Weight Loss & Love

Yesterday, Oprah aired a show about her weight gain over the past year. Working in the fitness-and-motivation industry, I eagerly anticipated the heavily advertised confession. After seeing it last night (I DVR The Oprah Show), I realized that Oprah’s words and expressions felt very familiar. Oprah’s expression told me she felt awkward and slightly embarrassed telling the world about her failures and inadequacies.

I know how she feels. After all, who hasn’t felt pain and embarrassment about her inadequacies at some point in her life? Don’t we all wish we were better at something – more disciplined, thoughtful, patient, etc? Haven’t we all reached a point where we’ve nearly or completely fallen off the cliff to the point that drastic readjustments are required? I’m sure Oprah’s revealing words will resonate with many women as they did with me.

But to me, the most interesting part of Oprah’s show was her conclusion that it’s all about LOVE. She asks herself– What am I hungry for in life? It’s not food. Oprah is hungry for balance and love. Self-love.

I came to the conclusion years ago that no one can be happy, or make anyone else happy for that matter, if she doesn’t have unconditional love for herself. For some, that can be a controversial outlook… Women in particular are often expected to put lots of people and things above themselves, but I am a firm believer that I will never truly succeed with any relationship or job if I don’t truly love myself. That means prioritizing myself from time to time to the exclusion of others. This can come off sounding selfish, but I don't think it is. It's very easy to put everyone else's success and happiness above your own, but to me, it is not always the right answer.

There are plenty of ways to love yourself. But for me, being healthy is the ultimate way. Making fitness goals and having the discipline to stick with my workout plan. Setting aside time to buy fresh food at the grocery store and to prepare healthy meals. Scheduling a mani/pedi if I need to relax and feel pampered, and cutting out of work in time to make yoga class. Spending money to sign up for a race and working hard for months so that I can experience the high of race day. These things can very easily fall off the schedule in the face of household, work and family obligations, but I try to make "loving myself" a priority, too.

My sincere hope is that ZOOMA serves as an opportunity for women to “love” themselves. By taking the time to train for races and enjoy workouts with friends, we can prioritize our health and ultimately our happiness. I am convinced that this is the best way to lose weight, be healthy and be the best we can be – to love ourselves.

Click here if you want to watch Oprah’s confession: http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/20081030_tows_bobgreene