If we are unable to accept ourselves, it makes it harder for others to accept us. It will show in how we stand, how we move, whether we look people in the eye, whether we smile at and say hello to people. I can certainly tell when someone is uncomfortable. Is it the situation they are in? How they are dressed (down/up compared to others)? Who they are with? What they look like (which is reflective only upon themsleves)? Did they not have time to shower/get ready? Or do they simply feel unsomfortable in their own skin?

There seems to be a lot of blogs and posts the last couple days about this subject. (Beauty, self acceptance, confidence, etc.) I just did a blog about it and thought I would blog something similar here in the group as well. I am very lucky in that I have always had self confidence, self esteem, and have always accepted myself "as is". I did not get sleeved to be skinny, to be able to wear cuter clothes, or fit into theater seats easier. I did it for my health. I was going blind and losing motor and cognitive function due to Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (Pseudotumor cerebri), which all my doctors said would go away if I got within 10% of my "ideal" body weight. And just about everyone else has had health issues that will also "go away" with losing weight. But what I am getting at...

If you don't love yourself as is, that's not going to change JUST because you've lost weight. I think when people go through this journey they have realizations about themselves that make them learn things and they then are able to accept who they are. Food addictions, why they made the "bad" choices they did, why they "put up" with negative behaviors from people in their lives. "Why did I do this to myself?"

It's a time for growing and learning to nurture themselves like they never did before. And it's work. As the weight comes off and they start to feel better, they start doing more which adds some self-esteem. They then do more socially, which adds self-esteem. Self confidence grows as they say "I haven't done that in so long", or "I've never been able to do that". They are learning to love themselves and accept the "new" them...but is it that they are a "new" person, or have they finally learned to love who they were all along? (and the weight loss just helped push them)