Do You Struggle to Lose Weight For Legitimate Reasons, or Because of Excuses?

Jodi Davis

| 4 min read

This website is very special to me because I know it is a place where you can visit when you need a little extra motivation to become the healthier person you wish to be, which often includes shedding those excess pounds. There are certain times when I think about the posts that I submit and realize that this website is more than that. It’s also a place to turn to during those times when you tend to feel alone and start to believe that you’re “the only person in this world” who just can’t successfully lose weight.
It might just be one of those days when you have came close to giving up on weight loss altogether; maybe you have even convinced yourself that you were just born to be overweight, feeling as though shedding some weight and becoming healthier can never happen to you.

I’ve Been There

Yes, I know all about those tears that are filling your eyes right now because I was there too, for 25 long years. Some of you reading this already know that, because you have been visiting me for a few years now and I truly want to thank you for that. Some of you may be taking a look at this site for the first time and want to know what it’s all about.
I’m Jodi Davis, the Walking and Healthy Living Advocate for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. I guess you could call me an average person, a married mother of three who lives in a small town who just happened to have a severe weight issue since the age of 10.
My entire life consisted of trying to become thin… attempting a new diet every other Monday, but for some reason, only gaining weight instead of losing it. I tried to blame my size on genetics, but my parents were slender, so it wasn’t inherited from them. So I blamed it on my dad’s sister who was morbidly obese. In fact, my grandfather had always told me that I would grow up to be fat “just like her,” and when I realized he must be correct, I lost all hope and finally convinced myself that I was born to be fat — that I would never be thin.
I dreamt of being thin for years and years, imagining what I would look like without all my excess weight. It was so difficult to accept that I would always be called morbidly obese — oh, how I hated that label! Tears would stream down my face each night as I lay in bed wondering, “Why me, God, WHY ME?”
It wasn’t fair! Why was I the fat one? Yes, I cried myself to sleep more often than I can recall.

Making Excuses?

After a turning point in my life, I asked myself: “Why am I convinced that I’m meant to be fat for the rest of my life?” Was it because family members repeated that phrase to me over the years? Or was it for some other reason? I soon realized that it was just an excuse. It was an excuse that I used for years, and it had to end.
I will admit that it took time for me to put an end to this excuse, which had been included in my thoughts for more than two decades and had become part of me. I knew that in order to succeed at weight loss and better health, I had to change my attitude.
In my opinion, nobody is born to be overweight. The choices we make get us there.
Well, I wasn’t staying there any longer. I was ready to change.
You can change, too. I already know that you can, but it won’t happen unless you believe it.
It might help for you to think of the reasons why have not accomplished your weight-loss goals.
Is this reason valid, or has it just become part of you?
Has this reason been part of your daily thoughts for years?
If you want me to help you with some answers, remember that I’m here for you… always.
Photo by kevinphaines.

A Healthier Michigan is sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit, independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
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