As most of you know, Mikayla, Breakthrough M2’s “Totally Awesome Receptionist” is my daughter.  She recently did a Thursday night LIVE when I was on vacation and the above quote is something she said.  For whatever reason, it stuck with me and it is one of those simple quotes that I have added to my morning routine and now have posted in my office.

(The other quote I love is “finish what you start.”  It is one of the BEST pieces of advice I have ever heard for parenting and self!)

Anyway, her quote aligns with something else we say in the office which is “health is a journey, not a goal.” If health is a journey, that means small steps should be taken it day by day to complete or walk the journey.  Living by this phrase is not easy, so we as a company attempt to instill this in our clients through all we do, offer, and promote.

I believe that every day we take steps and make choices toward or away from being healthy. With that being said, I look at our weight loss program as part of the whole journey, a timed-out diet program is a step on that journey. In fact, for thousands of people who we have helped, it has been an amazing step.

I’ve often struggled with my career because I didn’t want to be perceived as someone supporting the typical diet industry.  For a long time, I felt a little anxious answering people when they asked what I did for a living. I saw how the idea of diets and dieting became politically incorrect, and even now, Weight Watchers doesn’t say “weight watchers” anymore, they purposely say “WW.”

I believe and teach people that no diet will change why we eat and if people make a simple mindset shift toward overall health and self-care, they will inevitably come out a stronger, healthier, happier person. I’m glad our culture has begun to adopt health rather than constantly worrying about a number on a scale or a clothing tag because, in the long run, you have to embrace a healthy lifestyle to keep the weight off and learn to love yourself no matter what weight you are.  But…

Despite how I feel about good health being a journey, the reality for me and many others is that weight loss is not a journey; it is a goal. If you’re anything like me, a journey is long and sometimes tiresome. I’ve often shared that when I was trying to lose weight if the program or diet took two years to lose 50 lbs. it was not for me and I wouldn’t even try. Instead, I stayed fat because I couldn’t see myself being successful at something that would take years to complete.  Quite honestly, that was NOT a journey I was willing to take.

When I first thought about Dr. Simeons’ program, I wasn’t interested in doing yet ANOTHER diet and felt guilty about even considering it because I knew no diet could change why I was eating, or my lifestyle, or the way I dealt with stress.

So why did I feel guilty? My weight was affecting everything – my personal confidence, performance at my job, my sex life, and even my family.  I didn’t want to go to the gym because I was fat and embarrassed and it hurt too much physically. I wasn’t eating healthy foods, nor did I want to because my insatiable appetite for carbs and sugar was out of control. I was an addict, and I needed to take control in the best way for me, and doing this diet was the best thing I ever chose for myself.  My guilt came in because I was defining my actions by other’s standards.  But now, I no longer apologize for loving this diet!  If it wasn’t for this program, I would be obese, depressed, and heading toward diabetes. I finally found something that I did for myself and it was truly life-changing.

If you’ve struggled with your weight and dieted as much as I have, you no doubt understand the myriad of difficult and often unsuccessful “quick-fixes” in our diet culture. But to negate the number on the scale as if it doesn’t matter is not my belief.  It isn’t ok to be overweight even if you are happy with the number.  Being overweight isn’t good for the body and puts large amounts of undue stress on the body, which inevitably takes a toll on your mental and emotional well-being.

When I started this program, seeing that lower number was a goal, and I know it is for many of you, as well. Reaching your weight goal and finally being at peace with the scale can then lead you to take further steps toward overall health, a better relationship with food, better body image, and more self-love.   With that perspective, I can now look at weight loss as one of the milestones (achievable goals) on my journey of good health, and that is why I no longer feel it necessary to apologize about my viewpoint on weight loss or doing a diet.

There can be a beginning and an end to reaching the weight that’s best for you. There can also be pit stops along the way if you have a lot of weight to lose.  Focusing on the goal of doing something good for ourselves helps us move on with the rest of our lives, and we should never feel guilty about making that choice for ourselves.

I’m ecstatic I made this choice. I needed a clean slate. I needed to see results from the choices I made, and I needed to look in the mirror and love the person looking back at me, guilt-free.  I knew there was a rock star in me and the way I felt on the inside was now matching how I looked on the outside and that is a terrific milestone to hit on my healthy journey!