Latest / The Letterbox Podcast / Dear Laura | Losing 25 Stone & Learning to Love Myself

Transcript

Dear Laura | Losing 25 Stone & Learning to Love Myself · The Letterbox Podcast

• 0:00
  Hello, and welcome back to the Letterbox Podcast.
• 0:03
  I'm Lucy, and this is the place where people share real letters
• 0:07
  about the people, places, things or memories that have changed
• 0:13
  their lives. Before I read you today's
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  letter, I want to tell you a little bit more about our
• 0:19
  writer. Her name is Laura and at 25
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  years old she was told that she might not live to see 30.
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  Today, she's about to celebrate that milestone.
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  She's a mum of two and has lost almost 25 stone and just last
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  week underwent excess skin removal surgery, the latest
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  chapter in a journey that's transformed far more than her
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  body. Now just quickly, I have a
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  favour to ask of you and that is that if you are new here, if
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  this is your first time listening to the Letterbox
• 0:57
  podcast, or perhaps you've been coming back over and over again
• 1:01
  but have not yet pressed the follow button, it would mean so
• 1:05
  much to me if you could press follow or subscribe.
• 1:09
  It does so much to support the podcast and really does send
• 1:13
  these letters all across the world.
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  But here it is, the reason that you've come here today to hear
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  Laura's letter. Dear Laura, I know you're
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  waiting for your life to begin. You tell yourself that.
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  You tell yourself that when you lose the weight, everything else
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  will finally fall into place. You'll be happier, more
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  confident, more worthy. You think the number on the
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  scales is the thing standing between you and the life you've
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  always wanted. I wish I could sit beside you
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  for just 5 minutes, not because I want to tell you how hard it's
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  going to be, but because I want to tell you just how beautiful
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  your life is about to become. The funny thing is, you'll lose
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  the weight not overnight, not in a month, not even in a year.
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  It will take years. Years of starting again,
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  learning, failing, getting back up, and discovering that
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  consistency matters far more than perfection.
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  There will be moments when you wonder if it's worth it, moments
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  when you feel like nothing is changing, and moments where
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  you'll want to give up. Please don't, because one day
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  you'll look back and realise that every tiny decision
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  mattered more than you ever knew.
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  Is the part I really want you to know though.
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  Losing the weight won't solve all your problems.
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  And that's actually one of the greatest gifts you'll ever
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  receive. Because while you're so focused
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  on changing your body, your life will quietly begin changing
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  around you. You'll become a mum to two
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  beautiful little girls who will make your heart feel fuller than
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  you ever thought possible. You'll build a marriage that
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  feels like home. You'll find friendships that
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  lift you up instead of making you question yourself.
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  You'll discover a love for moving your body, not because
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  you're trying to punish it, but because it makes you feel
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  strong. You'll learn that taking care of
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  your mental health is just as important as taking care of your
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  physical health. You'll build a business that
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  gives people confidence while finding your own at the very
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  same time. The weight loss isn't the
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  destination, it's simply the road that leads you to
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  everything else. You'll learn that confidence
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  doesn't arrive the moment you hit a goal weight.
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  It grows every time you keep a promise to yourself, and
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  somewhere along the way, something else will happen.
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  You'll stop feeling like you have to be the funniest person
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  in the room just to be noticed. You'll stop believing that you
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  have to be the loudest, bravest, all the one making everyone else
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  laugh to deserve your place. You'll realise that simply being
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  you is enough. You don't have to apologise for
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  existing. You don't have to perform.
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  You don't have to prove yourself.
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  You don't need to make yourself smaller to make other people
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  comfortable, and you don't need to make yourself bigger just to
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  be accepted. You can just be.
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  And that version of you, the quieter 1, the calmer one, the
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  one who finally feels at peace with herself, is the strongest
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  version you'll ever become. So stop believing you're running
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  out of time. Stop believing you've missed
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  your chance. Give yourself grace, be patient,
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  celebrate the little winds. Keep going, especially on the
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  days you think nothing is changing.
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  Because one day you'll realise you were never becoming someone
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  else, you were simply becoming the person you always were.
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  Underneath the fear, the doubt, and the weight, you thought you
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  were changing your body. What you were really changing
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  was the trajectory of your entire life.
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  And one last thing. I know you think the happiest
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  day of your life will be the day you finally hit your goal
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  weight. It won't.
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  The happiest moments will be the ordinary ones, Watching your
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  daughters laugh, holding your husband's hand, walking into the
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  gym without fear, looking in the mirror and smiling.
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  Not because you've become perfect, but because you've
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  finally become kind to yourself. Those are the moments your
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  treasure, not the numbers on the scales.
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  Because in the end, the greatest transformation was never your
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  body, it was your belief in yourself.
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  And that changes everything. For the first time in a very
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  long time, you'll recognise yourself and you'll realise she
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  was there all along. Love always, Laura.
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  Laura, thank you so much for sharing that.
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  I'm really reminding us that some of the biggest
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  transformations in people's lives really aren't the ones
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  that we can see or even necessarily measure.
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  And I just want to say an absolutely massive
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  congratulations. There is no doubt that what you
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  have achieved is incredible and to be approaching a birthday
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  that once felt impossible, I really am just so happy for you
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  and your family. I really hope that you do just
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  continue, as you said in your letter, to be kind to yourself.
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  And if you're listening to this letter and perhaps you're in a
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  similar position where you are questioning the body that you're
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  in, maybe just try and take a moment to be kind to yourself as
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  well. If you can think of anybody else
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  who might like to listen to this letter, it would mean so much to
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  me and Laura, if you could send them a link to it or tell them
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  to come and listen to this letter today.
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  And if you haven't already, if you could press the follow
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  button before the episode finishes.
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  I can't tell you enough how much it means to me and how much it
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  really does do to help grow the podcast.
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  And of course, if you've got a story of your own that you want
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  to write as a letter, drop me an e-mail and I would really love
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  to hear from you. Until next time, take care and
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  try and be kind to yourself.