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[QUOTE=merryish;1002801]I'm still hugely overweight, but I totally get where you're coming from. I've lost almost 100 lbs, and have more than that still to go. But I've already had such fantastic feedback from the people around me that it's doing major things for my confidence.
I'm used to huddling down into myself and just hoping nobody notices how unattractive I am (that's being kind; in my head it's "ugly"), wearing bland and boring tent-like clothing. I never bothered with my hair, and never, EVER wore makeup. I couldn't stand the thought of wearing makeup. One of my brothers (kids can be cruel) teased me when I was a kid about "putting lipstick on a pig" and I never, ever got over it.
Only lately, I've been buying clothes that actually fit me, and look nice and well-cared for. I've been using a little gel in my hair to give the curls a little bounce. I've started experimenting with tinted moisturizer to even out my skin tone, and a little eye liner and mascara for work. And I've started buying [I]shoes[/I], omg, the shoes I have bought. =D It's sort of a revelation; in the past, I never thought beyond how long I could wear a pair of sneakers before they wore out. I wore honest-to-goodness heels to work today. And a necklace. And earrings!
It feels a little crazy, to be honest. I always thought of myself before as kind of tomboyish, but it turns out I'm way girlier than I ever knew; I just never felt like it was okay to be girly before. And weirdly, I think only part of it is the weight loss; the other part is feeling in control of my weight. Before, even if I lost weight on a diet, the diet itself felt wrong, and I always felt like it was just luck. Now I can actually see my body react to my different choices, and none of the choices are really hard; they're just choices that I can make. I'm starting to understand that I was seriously out of control before, and it wasn't my fault -- it was what I was eating that was making me eat what I was eating, you know? So dieting felt like riding a bronco, complete with the inevitable crash at the end. Now I make choices without that horrible feeling of inevitable failure hanging over me. Instead, I know that I'll be able to reach my goal; I actually believe it.
So now I walk around in this confident haze of happiness, and people stop me in the halls to compliment me on my weight loss or my hair cut or clothes, whatever - and it's really, really strange and awesome. Just a few days ago, I even started to feel confident about using an actual picture of myself as my avatar -- a year ago I would have died of shame before putting my face online.
I'm starting to wonder what kind of arrogant monster of a woman I'll be when I DO get to my goal weight! =D[/QUOTE]
You are amazing! I have been overweight since I was 5 (now 46) and I know how it feels to hide from the world, wearing ugly clothes, letting your hair and makeup go. And the taunts of kid brothers too :) But have changed yourself. That is something 95% of the world can never ever say that. If you ever get discouraged remember that. You have accomplished something most people don't even have enough sense to dream of.
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Nourishing Traditions is awesome, all about the fermentation. Good luck.
One thing that works really well for our kids is home-made beef jerky. "Meat chewing gum" is what our kids call it.
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@Pebbles67, @Louisa655, @Valmason01 - you really know how to make a girl smile. :) Thanks! I get like 99% of my willpower from the inspiring stories here, so I'm glad I can do my part!
One other cool thing about getting healthier and getting compliments is - I think I've finally learned how to take a compliment! I used to be one of those people who would blow it off, because it would make me nervous or would completely contradict what I thought about myself. Now, I also can smile and just say, "Thank you!"
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I haven't read all of the posts, but I feel like the original post describes me perfectly in the last 2 weeks. I am getting closer to my goal and am finding that my confidence is soaring. Just knowing that I have finally found balance, an answer to my energy and weight loss woes is very grounding. I have a sense of peace finally inside me that allows me to glow and feel good. A guy I recently met could not seem to get over how "hot" my body is and how I seemed to have it all together. While, I don't have all of the answers, I know that this lifestyle is perfect for me. He is very interested and wears vibrams already, so I am swooning :)
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I wanted to add that the feeling of being beautiful or sexy just seems to grow the longer I live primally. I am much more confident now than I was when I started this thread even though I have had a bounce back in weight due to life issues. Technically, I am now only 15-20 lbs lighter than I was in Feb 2011.
Since that time I have gotten back on the stage after a 22 year absence. I have done 3 musicals in a year and a half. I am grateful to the Primal way of life for giving me the guts to audition and the stamina to handle the rehearsals and performances.
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Oh I do this! It has become a joke almost. My mother and sister laugh at me over it. I have finally gotten to the point where I say 'you know how i am, just humor me!'. At least in public I can say thank you :)
[QUOTE=merryish;1004690]@Pebbles67, @Louisa655, @Valmason01 - you really know how to make a girl smile. :) Thanks! I get like 99% of my willpower from the inspiring stories here, so I'm glad I can do my part!
One other cool thing about getting healthier and getting compliments is - I think I've finally learned how to take a compliment! I used to be one of those people who would blow it off, because it would make me nervous or would completely contradict what I thought about myself. Now, I also can smile and just say, "Thank you!"[/QUOTE]
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[QUOTE]He is very interested and wears vibrams already, so I am swooning [/QUOTE]
Woohoo! That is great. Does he have a twin in Florida?:cool:
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[QUOTE=magicmerl;1002971]Nourishing Traditions is awesome, all about the fermentation. Good luck.
One thing that works really well for our kids is home-made beef jerky. "Meat chewing gum" is what our kids call it.[/QUOTE]
Magicmerl, that sounds fantastic. Could you post the recipe ????
Thanking you in anticipation
G
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This was all fun to read, but I don't feel the same way. Somehow I was more confident when I was pushing 300 (more accurately, I was about 270 and growing when I finally stopped the SAD). I'm now roughly 165 (the number fluctuates depending on where I am in my cycle) and I feel like I'm 300 pounds. All my friends keep telling me I'm "soooooooooooo skinny" or "too skinny" or "so hot" or whatever, but I just don't see it--also, how can I be "too skinny" at 165 when I'm 5'8"? Are other people's perceptions off because the people around them are so horribly overweight?
Anyway, I used to think men were flirting with me and that I was super attractive, but now--even though my husband constantly tells me how fantastic I look and how sexy I am and how easily I could land a woman--I fee like nobody even notices me. Though I was told that it's because I generally exert an energy that says "leave me alone or prepare to die" it's still not a good feeling to have lost so much, and to be so much smaller, but to feel so unattractive. Maybe when I'm "all the way skinny" I'll feel differently, but right now I feel like I'm a 300 pound ogre.
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So sorry you are feeling that way. Do you at least feel healthier? That is just as important. Take it from someone who almost died at age 43 due to chronic inflammation.
