Lux_ie

I did this when I was in my final year in school. I was always quite shy, not intorverted, but I was never the loudest voice to be heard. I rememember there was a particular girl in my class whom I admired. She was friends with everyone, always smiling, always happy. And she always held her back straight and her head high. I thought to myself, maybe if I throw my head back like that, and walk with the same confidence she exudes, I might feel better about myself.
So I made a conscious effort to straighten my shoulders and hold my head high. I let people see me instead of just letting them assume I was there. Almost instantly I began to make new friends and feel so much better about myself.
It took a while to get used to, but noticing how much better I felt when I did it kept me going. It was turning on a light switch every time I straightened up!
I was influenced in doing this by someone I admired. I wanted to have what she had. Holding your head high really has such a huge effect on your confidence. Just tell yourself that you deserve to be seen & heard just as much as everyone else, ONLY MORE! ;)
If you’re very shy & self conscious, you might fear holding your head high. But just try it once – you’ll see that nearly everyone else is just like you used to be!

I’ve been overweight pretty much all my life. Not obese or anywhere near it, but I’ve always been just a few pounds outside my optimum weight. I recently took the bull by the horns & looked up my ideal weight & BMI, for my height, build, etc. I’m a 22 year old female, 5’7”. My BMI is about 26, it was suggested I aim for 23. I was also recommended to lose 20-30lbs. So now I’m doing it!
I’m actually afraid to weigh myself right now though. I get the feeling that if I see what I weigh, I might just say, “Ah screw it!” and give up before I even begin. I know that I’m somewhere in the range of 170lbs, I doubt much more than that. I am tall-ish and I’ve been told I can carry it off, but the thing is, I don’t WANT to carry it off anymore. I feel so self conscious all the time. I’ve begun to avoid socialising because I’m too ashamed to go out, making matters worse, because I stay in & EAT instead! I’m too embarrassed to shop for clothes. I’ve NEVER worn a bikini. I need to do this for me. Oh, also, my ass is too big! ;)
I made out a diet plan that I can stick to. I’m following a low calorie diet – 200:200:600 BREAKFAST:LUNCH:DINNER with 300 to spare for snacking on decent fruits, vegetables & nuts. I’ve been doing at least 1.5 hours of varied cardio per day broken into 30 minute intervals, with some strength and resistance training & toning exercises thrown in for good measure. I’ll be taking a rest day once a week.
I’ve been on this regime for half a week and, honestly, I feel I’ve lost weight already. The first time someone tells me they think I’ve lost weight, I will weigh myself. Hopefully that won’t be to far off!