We’ve all heard it before. Transformation starts on the inside. You want to be beautiful? Work on your inner self first. Become comfortable with who you are and accept yourself, that’s when you become beautiful. 

Once you accept yourself for who you are, others will too. That’s when everyone will see your true beauty. 

While I think these statements can be true and are a good sentiment to have, they also might get you nowhere. Why? Because sometimes, transformation has to start on the outside. 

The Art of Transformation

If you’re reading this, you’re probably already aware of my story. You know that I was an overweight, bullied kid who lost 100 pounds and became a model. I’m assuming you’ve taken interest in my story because you found it inspirational. 

Likely, you yourself are overweight or the victim of bullying. You want to change. You want to be healthy, feel beautiful, and fit in. You’re tired of living life on the sidelines and want to experience feeling confident in who you are and what you do. 

I understand this feeling whole heartedly. It is afterall, what moved me to make the decision to lose 100 pounds and change my life. I underwent one hell of a transformation both on the outside and the inside. 

But which came first? 

Changing Your Appearance Changes Your Perception of Yourself

A true transformation changes you both on the inside and outside, it can’t be avoided. It doesn’t matter which changes first, the other will inevitably follow. 

There is no way you will become a confident, healthy, and motivated person without your outer appearance changing. Whether this be by your body or style physically changing, or simply the way you carry yourself.

However, I believe the reverse is true when you start by changing your outer appearance. 

When you get closer to your ideal body weight, wear nicer clothes that flatter you, or upgrade your entire look, you will become a more confident person. 

This new confident person will be more motivated to go after their dreams. They will also appreciate their body more and want to practice healthier lifestyle habits to take better care of it. 

Liking yourself better on the outside, makes it easier for you to like yourself on the inside. 

Losing Weight Unlocked My True Potential

My transformation truly started when I made the decision to lose 100 pounds. There were many goals and dreams I wanted to accomplish in my life, but I felt my weight was keeping me from them.

 Once I lost the weight, I believed they would be possible and I was right. 

You see, I didn’t think I could feel more confident, be pretty, make friends, or even sign up for a dance class until my appearance changed on the outside. Because I felt this was true, it was true, at least for me. 

You Get What You Believe

Have you ever heard of the famous saying, whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right? It’s the same concept. What you believe about yourself, is true. At least in your mind. 

Now, someone looking in from the outside may have said, “Whitney, you don’t need to lose weight or change on the outside to feel pretty, make friends, or heck, join a freaking dance class!”

It’s true. I probably could have done all those things without ever losing a pound. There are plenty of overweight people who are living successful, fabulous lives. But I didn’t think this could be true for me. 

My Beliefs Held Me back

My beliefs were so deeply ingrained in my weight being the barrier between me and the life I wanted to live, that it would have taken a lot to convince me otherwise. It also probably would have taken a lot longer than a year. 

So, instead of trying to change my beliefs around my weight internally, I decided to make changes externally. Making those external changes helped change my beliefs about myself and my true potential. It helped me to see how worthy and amazing I really was and always had been. 

Losing weight was the best decision I ever made. 

Change Your Perception of Yourself, Change Your Life

You’ve heard the saying, dress for the job you want? Well, why not dress or look the part for the life you want? 

The meaning behind these statements is that by changing your outer appearance to one that embodies the job, or in this case, the life you want, you will change how other people see you. More importantly, you will change how you see yourself. 

In my case, losing even just a little bit of weight bolstered my confidence enough to want to improve my appearance. I started dressing just a little better, wearing slightly brighter clothes, paying attention to my hair or makeup just a little bit more. 

The more I did these things, the better I felt about myself. The better I felt about myself, the more motivated I was to stick to my healthier lifestyle changes. The more I stuck to these healthy lifestyle changes, the more weight I lost and the better I felt about myself and my appearance. 

Your Appearance Is Tied to How You Feel About Yourself

So, if you want to improve your life, start by improving on the outside. 

Transforming on the outside is the quickest way to begin manifesting the life you want, because once the transformation on the outside happens, the inner transformation quickly follows. 

How do you start this outer transformation immediately? Change the way you do your hair, try a different makeup routine, upgrade your wardrobe, take better care of your skin, or start working out regularly. 

Begin making outside changes to your appearance that are more aligned with the person you want to be. Once you begin seeing manifestations of the life you want to live in your outer world, your beliefs about yourself will start to change. You’ll start to believe you actually are this fabulous, awesome person, because you are. 

Careful of Misinterpretation

I understand how this could be easily misinterpreted into me saying that losing weight or becoming pretty will make your life perfect. Let me be clear here, it won’t. 

Losing weight or getting lip filler won’t fix all your problems. It won’t instantly make you a more confident person or make you love yourself more, that inner work will take some time. 

Transforming your appearance, however, can help you get there faster. It can help you see your true potential in action via presenting yourself as the person you want to become. It will inspire you to be better in all areas of your life. 

Looks Aren’t Everything But They Matter

Upgrading your appearance (again, whether that means losing weight or wearing different clothing) is a physical action, a physical step you can take right now in the direction of your goals. 

That’s why transforming your appearance is so powerful, it signals to the universe (and your inner subconscious) that you are willing to change. You are willing to give up your old life so you can start living your new life, your dream life. 

So, think about it. In your imagination, in your dream life, what do you look like? What is the ideal version of you wearing? What does her/his hair look like? Are you fit, curvy, muscular? 

What action can you take today to look even just a little bit more like this ideal version of you? 

Losing 100 Pounds Changed My Life

When I embarked on my weight loss journey, I knew it would change my life were I successful. I don’t think I realized just how much my life would change or the ways in which it would change. 

In just one year I became a whole new person, the reality of my life would never be the same going forward. This is not to say that making these changes weren’t difficult or that some of the changes I experienced were necessarily for the best. 

Again, I must reiterate that losing 100 pounds in a year didn’t make my life perfect by any means. My journey of self love and understanding took time and is still ongoing, as it is for most of us. 

Losing Weight Made My Life Better

However, losing weight did make my life better. It did unlock my true potential and inspired me to chase for more. It allowed many of my dreams to come true, because I believed that it would. 

I can’t say that everyone will have the same experience with weight loss as I had. What I can say is that taking control of your health will improve your life, whether you are overweight or not. 

I can also say that improving your appearance will bolster your confidence, which in turn, will most definitely improve your life. Transformation is possible and entirely up to you. 

Transform or stay the same, it’s up to you. 

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Thanks for reading! If you’d like to hear more about my weight loss story, check out my book 1 Year 100 Pounds. 
Also, be sure to follow me on Instagram, Tik Tok, and YouTube for weight loss tips and motivation!