A friend shared this blog post, “A Different Way to Think About Losing Weight” on Facebook tonight. Though obviously the post speaks of physical weight, I think the same concepts blogger Andie Mitchell speaks about could be applied to any baggage we might be facing at any given time.

I encourage you to read it in full … it’s beautifully written and I could relate to about 100 percent of it. It’s true, weight loss – and, more importantly, maintenance – is hard! And sometimes we need to visualize it as such. The same way we make sacrifices to take a family vacation or buy a new pair of jeans, when it comes to weight loss, it’s not going to be easy or pain-free. It’s going to suck at times, like the author says. And at other times, you’ll feel stronger for experiencing it.

I’m at that weird stage where I carry about ten unwanted pounds on my body and am not eating or exercising like someone who has ten unwanted pounds on her body because, truth be told, I don’t want to. I feel OK in my own skin — ten pounds and all. This weekend I was in one of my best friend’s wedding (see pic) and I felt not just OK … I felt good!

Yet  there’s still a part of me that knows I’d feel better and look better without them.

<<Sigh>>

Reading this really hit home. Not because I worry going back to ugly behaviors — no way, no how! — but moreso because of how I look at weight now; it’s much less important to me than it ever was. I’m sure pregnancy had something to do with it; you have to deal with weight gain and a changed body — it’s a fact of life.

I think I keep those ten pounds on me because I’m not really willing to make the sacrifices I would need to in order to lose them. Sacrifices I easily made back in 2004. I know what I need to do … who doesn’t!?

But when push comes to shove, my willpower/wantpower … whatever you want to call it … has waned.

Through Andie’s words tonight, though, I found comfort … and also some inspiration. Maybe reframing how I view weight loss — the way she did — will help me make a concerted effort. It isn’t easy, and just because the weight fell off then doesn’t mean it will now.

And if it doesn’t? If I decide to not make any sacrifices? Well, that’s OK, too.

I’ll still be the same happy, healthy Melissa I have always been. And that’s what is a revelation to me; I’m truly happy with myself right now — mentally, physically, emotionally. It feels good to say that out loud and mean it.