He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother

I had to stay late at work yesterday (which, by the way, totally goes against everything I stand for!!).   A local organization's board members wanted to use our conference room to meet . . . so I got the honors of babysitting them for a few hours :)   I used my time wisely, however.   I watched "Heavy" on my computer.   If you have never seen it, it's a show that chronicles the transformation of food-addicted obese people over a 6 month period as they try to lose weight and gain their life back.  It was really inspiring, and I saw myself in there a few times.  In the beginning, the fear of success.   (That is hard for some people to understand - - I, personally, am a self-destructor.   As soon as I get close to a goal, a timer in my brain goes off and I self-destruct.  I am still trying to figure that one out.)    Since most of the people on "Heavy" have been inactive for years, they struggle to exercise (and even just to breathe and walk) in the beginning.  And their trainers and nutritionists, who obviously are there for the physical transformation, are joined by a  therapist, who is there to help them sort through their other issues.  Yes, most weight issues are more mental than physical, and when you finally get that and can deal with the things that cause you to become addicted, and then reprogram your brain, success follows.   Then you see the absolute deep-down joy that comes from stepping on the scale and seeing those pounds drop off.   And being able to see, finally, how good life can be.  Because along with the pounds, self-defenses, self-hatred and all those other bad things drop off also.   At the end of the show, Rickywayne (from Texas, duh), who lost something like 150 pounds in six months, said, "There is value to life when you take charge of it."   Amen to that, brother.