I watched Oprah while working out this afternoon and the episode was about weight loss. Bob Greene was on and he made a statement that made me think. He said, "Weight is a symptom of something that needs to change. You wake up and it's really a decision you have to make each day of your life." I thought about that for a little while. Since having children, my weight has got up and down several times. I know I need to lose at least 30 pounds. My best weight is 155. My most awesome weight is 145 but I like some curve in my body so if I could make it to 155, that would be AMAZING!! I have been working out a lot lately and have been trying to lose weight and I am not really losing that much. I tried to think , what is the symptom that needs to change? After much reflecting, I think the symptom is I need to find time for me and I need to find my new identity. Before children, it was easy. I was a speech pathologist and that was my identifying marker. I was a career women with a higher degree education. I liked how people looked at me. I felt smart and successful. Now that I am a stay at home mom, I am struggling with feeling smart and successful with that title. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being a mom. In fact, I am not for sure I really want to go back to being a speech pathologist. Maybe I want to go back to school and be an audiologist, or get a business degree, or just do something fun, like work at Pottery Barn Kids. Maybe I want to be known as a volunteer. I don't know but I think that not knowing, and the stress of raising a young family, has me eating the wrong foods and keeping weight on that I don't want on. It is time to start focusing on the symptom.