I AM - BECAUSE YOU ARE

For everyone else, today is Valentine’s Day (which was never my cup of tea), but for me it will forever be known as VSG Day (vertical sleeve gastrectomy). And, today is my one-year anniversary! A year ago, I made a goal weight for myself of 165lbs. This is what I weighed 20yrs prior and the last time I remembered feeling remotely comfortable in my own skin. At the time, it didn’t seem at all feasible, but within the last 4 weeks I have met that goal! Now that I am here, I admit that I would like to lose another 10-15lbs, but I am not going to kill myself to get there. And, ironically, while I have hit my goal weight and feel healthier than I have in years, it is the physical skin that is now bothering me more than anything. I truly believe that being home for the last year has made reaching my goals possible. Don’t get me wrong, I am getting really fed up of this working remotely bullshit and there are a few people I would love to see on a more regular basis again, but it has been mos

I'm finally coming out of the mental fog that has surrounded me for the last month or so! I have reached out to a few friends after weeks of ghosting them, made plans with a couple of others for when our Covid curfew is lifted next week, and I have even managed to have a couple of tougher conversations with some people without going into a full blown depression as a result! And what has become abundantly clear in those conversations is that I really do not see myself the same way as others see me! In fact, I would probably be much kinder to myself if I could see myself their way. One friend reminded me about how far I’ve come since we first met 18yrs ago, joking that I was finally an adult. Another was saying how brave and strong I was to battle through a decade of fertility issues, and how amazing a mother I have become. And another couldn’t believe her eyes when I sent her some current pictures of me. She said I’ve inspired her to take control of her own poor eating habits and g