I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in this situation. It would seem that this would be the story of my entire adult life. I would work at my weight, work at eating the right foods, work at getting enough exercise, work at watching my portions, work at everything about weight loss. And I wouldn’t lose anything. Instead, I’d gain.
And then I’d feel frustrated. The scale would definitely not reflect my efforts. No matter how hard I tried, it wouldn’t budge. Or worse, it would go up.
And this was a drag. If the scale didn’t mirror back to me the results of my effort, what would I want to do? You have one guess.
I’d eat. A lot. I’d feel frustrated at this road block. I’d feel angry at myself. I’d feel disappointed. I’d feel upset that no matter how hard I would work at it, the weight wouldn’t come off. And this went on for years.
And then instead of working at losing weight, I began to work at changing my thinking, and I began to work at changing my view of myself.
As I consciously and intentionally shifted my thoughts about my body and my effort, my behavior changed, and I released weight. If you’re anything like me, here are a few suggestions that might help you as you begin to learn how to love the body you have and release weight in the process.
1. Pay attention to what you say to yourself in the mirror. It’s easy to find our flaws, and not always easy to find our beauty. Look for it. It’s there. It wants you to recognize it. If you have 5 pounds to release or 105 pounds to release, look for and recognize and embrace your physical beauty. It’s there. And when when recognize it, you’ll be recognize the truth about who you are.
2.As you’re paying attention to your beauty, acknowledge it verbally. “I really like the way my eyes look today,” or “My hair looks awesome,” or “Look at how shapely my calves are!” Say these things out loud to yourself as you look in the mirror. Enjoy the way you look, and heighten that enjoyment by complementing yourself out loud.
3.Celebrate everything. Not just the big things. Every step you take that is in the direction of your desires for your body, or that is in the direction of loving and appreciating your body--celebrate it! Some of my favorite ways to celebrate are with things that aren’t food--like luxury lotions, gorgeous writing utensils, exquisite notecards and paper, books, and inspirational DVDs. This is important, because as you celebrate everything you do that moves you in the direction you want to go, you’ll be more likely to keep moving in the direction you want to go.
But the bottom line, when the scale goes up and you want it to go down, is to really pay attention to what you say to yourself in that moment. And be kind and gentle with yourself. Compassion begins at home.
Up Next: “Do You Ever Binge?”
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