The ups and downs of this journey of losing weight have been more intense than climbing Mt. Everest (the tallest mountain in the world).

If you would’ve told the “me” 15 years ago who was overweight, depressed and hated her body that at 37 she would start a new career as a fitness model, I would’ve thought you were smoking some mind altering substance.

But here it is… the latest edition of Oxygen magazine with me in a full-page spread.

C.R.A.Z.Y.

I’m not saying that this journey is all glamorous and beautiful. I spend many nights alone, facing my demons and working through my feelings instead of stuffing them with food.

The food addictions still call my name.

I don’t know if they will ever go away.

And yet, I’ve found ways to channel that voice that wants to devour an entire pizza and apple pie (my favorites!)…

I write a lot more today than I did back then. I communicate about my feelings and thoughts before they become too overwhelming.

I watch the inner voice that wants to tell me, “I’m not good enough”…

When she wants to knock out my voice of strength and grab the wheel, I gently remind her that her voice is heard, and that I appreciate her perspective…

Instead of blaming or getting angry at her, I listen, and then tell her she is loved and valuable.

I thank her for her perspective because I see her intention that she wants to make me stronger.

Once that voice is recognized and validated, she no longer wants to drive the wheel of my choices, running us off a cliff.

She is content to sit in the passengers seat and navigate or simply relax and enjoy the ride.

The truth is, there is a part of me that still feels like I’m that same overweight, sluggish, depressed and angry girl I was in my teens and 20s…

I don’t want her to go away!

I embrace her.

She is a part of me.

She is still inside of me, and I love her for all the pain she has showed me.

Without the shadows, we never see the light.

Without this journey, I wouldn’t be celebrating today.

The highs mean nothing without the lows.

And the view from Mt. Everest isn’t the same if you take a helicopter up to the summit …

Verses walking up the mountain step-by-step.

Enjoy the view along the way.

This is your journey.

To Your Weightloss Journey,
Love and Light,

Andréa

P.S. It has been a dream of mine for years to be in Oxygen magazine because it is the #1 fitness magazine for women in the world.

The women that are represented in this magazine are fit and lean, but still very feminine and toned. I wonder if they will ever know that I used to be overweight?

Can you tell?