When I was in grade school, I came to the conclusion that there were two types of people in the world: lucky people and unlucky people. You were either rich or poor. Fat or thin. Attractive or ugly. Talented or untalented. You were either in one camp or the other. There was no in between. And unfortunately for me, I was unlucky and born into the fat camp.
I really became aware of my theory when I was in fifth grade. My best friend Amy was thin and looked great in her Jordache jeans, while I was “big boned” and looked awful in my jeans. You see, designer jeans didn’t fit me (especially cool Jordache jeans, which was the brand all my friends wore). I had to wear baggy, boy’s Levi’s because they were the only ones that fit my thighs. I hated those jeans. They looked horrible on me. And everyday when Amy and I would sit together in the cafeteria and eat our lunches, I would be reminded about how unfair life was. She would look so cool in her clothes, eat whatever she wanted and never put on a pound. I would look dumpy in my lame Levi’s, glance at a cookie and put on weight. How come I wasn’t lucky like Amy? How come I got screwed? It was like I was dealt a bad poker hand and there was nothing I could do except fake it and pretend I didn’t care that I was chunky.
As I got older, it got worse. I was on a rollercoaster ride with my weight going up and down until I ultimately ballooned to over 265 pounds by age 35. Throughout my life, I believed I was unlucky and had very little say over my body size. It was like I was stuck in the backseat of my old, beat-up, green Volkswagen Rabbit speeding down a one-lane desert highway with no GPS and no ability to control the car. Oh and by the way, I was slouched in the backseat eating my favorite escape, birthday cake. And the whole time I was feeling sorry for myself, wondering, “Why me?”
It wasn’t until I started coaching with the Handel Group® that I had a revelation about life and my “unlucky” theory regarding my body. It happened on my first phone call with my coach. At some point on the call, I went on a tangent sharing how my weight had been up and down my whole life and that I had tried everything. Nothing worked. It was my metabolism. I was born this way. At some point, my coach interrupted.
“Katie, you have control over your hand, right?” I rolled my eyes, thinking to myself, “Duh, I’m fat not stupid.” Then she said, “You have control over your mouth, right?” I was curious where she was going with this statement.
“Yes,” I responded.
The next thing out of her mouth hit me like a brick, “You are the one picking up the cookie and putting it into your mouth. No one else. You are doing this. You were not born this way. You are the one who is making you fat.”
It was not the easiest statement to hear and it took me a few months before I was able to fully digest and understand what she was saying that day. I wasn’t fat because I was unlucky and born with a bad metabolism. I was fat because I ate too much. And yes people can argue that not all metabolisms are created equal, but it’s not the source of why someone is fat.
Once I fully got it, I was able to slam on the breaks of my car and screech to a stop. It was like I was given the keys to my car for the first time and told that I could go anywhere I wanted to go. Immediately, I did a U-turn and sped off in the opposite direction. I had a new body theory that I was going to prove, “I am in charge of my body and how it looks and feels.”
It took me 8 ½ months to lose 80 pounds working with my coach. At the beginning of my weight loss journey, my coach had me write a body dream. As I sat down to write what I wanted my body to look and feel like, I knew there was one visual that I needed to put in my dream. I had been thinking about it since I was 10 years old.
I typed on my computer, “I am healthy, toned and wearing cool sexy jeans that fit and look awesome on me.” The picture I had created made me happy. I read my body dream every day as I was losing weight, which kept me connected to it and focused on what I wanted: to be healthy and look great in jeans.
Well, after I reached my goal weight (size 4) I went jean shopping to find the perfect jeans for me. And guess what brand I fell in love with? Lucky Jeans. It’s true! I love Lucky! They fit me and look great on me. I’ve maintained my weight for six years now.
Join the Dream Body Tele-Course for anyone who is not happy with their body and wants to lose weight. Discover what theories you are proving that are keeping you from reaching your goal weight.
Love,
Katie