My 3rd Birthday

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April 16, 2013 by little hurdles big race

A year ago on April 16th I sat in my office and quietly put two photos together – one from 4/16/10 and one I had just had my co-worker take of me.  The photos were two years apart and hardly looked like the same person.  I became paralyzed looking at the photo.  I hadn’t really ever seen myself before.  When you are overweight, morbidly overweight, you don’t look at yourself in pictures.  I’ve tried to explain this many times to people who are either fit or slightly overweight – it’s a hard thing to understand.  How can you look directly at a picture of yourself and not SEE yourself?  I’m not sure of all the psychology behind it – but I was a master at it.  You find yourself focusing on really silly things like your makeup, your hair, wrinkles in your shirt, or the stray thread hanging from your clothes.  It’s like that saying “You can’t see the forest for the trees” – it’s a state of denial.

My co-workers prodded me until I finally made the photo viral and that photo would inspire this blog.  If you haven’t seen it then you need to go to the first post ‘2013 – The Beginning”.  I’ve had so many people tell me that because of this blog and that photo they were inspired to start running again & train for a 1/2 marathon, join a gym, lose 25 lbs., start a program of walking, stop drinking soda, even start doing my April abs challenge.

For me every one of those things is overwhelming.  How could that girl who couldn’t even walk up a flight of stairs three years ago motivate so many people?  I see all of these things as equal – they are all the beginning.  The hardest step is the first one…after that it’s just momentum.

I’ve read a lot of posts on the internet about your ‘Second Birthday’, the day you decided to change your life.  I guess I established mine as 4/16/10 with that picture. So since I’m tired of that other picture and I needed a little kick in the pants on my 3rd birthday here is a preview for you…

That person on the left is just as strong as you are right now.  That person on the left had the courage to take that first step and become the person on the right.  I hope this gives you the kick in the pants you need as well.  You have the strength to change your life.