I'm fed up.

I have been struggling a lot lately with body image issues.  Am I confident? Yes.  Do I know I am created in God's image? Yes.  Do I feel good about the way I look, feel, and eat? Not at all.

I have never been itty-bitty; I've always had an athletic build.  I have never seen myself as fat; I've always gone for "big boned" or "thick".

I think my recent body image issues started right before our wedding.  I bought a dress more than a year before our wedding date and six weeks before the wedding, it didn't fit. Between the dress purchase and our wedding, I had my gall-bladder removed, I no longer attended school on campus, and I had a desk job which didn't require any activity.  Gall-bladder removal is usually known to cause weight gain;  because I wasn't walking my daily three miles on campus, I started packing on pounds. 

I didn't notice it right away, but when we started looking through old pictures from senior year, I realized how much weight I had gained since I graduated high school. 

So here I am, married for a month and a half, and I'm fed up. 

I'm fed up with pants being tight, with dresses not zipping. I'm fed up with not having energy and always being exhausted.  I'm fed up with looking in the mirror and thinking, "bleh." I am SO fed up with climbing the stairs and being out of breath.

No more "bleh"!! I'm doing something!
And this is not "doing something" like the time I started weight watchers and didn't keep up with it.
Or the time I thought "slimquick" would help.
Or the time I started running and made excuses about how it hurt my knees.

I'm getting in shape.  I'm toning my tummy. I'm losing weight to be healthy and to be confident. I'm twenty-two, and I have a long life ahead of me.  I want to be my best me for myself, and for my family.  I deserve to look great. I owe it to myself to do this. 

Pep talk, check.
Workout plans from Pinterest, check.