Taking it All Off: Reflections of A Loser

As I was just responding to a Facebook comment, I realized I needed to post my response here. Basically in response to a comment about this website I said this: " I hope it will inspire those who are bound to food like I was to realize that they don't have to be, that they aren't stuck, and that there_ is_ something they can do." Because that is how I felt for years. Stuck. Bound. Unable to break free. I felt like I lived in a giant rubber band. As soon as I would gain some victory, I felt snapped back. I know I can't be the only one who struggles with obesity who has felt like that. But I do know that each step in the right direction brings me another step closer to victory. The hardest part was in the beginning, enduring when it got tough. But each and every time endured made it easier and easier. Eventually I snapped the rubber band before it snapped me. I still struggle sometimes, but nothing like before. I now have enough knowledge about myself on how to work it so that if I do want something, I can have it. No starving, no going without. It just takes time. I can get pretty impatient and want it all gone now, but when you think about it, it didn't take long once I got going. 6.5 months to lose 100 lbs. It felt like eternity going through it but now looking back, it wasn't anything. I remember when I was pregnant with Anna and thought those 9 months would never end. And they did. And there was something beautiful at the end. I can't imagine if we had a choice, any mother choosing to have their child prematurely risking the child's health just because the mother doesn't want to wait any longer. We have to wait for a reason. There are things going on inside our bodies that need to happen as we walk our weight loss journey and if we try to take short cuts, we cut ourselves short. I will end with a story that someone emailed to me years ago that I just loved. I hope you find it as inspiring as I . Enjoy!

The Butterfly and the Cocoon
by Ron DeBoer
10/17/2006

The story goes that a little boy was walking through the forest when he came upon a butterfly struggling to squeeze out of its cocoon. The boy waited and watched with fascination, hoping to witness the brand new butterfly emerge and fly away. But the process was long and slow. It occurred to the little boy that something was wrong. The butterfly was stuck. So he reached out and began to tear the cocoon to create a bigger hole out of which the butterfly could escape. It worked. The boy could see one of the big beautiful wings unfolding from the cocoon. Then the other wing and whole body of the butterfly emerged. Then, to the boy’s horror, the butterfly fell to the ground and wriggled on the forest floor, its wings weak and limp. The boy picked up the butterfly and tossed it in the air, but the butterfly fluttered to the ground. When the boy had gone back home, a bird landed on a branch where the cocoon had been. The bird spotted the butterfly, dove to the forest floor, and ate the butterfly for lunch.

In his attempt to help, the boy actually destroyed the butterfly. You see, butterflies have to go through the process of struggling out of their cocoons to develop their wing muscles so that when they emerge they are strong and can immediately fly away. Butterflies need adversity, trauma, and hardship before being given a good life of butterflyhood. Visit any butterfly sanctuary and you will see the beautiful end result of these struggles.