Being Happy with Yourself Isn't Brought on by Comparing Yourself to Others..

Let me tell you a secret... I have a sister. Not just any sister, but one that I sound like, I walk like, I act like, and I look like. A sister that I am enough like that we often get confused for each other by people that we have known our whole lives despite the fact that she is five years older and has a wonderful, beautiful son.

Aside from all that, there is one thing that separates us. We have the same parents, but very different genes. (Hers are size four and mine are size ten, punny..right?) Don't get me wrong a size ten is not huge. It's not even big. In today's society though women are taught to compare ourselves to others, and without exception I do this to just about every woman I see from age 16 to 60, ESPECIALLY my sister.

Growing up, I was always a little bigger than my sister. I'm an inch and a half taller, my feet are a size bigger, and my pants were always a size bigger or more. Being 5'8'' in the sixth grade is enough to give any little girl a complex and it was only salt in my wound knowing that my high school sister even weighed less than me! Even when she was nine months pregnant, I could still tip the scales more than her if she was sopping wet. Oh how I hated her for it. It is also no secret that the shining moment of glory in my life was when I witnessed someone call her "hefty!" (It didn't matter that she had JUST had a baby or that I was still bigger than her or that she has never once made a joke of my size. It mattered that I wasn't the "hefty" one for once.)


This blog isn't about my sister though, its about my constant struggle to maintain my weight. I literally do not put anything in my mouth without thinking about how its going to affect my body. The fact that if I just want to stay the size I am (not to lose weight, but just to maintain my weight) exercise has to be a fairly regular part of my lifestyle. Through many years of self-coaching and great friends I have learned to be "okay" with my size and to strive to be healthy rather than skinny. I am now more okay myself than I ever have been, not because I think I am in great shape, but because I have literally worked my rear off squeezing back into a size 10. (For one glorious summer, I stopped worrying about what I ate and only worked out when I felt like it!   .....and by August I was thirty (YES THIRTY POUNDS IN ONE SUMMER) pounds heavier.)

(On the right is me at my heaviest.)

 I have made a few poor choices in diet lately and have not been working out three or more times a week like I should and I have gained enough weight to make me start worrying about how I look in my formerly favorite outfits, but instead of griping about it or blaming my sister for my jealousy issues I am starting a workout plan. Every day that I workout I get a reward (not food because that is SO counterproductive) and everyday that I skip $5.00 is going into a jar and being donated to charity.

Today is Day #1 and I hope that I can make it to Day #45 so that I can by myself a watch that I've had my eye on for a looooong time now and I promised myself that I would get it guilt-free! So come on Day #45!!

So PLEASE join me in a workout, ask me for my updates, ridicule me if I skip, and make a HEALTHY choice for you and your body today. Being happy with yourself isn't brought on by comparing yourself to others, but earned by knowing how far you've come in your journey! Now, since my road is muddy and I can't run outside I am going to do a Pinterest workout in my living room!