By Armetta C. Landrum
We've all heard the sayings, “Beauty is only skin deep”, and that “Beauty is in the eye of the
beholder”. This short story will hopefully enlighten you and will help you
understand that the essence of true beauty starts from within.
Behold, a 300 plus pound woman named Leslie, entered
the sauna of a local gym after her first day of participating in a vigorous
workout. Catching her breath and slowly lowering herself down on a weakened
sauna bench, she began telling the other women that perhaps she had made a
mistake by signing up for the class. She shared that she felt very uncomfortable when she
was trying to keep up with the others and noticed people staring at her.
"Those stares are the reason I dreaded coming to a gym in the first
place," she said.
"I have been overweight most of my life, I
realized that I owe it to myself and my health to try and get my life together,"
said the single 28 year old woman. I am tired of being alone and I want to get
married someday, but I haven't been able to attract anyone looking like this,
“she added.
“It's times like this I could go home and eat a whole
cake and a gallon of ice cream. I feel
that food becomes my best friend when I am unhappy," she said.
Laura who attended the same class as Leslie mentioned,
"You looked great out there. Sure, we've got a couple of real jerks in the
class, but most of us are very supportive of one another”, she added.
With tears in her eyes, Laura poured out her heart and told Leslie that before she began working out, she was in a size 32 and tipping the scales at three hundred and twenty pounds. She mentioned that she could barely move around without pain. "Now, I'm down to a size 18-20 and still working towards my goal of a size 14," she added.
Several women began to rally around Leslie, telling
her it was possible for her to reach her goals and that they would be more than
happy to provide names of support groups in the area where she lived.
Others began to share
their weight loss stories and also shared some of their weight loss tricks that
aided them in fighting the battle the bulge. The group also told her to lose
weight for herself first - then work on improving her love life.
This reporter believes
what Leslie really needs to know is, beauty is skin deep but it begins in the
heart and soul of an individual.
Are
You Ready to Change Your Life?
If you're overweight and
you’re ready to take those first steps in developing a healthier life style, it
might seem scary at first - but trust your gut and trust the process. It will get better as time marches on. The fact is, you have to love and embrace every
pound – you own it – lock, stock and barrel.
It’s all yours until it is gone.
If you want to take
steps towards fixing the problem, start by taking a long hard look at what
might have gotten you there in the first place.
Then
start dealing with the underlying issues. In some cases, joining a support
group can be a great benefit. It's also a good idea to make sure that you have
no underlying medical problems, so check with your doctor. He or she will steer
you in the right direction.
No
matter what, one should always remember that you are beautiful, because God
made you that way and he also wants you to enjoy a happy and healthy life.
Live
today and love yourself and keep working out.
You will be happy with the results!
Healthy Tip of the Day:
Exercise not only gives
your body energy, it energizes your mind too.
Thought of the day:
A pleasing appearance is
not a guide to character…Proverb
