This world is a small place. It only takes an encouraging word or private message to remind me that my own story can and may inspire others to make change in their lives. This is why I am currently attempting and in some moments, struggling to build my own business around helping others write their own success.
To keep my head in the game (always) I follow many weight loss journeys, successes and struggles on social media. Some of these strangers have become close friends. Others have come and gone, learning the lessons needed, some to be met and adored and welcomed into my life.
Social media is a beast and beauty in it self. The beauty of it is that it has brought so many of us together. The beast of it is, we have the decision to only share what we want the world to see. I will use “hiding” as a loose term, but, we can easily hide behind our pictures on Instagram, our status updates on Facebook, the limit of one hundred and whatever characters on Twitter and the second-posts on SnapChat.
What I have found is that these quickly skimmed images sometimes don’t tell us the struggle, and shit we deal with between the pictures of our biceps, the video of our dead lift or the smiles and embraces of our loved one.
One of my very first followers on Instagram was @100poundweightloss2014. I have followed her for almost a year and was always amazed that the images in her account included a scale shot of her weigh-ins (I have done this once and probably never again!). Alongside the weekly numbers, her feed was littered by gorgeous food shots, some kid pix and workout results. Everything we want to see in a journey. Like 1000s of others, she has set some goals and she’s working it.
As I recently scanned the bright blue images of her scale images, a significant jump in weight happened. I’m being honest – a 14 pound gain when you are on a steady, consistent road down is a lot. I can say I know how this feels as I experienced the EXACT same thing almost a year ago. I lost focus, was eating very little of anything good, not moving and I gained 18 lbs as quick as I could inhale a package of white pasta. I posted a few articles on my personal blog, but all in all, I needed to do the real grunt work to get shit done and drop the weight.
We all start this journey for our own reasons. I don’t know why @100poundweightloss2014 started hers. And I don’t know what’s motivating her to continue. But what I loved about this post from two months ago when that shocked face emoticon sat squarely beside that +14.6 was the “Holy crap… serious reality check today!” statement. And the best part was that she stated she had already felt sorry for herself and that she was done with that. I LOVE IT.
For some, the journey is linear. Like totally linear. No cheats. No misses. No fault. Wow. Congrats on you and the maybe 2% that fall in that category. No judgement, but clearly your parents have super DNA because that shit ain’t real.
For most of us, the journey is a spiral of insanity that forces us to rethink, ponder and struggle with every single choice we make every single day. I’m here. This IG friend is there. With every amazing six or seven good choice post I share, there maybe be one that sucks incredibly. With every workout I share there may be three or four days I do nothing. With every smiley face kid holding free weights or doing a plank, there may be moments where I’m yelling my head off to brush their teeth.
And you know what, @100poundsweightloss2014 is probably experiencing the same things as I am; as you are because this journey isn’t an IKEA build your own wall unit project. There are not (so-so) simple directions for the perfect Allen Key turn to a finished project. The best thing we can do is try to read the German instructions and make the best of what we have learned to finally be able to say, “I have lost 95 lbs”.
You will get there, @100poundsweightloss2014. Whether it is in this calendar year, next year or a decade from now, believe this: “By far {our} greatest athletic trait is that {we} simply refuse to give up” (totally stole that from Scale Warrior Alan of Sweating Until Happy.)
I lament over the fact that my progress isn’t the canned 1 to 2 lbs a week. I sometimes feel my heart sink when that Medium from Old Navy is still too tight. I hate that I see myself (sometimes) at the almost 300 lbs. no-life-in-her mamma that couldn’t get up a flight of stairs.
Forge through. We’ve all either been there or there right beside you.
Thanks for sharing your story; the truth of it and everything in between!
~A
Adina is an ex-corporate HR Manager with a new-found interest in helping other women move their bodies, create a healthy relationship with food and discover the amazing power of their minds to change their lives. As a certified personal training specialist, she continues to learn and educate in the field of physical fitness. She regularly blogs at 
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