Last November I had an epiphany moment. I turned an age that was traumatic indeed! My life and career had involved beauty, glamour and fashion. The flower of youth was extremely important to me. I refused to let it die! I watered it, tilled it, fed it, pampered it and enjoyed it's fragrance! However, I came to realize that as the years slowly added up; my waistline did the same. The one thing that I had going for me was my knowledge of how to minimize my flaws and maximize my assets; which I did daily. I knew how to “dress for success!”

I had just returned from an international speaking engagement. A friend who had gone with me wanted to show me all the videos and photos she had taken on the trip and many of them were of me. Let me stop here and say; mirrors will lie to you! So many times we see what we want to see and not what is really there.

Well, cameras do not lie! They are basically lie detectors! As I peered at those videos and pictures, I saw myself as others see me. I could not believe my eyes. I was looking at someone I did not know. That person’s face looked like me, she talked like me, but she could not be me! But it was me. Suddenly I saw myself the size I really was and not the size I thought I was.

I remembered a statement my doctor had made at my last checkup. Very casually and very kindly, he said, “Charli, your blood pressure would most likely lower if you lost a few pounds.” When I heard that I thought yes, you are probably right, but I’m OK with the way I am. Besides I had always read in magazines that 20 lbs. is just cosmetic weight anyway. Well that may be a fact, but the truth is I had gone over that cosmetic limit by 5 more lbs.

That day in November I began to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Age and weight are two companions that steal our youth, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally. I realized that no matter how much I disguised my weight, it still showed and it was not only affecting my outward appearance but also my inward health. In that instance I knew if I did not do it then, I never would. Strength rose up in me that I have never had before. I had the greatest reason for losing weight that I had ever had! It was not just to look better; it had come down to the quality and length of the rest of my life.

• I lost 23 lbs.
• I lost 1.5 lb. per week. This is not a “Get thin quick diet, but a quality of life change.”
• I set myself a weight goal--only 5 lbs. at a time!
• I eat only half portions of what I once ate.
• I do not eat at night; if I have to I eat very little.
• I do not have to have French fries with my hamburger, crackers with soup, or potato chips with my sandwich.
• I eat slower. I take smaller bites.
• I graze rather than eat 3 meals. I eat when I am hungry, whenever that is. I just do not eat very much.
• I eat what I want; I just eat it early in the day and not so much of it.
• I think about what and how much I am eating when I eat. I do not eat while I am engrossed in TV, etc.
• Sometimes when we think we are hungry we are really thirsty. I reach for something to drink before something to eat.
• I weigh myself every morning. I want to be aware of what is going on with my body.
• When I reached my final weight goal, I will gave myself a 3 lb. margin so that I don’t beat myself up for a weight fluctuation.
• As the weight began to come off, I would reward myself with one inexpensive piece of clothing that fit my new size, as my clothes were all getting baggy. This gave me the extra encouragement I needed to keep going.

“I have come to enjoy the quality to life more than the taste of food!” You can do it too, if you really want to!

Author's Bio: 

Charli Pickett is an International Christian Women's Keynote Speaker, Author, Motivator, & Recording Artist. She has ministered in China, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico. Charli Pickett has been in the fashion and cosmetic industry for 20 years. She has judged numerous beauty pageants, including the Miss USA Preliminaries. She was a co-owner of Body Beautiful Boutique, which included the Body Contour Salon of which Kelly Cash visited frequently on her way to becoming "Miss America." She has been involved with Seventeen Magazine Seminars and employed by Lancôme Cosmetics producing video makeovers and fashion shows. Her background includes movies, television, theatre, stage, photography and image consulting. Charli also co-hosted a women's Christian television program in Nashville, TN on CTN. She and her husband Bob are co-founders of Shiloh Ministries, Inc. and they also co-hosted their own Christian television and radio programs. Email for bookings.