None of us got to Sparkpeople by being healthy and making the right choices. Most of us are overweight, and underactive, or at least, we were when we got here.

No matter where we are in our journey, we have this habit of punishing ourselves. Maybe it's because we ate a little too much over the weekend. Or we didn't make the right choice that would have kept us in our calorie range.

Maybe we feel like we don't deserve to be thin. Or that healthy isn't good enough, we have to be perfect.

We aren't losing fast enough, so we're a screwup. We aren't perfect, so why try?

This kind of thinking is SO counterproductive. I see it in the forums so much, where someone is afraid to stop exercising, because if they aren't exercising, then they're a failure.

Or they can't have that bagel, because carbs are the devil, and they don't deserve it anyway.

Why?

I'm not here to diet. I don't want to be thin.

I'm here because I have two little girls, and I don't want them to be obsessed with weight and diets. I want them to see their mom fit, healthy, and happy. I want them to see me making good choices, and enjoying naughty things once in a while. I don't want them to flagellate themselves because they had a damn donut. Or two.

I say ENOUGH with the punishment. You DO deserve to be healthy. You DO deserve to be fit. You have every right to be beautiful and confident in your own skin, just like those beautiful people you see on the red carpet. So you don't have their money, and can't afford their personal trainers and chefs.

Screw that. You don't need it, anyway. You're smart. You're educated. And you know how to work a skillet.

So shrug off those negative, "I can't do this" or "I'm not good enough" thoughts. This isn't all or nothing. This isn't about perfection. This is about making changes that will stay with you for your entire life. I have lost almost 25 lbs with Sparkpeople. And I haven't done it by denying myself.

You don't have to either.

I deserve this. And so do you.