Lisa's Point Of View

It was suggested by a member of Connect, that I write about joining Weight Watchers, what was the best support, the worst support, and how I have kept going.   By no means, am I an expert, nor do I have answers for others.  I have only been on the program for three months.  I can only tell what is working, or what has not worked for me.   In a previous post, I mentioned that I joined Weight Watchers because I hated myself - hated what I saw in the mirror.  I saw a Weight Watchers commercial, and thought "Hmmmm.  Maybe I should try this."  I wasn't fired up, but I did contact a friend on the program and get some information, and just signed up.  I didn't know if I could do it.  I actually thought that I would probably fail, but that it was worth a try.    In every aspect of my life, I have never truly accomplished any "goal" that I have set out to accomplish.  If something gets hard, I give up and quit....

This is probably one of my all-time favorite quotes.  It is by Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With The Wind .  This is a quote that can be taken as negative, or positive.  This post is about making it something positive.  Many times I have quoted this, and probably, not for the most positive of reasons. We all make mistakes.  Most of us have probably had a moment, or more, that we were not the most proud of ourselves, or our behavior. Maybe we have made a hurtful comment to someone. For those of my friends in Weight Watchers, we may have a bad day, or we may fall off of the wagon for a long time.  We may see a shift in the scale, and it be so disappointing that we just give up.   The point is, that beating ourselves up over these things, is just not good for us.  We all have to learn to forgive ourselves for these things. It is good for your heart, mind and soul, to move on, forgive yourself, and let the past be the past, even if ...

Before I get into stories, and my point of view on this topic, I have a confession.  I am a work-in-progress when it comes to this.  Knowing, and practicing, are two very different things.  It takes personal growth, and I believe that I am slowly, but surely getting there. I believe that the majority of people are unhappy with themselves, for one reason for another.  We may feel fat, ugly, incompetent, lazy, or have any other of a million different ways.  I believe that we all can relate to some, or many of these feelings. My story is that I did look at myself in the mirror, and I saw myself as fat, ugly, and sometimes, pretty much worthless.  Sometimes I saw a total failure in that mirror.  When I would talk to myself, and to others, I would call myself those things, but also referred to myself as a fat cow, a hippo, a moose, or a manatee (a sea cow).  How's that for hating yourself and being negative?  How this affected my self-est...

Wow!  I can't believe how long it has been since I posted my first blog post.  I also can't believe that I didn't follow up with any more posts. Since my weight will be a topic below, at the time of the first post, I was probably around 130 pounds, and wearing a size 4.  I was previously 189 pounds, and had lost this weight after my divorce, without actually trying.  I'm sure that not having much money had a lot to do with what I ate, and didn't eat. Fast forward a few years... I'm in a wonderful relationship with the "friend" that I referred to in the first post.  I am so happy in that aspect of my life, and have been happy for over five (5) years.  This relationship has been one of the best things that has happened to me, other than my children, and I have been happier than I can ever remember being.  Aside from my relationship, other areas of my life brought unhappiness, despair and depression. I moved from a not-so-good job, to go to what w...

A wise person I know has told me on more than one occasion to think back at how my life was one year ago compared to how it is today.  That's a very scary thought.   One year ago today, I was approximately two weeks away from totally hitting rock bottom.  I had tried to convince myself that things were good, but I knew they were not.  I had been through a divorce, which, although it wasn't ugly, there was still a great deal of pain from a 20 year marriage coming to an end.  I know now that not all of the problems of my marriage were my fault, but I was still at a point that I blamed myself and could not forgive myself.  It's funny.  It seems like forgiving yourself would be easy to do - just say the words to yourself, and it's done.  Wrong!  It didn't work like that.   I thought I was moving on.  I was dating a guy that for some strange reason, I thought was God's gift to the world.  At first it was too good to be true...