In my humble opinion

Thoughts are produced in mere micro seconds.  Try to not have a thought and you can't.  Ninety-nine percent of our thoughts would be categorized as opinion.  Just because candy is generally accepted as yummy doesn't make it a fact.  This is good news because when facts are not involved we have opinion and our opinions can be changed.  Changing to a healthy lifestyle is only the result of a bunch of smaller changed opinions.

  By far the biggest opinion that changed for me was that I believed I could actually be skinny.  I thought my weight and size was a  fact as a result of having babies and heritage.  I now know those thoughts were just my opinion.   It was when I truly believed I could look and feel better (thanks Jennie) that things really changed.  My opinion of myself and my possibilities changed.  Without this mind switch you can go through the motions and in the short term lose a few pounds but for long term success you need to know it.  This is the "hardest part" I am always talking about.  Women especially are not trained to have this kind of confidence in themselves and their abilities.           

Another opinion that changed was that I thought I would have to give up my favorite foods to be "skinny".  I would say "I can eat anything I want and I am not obese. I should be happy".  (Luckily "anything I wanted" had not evolved into 6 cheeseburger midnight snacks...yet) Once I had the knowledge about food, other opinions changed all by themselves.   A lot of my favorite foods changed as well as my relationship with food.

My opinion about exercise did a total about face.  Instead of it being work and a dread and punishment for eating, it became my time to sort my feelings and emotions.  A time to plan my what-ifs that were bound to come up because of my lifestyle change - to strategize. 

Opinions are always evolving and we can take advantage.  You may think that a brownie is the total bomb but maybe you can change that opinion to make a box of Jr mints to die for. Start with small changes and they will all add up to big changes.  Other peoples' opinions don't matter.  This blog is just opinion.  Doctors relate opinion most of the time.  Morning television is all just opinion.  You have got to have, and believe in, your own opinions about your health.  It is the only opinion that counts. 
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