Health, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder

What does it mean to be healthy? Can I tell you what healthy is?

In a world where we constantly hear about the epidemic known as obesity, I think we often view health as being thin, and in my opinion that is not always the case.

Health is like beauty, it's in the eye of the beholder. What is healthy for me may not be what is healthy for my neighbor. So this then poses the question that may be in your mind, what does being healthy mean to me? Well, I'll tell you.

Health is something that goes beyond waist size and tipping the scales.

In order to be the healthiest version of myself, I feel I would need to be in a place where I am happy both mentally and physically. I have mentioned earlier that a mental workout is just as important as a physical workout and I truly believe that.

Losing the weight and putting myself in a much better physical shape is important, but I also have to be happy with myself.

Too often we hear about people who go to the gym seven days per week for several hours and have turned cooking -- literally -- into an exact science. For me and my lifestyle, that is not healthy. Some people have convinced themselves that they will never be satisfied with their body and oftentimes turn to drastic measures such as cosmetic surgery and radical diets -- and even develop eating disorders.

People who slim down yet constantly worry about their image have done nothing but lose pounds, yet they still carry the weight.

The weight of the criticism, the discomfort, the embarrassment, the humiliation, all the things that overweight people experience on a daily basis continue to burden their minds and self-esteem.

For me the hardest thing for me to do was accept my body in its current state -- fat and all. When I look in the mirror, I'm not happy with what I see, but I have accepted it as my reality. I now have my "before."

When you think about it, in order to get to your impressive "after" you have to have a "before" and sometimes that image is embarrassing and humiliating. Losing pounds is on the outside; losing the weight starts on the inside.

Let me reiterate that I am not a psychologist or a doctor, I don't have any concrete scientific proof to back up my thoughts.

These are all just conclusions that I have come to based on my observations of the world around me. You can listen to my thoughts with an open mind or throw them out the window.

These are just thoughts that I have that help me keep my spirits up and my self-esteem going.

As far as my one goal to be under 300 pounds by my birthday -- I am one month away from the big day and I'm not quite there. I still have a lot of work to do, but I'm not going to give up.