I Wonder How Others See Me

I must confess to a bad practice.  How many times have you weighed yourself and weighed who you are at the same time?  Well that would be me.  I am weighed down by my weight and I think I have been in bondage to it long enough.  It's definitely time to break free.  As I told a close friend recently, I have been hiding for most of my life in a fat suit for various reasons.  Now listen, if you are happy the way you are, you will never get any judgment from me.  This is strictly a personal issue so please keep that in mind. Everywhere you look, you can't get away from the media blast on food and weight.  Every time you pick up a magazine (even if it's for women, men or children), it has something to do with weight.  If it's not weight, it's related to weight – health, food, exercise, fashion, etc.  Some of the fluffier magazines will have something about all of those things.  They are teaching children that they are only valuable if they're the right size and are wearing the right clothes!  What a crock we are allowing our children to buy into while we sit and take it in as well.  I don't know about you, but I find it shameful.   Children learn what they live.  I am worth a king's ransom more than what I wear or what size I am.  I am only now beginning to truly believe that. I also hide when it comes to being in the public eye.  I am thankful for the over one thousand people who continue to want to hear from me on a regular basis.  At one point I wasn't sure I would even include a picture on my blog without photoshopping it to take out some of the roundness in my face.  Fortunately, I stuck with just trying to post the best possible photo.  So, dear Readers, thank you for blessing my life and from now on, you get the real me. Public figures such as celebrities are even more focused on their weight.  You have to get that perfect body and be the perfect weight at all times or you are yesterday's news.  How many of those young women have we seen that are so emaciated that they appear ready to drop dead at any moment?  Did you know that what was considered "normal" body weight and shape in the 1920's and 1930's is now called obese?  So you see, the standards that someone else has set and told me would be perfect for me can change at any time, even by next year.  Why on earth should I pay this any attention at all?  In my opinion, it's not worth my attention or yours.  If we object to these standards long enough, the media will change.  Our little girls (and boys) will then grow up knowing that they are beautiful in every way and won't become obsessed with their weight or body image. Being obsessed with food and diet is causing more and more people to be addicted and obsessed about food, weight and how they look.  I have been in this trap myself and have absolutely made food an enemy.  I want to become more in tune with my body so that I eat because I need food and not hate the food because I think it's the problem behind my weight.  It's not food's fault!  Food by itself is healthy and we need it to live.  Food is good to look at but just looking won't make me fat.  Adding all the stuff to food (fat, sugar, etc.) is what brings on the fat.  I either cook it or I buy it.  Here's my new philosophy – if it's not in the house, I can't eat it.  Food isn't the problem – cookies don't actually speak up and lure me in for a binge! Weight even controls my moods at time.  How much time do you suppose we have spent worrying about food or weight?  It can be depressing!  It's time to break that cycle for me.  My metabolism was made perfect and I am the one who is out of balance.  It's time to take back my health and truly believe that I have the right to be healthy and whole. It stops now.  No more concern about how others may be weighing me based on what they see.  I'm taking back my power.