You Can Become the Person You Want to Be

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You all have a different story. Some of you have been overweight your whole lives, tried every diet in the book and are frustrated with your lives. Others have a medical condition that causes you to gain weight and makes it nearly impossible to lose weight. Some of you desire to have families, but excess weight makes fertility a challenge. Yet all of you have the power to change your lives and become the person you want to be. It’s never too late to go after your goals. Losing weight is just the beginning. Stop Weighting, Start Doing is more than just information about bariatric surgery, it’s about how to become the person you want to be.

Our History Doesn’t Define Us

Stop Weighting, Start Doing was born out of a need for myself. You see, as I started my bariatric journey, I looked for a resource online about someone who has been through the process and succeeded. I couldn’t find anything that fit the bill. Most were blogs that started right before or right after surgery. I wanted something that documents the process from start to finish. So I created it.

Throughout this process, one of the things I learned was that our history doesn’t define us. I was the fat girl for so many years, and I was made to constantly feel like that made me a second-class citizen. When I went to a store for clothing, I could never find anything in my size, and if I would, I’d have to pay extra for the plus-sizes. If I went to a doctor for a simple cold, he would blame my weight for the cold instead of a virus. When I was in school, I was constantly reminded that I was unworthy of love because I was bigger than the other girls. I was made fun of for wearing a dress to a school dance because I was too “big” to be wearing a dress.

Deciding to Change

For a long time, I let those circumstances define me, and I hid in the shadows. I ended up in an awful marriage, deeply in debt, and I hated who I was. Being morbidly obese was a symptom of my unhappiness with life and with myself. I decided once and for all to break the stigma and mold of being the fat girl and decided it was time to be the fit girl. My weight was no longer going to hold me back from loving myself, from finding clothes at an affordable price or getting proper medical care. You too can decide to become the person you want to be. All it takes is one decision to get the ball rolling.

Become the Person You Want to Be

I understand that change is hard. Before I started exploring weight loss surgery, I was on a mission to improve my life. I learned how to get my finances under control, learned how to meal plan, took courses to find my dream job and organized my home. Now, here I am to share all of the information I learned through this process. I hope it will help you improve whatever it is in your life you want to change. Life is far too short to be unhappy. The ability to change your life comes from inside your heart. It wasn’t a significant other, parent, teacher, friend or boss who changed my life. It was me.

To become the person you want to be, you need to start from within yourself. You have to decide that you want to be healthier, that you no longer want food to control your life, and you are worthy of change. Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? I know exactly how you feel. I have felt that way so many times in my life. You will find so much self-worth and self-love once you start taking care of yourself. It’s true, you can’t take care of others properly unless you first take care of yourself. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from or what you’ve been through, you can become the person you want to be.

It’s Never Too Late

Don’t ever think you are too old or too this or too that to go after your dreams. It’s never too late to become the person you want to be. We can reinvent ourselves at any stage or any age of our lives. Colonel Sanders didn’t begin his fried chicken empire until he was 65. I know people who had bariatric surgery in their 60’s and their biggest regret is not doing it sooner. Their lives are more fulfilled and enriched because they can do the things they’ve always wanted to do.

You can do it too. Today is the day you start to become the person you want to be. Today is the day you put your old life behind you and embrace your new, happy, energetic life. You only get one life to live on this planet, so you better make it a good one. Your kids will thank you, your family will thank you, and most of all, you’ll thank yourself. You are worthy of love and good things. Believe in yourself, and you’ll go far.

Act Like the Person You Want to Become

So how do you start? Well first, you need to Stop Weighting, Start Doing (see what I did there?). Seriously, you need to stop waiting for someone to do it for you or for the right time or the right place. You’ll wait forever if that were the case. To become the person you want to be, you have to start making changes in your life. Stay committed to those changes, even when times get tough. Believe me, I’ve been through my share of tough times.

Constantly remind yourself of your goals. What is it that you want to achieve? Why is it important to you? Write your goals down and post them on your refrigerator. Make a dream board if that helps. Go to Pinterest and look up success stories. You can read about my life before and after gastric sleeve. These things will keep you motivated to continue with your weight loss surgery journey. Come back and look at the posts I have on Stop Weighting, Start Doing! It covers information about bariatric surgery but also ways to transform your life in other areas too, like getting out of debt or hobbies.

Take the Steps to Become the Person You Want to Be

When I think back on who I was before I started my life-transformation, I barely recognize that person. I was simply existing and letting life pass me by. I was also really depressed at that point. My life didn’t turn out at all how I imagined it would. I felt like I had worked so hard in life, but I wasn’t living out the life I wanted. And so, I decided to take the steps to become the person I wanted to be. You can take the steps too. Here’s how to do it:

Decide What You Want

• Decide who you want to be. Sit down at the table with a notebook and pen. Set a timer for 30 minutes. Eliminate all distractions. Put your phone on silent. Give the kids a movie to watch. Send your husband to the store. Now, take those 30 minutes, and without self-editing, write down every dream you have for who you want to be. The kind of woman you want to be, the kind of person, the kind of mother and wife. Just let the words flow from you. Dream big. Be daring.
• Now, look at your list. Decide which three dreams are your top goals. What things did you write down will make the biggest impact on your life? Is it finally losing weight with bariatric surgery? Is it getting out of debt? Will you finally own a business? Are you going to get closer to God? You need to prioritize your list and figure out what goals are going to make you the happiest.
• Take each of your three goals, and write down every step you need to take to get to that goal. Every minor detail, every little step is important. Write it down.

Plan It Out

• Take out your Living Well Planner, and start writing due dates for your steps. Some steps may take longer than others. It’s perfectly OK. But set some goals for yourself as to when you want to complete these goals. Some goals may take you several years. Break it down as much as possible and write out your plan in your planner.
• Each day, schedule at least an hour or two to work on those big dreams. If you don’t make time for your dreams, no one else will. You need to plan for it, you need to take the steps necessary to become the person you want to be.
• Don’t you ever give up. I won’t allow you to give up. Rest if you have to rest, but don’t throw in the towel. You deserve to be happy and live a life you love. I know it’s hard. I’m still working on my big goals I set three years ago. It’s a multi-year journey for several of my goals. Time is going to pass anyway. Take that time and use it to create a life worth living. I believe in you so much.

The Domino Effect

Once you start improving one area of your life, it creates a domino effect to start changing more. You will want to improve your life not only in just your weight loss and health but also your appearance, finances, job and home. I think that losing weight has given me the confidence I needed to pursue more of my dreams, the ones that got tucked away in a drawer and forgotten about until now. I feel I not only have the strength and energy to go after them, but I also feel empowered.

One of the reasons I feel empowered is because I feel like I’ve finally found my God-given purpose. You see, when I was at the height of stress – just found out about my husband’s betrayal, in the middle of my pre-op journey, trying to make it through the day without crying – someone close to me gave me some advice. He said, “Whenever you can’t get out of your head, do something to help God’s children.” So I became more involved in my bariatric support groups on Facebook, and it took my mind off my problems. Eventually, it led me back to this blog after I took a break to get my life together. Now, I feel as if God is calling me to help His children through this blog: to help motivate, inspire and encourage women to change their lives, just like I did with my life.

Start Today

Become the person you want to be, no matter your circumstance. It doesn’t matter where you’re from or what you’ve been through. You have the power to change your life. If you no longer want to be the fat girl, it’s not too late. Remind yourself of your goals daily. Make small, lasting changes. Weight loss surgery is a domino effect. Find your God-given purpose, and you’ll be unstoppable. Stop Weighting, Start Doing is more than just information about bariatric surgery. It’s about becoming the person you want to be. Once you become this person, the person you were meant to be, it’s empowering. You can do it. I believe in you!

If this article gave you some great ideas to incorporate into your life, just imagine what other amazing strategies I have for you! Share this post on social media by clicking one of the sharing buttons, and don’t forget to join my email list! You’ll be the first to get updates, access to my new products and lots of tips, inspiration and motivation to help in your bariatric surgery journey. Just for joining, I’ll send you a free Bariatric Beginner’s Guide to get you started, as well as some other pretty awesome goodies to keep you motivated. Join today!

In Summary

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