Nobody defines me, but me

In almost every support group I belong to, people are constantly comparing themselves to how others are doing.  This journey is personal. All of our bodies are different.  The only thing you should worry about is if YOU are doing the best you can possible do!!  Our job is to challenge ourselves to reach, just past the our comfort zones, to try new things, to work hard at getting healthier. We sabotage ourselves when we look at someone and say, "Why am I not as far along as they are?".  All of us put our best foot forward, we don't know what happens in the privacy of people's lives.  We only know what they are sharing on social media. You loved yourself enough to have MAJOR, life altering surgery.  SO, maybe just maybe, we should love ourselves enough to just try and be better than we were yesterday.  To not beat ourselves up because we took a bite of break, or had alcohol, or skipped the gym.  We are HUMAN, we will falter.  It isn't the faltering you should judge, it is how we pull ourselves back up and do better the next time.

I also think we need to stop listening to people when they say, you chose the easy way, I'm doing this on my own.  Guess what??  I still have to make the right choices.  I still need to force my ass to get into the car and drive to the gym.  I still need to force myself to say no to bread and cookies.  I still need to force myself to read ingredients, measure my food, focus on water and protein and do all of that with a smile on my face.  This journey is HARD and time consuming.  I feel like all I do is eat, drink, take vitamins, work out, repeat.  When I am not doing one of those, I am planning my meals for the week, planning my work out routine, buying vitamins and other tools to help me be successful.

I will not allow anyone to define me.  I define me, my hard work defines me, my word defines me!  My journey is mine alone, nobody can truly understand what I struggle with daily, what crazy thoughts I have, the self doubt and self judgement I have when I don't meet a goal I set or get complacent and not as strict with my work outs and eating habits.

I am working very hard and it isn't easy.......but everyday, I am thankful for the tool I have been given.  Everyday, I am thankful, I was brave enough to let a surgeon cut into my body and remove 2/3 of my stomach.  Everyday, I am thankful for the people who may not understand my choices, but love me enough to support me, while challenging me at the same time.