Lose Weight: Love Your Body
When I was in my twenties and now spilling into my early thirties, I have had a problem with weight, and weight fluctuation. Not enough of a problem to be called fat, but enough to keep me miserable and constantly struggling with fear. There was a problematic ten to fifteen pounds that I could never shake permanantly and it was so demoralizing. Anytime I went on a diet, it seemed I ended up gaining weight. I guess this makes sense now (psychologically), because if someone tells us not to think about brown monkeys, what will we think about? Basically, telling myself not to think about food, only made me more obsessed with it. It took up so much of my mind and I knew it was a complete waste of time....not just because it was completely self obsessed, but it wasn't even working! Deprivation is a lousy way to lose weight. I used to think about my weight problem constantly and would always wonder, "why can't I just eat what I want?" When people said they ate anything they wanted it sounded thouroughly insane to me. "But if I eat anything I want, then I'll start eating and never stop." After reading "Women Food And God", I tried to apply the new principles of the book...and yes, I did do that at first.....that is what I did. I ate anything I wanted hoping that I could trust my instincts. I was so discouraged! I gained ten pounds right out of the gate....but then I began to look for a natural rythym of things. I felt sick when I ate a whole tub of icecream, or I couldn't sleep when I drank coffee too late..... I had enough. I sincerely did not want to feel like crap. This is where the healing begins. So I let go of the diets and rules.
I met a woman recently who had lost a large amount of weight. She said the turning point for her was when she finally got the monkey off her back. I could relate. She says, "I didn't even care anymore if I was fat. I just wanted out of the hell I was putting myself through. If I couldn't be thin, I just wanted to be comfortable with my weight." Like many of us, the obsession had become horrific and she couldn't take it anymore. Once we let go of the obsession, we begin to realize that our weight doesn't matter. All that matters is that we are taking care of our body with love...if you can train your mind to take care of yourself with the intention of loving it, then the weight problem will disappear....one way or another.
