Written by tigs01 on 07/01/2011 13:21
No, I haven't found God. (I doubt God would ever be lost, in that respect.)
You can keep Michael Jackson's version of the song; George Benson did it better by far (showing my age there, for sure.) And don't even bother yourself listening to Whitney Houston's overblown, oversung cover. Dreadful. I think it's dreadful, anyway.
No, it's the message of the song that matters. You can pretty much sum it up in two lines from the chorus: "Learning to love yourself/is the greatest love of all."
We're all on this journey for our own reasons. For me, I have spent years feeling bad about my weight, hating myself for not being able to stick to any diet for long and just getting fatter and fatter, with a little help from a medication I no longer take (I was fat anyway, but it certainly helped make me fatter yet. 21 stone 8 at my worst, so far as I know, because I had no scales that would actually weigh me by that point.)
A few months ago, I had a rant on self confidence and self-belief. Both of these are part and parcel of accepting and loving who you are. There is something lovable in just about every one of us, regardless of shape or size.
Stop the self-hatred. Now. So you're overweight? Does that make you a bad or evil person? No. There are so many stereotypes about fat people that it's easy to buy in to the belief that we are lazy, stupid, greedy people, lacking in self-control and will power. But if you set yourself impossible targets you never succeed. That's another reason for making yourself mini goals to achieve, not thinking 'Oh my goodness, I have nine and a half stone to lose!' (which I did, four and a half stone ago.)
How do you start to love yourself? Well, first of all, you're here. Reading a random blog on a weight loss site. That means you've taken one step at least towards making changes to yourself. You've accepted you have a weight problem and want to change. What else can you do to change your self-image?
Lists
Positive reinforcement
This is where your daily mantra in front of the mirror comes in. You may feel like a nutter at first, but stick with it!
"I am a beautiful person, inside and out. I am worthy of being loved. I love myself and deserve to be loved. I am on my way to being healthier, slimmer and fitter and I will get there."
All or any of the above, or your own personal message to you, so long as it is positive. No negativity allowed!
Cut yourself some slack, and ditch the guilt!
Food is not the enemy. It's an essential part of life. It's how we nurture ourselves and those we love. Food can be a comfort, a release, a friend. It's when we eat too much of any food that we fall down. Chocolate is great. I love chocolate. I used to be able to eat a kilogram bar of Dairy Milk every night. Thing about Dairy Milk is it's sweet, it has great mouth feel, and the sugar gives you a high.
Dark chocolate is a lot better for you. Full of anti-oxidants and theobromine, the feel-good factor in chocolate. Quality dark chocolate like Lindt, Green & Black, is great. The darker the better - if you can eat a whole bar of 95% cocoa chocolate I would be highly surprised. Two squares is enough for me, sometimes just one. Dark and intense and to be slowly savoured, not devoured.
You are not evil if you eat chocolate, pizza, crisps and so on. But you must do it in moderation, and think whether you have the points for it. And only as an occasional thing. Never, never, feel guilty if you overdo it. Self-loathing is never pretty and is counter-productive. It leads to binge eating. Don't go there.
You can keep Michael Jackson's version of the song; George Benson did it better by far (showing my age there, for sure.) And don't even bother yourself listening to Whitney Houston's overblown, oversung cover. Dreadful. I think it's dreadful, anyway.
No, it's the message of the song that matters. You can pretty much sum it up in two lines from the chorus: "Learning to love yourself/is the greatest love of all."
We're all on this journey for our own reasons. For me, I have spent years feeling bad about my weight, hating myself for not being able to stick to any diet for long and just getting fatter and fatter, with a little help from a medication I no longer take (I was fat anyway, but it certainly helped make me fatter yet. 21 stone 8 at my worst, so far as I know, because I had no scales that would actually weigh me by that point.)
A few months ago, I had a rant on self confidence and self-belief. Both of these are part and parcel of accepting and loving who you are. There is something lovable in just about every one of us, regardless of shape or size.
Stop the self-hatred. Now. So you're overweight? Does that make you a bad or evil person? No. There are so many stereotypes about fat people that it's easy to buy in to the belief that we are lazy, stupid, greedy people, lacking in self-control and will power. But if you set yourself impossible targets you never succeed. That's another reason for making yourself mini goals to achieve, not thinking 'Oh my goodness, I have nine and a half stone to lose!' (which I did, four and a half stone ago.)
How do you start to love yourself? Well, first of all, you're here. Reading a random blog on a weight loss site. That means you've taken one step at least towards making changes to yourself. You've accepted you have a weight problem and want to change. What else can you do to change your self-image?
Lists
Positive reinforcement
This is where your daily mantra in front of the mirror comes in. You may feel like a nutter at first, but stick with it!
"I am a beautiful person, inside and out. I am worthy of being loved. I love myself and deserve to be loved. I am on my way to being healthier, slimmer and fitter and I will get there."
All or any of the above, or your own personal message to you, so long as it is positive. No negativity allowed!
Cut yourself some slack, and ditch the guilt!
Food is not the enemy. It's an essential part of life. It's how we nurture ourselves and those we love. Food can be a comfort, a release, a friend. It's when we eat too much of any food that we fall down. Chocolate is great. I love chocolate. I used to be able to eat a kilogram bar of Dairy Milk every night. Thing about Dairy Milk is it's sweet, it has great mouth feel, and the sugar gives you a high.
Dark chocolate is a lot better for you. Full of anti-oxidants and theobromine, the feel-good factor in chocolate. Quality dark chocolate like Lindt, Green & Black, is great. The darker the better - if you can eat a whole bar of 95% cocoa chocolate I would be highly surprised. Two squares is enough for me, sometimes just one. Dark and intense and to be slowly savoured, not devoured.
You are not evil if you eat chocolate, pizza, crisps and so on. But you must do it in moderation, and think whether you have the points for it. And only as an occasional thing. Never, never, feel guilty if you overdo it. Self-loathing is never pretty and is counter-productive. It leads to binge eating. Don't go there.
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