Tonight my TV interview airs on our local evening news. While I was sitting in my living room talking to the reporter a couple of weeks ago, I was extremely comfortable, but now that it is nigh, I'm a nervous wreck. Seriously frightened.
My biggest fear is that something I said without thinking it through could serve to discourage or de-motivate someone who is sitting where I sat two years ago. I have hashed & re-hashed what I said & without knowing what will make the cut I'm just left pondering the coulda-woulda-shouldas.
One of the last questions that Sonya asked me was something to the effect of "What would you say to someone that wants to get started?" By the time we got to that point, I was getting tired & my mouth was dry & I was ready to be done. It was the most important question of the day & I don't even remember what I said.
I've thought a lot about it in the weeks since we taped. What would New Sara want to say to Old Sara to spur her on & get her started? This calls for a list! This is what I would say to Old Sara, in fact Old Anybody who is wanting to take the first steps to shedding pounds.
- You're worth it. It takes a lot of time, energy, & yes, even money to shed the weight. Prioritize yourself.
- The process is hard, but you can do hard things. Anything you've ever REALLY wanted has probably been hard earned. This is no different.
- You cannot solve a long-term problem with a temporary solution. If you're not willing to eat rice cakes & water for life, don't do it to shed the weight...it won't last.
- Take the time to figure out why you got to be 269 lbs. If you don't know what the actual problem is, how do you expect to fix it?
- Know that losing weight is 60% what is in your head, 30% what is in your mouth & 10% what your feet are doing.
- You did not become overweight or obese because you are stupid, lazy, dirty, ignorant or possess some other character flaw. Stop treating yourself like a second class citizen because you have a medical/psychological issue.
- Food is fuel; not entertainment, therapy, stress relief or comfort.
- Your body is meant to process food. Give it a chance to do just that & lay off of the processed stuff--even things that are labeled "100 calorie," "light," or "diet."
- Remember: there are no off-limits foods, just off-limits portions.
- You don't HAVE to kill yourself in a gym to lose weight, it starts in the kitchen. Exercise is vital for health, but weight loss is possible without it, so take your time & conquer your demons one step at a time.
- If you have a moment of weakness, confine it to the moment & make the good choice at your very next bite--one bad meal doesn't justify a bad day, week, month, etc.
- Sometimes ONE Krispy Kreme is a good choice in the grand scheme of things. SEVEN Krispy Kremes never is.
- The scale is a tool. No really, a tool...in all its connotations. You can flux 5 lbs in a day. Find multiple ways to gauge your progress. It's ok if one of those gauges is leering glances from skeevy pervs.
- Treat yourself to at least one nice outfit as you drop sizes. You deserve to feel good & flaunt the work that you've done, even when it's still a work in progress.
- If buying pre-cut veggies means you'll eat them instead of grabbing a Snickers, do it.
- Know that if you're changing your life, you wouldn't be doing anything differently regardless of what the scale or tape measure says. Just keep making the best choice at each "fork in the road" & it will happen.
Of course, my second biggest fear is that I won't look pretty in my smaller jeans--& thus there is balance to The Force.
