I sat down at the computer to write, intent on destroying diet culture through my mighty keyboard. I opened the blog page and stared at the blank screen, for twenty minutes. Don’t get me wrong, I have a lot to say when it comes to diet culture, but I don’t think today is the day for that.
This week has been REALLY bad, probably the worst week in my weightless journey since the beginning. I stuck to my calorie deficit all week and even lowered it to 1600 to see if that would help. I’ve drunk at least 3L of water every day. I’ve worked out every single day this entire month. I’ve taken my vitamins, I get between 7,000-10,000 steps every day. Despite all of that my weight has fluctuated between the same three pounds and today, I’m the heaviest I’ve been in April. I have absolutely no idea what’s going on and generally I pride myself in the knowledge of my own body. In addition, I have horrible sciatica nerve pain that is radiating down my left leg, which is making it difficult to do anything but lay down.
Believe it or not, this blog isn’t just to complain, which I’m good at. This blog is to tell you why I’m still on track and why I’m still making good decisions for my health despite not seeing the results that I want. That reason is community.
The first community impact that has inspired me on my weight loss journey is TikTok. You have no idea how many people make fun of me for saying that. The thing about TikTok is that the algorithm shows you more of what you like and what you watch all the way through. Because of that, my entire page that I scroll through every day is full of beautiful people on weightless journeys who are either experiencing the same things that I am or have reached their goals and are now teaching. Spending ten minutes on TikTok encourages me to make good choices because it’s a whole lot easier to do it when you aren’t alone in it. Sometimes this lifestyle and its struggles are so lonely and isolating.
The other cool thing about TikTok is that I have 1037 followers on there. I can’t vouch for each of their lives obviously, but a whole lot of those people are men and women who are trying to better themselves too. I’ve made great connections through the app and I’m so blessed by each and every one of them. I started my TikTok account so that I could see progress from the beginning and document what I learn and a by-product of that is mutual inspiration between myself and everyone else on this journey. I will NEVER get over people saying that I inspire them, it will never be real and I’ll never feel worthy of that. They are also a huge reason why I can’t give up; I don’t want to let anyone down.
The second incredible community impact I’ve experienced is through Instagram. I started posting about my weight loss on Instagram MUCH later than TikTok – literally only because I knew no one on TikTok. There, I was anonymous, but my network of friends and family on Instagram is endless. That’s a lot more terrifying. I think I needed to prove to myself that I could do it before I shared it with everyone I love. Since posting on there I have my group of faithful friends who comment or react to all of my stories and posts whether I’m having a good day or not. They encourage me, give me tips, offer perspective, pray for me, and love me without judgment. I feel lucky to have these people in my corner because I know so many people who have been bullied on their weight loss journey. Thankfully, I’ve never experienced that.
The final community which is more unexpected for some reason is people I know in real life. Whether they found out about my journey from TikTok, Instagram, this blog or my own mouth people have been SO supportive. There is literally nothing like someone coming up to me and saying things like “wow you look really good”, or “I barely recognized you”. I know some people don’t like that, but I’m always the last person to see changes in myself, so it’s helpful to hear it from someone else.
All this to say, having a community around this process is the biggest and most important part of the whole journey. I think I would have given up ten times over if it wasn’t for all of the support and encouragement. I don’t think that I’m advocating for sharing your weight and airing out all of your dirty laundry on the internet, but it’s actually been incredible for me.
To all of you following along here, on Instagram, TikTok, or one of the few who are supporting me in real life, THANK YOU!!!! I literally wouldn’t have made it this far without you. You are why I made good choices today, a day of discouragement. I won’t give up, I won’t let you down!
P.S. Yes, I’m doing it for me but some days an outward focus is easier.
Starting Weight: 352
Current Weight: 306
Goal Weight: 150
Bye for now!
Shelby, your relentless determination, through the good days and the bad, is truly an inspiration. In the bad days, don’t give up, just remember how far you’ve come!
Way to press on through the hard days! A quote that has inspired me in my relationship with Jesus also fits your perseverance in this weight loss journey:
“There’s only two postures to have. Standing or getting up.”
Community, so agree with you. Thank you once again for your words. I so wouldn’t be where I am today with my accountability groups. It’s so vital to have support especially with weeks like yours, I had that last week. I was doing all the right things but weight went up and I was super discouraged but thanks to my support team, I got my head back into the process I stead of quitting.