My clients who want to lose weight have tried EVERYTHING.
Every diet, every gimmick, every pill, potion and quick fix. You name it, they’ve done it.
They’ve restricted their food. They’re diligent about what they can and can’t eat. They’re hungry and exhausted. And despite all this effort, they’re still don’t have the results they want.
They don’t want to live life like this. It stinks and they’re done!
They’ve spent years avoiding the foods they enjoy. They don’t have it in the house. But this also causes a problem, because they’re still thinking about it. They still want the food they’re not ‘supposed’ to eat. So, some of my clients to start sneaking it. They end up sitting in their cars, or hiding in their bedrooms, bingeing.
They don’t want their lives to be like this. They’re trying and trying to fix the “problem,” yet it’s only getting worse. The weight is piling on and they fear the worst for the future. Perhaps they will get diabetes or heart disease from their inability to control themselves. They’re terrified because they definitely don’t want that. But not even the fear of these things happening stop them.
They want to eat when they’re hungry and don’t want to eat when they’re not. They don’t want to think about food – what to eat, what not to eat – all day long. But it seems so hard. So out of their reach. So completely unattainable.
What they want is to think about and spend their time doing things that really matter to them. Not to be consumed by thoughts about food and weight constantly, which gets in way of them enjoying life.
What they’re looking for is food freedom. Freedom from the restrictions. Freedom from the rules. Freedom from all the worry about food and exercise and weight. Liberation from what feels like a constant struggle. A never-ending battle that is so tiring.
The way we’re currently instructed to lose weight feels inhuman. Which it is!
Dieting contradicts your body's natural design and evolutionary instincts.
Your body is made for eating, not dieting. Food is vital for your body. Dieting causes your brain to panic. That’s why you find yourself eating everything in sight as soon as you even think about trying yet another diet.
Diets just complicate your relationship with food and encourage body dissatisfaction. They cause you stress and feelings of failure when you can’t follow their unrealistic demands. And confusion when they don’t work.
Diets are somebody else’s rules about what to eat, which have worked for them. They’re not aligned with what YOUR body wants or needs. You know this already. You’re never going to find peace with food or reach your ideal weight that way.
Weight loss is a by-product of healthy habits you do consistently over time
It’s the result of looking after and taking good care of yourself. You don’t need to be extreme or take hours out from your day to manage your weight. You need to align your healthy habits with YOU specifically. Make the most of your strengths and qualities. Integrate and consolidate things you do well in a way that’s unique and works for you. Now, I know this sounds far too sensible and simplistic, but this really is what gets it done.
To lose weight and keep it off permanently, you need to know how you THINK about food.
Too many of us are scared of food because of what we think it will do to us. And it’s easy to see why this happens. Our modern world and the food in it, works directly against our physiology. But we don’t see this. Instead, we blame ourselves. We think there’s something wrong with us, or that we’re broken in some way. But we’re not.
Change how you think about food and yourself
Your body has hormones that tell you when you're full and don't need to eat anymore. But when you're stressed or worried, those feelings can interfere with us being able to pay attention to those signals.
At the same time, some foods—like those high in sugar, fat and salt—trick your brain into wanting more and more. This makes it easy to eat too much and feel out of control around food.
When this happens, you might blame food or yourself. You might think food is the enemy or feel like you’re the problem. Then, you start fighting—fighting your hunger, fighting your cravings. But instead of solving the real issue, you’re just focusing on the surface and staying stuck.
The first step out of this cycle is to stop dieting.
The next step is to start taking better care of yourself.
When you truly care about yourself, you don’t want to fill your body with junk. You’ll want to get enough sleep and move your body because it feels good—not because you think you have to in order to lose weight.
Feed your body with nutrient rich food, get enough sleep and find ways to move that you enjoy.
Do these things regularly, be patient and you WILL see the changes you desire.
