Last night
my friend messaged me to ask me if I would go with her to see Matt Maher at the
Christ Cathedral she had an extra ticket and thought of me. A concert for free sign me up! So, we are meeting for dinner prior to the
concert on Saturday to catch-up. As is
still January, I am still thinking about what I would like to make possible for
me this 2016. One big thing is I want to
do less activities to focus on things that I have been procrastinating- in
addition to just relax and contemplate God.
I mentioned that this year I want to reclaim a healthy lifestyle. I haven’t started my diet and exercise plan
yet because I am traveling middle of next week to Mexico and I want to begin
after I am back from the trip. One of my
friends has been coaching the 21-day fix program and has inspired me with her
dedication to achieving a healthy life change.
I am not going to lie I have tried numerous ways to lose the weight that
I gained on my meds and I failed every time, but this time I think I am both
physically and mentally ready. I know it’s
going to be difficult, that it’s going to require making better choices and
lots of physical work, but I am ready to give it another try.
Three challenging
thoughts that I have tackled and overcome during my plus size years, that I
think many of us experience and we need to be set free from:
If I accept my body as it is, I will never lose
the weight: When I first
started gaining weight I thought, “If I buy bigger clothes that will be me surrendering.” For the longest time I didn’t accept myself
with the added weight thinking that if I did I would become too comfortable and
never try to reclaim my old body. Yet,
as time went by and the pounds remained I learned that the future and past don’t
exist- the only moment I have is the present.
Thus, I could live being unhappy with my current plus size image or learn
to make lemonade with my lemons. I
thought of the many real women whose style I admire and how they all come in
different shape and sizes. I also
started reading plus-size fashion blogs which motivated me to look my best
now. But what really helped me was to
reflect on all the women in my life- my close circle, the people that I deeply
love and admire- I love and admire them for so many reasons- their physical
attributes do not even make the list! Then I thought of the goodness that my
body does- it gives great hugs, warm kisses, runs to meet others, shares
knowledge… It works completely and I thanked God for making me without physical
impairments and with the ability to do so much good if I choose to.
“Isn’t it
funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back everything is
different.” - C.S. Lewis
My life will be better when I lose weight-
I will be able to do all the things that I have been postponing once I
lose the weight is a fantasy that many of us fall victims to. I know that for the longest time I refused to
go to the beach (even when I was a size six) because I thought I was too big to
be seen publically in a swimsuit. Then
one day a friend invited me on a Catholic Singles Cruise- and impulsively I
said yes! When I shared I was going on a cruise one of my friends said, "wow you
are brave I would never be able to go because I would be embarrassed to wear a
bathing suit in front of potential suitors." Goodness had God transformed enough to not care, that I was at my
heaviest and going on a cruise where my clothing would be beach attire- yes, He
had! I was done waiting on being the perfect
size to lead the life I wanted to have.
Now, don’t get me wrong sometimes I still struggle thinking no I should
wait on this- until I am skinnier, but slowly God gives me the humility to let
go of my pettiness and insecurity and truly live my best life now. If you are not living better now, losing
weight won’t make a difference.
I’m not attractive or worthy at this size- It was really hard at first for me
to think of dressing up- because I thought that I would look like a decorated piñata. I didn’t feel attractive and thus I thought
no one else would find me so. Yet,
slowly I learned that I was as valuable thin as I was heavy. I have my days of insecurity, but for the most
part I am comfortable in my skin. My mom
is great- every morning she tells me I look beautiful, and I think that’s God
reminding me that no matter my shortcomings I am loved and I am worthy. Sometimes when she forgets to compliment me,
I twirl around in the kitchen and ask her if she’s forgetting something and we
both laugh as she says, “muy guapa.”
God gave us
life, and time slowly takes it away from us- thus we need to learn to just live
and enjoy every moment, “Life is God’s gift to us, the way we live our life is
our gift to God.” Make your story, your journey, your life - a life well lived!
I have this comic framed in front of my computer monitor-
not only does it provide laughs every day it also encourages me!
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