I have struggled with body image my entire life. I was never heavily overweight, until college. However, in my mind I was the size of a house because I was not a size 2. When I was a sophomore in high school, I remember feeling a need for quick weight loss. I started asking my friends for fast weight loss tips. My best friend at the time told me about some pills to help curb my appetite. She said it would not only give me fast weight loss, but it would be super fast weight loss. Being the young, inexperienced youth that we were, we decided to try one of these fast weight loss tricks. Unfortunately, it didn't work. Later that same day, we went to the store to purchase another type of diet pill for fast weight loss. I read the bottle, which explained one of the side effects was heart complications and even death. At that moment I realized the diet fill was not what I needed. In fact, very fast weight loss was not what I needed either.

One of the most popular and cheapest fast weight loss methods is anorexia or starvation of the body. Our bodies are very similar to cars. Cars need fuel to function properly. Our bodies are the same way. Our bodies need food to function properly. When we don't fuel our bodies, the result may be temporary weight loss, but eventually the body will begin to eat itself and you become a very sickly individual. I admit I tried to skip meals as a form of weight loss. All I achieved was a negative weight loss and a growling stomach.

Even early into our marriage I still struggled with my body image. Recently, I became the mother of a beautiful little girl. As I have watched my daughter grow, I realize I love her for who she is because she was fearfully and wonderfully made by God. Watching her, has caused me to finally realize who God has made me to be. In that realization I have found freedom from my weight loss addiction. I no longer need (or think they will) those fast weight loss pills to work. I no longer seek short term answers because I realize there is only one "me" and I have to be the best "me" I can be. That means I need to be healthy and making healthy eating choices. Yes, I am still trying to lose weight by eating healthy. Yes, I am trying to teach my daughter to eat healthy. It no longer controls me. Anything in life worth having takes times and effort. There is no shortcut for the good stuff that lasts in this life.