A Positive Spin

I need to thank you. All of you. Those who read silently, and those who speak out. After my last post the responses were overwhelming, and so encouraging. I hate to dwell in the negative, and I'm so honoured to have such incredible friends and family members to help to drag me kicking and screaming out of what could have been a significant rut. Thank you. 

In light of my last post a dear friend emailed me via Facebook and shared a bit of their journey. I'd like to take a back seat on this post and let his story impact you like it did me. For those of us who generally see the glass as "half full" this may ignite something. Thank you so much for sharing. This has really shaped the way I've been thinking about myself and this journey this past week!

I've been fighting my weight every day for the better part of my life, and it's been a losing battle for most of it.

But I wanted to share with you a strange 'shift in mindset' that I've gone through recently.

A few months ago, my wife and I were talking, and we were talking about our weight loss woes. She said something that really got to me. I don't remember exactly what she said, but I'll paraphrase.

Me: I'm going to put a 'fat me' pic on the fridge to guilt me into not snacking. My Wife: How is that going to work? You don't respond well to negativity. Me: *pauses for a real long time, like a 'awkward silence' long time*

It was such a simple statement, but it is so wonderfully true. I do not respond well to negativity. Never have.

I know some people who feed off of negativity. They take it as a personal challenge, either to beat themselves or someone else. I'm not saying that negativity makes me run into a corner and cry to sleep, but I generally just 'filter' it out. It's almost like I just ignore the negative stuff.

So yeah, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I've been fighting my battle with my weight with the wrong weapons.

I put up 'fat me pictures' and weigh myself all the time and say "only 10 more pounds". I guilt myself into not eating. I look in the mirror and lament that it's not happening fast enough, and I critique myself when I'm not keeping up with some arbitrary standard. All this sucks. It just doesn't work for me.

So I'm changed how I look at things. I'm looking at the other side of the coin. It's change in attitude that reflects my normally optimistic attitude. I'm an optimist in almost every sense of my life, except for my weight battle. Time for that to change.

Instead of fighting my weight by looking at how much I have left to go, I look at how much I have done. I put up pictures of 'skinny me', and I put up pictures of my wife and son, to remind myself that I'm doing it for them as much as me. I even put up a picture of a 'StarFleet uniform' reminding me that If I really wanted to be a 'Star Trek' character, I need to be 'fit'. It's weird. I know.

My favourite part of that story is the last line. Fellow Geeks and Nerds unite!

So many thanks for your kind words and encouragement. I hope that you are encouraged as well, we're in it together, and no battle is won alone! :)

Happy Long Weekend Friends!

A Nerdy success picture! Here's to the next few pounds, we're doing great!