When I think about who I was a few years ago, I am amazed. Amazed not because of how awesome I am (we all should know that we are awesome and claim it) but amazed at how much I had to change to become the person that I am today. Many times people have goals but don’t accomplish them because we’re comfortable being who we are. For almost a year I fussed about how I needed to lose weight and found myself miserable in the changing rooms of department stores. Sometimes I would sit on the bench in the changing room and cry after looking at the different parts of my body that I tried to avoid with clothing. Nothing ever fit the way that I imagined. I don’t think that how I thought I would look in an outfit was unreasonable either. You would never see me walk into a store and declare I’ll look like Beyonce if I wear an outfit. 

 

In order to change you have to fight yourself to do the best things for yourself. I remember reading an article about the top 8 things that successful people did and one that sticks with me is getting up at 5am to work out. I read that and immediately got an attitude. First thing that came out of my mouth was, “I’m not getting up at 5am to workout.” God must’ve known that I did not want to listen. Either that or my smartphone is way too smart for its own good. Because the next thing you know, I’m seeing articles on self-improvement and working out early in the morning was always on the list.

 

So you know I rolled my eyes after reading each article that told me the same thing. Finally, I was reading “Becoming" by Michelle Obama. Don't worry, no spoilers. I will say that she mentioned working out early in the morning. What’s crazy is that I have a treadmill at home so it’s really no reason that I wasn’t walking regularly. I was the size that I was because I chose to be by not doing the work. I couldn’t blame the doctor, my family's bloodline or bone line for that matter (I ain’t never seen big bones on a skeleton). I realized that if I wanted to feel better about my appearance that I was going to have to make some changes and that meant doing what I didn’t want to do.

 

At first, I decided not to tell too many people, only a few close friends to hold me accountable. I began waking up at 5am and watching a good series on Netflix for one hour from Monday through Friday. Before noticing any weight loss, I first noticed how much better I felt about myself. My thought process improved. And after a few months in, my friends and family began noticing the weight loss. Some people teased me about eating bird food, but it was always funny to me. It made me feel good that people noticed my efforts. The real flex was going to Target and being able to wear a size Large in dresses instead of the 2x or 18/20 that I used to wear. 

 

I still find things to fuss about but I immediately correct myself these days and thank myself instead for creating a better life, one step at a time. I realized that fighting my old self would never give me the results that I longed for. Instead, I had to do what I didn’t want to do because it was out of my comfort zone - and this has become the way to go.

 

I hope you encourage yourself to live better too!