10-19-2010, 12:15 AM
Oh man, I have been there. I've struggled with weight pretty much as soon as I was conscientious enough to be self-conscious about it. I was borderline anorexic (5'10 and around 130, down from 180 in just a few months) in high school until I got really sick, and was actually bed-ridden and eventually started binge eating. I ballooned to over 250 pounds. Then I moved to New York City and just the mere fact of me being on my own, not going to my parents all the time to eat, explore things, etc, made me lose a lot of weight - healthily this time. But then I got situated here and the old problem picked back up again. Now I constantly see-saw even though I am so much happier when I'm a healthy weight. I know I look good when I am, but I do get lazy every now and then, and then it's a snowball effect. Having a boyfriend and not always needing to impress has, unfortunately, exacerbated that.
My boyfriend likes to go out clubbing and we have very fit and attractive mutual friends, which is really what keeps my motivation up. You know, I can say from so much personal experience that the hard part is starting a routine. The easy part is sticking to it. I know some people say the opposite, but I don't think so. For me, I like to take a walk at nights - usually for around two hours. That's usually enough exercise. And when I start doing that on a regular basis, I find myself not eating as much just naturally. I know it can be tough to go out there and walk or run or whatever, thinking that everyone around is staring at you, but you just have to let that go. Focus on yourself. Imagine when people won't be staring at you anymore but instead checking you out. It can happen quicker than you think. Just set small goals for yourself. Say you won't eat any snacks between meals. Tell yourself to just go out and run for 15 minutes. Little things like this will start to build up your self confidence and before too long, the only thing you'll have to worry about is over-exerting yourself.
You can do it. I was lucky because I moved to a place where there's a lot of stuff to do and I just lost the weight without thinking about it. But whenever I do start to swell up again, the above things are what I do. Just believe in yourself. If you start today, in a week you'll be thanking yourself that you started a week ago. In a month you'll be really proud of yourself and confidence will just grow naturally. The hardest part is starting but once you commit to it, you'll be amazed at how naturally it becomes part of your day.
My boyfriend likes to go out clubbing and we have very fit and attractive mutual friends, which is really what keeps my motivation up. You know, I can say from so much personal experience that the hard part is starting a routine. The easy part is sticking to it. I know some people say the opposite, but I don't think so. For me, I like to take a walk at nights - usually for around two hours. That's usually enough exercise. And when I start doing that on a regular basis, I find myself not eating as much just naturally. I know it can be tough to go out there and walk or run or whatever, thinking that everyone around is staring at you, but you just have to let that go. Focus on yourself. Imagine when people won't be staring at you anymore but instead checking you out. It can happen quicker than you think. Just set small goals for yourself. Say you won't eat any snacks between meals. Tell yourself to just go out and run for 15 minutes. Little things like this will start to build up your self confidence and before too long, the only thing you'll have to worry about is over-exerting yourself.
You can do it. I was lucky because I moved to a place where there's a lot of stuff to do and I just lost the weight without thinking about it. But whenever I do start to swell up again, the above things are what I do. Just believe in yourself. If you start today, in a week you'll be thanking yourself that you started a week ago. In a month you'll be really proud of yourself and confidence will just grow naturally. The hardest part is starting but once you commit to it, you'll be amazed at how naturally it becomes part of your day.
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