It Is All About Me

I have decided that it is time I dedicate a post to my shrine about.... you guessed it.. ME! Not to sound cocky or anything, but seriously, what is more motivating with your weight loss than seeing pictures of yourself from when you began to where you are now? I cannot think of anything more inspirational, especially since each weight loss journey is it's own and we all accomplish different things.

Over the past year I have begun collecting stuff that I wanted to hang on my "motivation wall" but the problem I had with placing it in my bedroom was that I did not want it to be anywhere that would stand out for people to see, except for me. So I opened up the closet doors one morning to find an awesome spot to hang all of my motivation and inspiration. No one in my house knows it is there, except for all of you who read this blog. Some quick explanations of what I have up on my wall. 

• At the top is my side by side of the 60 lbs I had lost, the picture speaks volumes.
• The inspires document that answers four essential questions: a. What is my motivation? b. What are the roadblocks? c. How do I mark progress? d. What is my goal? I am constantly updating this list so that it is consistent with my goals. I have updated the questions throughout my journey every 3-4 months.
• Next to that is a picture and it says, "I am not losing weight, I am getting rid of it. I have no intentions of ever finding it again." A friend found this in a magazine and ripped it out for me.
• Below that is a picture of the scale when I first hit under 200 lbs.
• The blue sheet is a letter from my close friend Margaret who essentially was encouraging me to continue on my journey.
• The bottom two pictures are just side by side shots of where I was and places in my journey.

That is just one of the collages I have in my room though. Remember my blog post It's Not Over Till I Say So? Well, in response to an earlier conversation about people giving me the feedback of not needing to lose any weight, my friend Arlene gave me a suggestion. She told me to block out the emotions of people's responses and focus on the number. By this I need to focus on the BMI chart because I know that it ultimately tells me how healthy/unhealthy I am. I need to laser focus to getting into the healthy weight range. 

So, on the inside of my bedroom door are these two pictures. The top one is a nice picture about changing your mindset and getting your head into the game of weight loss. The bottom picture is the ever famous BMI chart. On the right side is a sticky note of my starting BMI and the date. To the right is a sticky note of my current BMI and it is sitting next to the Obese label since I am still currently sitting there. It will move up as my BMI decreases and I get into the overweight category. I like the fact that it is a daily reminder to me of where I have been and where I currently am. There is nothing better than seeing I have dropped over 10 BMI points in the last year. 

These two collages are what drives me every single day to make better choices than I have in the past regarding food. I have found that they inspire me to be better, to do better than I ever thought I could do. Nothing is impossible, you just have to open yourself up to the possibility of changing and finding ways to make that change happen.

☺Ashley☺