What Weight Loss is Teaching Me about Patience and Kindness

You know what, team? I completely love you all. I hope you all know how very integral you are to this process. After I posted my picture to Facebook today, I was greeted by a veritable STORM of support. All told, my picture got 65 likes and 22 comments-- considering I only have about 300 facebook friends, that's incredibly impressive of you all. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

On to our topic of the day! I learn a lot from this process, since it basically takes up all of my consciousness, haha!

This is your brain on weight-loss.

The first thing I've learned is about patience. I can thank my guru, Gretchen Rubin, for this, who has pointed out, "the things you do every day are more important than the things you do some of the time."  So I made healthiness something I do every day. If I do healthiness every day, I will lose weight. Period. It's not a question, it's not voodoo, it's not a fad diet-- it's life. If you take one step in the right direction, your path veers in that direction from that day forward, as long as you don't go back to your old path. Every day you step in the right direction takes you further and further from that old path.

This is on my calendar at work right now.

The point is, if you have trust in the process and in yourself, you don't need patience. You need persistence, yes, and strength, but you don't really need patience. I don't need to think about what I'll do when this is all over. I'm more concerned about today and tomorrow. I am a whole, healthier person today. I don't need to be impatient for a Liz that will perhaps never get here. I am me. Investing in my health has, more than anything else I have ever endeavored, helped me to develop something somewhat unknown, which is self kindness.

Or at least I am swirly nephilim eyes and peacock feathers and maybe fish eggs?

People have always told me that my blog is funny. I've always tried for it to be funny, but most of the time it is my own expense. I don't see this as a problem, necessarily, because I always do it lightheartedly, and to lift the tone of what could otherwise be very depressing entries. Self-deprecating humor has its place, and I'm not throwing it out of LGH. I am, however, starting to actually feel-- okay with me. Does this mean I'm going to put on a bikini and flounce around all summer? No. I'll probably spend this summer like every other summer in my life, wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts because that's who I am right now. I just know well enough to love that person, even though she does wear jeans in July.

30.5 Pounds. There's a lot less of me and somehow a lot more of me, and this is only the beginning of the rest of my life. It kind of blows my mind that this is just the beginning of my journey. I'm just glad I'm taking you all with me. :)

So, now you can all pronounce me a sap, and I'll go back to funny pictures and goals and calories. But today, this is what you get. Thank you all for reading. <3