Recently I was having coffee with a couple friends (I wasn’t invited, but that’s a different story). We began talking about clothes and, of course, this almost inevitably led to talking about body shape and what we thought we could wear, and which bits we liked about our bodies. Both started laughing when I said, “I like my ankles”. Then one said, “Is that all?” and I listed other things I liked, but this whole conversation got me thinking:
My weight loss story has been one of up and down and I can often focus on what I still have to lose rather than what I have lost. I think about what I can’t fit into rather than what I can, I focus on liking my ankles when there are other parts of me I like. Why is that? Well, of course there are the voices in my head (See: https://www.glenyschatterley.uk.com/listening-to-the-voices-and-making-them-shut-up/. I can deal with them most of the time, but there is also a more insidious undermining I do to myself of focussing on the negative and how much of the challenge I still have facing me, rather than how far I have come.
I’ve come a long way, not just the weight loss, but getting my head in the right place more than it is in the wrong place. I’ve learnt about myself and produced my plan and helped others to do the same. I’ve shown that it is not just from the successes that I’ve learnt, more often it is from the times I have stumbled, and even fallen flat on my face! It’s about picking myself up and moving forward, learning from the past but not living in the past.
So I started to think about what have I achieved, as I have been having to reset my focus post-Covid and the good news is I’ve lost half a stone. Not quickly, not effortlessly, but I’ve done it—I’m back on track and, of course, there is more to work on, but I can do this. I just have to keep doing what I’m doing, keep focussing and resetting if necessary. I have to acknowledge that I not only like my ankles!
Do you need help starting your personal, robust weight loss plan? Go to: https://www.glenyschatterley.uk.com/free-steps-to-success/ and get my free download.
Have fun, know you can do this.
Glenys