Mirror  Mirror on the Wall

by Mary Ann Senatore, your weight loss friend

Self image is a strong motivator or it can be a deadly weapon. If you started your weight loss journey at 220 pounds and successfully lost 30 pounds, when you look in the mirror at 190 pounds you are probably feeling good about yourself. Your clothes may fit differently, your face could have new definition, and you are probably in a smaller size. Although you may not be at your goal weight, you feel good about yourself, and 190 pounds is not such a bad number, is it?

Since you feel good about yourself, you are portraying a positive image with motivation to continue on your weight loss journey. Next, your journey takes you to 185 pounds and that person looking back at you in the mirror is smiling, and feeling good, and compliments are starting to happen.

Let’s face it, the first time a friend, family member or coworker notices that you have lost weight is an unsolicited motivator and certainly an ego boost. Your journey continues as we all enjoy compliments and you achieve a weight loss of 40 pounds.

Look at all of the things that have contributed to your success. You have a new relationship with food, your clothes fit better, you are in a smaller size, and you are enjoying positive and inspiring comments. What was once an enemy has become a friend, and that is your mirror. Since you like what you see, you are encouraged to continue. There is a new person looking back at you and you are liking this person. Positive self image coming from within is creating an external positive force field.

Life being what it is, throws you a curve. A health issue comes up, or it’s the holiday season, or perhaps bad weather keeps you from enjoying your outside activities. Maybe out of town guests arrive and you feel like you have no control over your food. All of these things can affect weight loss. Women are affected especially by hormones or too much rain in any given week. There will always be weight loss challenges, and with those challenges can be setbacks.

Remember how your felt that day when looked in mirror and you smiled at the person weighing 190 pounds? This number on the scale seemed like a good number at the time; putting in motion a chain of positive events.

Whatever the factors were that occurred at 180 pounds, you gained some weight back, and finally you got on the scale and there was that number again, 190 pounds. This are you are angry at 190? Do you feel like you lost control, or are disappointed? Are you feeling like you let yourself down, and now you have to give back those compliments or perhaps aren’t even worthy of them?

 What happens next unfortunately can be negativity setting in. How can our feelings change simply by seeing a number on the scale? This is when the weight loss journey is the most challenging.

A good suggestion to get past these feelings is to just pick yourself up and get back in the race. For those of you old enough to remember Frank Sinatra, that’s life. If weight loss was a perfect science there wouldn’t be a need for dieting.

The mirror can be a friend, but when it can seem like an enemy, avoid it. Remove as much negativity as possible and move forward. Remember that good feeling when you saw 190 on the scale the first time? Savor that feeling, and use that as the stepping stone for positivity. There will always be weight loss setbacks, but before a 5 or 10 pound gain becomes a complete gain, take time regroup and move forward. You will be glad you did.

            Forgive yourself. You can’t waste time beating yourself up over it. Just start over with the attitude of succeeding. Be kind to yourself, otherwise you may just give up completely and give in to your unhealthy way of living. Remember that each new day is a new beginning.