How My Healthy Lifestyle Helps me Stress Less During the Holidays

It’s about that time, the time when I must decide what I’m going to wear to weekend Christmas celebrations! It’s not a big deal to many people, but for me it is. I used to dread this time of year, but now it’s fun! Why? Well, for starters I don’t stress about what I am going to wear like I used to years ago when I still carried more than 160 pounds of excess weight – I am so done with that.

It’s pretty sad to know that each year I would intensely agonize about what to wear during the holidays, or any other extra special occasion for that matter. It felt like a major task to find nice clothing to fit my “morbidly obese” self. Year after year I’d find myself crying as I stared into my closet knowing I looked absolutely huge in every clothing item I owned. Of course I would want something new, but the thought of having to go shopping for a size 24 outfit was just dreadful! My solution was often a dark colored dress without a defined waistline. The dress that you see in the photo was my favorite because it hid all my excess weight, or so I thought anyways. I did my best to hide. I would think, “cover it up and it isn’t there.” Wow.

As I stare at the above photo today, I can still recall what I was thinking when this picture was taken – “Oh joy, I’m the fat one again this year.” My grandfather is actually sitting next to me at the time the photo was taken, the one person who always told me I would always be fat. Each year I told myself: “I’ll show him! I will lose weight in the upcoming New Year and become thin like all his other grandchildren. I wonder what he’ll say about that?”

But I never did. I felt shame that day. He was correct, I would always be fat. I hated that.

But I stopped believing his words on January 22, 2001, nine years after he passed away. No more being the fat one! I knew that I wanted to change, and I believed that I could change, that I WOULD CHANGE! My new, healthy lifestyle certainly took care of that!

Today when I stare into my closet to look for that special, festive outfit for the Christmas weekend, I won’t by crying; no, I’ll be smiling as I pick out ANYTHING in my closet knowing that it fits. If I’m in the mood to wear something brand new, I know I can shop for a size-6 dress and not worry if it will fit me or not. The biggest problem I have now is deciding which one to buy!

It is a problem I never thought I would have, but I’m sure delighted I do! Who would have ever thought that WALKING would ultimately create so much joy in my life for something as simple as wondering what to wear to a few Christmas celebrations? “Tis’ The Season to be Jolly!” fa la la la la la la la laaa!