012

It's Always Worth It

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I know many people who have lost weight and then gained it back again, or who have given up on themselves ever losing the weight long before they ever reach their goal. And every time I see it happen, it saddens me.

I am not judging anyone who does this. I have done this in the past myself. (I once lost 50 pounds on Weight Watcher's over a 6 month period and then gave up and gained it all back and more.) Fortunately, the last time I decided to lose weight, I was able to stick with it until I reached my goal weight and then I have hung on to this weight loss ever since.

It's not easy. I know some of you might think that it gets easier once you reach your target weight, but it doesn't. Maintenance isn't any easier than losing weight. In fact, in some ways it is harder. When you no longer have to face poor health and being unhappy with your size, gaining a little bit of weight back doesn't seem like that big of a deal. But that little bit of weight can easily snowball into a much larger weight gain.

I know that there are times when all of the hard work doesn't seem worth it. Sometimes, it just seems like you are giving up too much or having to work too hard to reach your goal. Sometimes, having that huge slice of frosted cake seems more worthwhile than sticking to your healthy eating plan.

And maybe you get to a point where you decide that it's not worth it because you will never be strong enough or stick with it long enough to reach your goal. Maybe you can't really picture yourself slim and healthy, living a healthy lifestyle. Maybe it is easier to give up on yourself.

But it is worth the hard work. It is worth the sacrifice. It is worth the effort and the struggle and the good choices. Because you are worth it. you deserve to be healthy, fit and confident. you will gain so much more from sticking with your healthy lifestyle than you will lose from sticking with it. You will gain yourself back.

You don't need to hide yourself behind a layer of unnecessary fat. You don't need to eat sugar and fat and junk to feel good about yourself. Besides, when has eating junk food ever helped you feel good about yourself for longer than it takes to eat the junk food?

I have reached my goal weight and I've stayed at this weight for around two years. And I am telling you that it is worth it. Believing in yourself is worth it. Making the right choices for yourself is worth it. Not giving in to temptation is worth it. Keep struggling, keep fighting and keep reaching, because it is worth every second of the effort to reach your dreams!

Don't give up. It's worth it, even though it sometimes seems hard. It does take work and dedication. But it's worth it.

1 comment:

  1. A lovely post and I agree it isn't easy, either the losing or the maintaining.

    Sometimes it would be very easy to slide back into my old unhealthy habits, especially when in need of comfort for whatever reason.

    But having battled and lost the weight, the delight in regaining 'me' when I thought that woman was lost forever, and of having acquired a new lease of life is SO worth it. I could not agree with you more.

    ReplyDelete

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