Clos3r2myDr33ms’s BodyBlog

Why do people automatically assume a person who is muscular or lost a great deal of weight are "using" something!? Has everyone encountered a naysayer like this or is it only me? As I flip through a musclemag my husband glances over at a page and says "steroids!" and goes about his business. I’m not sure why, but this bothers me. I show him a before and after of someone who has lost over a hundred pounds and he asks "what is he/she on?". Why do you have to be on something to be muscular or lose a lot of weight? I know there are people that use steroids to reach goals they’ve set for themselves but isn’t it stereotypical to assume that any "big" guy is using drugs? I don’t think a woman has to be on crack or get gastric bypass to lose 100 lbs. I’m closing in on a 40 lb loss and i’ve never used illegal substances in my life. It’s just amazing to me how someone could think that way, while at the same time living with a person who is undergoing a transformation themselves.

What keeps you motivated? For me my view of myself and my progress is always shifting between one extreme or another because when i’m ambivalent about it, my progress stalls. Let me explain.

When i’m frustrated with my weightloss and critical of my eating habits, sometimes that can be the push I need to make me clean up my act and get it together with my workouts. It can be that harsh conversation with myself that is the deciding factor between giving that cardio session my all, or skipping it completely…but too much of my own negativity and I begin to feel like, what’s the use? Why even continue when this journey is so difficult?

On the opposite end of the spectrum is the positive side of myself. This is the Brittney that says i’m doing great, looking fabulous, and have come a long way. This is the kind of talk that can also motivate me to continue because i’m seeing changes in the way I feel, look, and behave. Too much of the positivity and I feel that I look so good I might as well have some cake though lol.

How do you strike a balance between having a positive body image while still working to improve yourself? I see people on this site who look amazing and they still manage to give 100% everyday towards improving themselves and one would assume that they feel great about their appearance too. Perhaps i’m wrong and when they look in the mirror they see themselves as "under construction". Everytime I go out shopping and end up purchasing a smaller size it’s a trigger for me. I feel so good about it that I automatically feel like getting a little treat to celebrate. It’s terrible! And as of a couple weeks ago that led to a stall in my progress so now with each pound lost or smaller size I work out extra hard that day to overcompensate for my desire to get something fattening. Isn’t that odd? Perhaps its subconscious self-sabotage. Or it’s that same reflex for a cookie that you learn you should receive when being good as a child. Does anyone else do this?