Monday, February 15, 2016

Accountability Monday: A Valentine's Message

Hello friends! And Happy belated Valentine's Day!

Today's Accountability Monday post is a bit different that than usual weekly round-up. Today is a special day- I start my very own Weight Watchers meeting this evening as a leader. 

As you know, I've been training with Weight Watchers to be a leader for the last few months. But really, I've been training for this for a very long time...

I first walked through the doors of Weight Watchers in the fall of 2002 after gaining a significant amount of weight after high school. After about six months, I'd lost some weight and convinced myself that I didn't need to keep paying for Weight Watchers- I knew how to do the program and would just "do it on my own." Guess how that worked out? ;-)

For the next 11 years, this pattern repeated. I would work hard while I was on program and then life would happen- I'd make excuse after excuse as to why I couldn't lose weight. I told myself that I was just meant to be "heavy." Even after I started running, I took a weird kind of pride in being a runner that could fit into the "Athena" category- over 165 pounds. 

But deep down, I knew I was hurting my body and my spirit. The way I was using food to cope with my feelings was not healthy and I knew that if I kept this up, I'd always be unhappy with myself and that this unhappiness could hold me back from all of life's cool adventures. Plus, the physical toll that being an Athena runner was taking on my body was starting to prevent me from doing the exercise I loved- running. 

So in January of 2013, I walked back into WW with a renewed and different focus- I wanted to be happy and healthy- no matter what the scale said. 

Dancing with my boo at an August 2012 wedding.

And this time, something clicked. Somewhere in all the meetings I attended, I found hope and inspiration, and a self-confidence that I didn't know existed. I found a way to love myself in a healthy way and that has made all the difference. I learned that I didn't need to be "skinny" to be happy or strong- I could do all the things I wanted to do- including going on all of life's cool adventures- right now with the body I have today. And I learned that loving myself included feeding it foods that made me feel good, which usually happened to be on the healthier side of the spectrum :-)

So on this day-after-Valentine's-Day, I hope you love yourself and who you are in this very moment. I hope you can be your own Valentine and cherish who you are- because trust me, you deserve to be loved and cherished; especially by yourself. 

Love, 

Sarah

A cute shot from our engagement pictures in October 2015.


8 comments:

  1. I'm so excited for you! Hope you enjoy your new adventure!

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    1. Thank you! I already committed to a Thursday night meeting, too :-)

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  2. LOVE this. You will be the absolute best WW leader ever!

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  3. That's so fantastic, Sarah! You will be a wonderful WW leader! And I simply love that photo of y'all from your engagement session. You look so happy :) -C

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    1. Thank you! I am really thankful for the opportunity. And Matthew makes me super happy and it shows! Hope all is well with you and your new career endeavors! :-)

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  4. Congrats! I'm sure you will inspire many people!

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