What are you avoiding until you lose weight?

What are you waiting to do until you lose weight?

Buy new clothes? 

Take that beach trip? 

Have photos taken? 

Wear those shorts? 

Start dating again?

For most of my life, I avoided showing my arms (and legs) at all costs. 

Living in Sacramento, triple-degree temperatures are common during summer months. 

But I never wore shorts in summer. I never allowed myself to go sleeveless. I always wanted to lose weight and feel more confident before I did that. 

When I started losing weight, a coach challenged me to start living the way I wanted to when I reached my goal.

So, I went shopping. In the July heat. In a sleeveless top and cropped pants. 

News flash: no one pointed and stared. Literally, nothing happened...except I noticed how much more comfortable I felt all day. 

I learned that going sleeveless -- or doing the thing we’re avoiding -- was not about the weight at all, but about my fears about the situation. 

When we start noticing how our own thinking gets in our way -- how it stops us from the experiences we want -- we can start challenging those thoughts and start taking steps towards living the life we want now. 

And the more we enjoy our life now...the easier it becomes to want to take better care of ourselves. 

I can assure you that sweating through the clothes I wore to cover up on even the hottest days never felt like I was enjoying life either, and it sure didn’t motivate me to lose weight. 

Of course, the diet industry tells us we’ll be happier when we reach our goal weight.

But here’s the truth: the more we enjoy getting to our goals, the more likely we’ll keep taking the actions that got us there. 

That starts with how we speak to ourselves, and how much pleasure we allow ourselves along the way. 

And doesn’t more kindness and pleasure sound a lot better than sweating through another summer covering up a body that just wants to be comfortable?