Be In The Picture: Why Your Weight Loss Journey Deserves to Be Documented Now
Several months ago, I found myself reflecting on how far this weight loss journey has taken me, while chatting with friends on the same path. We spoke about the challenges, the excitement, and the transformation. But as is often the case with such reflections, there was a bittersweet undertone.
Many of us confessed how few pictures we had from our heaviest days, sharing clever tricks we'd used to avoid being in front of the camera. Whether by positioning our kids in front of us or always being the one holding the camera, the result was thloe same: there are barely any "Before" pictures of us from those days.
We laughed as we planned future photoshoots—beach, glam, and casual—something to make up for the missed opportunities. But the tone shifted when one friend shared a heartbreaking regret. She had lost her daughter and, at her heaviest, had avoided being in pictures. Now, she longed for more images of the two of them together. Her grief over the few pictures she had stung, and the memories of her daughter were clouded by time.
"Take the picture," she urged us. "Whatever you think you look like, however you feel, take it. You just never know about tomorrow."
Her words hit hard. Life doesn’t wait for you to reach your goal weight. It keeps moving forward. So why wait until you've hit some milestone to celebrate or be in the moment? Stop and celebrate now, even if you're not where you want to be yet. In the future, you’ll be thankful for the reminder of how far you’ve come, or how full your life was at every stage, with or without the weight.
Be in the picture. Smile huge. You are exactly who you need to be today.
