There are a lot of ways for me to think about my journey through weight loss toward a healthy, more fit life. I just said one — that it’s a journey. I use that many times.
I also think of it as a battle. I’m in a fight for my life. I like considering myself a warrior for my own well-being. It makes me feel like I’m powerful and strong. Building on my last couple of posts and also thinking of the personal story Pink Pelican shared in comments, I think I’ve geared up for a fight. Who’s the opponent? I am or, at least my old self and lifetime of disease and poor eating habits.
Nobody can go into a battle unarmed and expect to win. I’ve got a number of different weapons in my arsenal. Despite a lifelong history of yo-yo dieting with great weight loss followed by great gain, this time is truly different. My number one weapon is my weight loss surgery. A severely restricted stomach is a great tool. There’s a definitely limit to how much I can eat. and that’s enormously helpful.
The second weapon overall is my earnest desire which fuels my willingness. Recovery from super obesity and eating disorders is hard work. We truly need to be willing to go to any lengths to achieve recovery. I have that willingness even when the old diseased thinking tries to suffocate it.
The third weapon is a good food plan. If you don’t have a plan, a strategy, how can you even go into battle and not get creamed?
The fourth weapon — my commitment to exercise. Keep moving, no matter what. I am not digging in to defend my position. Instead, I’m on the march, taking the fight to my opponents of laziness and immobility.
Weapon number five is knowledge. I’m knowledgeable about what I need to do and how to do it. I’m not flying blind. Whoever said “knowledge is power” knew their stuff. Now I do too.
Weapons two through five are super important, make no mistake. They’re the things that I need to deploy into combat and they’re mighty soldiers for sure. However, without the stomach surgery and the sixth weapon, the other tools on their own are not enough. They need something else. That’s why I think that weapon number six is the one I really need to keep active in my arsenal if I’m going to have long term success.
That tool is self-awareness. Denial of what’s really going on can undermine the best effort. It will torpedo the steadiest ship. Not being mindful of my own behavior and my past habits can lead to the entire strategy falling apart. It can defeat me regardless of any other thing I try. I work really hard to stay self-aware and to dig deep into my history and previous habits. This blog is a fantastic tool for helping me process everything and build onto my self-awareness. The more that I know and understand about my disease and what contributed to past failures, the more prepared I am to not fall victim to those things again. Self-awareness shores up everything else and makes the other tools that much more effective.
I’m in it to win it.
So, that’s my arsenal. What weapons do you stockpile and put to work in your challenges?
Weighty Matters 
Yes, every one of these tools is vital.. I’m only one month into the process of this great life change.. and constantly working on developing new habits using these tools.. and one more.. sounds corny, but this is me… it’s a spiritual thing. Has to do with awareness, but not just of me. It’s realizing that I WAS made for a purpose on this earth.. and with morbid obesity, chronic joint pain, a million physical difficulties. low self esteem, flagging energy.. etc.. I was NOT living the life I was meant to be. Helping others, practicing my profession.. all these things were not being fulfilled as I sank further and further into the desperation of hopelessness and failure.
It was a spiritual thing that first made me consider weight loss surgery… that spark of hope that maybe it COULD be better.. and then the spark of help when it’s been difficult to make the changes and adaptation to new routines… I KNOW that there is a better, healthier plan for me.. Hopes and dreams and services that will now come to fruition. So I do the new things.. and pray hard for the strength to keep on keepin’ on.. and that tool…added to the others on the list.. are bringing me healthy, hopeful, honest days. Thanks for your thoughts.. They sure inspire! xxoo
Chrissy, that’s an important thing for us all to remember. Each of us is here for a purpose and when we’re overwhelmed by our diseases, we are not living that intended life.
Thanks for this reminder. Powerful realization. I need to hold onto this and keep progressing in the life I am meant to live and the person I’m supposed to be.
I think a lot of your weapons are in the arsenal of anyone successfully facing, or trying to face, challenges of various sorts. And yes, self-awareness is key. Without it, you cannot get very far because you won’t know where you’ve been or where you are or where you are going. I use knowledge, a commitment to change for the better, and the various forms of therapy, mostly cognitive-behavioral therapy. And medication because without it I couldn’t function enough to attend to therapy or self-awareness.
Not too different from your arsenal, is it?