Perspective: Why YOUR Health is So Important

By , SparkPeople Blogger
One day I woke up and was astonished to find that I had grown to 460 pounds and was using my family as helpers.  I didn't do this on purpose.  From my perspective, I was in a lot of pain from many chronic issues and needed to lie down to alleviate the pain.  From their perspective, I was abusing their kindness.  This is so hard for me to admit, but I'm an open book to you readers.
 
As I lost weight, I could do more, but not all of what life has in store for me.  From my family's perspective, I'm still not doing enough.  From my perspective, getting healthy is my career.  I've lost 205 pounds to date with no surgery.  I've created exercises and even use an arm bike because my legs aren't that steady.  I walk with my walker, ''Freedom.''  I want to be fully functional again, despite the pain, and personally I think I'm doing a bang-up job.
 
For me, I live to prove to you that YOU can get your life back, too.  I want people to see my example and be inspired by the possibility of a second chance.  That's why I'm so open about everything.  Who do you influence in your life? Are those people enough to make you want to change?  If not, what is enough to make you want to really change?
 
Do you believe you can change?  If you answered ''No,'' that's your perspective and it is going to impact your weight loss efforts very negatively.  When I started out, I answered
''Maybe, but probably not.''  That ''maybe'' was a glimmer of hope.
 
Then I worked on thinking about who I wanted to be and started acting like I already was that person.  Any time I had the desire to overeat, I would think about what my ideal self would do. My old self would have overeaten. My new, ideal self would have stood up for herself and her body by making the decision not to overeat.  By associating those negative desires and actions with the ''old me'', I gave the ''new me'' the freedom to make new choices. I didn't have to be trapped in my old patterns anymore.  Just taking that new perspective made a huge difference.
 
My perspective is that YOUR health is important.  You are the passenger on the airplane who has to put on the oxygen mask first to be able to help others.  Can you help others in your current state?  What if there was a fire or disaster?  Are you in shape enough to help yourself or others?  My overweight father died of a heart attack and my mother's weight caused a stroke.  I want to escape that fate or any other fate that being overweight could bring me. From my perspective, I can prevent these things to some degree by eating right, exercising, making regular doctor appointments and continuing to use SparkPeople.
 
Whatever perspective you take on diet, exercise, doctors, or mortality rates, just remember that you CAN make a difference in both your own world and someone else's.

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