Have you successfully changed something about yourself?

If you asked someone who knew me, "Has CJ changed something about herself?", most anyone would say, "Yeah, she lost a bunch of weight.".

One or two people very close to me would say, "Yeah, she lost a lot of weight and she's much more free and happy than she used to be."

Both sets of people would be correct.  I did lose a bunch of weight; a little more than a 100 pounds.  So which came first, smaller butt or bigger happy?  It all happened at the same time.  I couldn't start having success at weight loss until I became more happy with myself, and I became more happy with everything as I realized I was having success with weight loss. 

It all started with shifting perspective.  
Discard the: 
"Why do I have to be so fat?"
"Why can so and so eat whatever they want and stay thin?"
"I'm always going to be fat."
"I'm so stupid, why did I eat that?". 
Insert some:
"Today I am going to eat food that is good for me and makes me feel good." 
"Today I exercised, just like I said I would." 
"This week I ate on plan 6 out of 7 days."

A plan of action followed by...actual action...built faith in myself.  I remember in the early days of losing weight that sometimes I would just be taken aback, surprised that I was actually doing it.  It seemed so unbelievable after 20+ years of being obese that I was actually making a consistent change. 

This didn't happen overnight, it took about two years to lose the weight.  I've maintained the loss for a year and a half or so.  I actually think I could lose a little more, but that is a different challenge at this stage of the game. 

Regardless, I'm a different person.  Literally, people who knew me before don't recognize me on the street.  Sometimes when I notice how differently I look at the world, I'm not sure I recognize myself.  I believe in myself and don't always assume failure is right around the corner.  That's a big change.