Hardest Thing Ever

Losing weight (and keeping it off) is the hardest thing I have ever done. I was reminded of this recently when a friend of the family with good intentions said something that was meant to encourage me. She said something about how I should be able to do this easily (take off the weight). She went on to say how someone like me who has earned a master's degree, has a succesful career, and is a mother of two young children is clearly smart enough and capable enough to lose weight. While maybe I should have taken this as a compliment, it left me stinging a little bit to be honest. My question is that if it is supposedly so easy to lose weight, than why wouldn't someone as "smart" and "capable" as me have done it already?

This is truly the hardest thing I have ever done. And while I am so pleased and excited with the progress I am making, I realize that this is just the beginning of turning around an entire lifetime of bad habits. And I am fighting not only bad habits, but also genes, body chemistry and metabolic syndrome, societal influence, etc. Earning a degree and having children are hard--but for me nothing compares to this lifelong struggle I have with achieving a healthy weight. I feel very strongly that I am the way I am for a reason, and that all struggles can become an opportunity for growth and learning if I let them be. And the truth is that apart from God I can do nothing. It is only through His grace that I am able to continue down this path and to learn lessons that he has in store for me. So, let the learning continue!!