Beautiful and captivating, I absolutely love sunrises and my favorite kind of sunrise is over open water. I was spoiled by beautiful sunrises growing up on the shores of Lake Huron. Every single day you could walk to the water's edge and breathe in the glorious view of the vibrant shades of red, orange, purple and blues as the sun rose over the eastern crest of the water. As with most experiences I did not appreciate lake Huron sunrises until they were gone.
The same can be said for the energy and body of my youth. I can remember how much I despised and hated the way I looked as a teenagers and young adult. I thought I was fat, ugly, and as a result worthless. Never mind I played Varsity Soccer and could run 8 minute miles. Never mind that I had an hourglass figure at 6' tall and 180 lbs. Never mind I could do sit ups, planks, and push ups. All I could see were my failures.
photo credit to: Gesina Kunkel
Who knew that the scale is utterly meaningless. This soul sucking invention that devastates women and men alike does not hold the keys to our happiness. My freshmen year of college I reached a whopping 140 lbs. I was the thinnest I had ever been and far thinner than was ideal for my body. I should have been joyful and incredibly excited but I was not. All I could see was the "fat girl" from my junior high years who was not real! I had not dealt with what was going wrong on the inside but had focused on the outside.
Here I am at 35 years old. I have done a lot of dealing with what was going on in the inside and now I have the knowledge and resources to understand that I was struggling with mental health issues. I do not want to gloss over the mental health struggles but will cover them later.
However, this time the scale is not reading a number that is within healthy range. My scale is reading 295 lbs. Now the struggle is that I need to lose 115 lbs and appreciate my body during the entire process. There is a fine balance between healthy weight loss and self deprecation. Five to Thrive is all about making better choices physically and mentally to reach your best life. I am working through the process but this time I am going to marvel at what my body can accomplish.
Photo by Hanny Naibaho on Unsplash
Time for my Gratitude Check-IN:
1) Grateful for the ability to clean
2) Thankful for a working lawnmower
3) Thankful for garden sheers.
4) Thankful for good quality leashes with shock absorbers.
5) Thankful for Air Conditioning.
6) Thankful for a working car.
7) Thankful for a washer and dryer.
8) Thankful for Summer Homework Packets.
9) Thankful for Summer Reading Programs.
10) Thankful for the Jackson District Library.
Three things I've Accomplished:
1) I have lost 100 lbs twice in my life.
2) I have an amazing job working within a private University.
3) I have bought a new car.
Goal (Written as if it has already been achieved):
I have an awesome morning and evening schedule!
Thanks for checking in!
How do you deal with body image? Are you grateful for all your body can do or are you bogged down by perceived shortcomings?
Leave your answer in the comment section! Look forward to talking to you tomorrow!
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