Other People's Perceptions

I have worked so hard to change my life...to get healthy.... I wish it didn't matter what people thought/said about me... but this week I was hit with the realization that as much as it shouldn't matter what people think about me... it does!

I have worked hard to change the way people thought of me, talked to me, saw me.... to be told that you are still a "big girl" is extremely hard to hear... it shouldn't matter. I know I still have a ways to go to get to my goal weight but instead of my hard work and changes being acknowledged they are shot down, minimized...I have worked so hard.. I have left blood sweat and tears at that gym for the last two years...if I am still a "big girl" now what was I before? What did people think of me before? Say about me before? None of this should matter... none of it should impact me and my way of thinking.. but it does..I know I have to eat to fuel my body.. but I can't right now. I know this is wrong but that "stupid girl" mentality kicked in and I feel like I am a failure if I eat more than a bite of something. Food disorders do not go away, it is a battle every day (some days more that others) When the people who are suppose to be proud of you shoot you down, THAT kind of sends you into a tailspin. When your hard work, effort, change... isn't defended by the people who should be there fists raised... it takes away a bit of your steam... makes you realize that you are completely alone in this. You are, I am.. and that is ok. The truth is no one understands this struggle unless they go through it, the tears you cry are not theirs, the sweat you leave behind is not theirs, the exhilaration you feel when you fit into that hot little black dress (and feel like a million bucks) is not theirs...so I guess you can't expect them to be the support you actually need them to be...I suppose it is selfish to expect them to.

As much as I want someone to truly get it... it is mine and in the end, I like it that way. So when I get the wind knocked out of my sails I will deal with it alone. The tears I cry over it will be in private. The moments of weakness (be it eating too much or not enough) will be in private. These are after all my goals, my struggles, my successes...I know I will hit my goal weight,I know I will succeed, despite all the disbelief.

The truth is, I am still proud of me... and I need to learn how to let that to be enough.