Weight Loss: Practicing Self-Love and Self-Acceptance

I started my weight loss journey in July 2018 and so far, I lost 11 pounds. I’m extremely proud of myself for this accomplishment, which took patience and perseverance. Currently, I am slowly loosing at least 1-2 pounds per week even though I have occasionally slowed down a bit on my exercising routine because…life happens. I know for me it has been easier to incorporate exercise into my weekly routine at least 3 days a week as opposed to dieting. I find myself eating chips on occasion and a few sweets during the week.

In the beginning of my journey, I was weighing myself on the scale at the gym and even at the library almost every day. Anticipating whether the scale was going to magically show that I had achieved my goal weight! For goodness sake, I was working out at least an hour each day, 7 days a week! I was disappointed when the scale would move just a little bit from 220.3 to 220.2. Whenever I would complain about this, I would think of my husband telling me, “you just started, be patient with yourself.”

Patience. That was it. Such a powerful word, that was the true key to my weight loss journey. I had to learn to have patience with the process knowing that I wasn’t going to shed 120 pounds overnight, but that I was working towards that goal and should enjoy the process of getting there. However, there was still a voice that asked, are you dieting enough? Are you exercising hard enough? Are you spending enough time in the gym?

In regards to observations that stood out for me when some of us ladies are embarking on a weight loss journey, is this sense of disdain when it comes to feeling good about yourself before you lose the weight. I think it’s very important to learn to love and accept your current self before you lose the weight. About a month ago I wrote an affirmation that ‘I am beautiful now and I will continue to be beautiful.’ Don’t feel like you will love yourself more because you lost the weight.

Affirmations have been a positive pivotal source of encouragement for me, for many years. I incorporate them into my vision boards and within every aspect of my life and prayers. You can make up an affirmation that’s geared towards weight loss. Perhaps “I am so grateful and thankful now that I am healthy and happy now.” “I am so happy and grateful now that my body is healthy and I have reached my target weight now.

Learn to love your curves, or as the cliché saying goes, love the skin you are in. Be patient with yourself on your weight loss journey. Tell me, what are some of your struggles with weight loss? What do you do to have patience and trust the process? How do you practice self-love and self-acceptance? I’d love to hear your thoughts, let’s continue this dialogue!