Believe It. Be It.

Believe it.  Be it.  That was what Meredith on Extreme Weight Loss had tattooed across the lower part of her stomach.  I like this phrase.  I think it’s a good one to say to yourself.  It’s a good mantra to repeat.  And, as Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.”  It really is mind over matter.  The mind is a very powerful tool.  Another thing that they say is that weight loss is 90% mental.  Actually losing the weight is easy.  It’s believing that you can actually do it that’s the difficult part.  Your mind and your thoughts can either be your greatest ally or your worst enemy.  I have a problem with letting myself get overwhelmed with the whole “I already messed up, might as well keep going” mindset.  Baloney.  Just because you had one little slip up doesn’t mean your day/week/month is lost or ruined.  While you can’t truly make up for it and cancel it out, you can make the rest of the day/week/month a success. 

While I didn’t have as much weight to lose when I started this journey as Meredith did (she started at 314 and ended up at 155 after a year of hard work and dedication) and I haven’t done it in as short of a time as her, our journeys are very similar.  We both have learned a lot about ourselves and who we truly are through this process…as most people will when they undertake a great effort like this.  Weight loss changes you.  Something she said at the 6 month weigh in was that she was no longer the same person she was 6 months previously.  And then, around the 9 month weigh in, she said that she no longer saw the person that broke down crying hysterically on the beach as her.  She saw that person as a completely different person.

And she ran and completed a marathon with her longest run to date before that being only 10 miles!  And she ran the marathon with a bum knee!  Such an inspiration.