Until my senior year of high school, I was overweight. My weight was never really something I addressed or did anything about; I allowed it to become a part of my identity. I would openly make fun of myself and laugh about it, leaving my friends confused and unsure of what to say. Food was a friend that never went away, I always went to it. My family would try to help me, but I stubbornly refused to accept their help. Rather than seeing it was out of love, I took their attempts to help as "attacks" and constantly "defended" myself by eating even more.
When you're overweight everyday is a battle. A battle to see which clothes will fit, who will snicker at you when you're tired or sweating from doing small tasks, and most of all, a battle to look at yourself in the mirror. When you're overweight you lose your sense of determination, you allow things to just play out and hope for the best. You find yourself waiting and waiting for something to happen to make you feel better about yourself and more often than not it never comes. For me, this is when I hit rock bottom; when looking in the mirror became my least favorite thing to do.
The biggest thing people don't understand about weight loss is that is entirely up to the person that needs to do it. Your family and friends can say whatever they want to you, but ultimately you have to decide to take this journey. You have to become so inspired that you're willing to uproot your lifestyle, put yourself out there, and work until you can't work anymore because it is physically and emotionally draining. People who are overweight love to create excuses, blame others, and trick themselves into thinking losing the weight is impossible. It is not impossible. Nothing tastes as good as being happy and healthy feels.
I got my inspiration the summer before my senior year and from that point until now I haven't looked back. I changed my entire diet, started going to the gym, said no to dessert, and ultimately became a happy and healthy human for the first time in my life. Weight loss sounds like climbing Everest at first. I can promise you this; once you start you'll never want the amazing feeling to go away. You can waste your time feeling sorry for yourself and regretting how unhappy you are, or you can do something about it and have the time of your life. Instead of waiting, make something happen; no one can stop you but yourself. There will be trials and moments of doubt and darkness; but these moments only allow you to become stronger and realize how unhealthy you were being to yourself. Looking in the mirror and loving what you see is something everyone should be able to do. Get inspired, eliminate fear, and do it. You have nothing to lose.
