Build Yourself Up, Don't Break Yourself Down

If you didn't read my last blog, here is what you missed from allnaturalweightlosscoach@yahoo.com:

The 1st step to improving your health is to take responsibility for your own quality of life. Once you stop blaming other people, your circumstances, your previous experiences, etc. you will officially take responsibility for your own quality of life and then its up to YOU and YOU alone to change.

Step 2 is to talk to your doctor to access the damage. Do you have a thyroid problem? Heart problems? Asthma? Anemia? What are you allergic to? Is your birth control making you gain weight? etc. These are things you need to know about your body.

WHAT'S NEXT:

Step 3 is to stop comparing yourself to other people and accept your OWN body. The most difficult part of self improvement is taking a look at yourself in the mirror and accepting that this is the only body you are going to have in this lifetime. There's no RESET button in life and unfortunately, there isn't going to be any Hollywood body switching going on. This is IT. Or as Dr. Seuss said: "Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You." So why do we compare ourselves to other people? The answer is: because it's easier to look at them then to look at yourself. Stop judging other people and yourself, it only makes self improvement more difficult and it distracts you from the real goal: improving your own quality of life. You are your worst critic so stop beating yourself up. Once you accept yourself, your life WILL change. Self improvement is about building yourself up, not breaking yourself down. When you have a negative perspective of yourself, you are limiting your potential to make improvements. A positive attitude is all you need to get yourself going in the right direction.

Step 4 is to take 4 BEFORE pictures. (Facing forward, view of your back, left side profile and a right side profile) Print out these pictures and write the date they were taken on the back of each one... this is YOUR starting point. This is the only picture you need to compare yourself to from now on. Do not be discouraged by what you see because everyone has to start somewhere. You can ask someone you trust OR set the self-timer, but the important thing is that you know your starting point so you can see your progress as it is made. Every six months, take another set of pictures, THEN compare yourself to yourself. You will be surprised by what you see as you progress. I remember the day I took my first before pictures. I was 24 years old, 270 lbs., wearing a women's size 22. I wore a white bra with little blue shorts because I was too embarrassed to wear a bikini in front of my sister-in-law who took my first set of pictures. (I will be posting my own before & after pics on my yahoo profile soon). When I developed the pictures, I cried and I threw myself a grand ol' pity party. When all those tears subsided, I was more determined then ever to change my life. I guarantee, the "before" picture is the hardest part of this process, everything else will fall into place and I will tell you why: Improving your quality of life is more emotional then it is physical. Having the right attitude makes a BIG difference when you are trying to improve your quality of life. I will touch more on that on upcoming blogs.

I don't want to over-load you with information so I will end here. Comments are always welcomed. Follow me on Twitter @anwellnesscoach. I encourage readers to ask questions and I will answer them on this blog. Email your questions to: allnaturalwellnesscoach@yahoo.com