There is no before and after story when it comes to creating and living an irresistible life.
If there’s one thing that has set me up for failure over the years each time I tried to lose weight, it was the false promise of a drastic before and after story.
I would vow to myself to start over on Monday. In preparation of Monday, I would binge on all the “off limit” foods I love like icing, cupcakes, and carbs galore. I would tell myself you better load up now because you’ll never get to eat these foods again! Then I would clean out my kitchen and head to the grocery store. I would stock up on all the healthy foods that I love . . . and some that I hate but felt that I “had” to eat in order to successfully lose weight. Then I’d prep a hardcore workout plan that I would do plan on doing 6 days a week!
I was ready for the week to begin. I was ready for my new life once I lost all the weight! After I lose the weight I thought “My life will be amazing! I’ll have everything I ever wanted once I’m thin! This is the LAST time I start another diet because this time will be the last time!”
Then the week would begin. Things would go perfectly for a few days. Then the withdrawal would kick in. Then a holiday would come around or my birthday or what ever event that is ALWAYS going to happen because this is life.
Once I listened to the devil on my shoulder and gorged on some icing, I felt like a failure. I was no longer perfect. I messed up. Again. I’ll never be where I want to be. And because I’m such a failure at losing weight and not having the perfect body, nothing in my life will ever be perfect. I’ll never have my dream career, house, husband, etc. Just fill in the blank!
I’m 34 years old. This line of thinking began in 6th grade when I wrote my first “non-digital” blog entry in a notebook titled “My New Life Starts Tomorrow!”
No wonder I held myself to such ridiculous standards for years. I had ingrained this ‘all or nothing’ thinking into my brain at just 11 years old.
I got so hung up not having the perfect before and after picture. You know, like those ones you see on infomercials at 3am when you can’t sleep.
Guess what? I’m still not at my goal weight. My body is FAR from perfect. I have stretch marks and lose skin. I still don’t have the “perfect” before and after story but I have lots of before and during stories.
Guess what else? I’m happy! I’m grateful for everything I have. I live a life that I actually really freaking love. I have everything I need and more. Is it perfect? Hell no! Do I still beat myself up? Of course! It just doesn’t happen as often.
What changed? It wasn’t until I finally realized a few years ago that weight loss is a side effect of making a decision to create an irresistible life. I made a decision to focus on mind, body, AND spirit. Something I had never done before.
I’ve struggled with emotional eating since I was in elementary school. That isn’t going to magically go away in a few months when I hit my goal weight. Those same feelings that drove me to use food as a drug have to be dealt with. Even once I dealt with most of them, there are still days that I struggle. There are still days I want to come out of my skin because I feel like I HAVE to eat something when I’m not even hungry.
Sometimes it’s not your stomach that’s hungry. It’s your soul. Might sound cheesy but it’s true.
Creating your version of an irresistible life is a process . . . a journey if you will. What happens when you go on a road trip? Sometimes there are detours. You start out going one way only to have to backtrack and then take another road that you didn’t plan on. You might even get a flat tire and be off the road for hours. Shoot, if your car breaks down, you might have to stay the night at a hotel until it’s fixed. You get the gist.
The point is this. Life is the exact same way as that road trip. You’re still going to crave cupcakes and carbs. You’re still going to fight temptations. You’ll still have days where you binge and over do it. You’ll have days where you really feel like shit and think your body is disgusting.
But.
You’ll also have days where you’re so happy you tear up at the cheesiest things. You’ll be so in love with your body that the confidence will be beaming off of you. You’ll look at a cake and just keep walking. You’ll feel totally irresistible from the inside out.
The difference once you finally make the decision to change is that you don’t let the little slip ups become habits and dictate everything else in your life. You let go of the “all of nothing” mentality. You move on. You start over at the next meal.
Make me a promise, ok? Let go of the false promise of a before and after story. Instead, focus on the journey to creating YOUR irresistible life. I
My goal and mission with my blog is to help you create an irresistible life you can’t resist. One that allows you eat food you love in moderation while getting out there and enjoying life. That’s what my new ecourse, “Irresistible You” will be about. I can only tell the story from my point of view and share with you my experiences and what I’ve been through. This is a topic I know about more than anything else in my life. I’m also not a finished product. I’ll never be a perfectly finished before and after story. Neither will you and that’s perfectly ok!
An irresistible life is a journey that never ends. Are you ready to begin?
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Hi! I’m Aimee with 2 E’s. I'm a confidence coach that empowers women to love themselves by breaking down body image issues, so that they can lose the emotional weight and gain the confidence to look and feel irresistible...at any size.