Yesterday I shared my feelings about the excess skin that unfortunately accompanies a large weight loss.  Today I’d like to share with you some of the many positive physical changes  I noticed as I dropped 150 pounds. Losing weight brought about many changes in my life, both physically and emotionally. As I lost weight I found that my self esteem increased as did my confidence. I also found there were many positive physical side effects to weight loss. Here are some of my favorites:

• I didn’t have to wear my grandfather’s old gigantic wedding ring anymore.
• I could wear my own wedding set.
• The size 8″ bracelet I got from QVC got so big it fell off my wrist one day.
• When I washed my face I could feel my cheekbones
• I didn’t hang off both sides of chairs anymore
• My kids and I could easily share one side of the restaurant booth
• I can snuggle with my husband in his recliner
• My feet shrank in width (but unfortunately not in length!)
• Smaller sized clothing (of course)
• My blood pressure dropped to 104/60 from 130/80
• Cholesterol levels were great
• I didn’t break anymore furniture (click to read about it)
• My kids could hug me all the way around (one of them actually commented on this one time!)
• Although I thought I had lost them, I still had collarbones
• I could cross my legs again without hitting the person next to me
• Sitting on the floor once again became possible because now I could actually get up without help
• My kids have to keep up with me in a store instead of the other way around
• and more and more and more

I could fill this whole post up with the positive changes I saw as I lost weight. It’s human nature to focus on the negative, but I’d encourage you to focus instead on the positive changes weight loss offers. It’s easy to get discouraged and think, “I just can’t do it.” Or, “I’ve got too much weight to lose, it’s just impossible.” That kind of negative thinking can become a self fulfilling prophecy. I thought that way during the last few years of my obesity and it was self defeating. I couldn’t imagine myself as a thin, healthy young Mom. All I could see stretched before me was a life filled with snide comments about my weight, poor self esteem and increasing health problems.

I’d encourage you to take today and write down all the good things that will occur when you lose your weight. Now – you probably won’t win the lottery, or be an instant millionaire by losing weight, but there will be great things that happen. In making your list think about the following things: physical changes, emotional changes, relationship changes, spiritual changes, etc. By looking at every area of your life you will be able to see the far reaching ramifications weight loss holds. It’s not just about clothing size or the number on the scale, it’s about you as a whole, healthy person.

Don’t let worry and fear hold you back from achieving your goals. Start today by focusing on the positive and take some steps to reach your goals. Let me know what your goals are! Diane