Letter to Myself - December 2004

I got this idea from Baby Steps V which for some strange reason [fate!!!] Bloglines decided was a new post today [even though it's from January].

Here's my letter to my past self.

Dear Katie
Well you have just past your 40th birthday and made a whole range of promises to yourself that you haven't kept. Another Christmas has just finished and you are not feeling so great about yourself anymore.

When you sit down, you stomach looks bloated and pregnant and the fat around your middle brushes against your arms. You have a rash between your thighs where they rub together and your skin still has never shaken that adolescent acne. You hate having your photo taken, because you hardly recognise the person you see on film and you hardly ever really look in the mirror. The last pair of pants you bought were a size 16 and your bras are now a 36 D. You don't own any scales, but you guess you weigh the most you ever had in your life. You are always tired, find it difficult to get out of bed in the morning and quite often fall asleep on the couch. On the weekends, you have no energy to do anything except lie around. You often get severe migraines that leave you incapacitated and your knees ache constantly. Your interest in sex is zero.

What would you say if I told you you could change all this?

How would you feel if I told you your stomach could be flat with visible stomach muscles? That you could have a gap between your thighs, that you wouldn't recognise yourself and your clear skin in photos. Would you believe that you would enjoy looking at your body in the mirror and that size 8 jeans would be a roomy fit. That you could weigh the lightest you ever had in your life and you would be full of energy - waking every morning before 7am [even on the weekends] without needing to nap during the day. How would you feel if your migraines and sore knees went away? That you could become a sex goddess again. Would you believe me?

What would you need to do to achieve all this? Become a witch with magical powers or sell your soul to the devil?

Knowing how you feel, you just might consider those options -- but guess what, it can and will happen without such drastic measures.

What do you have to do?
~ just watch what you eat - focus on healthy food with heaps of veges [I know you hate veges now but that will change]. Start eating breakfast [yes you will be hungry in the mornings]. You don't have to be on a diet, just pay conscious attention to what you eat and how it makes you feel. You can still have chocolate and occasional treats, just not all the time. Eventually you will be an expert on how your body deals with carbs, fats and protein, but for now, just eat healthy food.
~ Go out for dinner once a week - your body and your mind need to know that there is no deprivation around here.
~ drink lots of fluids - it doesn't have to be water all the time [because unfortunately you will never enjoy plain water] but green tea and diet coke are OK along with good old water.
~ lift weights - just get up and do 15 minutes of weight lifting every morning, at home, in your pyjamas. That's all the exercise you need. The muscles you build [quickly] will strip the fat off you and change your shape forever. Your shoulders will be wider than your hips. You will eventually do much more than 15 minutes a day, but only because you want to, not because you have to.
~ stop the Dep0 Pr0vera injections - its making you fat and hungry.
~ believe that you can do this, because you can.

How long will it take? In SIX short months you will be all the things I've promised you. And 2 years later you will have not gone back to how you are today. The things you see and the person you are in 2 years time will surprise and delight you.

It won't always be easy, and sometimes you will make it harder for yourself by overdoing it, but it isn't really that difficult.

I promise you this will happen, if you change just the little things the results will be nothing short of magical. What have you got to lose??

See you when you're 20 kgs lighter ...

Love your future self
xxxx