It’s Time To Say Goodbye
Hi everyone! I’ve been writing this post in my head for a while now. I was not quite sure about it and had to do some deep soul-searching, but I have reached the point where I know it’s time to say goodbye to the blog. Although part of me is sad, I know it is the right thing for me at this time.
When I started on this new journey to deal with my emotional eating and redefine my relationship with food, I wasn’t prepared for the changes that would occur for me. Working with an emotional eating coach opened my eyes to many areas I didn’t know how to deal with. During those coaching sessions, I was able to work on some of my reasons behind the eating like my fear of hunger and the meaning of goal weight. But, there was still a part of the journey I wasn’t willing or ready to truly deal with. And that was my deep desire for weight loss.
As time went on and I worked on the other areas, I couldn’t completely let go of the idea of weight loss. It began clouding my work and created so much noise in my head. This hit especially hard around January when everyone seemed to be making their New Year’s resolution to lose weight and all the latest and greatest diet plans were in full effect! I felt conflicted. Maybe I should be losing weight, too and trying out some of these diets? There was even a time or two when I would wake up and decide that “today was diet day!”, but by the end of the day, I would have steered off track and given up. Deep down, I just knew dieting is not for me any longer and I had to stay focused on making a permanent change in my life from within; not just a quick fix.
Around the same time as I became sure that dieting cannot be a part of my life anymore, I realized that blogging wasn’t quite fitting in either. All the book reading I’m doing in trying to change my relationship with food points to not obsessing over food and unfortunately, I think that food/weight loss blogs contributed to my obsessing nature. When I started my work with the emotional eating coach, she warned me that this may be an issue and that I may eventually need to leave my blog behind. I didn’t want to believe her and thought that I could work the two together, but I’m beginning to see exactly what she meant. I’ve been so torn on this issue and not sure what to do. It felt sad to say good-bye, but I had to figure out why it was sad. Was it because I’m leaving that obsession behind and moving toward change? Or that I’ll miss it and not have something to replace the hobby? It was a tough decision, but taking a break from blogging these past few weeks has solidified that it is time to move on.
Since I have committed to this journey, I am so excited about the changes I have made in myself. Through the Mirror Challenge , I have learned to love my body. Through the Enjoy Your Food Challenge, I have learned to take the time to treat food and myself with respect while teaching my family good habits also. By reading many, many books and putting them into practice, I have learned to change my thoughts about food and find other ways to deal with emotions rather than through the comfort and protection of food.
And I have learned that it IS possible to lose weight without dieting. Never in my 44 years would I have believed it! I really couldn’t even imagine that it would be possible. However, the scale has become my friend, showing me on a weekly basis, that listening to my inner voice, practicing positive self-talk and respecting the need for self-care, encourages a healthy, lasting weight loss. It is slow, but steady. And for the first time in my life, I believe wholeheartedly that I can lose weight, get to my desired goal and keep it off. For the first time in my life, I have more than hope… I know it can happen!
If I can at all inspire any of you to take this journey, please, please do!! It is a confusing and scary path to take at first, but it is well worth the effort. My mind has never been more free and happy!
If any of you are interested, here are just a few of the books that have been helping me continue on this journey…
- The Rules of Normal Eating by Karen R. Koenig
- Life is Hard, Food is Easy by Linda Spangle
- The Diet Survivor’s Handbook by Judith Matz & Ellen Frankel
- AFTER (the before and after) by Karen CL Anderson
- Full-Filled: The Six Week Weight Loss Plan for Changing Your Relationship With Food and Your Life From The Inside Out by Renee Stephens
- Self-Talk for Weight Loss by Shad Helmstetter & Bob Schwartz
- The Beck Diet Solution by Judith S. Beck
Finally, I just wanted to say thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who have stuck with me over these 3+ years of blogging and supported me through all my trials and tribulations! I have loved being a part of this community!!! Please know that even though I won’t be posting, the blog will still be here ( I have hosting until 2013!) if you want to check back for recipes, etc. and I will always be available via email if you have any questions or just want to check in (as many of you have this past few weeks – thank you!).
One more thing…
XOXOXO
~ Marisa
Questions? Email me! aloserforlife@gmail.com
37 comments
I’ll miss you, but I totally understand why you have come to this decision!!! I actually too found at one point that too much blog reading created a bit too much “food noise” in my head. I blog and read blogs a lot less at this point, and it works for me.
I wish you all the best, and I’ll keep you in my reader, just in case you’ll decide to post again once in a while!
I totally agree with you on so many levels, M. I stepped away from LTW for over a year. I will never blog there like I used to. There’s no need for it. My life has changed so much, everything fell into place, and the scale was kicked out of the house. It’s a beautiful thing to figure out where you’re supposed to be. Good luck to you, my friend!
Oh my friend, you know I’ve been there. Your blog has meant so much to me, and I am so glad that we met each other through blogging! You are an amazing woman, full of positivity and love, and I know that you’re going to continue to be amazing!!!
Neva give up!! I’m always here for you, remember that.
XOXO
Jenn
I get it, Marissa, as you know. I stopped blogging because I was absolutely obsessed with my body, my weight, every morsel that I put in my mouth. I stopped reading blogs, too. Except you and yours. For some reason, you reached me in ways others did not. Your journey was exactly where mine was and is in so many ways that I just had to keep tabs on you here and on FB. And I’m glad I have.
I won’t say goodbye here. I’ll say best wishes for an incredible journey through life. Enjoy it.
i am really happy for you, but of course will miss your sweet and positive presence on the web. sounds like you are making the best decision…maybe one day you’ll return to the blog world with a platform unrelated to food?? if so, you’ll have many fans waiting to read it! xo
Marissa,
You are such a beautiful person inside and out! I am glad you are making peace with your relationship with your body and food. I have enjoyed your daily blogs and meal idea’s and have learned a few things along the way. Thank you!
Good luck to you! Hope to run into you soon (Specialty dept @ WFM GMills) You are going to love this store!!!
Best Wishes and Healthy Dishes,
Amy
Sad to hear you are going to stop blogging (I read daily through Google reader), but happy you are doing what you need to do for YOU! And who knows, maybe you will be back
Keep in touch! XOXO
Oh Marisa! How terrific for you and how sad for all of us. Your blog has been such a treat — your writing engaging and heartfelt; your sense of humor whimsical and refreshing; your food photos good enough to eat (ha ha!).
I think in some ways your blog has been a source of comfort to me over the last few years. That is, it’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who’s struggling with food issues and your blog provided a safe forum.
I, like others who have commented before me, appreciate your need to step away and change focus. Nevertheless, I maintain that not having your captivating, empathetic blog to read will be a significant loss and I hope you’ll come back to it one day.
Meanwhile, Darlin’, all the best to you and God bless!
Thanks for saying good bye and not just disappearing so we know you’re ok and doing what’s right for you. All the best!
Congratulations on your continued journey toward a happy,healthy relationship with food, your body and your life!
Just this morning I had done a quick check-in and this hadn’t posted yet. My immediate thought was “I wonder if she’s giving up the blog.” While you will be missed for sure, there are very definitely things in our lives that are only meant to be for a season.
All the best to you Marisa!
So sorry to hear you are saying good-bye to your blog since your posts were always so honest and easy to relate to. With that being said, I totally understand that you have to do what is best for you. Thanks for sharing your journey with us and best of luck.
Hi Marisa, I suspected this day was coming sooner rather than later….we’ll miss you in the bloggin’ ‘hood. Please check in now and then and let us know how you are! Wishing you nothing but health, happiness and success and you move forward in your life while you close this chapter behind!! Hugs. xoxo
Hugs- yo0u will be missed !!! You are absolutely correct- you can lose weight without dieting. And here’s another surprise- being overweight does not cause many diseases- obesity is yet another symptom of a greater problem. May I suggest that if you get the blogging urge again, perhaps create a blog about Italian cooking and family celebrations ? Those are two things that are a very rich part of your life and something that so many would love to have but cannot because of geographical distance and so forth. Forget about the point count, calorie count, exercise challenges and simply write about those great family recipes, gatherings and other things that feed the stomach, but more importantly feed the soul. It is something that so many would love to be able to create in their lives . In any case, I wish you well and will miss seeing your posts here in blog world. Be well and be happy !
Marisa,
You are amazing to be able to come as far as you have. I will miss reading about your latest escapades, but even more so the lessons learned you wrote about – good and bad. They were inspiring to me to read someone else was strong enough to write about it all.
I wish you the best of luck and I hope you channel your creativity in to something else that is more empowering for you. It was a tough decision to walk away form something that was such a big part of yourself at one time. But I am proud of you for overcoming and taking each day as it comes.
Good luck to you and I hope that you experience all that life has in store for you!!
You’ll be missed. Please don’t be a stranger… hopefully you’ll still be around on twitter from time to time?
I know where you’re coming from, Marissa – someone asked me last week how much I weighed, and I realized that I haven’t stepped on a scale in well over six months! I think you and I are very similar in our weight losses, and also in the way dieting and weigh-ins affect us. Moving forward is a great thing…means that you are continuing to grow in your journey! I’ll miss you, but I completely understand. Take care and thanks for being so supportive over the years!
So sad to see you leave, but TOTALLY understand why you have to do it. And you have such great information here, anyone who stops by will learn a lot.
HUGS to you!
Thank you for all you have posted these past 3 years, and thank you for sharing the things you’ve been learning recently. It has helped me more than you know. (This post is truly an answer to my prayers) I read “The Rules of Normal Eating” at your suggestion. It’s amazing- and I can’t wait to read some of your other suggestions. I recently heard “the Food Nanny” (on BYU-TV) give a presentation at our church. Her passion is families eating dinner together, which I totally agree is so important. In her presentation, she casually mentioned portion control, and how you stop eating when you are not hungry. (A concept that I think is foreign to a “dieter”) But she said how she learned that from her mother. I realized that I needed to learn that myself so that I could in turn teach it to my 3 kids.
I’m very excited for you and and your new stage of life, and I hope the best for you. Thanks again!
You are living proof that we can all do it! Don’t be too scared to leave the “normal” behind and step outside of our comfort zone if you know it’s what you need. I will miss you, my dear, but per your suggestion, I will be checking in with you to see how you are doing and just to say hello. I HOPE AND PRAY YOU WILL DO THE SAME!
I so completely understand…but I will miss you here! You taught me so much in terms of how to make food look good…I was always in awe of your presentation!
I am so glad you have this confidence and trust in yourself…it truly is priceless. And thank you for the shout-out…I am seriously honored!
Awww Marisa!! Will totally miss your blogs! You were my first! lol. Hopefully you will continue on with good success in everything!! And I know Ill see you around! Let me know if you need anything!
I will miss reading your blog.
I am going to miss you terribly! I completely understand where you are coming from, but just know that you will be missed.
I was just going to email you and see how you were doing. We all change and it sounds like you are really moving in a positive direction, which makes me very happy, even though you will no longer be blogging! I hope to meet you IRL some day
I will also miss reading your blog. One must do what is best for him/her on life’s journey. Best Wishes.
I wish you all the best. I do miss blogging but know that it was the right choice for me. It really was highlighting food in a way that wasn’t good for me (even tho I’ve gained weight since giving it up – totally different circumstances). thank you for sharing your journey with us!
It’s been wonderful reading your blog. I wish you the best in your life and new endeavours
Don’t forget to be happy!!
Good luck to you, Marisa! I love reading your blog and definitely agree with you….it can cause so much noise and an almost obsession like focus on food. I have tried several times over the years to start a new blog, after the blog I had (Incredible Unorganized Mom), and I just couldn’t do it. Anyway, I wish you the best and God Bless!
I’m sad and happy at the same time. I’m so sad that you’ll be gone but very happy that you’ve found such happiness!
Maybe we could expect a little update post from time to time? Just to see how you’re doing.
You’re such a great person. I have loved getting to know you through your blog.
I can’t bring myself to say goodbye. LOL
I am going to miss you Marisa! You were one of the first healthy living blogs I found and started to follow.
It is bittersweet as much as I will miss your blog I am very happy for you!
Wishing you and your family much happiness and joy.
Marisa
You are truly a beautiful person inside and out, I know that, and hope you do too! I wish you much happiness! I have enjoyed your blog! Seeing all the family pictures has been so special to me, as all of you are even as we have gone different paths in life! Really, enjoy life and health!
XOXO
I will miss your blog! Wishing you all the best in the future! We can stay connected on FB.
Marisa,
Of course I will definately miss your blog, but I completely understand your path. I’m so proud of you for making these positive changes and seeing results and mostly for feeling that sence of freedom. I wish you continued success. You can always email me if you ever need to chat!
I noticed that I haven’t had a desire to blog too much myself these days. I see that the more progress I’m making the less I want to blog. It kinda feels like I’m headed in the same direction as you.
I will miss you! But I totally understand why you need to walk away. Everyone blogs for different reasons. For me, it is not only my hobby, but since my husband has been so sick this last year, I don’t have much of a social life – that’s where my blog friends come in!
I am proud of how far you’ve come and wish you only the best.
Good luck continuing your journey.
rereading this.
sad and HAPPY at the same time.