Celebrating Our Weight Loss Journeys

Just four months ago this bariatric fitness guru was in Phoenix with some fellow Weight Loss Surgery Patients at the Second Annual Your Weight Matters Convention put on by the Obesity Action Coalition. We were getting ready to start the Walk from Obesity put on by the ASMBS and I was on a scooter because I wasn’t allowed to exercise after just having my fourth round of reconstructive plastic surgery.

It had become a tradition for me to throw my hands in the air in pictures. People ask me how it started; it’s really a simple thing. As I started getting involved in the Weight Loss community by means of social media I saw that lots of folks posted their successes and achievements and I wanted a way to cheer them on. So, I started posting this symbol – \O/ –

You might notice that the logo for Desperately Seeking Slender includes a little stick figure throwing their arms in the air in this manner. It was my way of saying…

“Yay! Go you! You’re doing a great job!”

Soon I started taking photos in the same pose as that little stick figure and let’s be honest, they haven’t all been flattering. But they were all fun, and they were my way of celebrating not only my weight loss journey but that of my blog readers.

You’ll often seem me throw that \O/ behind a comment on a post where I want to celebrate someone’s success, cheer them on and give them a “Way to go.” – It’s like a virtual cheer, a Pandora high-five. Every once in a while if I’m really feeling the need to cheer you’ll even see me throw some pom poms up there and the symbol looks like this @\O/@

Back in August at the OAC Convention I had just had a brachioplasty and my arms got sore very easily. Knowing this, one of the more predominant bloggers in the WLS community looked over at me and asked “Do you need us to do the Slender for you?” The Slender! She called it the Slender, and in that moment, I was so excited. “The Slender,” I have no idea why someone giving it a name felt like such an accomplishment to me but it did. It validated it for me in a new way; it made it something that was a recognized aspect of something I have worked hard to bring to the community.

The Slender; is something that motivates the heck out of me. Every time I get my fellow obesity fighters to throw their hands up in the air I feel that passion in me to help others with their weight loss journeys burning inside me.

It’s Motivational Monday and I thought I’d share with you something that motivates me. Here are a few great shots of some Slender Seekers doing the Slender. Thank you all for motivating me to motivate you.

If you’re not featured in the above photos, it doesn’t mean I don’t love you. I just means I don’t have a good shot of you doing the Slender. We can fix that! Feel free to throw your hands in the air and have someone snap a photo and post it on the Desperately Seeking Slender Facebook Page so that I can add it to my collection.

Pandora Williams author of Desperately Seeking Slender is a Cooper Approved Wellness Coach Trained in Weight Management Strategies and a Motivational Speaker studying to become a Certified Personal Trainer.

The Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) is the ONLY non-profit organization whose sole focus is representing individuals affected by obesity. If you are affected by obesity or care for individuals affected, I ask that you join the OAC today and help us strengthen our voice. Together we DO make a difference.