My Diet Secrets Part 2 "Self- Esteem: You should get some!"

Aley's Challenge: Love Yourself

"There is nothing more powerful than a woman who knows exactly how beautiful, talented, and smart she really is! "



I can blog on and on about all the little diet tricks and tips I learned through my journey. But I'm not going to! All of these lessons only happened because I made one huge significant change in my life. A change that made everything possible. I decided to get some DAMN SELF- ESTEEM.  I stopped hating myself so much for being overweight, and started loving myself for everything else that really mattered!

You're probably wondering how self-esteem helped me day in and day out drop weight on the scale.
When I first started to lose weight, I did it because I felt so bad about myself. So much self hate was directed into that mirror everyday. I compared my body to everyone else's body. Every celebrity, every friend, every person that walked into the grocery store. I know this sounds awful, but as women we are programmed to want to be the prettiest and the skinniest. Think about how you feel when you're wearing sweatpants with no makeup, and someone walks into the room wearing a kick ass outfit. In a matter of seconds you size her up, compare yourself, and then secretly have a little negative tick towards her. WOMEN. WHY DO WE DO THIS TO EACH OTHER?? IT'S RIDICULOUS.

I found that the more I compared myself to other women, the more I loathed myself. I would hang up pictures of Victoria's Secret Models in my room, and secretly wish I was that little skinny girl lifting weights at the gym. I would look at myself in the mirror and say things like:

"Why can't you be as skinny as other girls? What is wrong with you? You are worthless and ugly."


I pushed and pushed and pushed until I would have a mental meltdown! And since the only way I knew how to deal with emotions was by eating, that's what I did. And lots of it. Lots of cookie dough. 


Ironically it was the self hate I had for being obese, that was actually making me gain weight. 

After a few cookie dough relapses (okay a lot of cookie dough relapses), I finally realized this behavior pattern. I knew if I ever wanted to be successful I had to stop. So I made a decision. To stop hating myself for that number on the scale, and love myself for all my awesome qualities! I stopped hating that girl who looked like Angelina Jolie in my biology class. To finally start losing serious weight it took me being able to look at another woman and say "Hey she is really beautiful, but I'm okay with that because I'm beautiful too!" If you constantly compare yourself to other women, you will never be satisfied. There will always be someone prettier and skinnier than you. And you will never reach the bliss of happiness and healthiness!

Exhibit A: Goofiness

It was this love for myself, that made me want to lose weight. It kept me motivated. When I felt like giving up, I just remembered all the great things I loved about myself. The only way to ensure that I would be able to do stuff in the future with those great qualities was if I was alive and healthy. I loved that I was dedicated, friendly, goofy, and perky. I also loved my blonde hair and my legs. This may seem conceited, or even cocky!  But I believe that loving all of the cool stuff about yourself is the foundation for happiness and healthiness. The only place we have to live is within ourself, so we should like it!

It's a lot easier to say no to that piece of cheesecake when you love yourself and your life! I used to use that cheesecake as an escape. As a reward for getting through another day of not liking my life. I could savor the taste in my mouth, and feel the rush of sugar. I would devour that cheesecake within an inch of it's damn life. But now, I don't feel the need to escape or reward myself for making it through another day. Because I love my life. I don't want to escape. My reward is that I get another day on earth! 

So my challenge to you: stop comparing yourself to other women. They are beautiful, but so are you! Every morning look at yourself in the mirror, and say three things you like about yourself. And I mean three genuine things! You'll start realizing how awesome you are, and your weight loss goals will start coming from a place of self-love, not self-hate.