PSA#9 – Stop the Insanity

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nutritionist, or fitness guru. I am sharing what I’ve learned through research and experience; you all must use your own judgment in deciding what is best for you and your own health, including checking with your doctor before beginning any exercise or dietary program.

I originally wrote this post for another blog I have authoring rights to.  I’m reposting here today, because I think many of you NEED to hear this!!

Self Bashing = using negative terms to refer to yourself, your behavior, or your actions

I think this little ditty is needed more this week than an essay extolling the virtues of exercise or an update on my own maintenance.  (Nothing has changed, by the way.  It’s maintenance!)  Note – there are some religious references here, because this is from my heart, and my faith is so ingrained into my being that I can’t deny it.

I checked in on several weight loss and fitness blogs this week.  I’ve lost count of the number of times I read ‘fail’, ‘I’m Bad’, or some other version of self bashing. Let’s get this straightened out.

STOP IT.
RIGHT THIS INSTANT!!

First, the greatest cheerleader in your life is you. Not your Mom, not your BFF, not your husband or boyfriend, not me. It’s all you, Sweetie. You live with yourself twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. You know yourself better than anyone else on the face of this planet. You cannot go through your days slapping destructive, negative labels on your forehead every time you miss a workout session or eat something fattening.

They’ll get tangled in your hair and leave sticky goo on your face.

Would you berate a little kid for eating a poptart, shaking your finger in his face and calling him a failure? Would you tell your Mom “You’re a bad person” if for some reason or another she didn’t run a mile yesterday? Would you scream at your Boss for eating a donut? No, of course not.

Then why the heck do you treat yourself that way?

You are a sentient creature, perfect in your creation, and you have a free will. This means that you are good, beautiful and complete simply because you exist. Because you breathe, walk, talk and think, you are the most amazing being in God’s creation. You are not a failure because you ate x-number of calories yesterday. You are not bad because you put something sweet in your mouth. You used your free will to make a poor choice, but you are not bad. You are NOT a failure.

What would you say to a child who has made a mistake? You’d forgive them, help them clean up the mess and then get on with the day. That is exactly how you should treat yourself. Pick yourself up, clean up the mess and move on. If you need help getting up, then ask someone. If you need help with the mess, ask someone. Poor choices are part of the weight loss game. They’re going to happen. Learn from them.

“Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.” 

I know I’ve said this many times here on the blog – the physical part of losing weight is actually quite simple and very easy to do – eat less, move more, repeat. The mental part is a bazillion times more complicated. It starts with loving yourself, deciding to care for the body God made, making it healthy and strong. It continues with loving yourself, developing good eating habits and exercising. It ends with loving yourself and reaching out to others to share that love.

Love God above all else – love your neighbor as yourself. As Yourself. YOURSELF.

Love Yourself. Keep the Faith.