If you’re struggling but determined to lose weight, I’m curious—what was your defining moment? That is, was there a blink of a minute where suddenly you KNEW you were going to lose weight?
These moments are different for everyone. The experience of one is never the experience of another, although in my opinion, circumstances are similar in weight struggles.
My own defining moment came from a picture on my nightstand. It’s a seemingly innocent picture of me and my husband when we were engaged. In the picture I am smiling. I am happy. I am thin.
I love this picture. Or at least I did love it—until the mouths of babes made me look at myself in the mirror—hard.
It started with my friend’s son, who was flipping through my wedding album and announced that the face in the photos (me) didn’t match my face. He didn’t believe it was me. Then the picture on the nightstand got the same reaction. Deflated but optimistic, I wrote the comment off and tried to put it out of my mind. But then six months later, my son said the same thing. Later, on a separate occasion and without prompting, my niece did, too. She saw the picture and pointed out that it didn’t look like me; it looked like her mommy, who happens to be my beautiful and thin twin sister.
That was my moment. These moments are hard and often painful. But I suppose if they push us in the right direction then they’re a good thing. What was your moment? Will you dare to share?
Remember that your story is your own. Your journey is your own. You are an individual and the reasons you want or need to lose weight are reasons you should claim. Whatever your defining moment was, or if you haven’t yet had it, don’t let it shame you. Let it inspire you.
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