How Long WIll I Use This Excuse to Overeat?

A few years ago the question I asked myself was this:

How long will I allow my father's death to be the latest excuse for being fat?

The answer that came back to me was NO LONGER.

That started my journey to become healthy in earnest...and I dropped 125 lbs...in about a year.


Today the question I am asking myself is:

How long will I allow my mother's LIFE to be my latest excuse to overeat?

While I'm not 125 pounds overweight any longer, I recognize that emotional eating is a large part of what got me there...and could get me right back there if I allow it.

It is completely up to me to decide if I want to remain healthy or not. And if I do, then I must reaffirm my goals of feeling good about myself and being a conscious eater.

My mother is having some health issues that are stressful for the family...and I want to help and yet when I found myself grabbing food and not really tasting it as it went down I had a deja vu kind of light bulb moment.

I must continue to make MY health the #1 priority in my life. After all, if I don't make it a priority then who will? I also have to accept that I don't have control over my mom...what she does, or does not choose to do regarding her health. I can offer help and then I have to let it go.

This is a big challenge that a lot of women face. Guys too of course, but generally speaking more women are in the caregiver role then men are...

You may be caring for a child, an aging parent, an ill spouse, a friend or sibling...or perhaps you are a caregiver by profession. No matter who you are caring for, it is so important that we remember our primary responsibility is to ourselves.

I know this sounds selfish. I was brought up that we put ourselves last...and I was brought up to be obese! No coincidence. We have to challenge that training and retrain ourselves to believe in our own worth.

So I'm reminding myself to give up the excuses...there is ALWAYS an excuse if you let there be one. I intend to remember to love myself...and that includes choosing ways other than eating to deal with my emotions most of the time...and to be gentle on myself on the occasions when I choose to overeat anyway!