My name is Jennifer and,like you may feel, I used to feel trapped inside of my own body. The person I was inside definitely wasn’t the fat girl I saw when I looked in the mirror. I hated everything about my body. I felt very aware of every single roll of fat on my body.
I was disgusted with myself and terrified that my husband was going to fall for someone slimmer and sexier than I was. My insecurity alone caused countless arguments as I constantly accused him of cheating every time he left the house.
My body image was ruining my life.
“I tried every diet pill and weight loss program you can think of…”
You name it, I tried it.
Occasionally one would work to suppress my appetite, but I never lost any weight because I didn’t know how to control myself. I felt that weight loss was impossible for me so I tried to focus on accepting my weight and trying to become one with the fat girl in the mirror.
It just wouldn’t work.
“One Night I Found Something…Something Real!”
Then one night I was doing yet another late night search for a quick fix to my problem when I stumbled upon information on Body Image Mastery.
I wasn’t 100% convinced at first, but I had nothing to lose so I began to read more about it and I quickly realized that this was something that might actually work. For once,
I wasn’t being offered a “miracle pill” or an overnight solution. Instead I was being re-taught how to think.
“I found out that I would never be able to effectively lose weight and keep it off if I didn’t learn how to have the right mindset first…”
Wow. I never realized just how much my attitude affected my weight. (And everything else for that matter.) I wasn’t aware that all of those late night infomercials that were trying to sell me miracle weight loss solutions were actually making it harder for me to lose weight.
But once I learned Body Image Mastery, it all “clicked”. I knew then that if I was going to change my body, I would have to first change my body image. I found out that I would never be able to effectively lose weight and keep it off if I didn’t learn how to have the right mindset first.
I was not my fat. My fat was a temporary part of my body – something that I COULD change. And from that point on, I wasn’t going to let anyone tell me who I was or what I should look like, not a magazine, not a commercial, not my sister, or even the fat girl in the mirror. I was going to be me, and I was going to be happy.
This choice made all the difference.
“I now knew that losing weight would be great for my health, but it was no longer the axis on which my world revolved…”
The events that follow still amaze me to this day.
It was a struggle at first. Those old thoughts and feelings seemed to sneak up on me daily. But after a week or so, everything began to change. The most important thing that happened is that I begin to feel the pressure to look a certain way, or be a certain weight lift off of me. I now knew that losing weight would be great for my health, but it was no longer the axis on which my world revolved.
I knew that I, as a person, consisted of more than my weight. My eyes were opened to the manipulation that the media uses to get me to define who I am according to their standards, which in turn keeps me fat, miserable, and a repeat diet pill customer.
“I lost weight. I actually lost weight!”
I lost 67 pounds. And 14 months later, I am still thin.
But in my opinion, my weight loss is secondary to the other drastic changed to my life. I soon began to feel much more confident and secure. I no longer felt so suspicious of my poor husband. We were finally able to enjoy each other because my body image no longer stood between us.
I was finally able to let down the walls that I had built around myself as protection from being hurt, rejected, or abandoned. I now kept a smile on my face all day.
And there was more than just my improved relationship with my husband. I felt more positive at work which allowed me to get a lot more done. And because I was no longer so unhappy with myself, I wasn’t constantly looking for the bad in others. My friendships and family relationships began to improve, because I always felt like bringing someone up and making them feel better.
“It breaks my heart to know that there might be someone else suffering through what I used to feel…”
It was a very dark time in my life and I want you to know that there is hope. You don’t have to accept the way things are, you have the power to change things… today.
To you and your new life,
