So, I am a size 12/14 and I am not super tall. Some would call me chubby, some say I look fab as I am and what others say, I don’t really care at this point because I eat better and healthier than I know. I have a goal of losing 20 percent of my weight which is less than 40 lbs but more than 25. It is doable, but kind of tough because of my different health issues, but I am starting to plug away at it, but not in the restrictive ways of the past. I am going to take a bit of awesomeness from 3 of my favorite plans:

https://www.southbeachdiet.com/home/index.jsp  https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/blog/21-day-fix-hub https://hayliepomroy.com/products/the-fast-metabolism-diet

Then, I am going to get back to doing exercise 4-5 days a week when this asthma subsides and I will try to make at least 3 of those weight training, but when I don’t, I won’t beat myself up. I feel like I have self-sabotaged myself many times trying to be so perfect and perhaps the stress from the cortisol my body produces has made it harder for me to lose the weight??!! Is that true for you guys too? It seems the times in my life (which are many) when I have taken a gentler and more laid back approach to weight loss,I have actually succeeded.

I think that because many of us have friends that run marathons, or can eat whatever they want without killing themselves at the gym, it starts to be discouraging. I have this adorably petite and cute friend and granted she does run marathons now, but when I met her, she worked out 2-3 times a week and not religiously or aggressively and she never gained weight. She had 3 children back to back, ate white bread and drank real coke and was a size 4. I loved/hated her for it.

Unfortunately all of us don’t have that fabulous genetic makeup, at least in terms of weight. I mean I have great hair, eyes and lips and ML says great gams (legs). But my waist is too big and I don’t have the body shape that I want. I think that after all of the years of self-criticism, though I still do not feel totally happy with the way I look, I am more accepting of it. I dress stylishly and in a way that is flattering for me and work it with the best of them.

I am not ever going to eat poorly and give up because of my genes, metabolic issues or comparison to others. But I am also not going to beat myself up for not having the body of a goddess or because gluten makes me gain weight. I am going to do all that I possibly can to live a healthy life so that I can be around for a long time. I will continue eating a bag or more of greens a day and making my healthy bowls. And I will skip dairy 99 percent of the time.:)

My point of this post is that we are all uniquely different. So what works for other people will not always work for us. As long as there is effort and heart and perseverance towards any goal, then that is all that counts. Define fitness or happiness or success in whatever way suits you. Try to do your best. It doesn’t hurt to get motivation from those who have “arrived”, but do things your way in order to find real fulfilment and happiness.

~simply

Dee