The most basic reason we are overweight or are not losing weight is because we consume more than we need to fuel our bodies. DUH! Right, the diet industry has told this to us forever. Calories in VS. calories out. But what they aren’t helping us with is the why we are overeating in the first place.
We either eat just enough to maintain our current weight, or we eat more than needed and the excess is stored as fat. I know, I know, you already know this……But the reality is that if we could have just counted those calories and tracked them all we would have figured out how to lose it and keep it off, but……counting calories just doesn’t work for weight loss because food is not the reason for why we are overweight in the first place.
O.k. all you "experts" that want to chime in and tell me how your diet solution will solve my clients weight issue, just shush it! My client is tired of yo-yo dieting. My client is ready to hear a secret. It's our thinking that leads to overeating, not just the sugary cinnamon roll with it's kick of insulin to the blood stream. And we solve a thinking issue with working on changing our thinking. But first we need to understand a few things.
We need to know what we are thinking to begin with, it really can change our life.
We need to reconnect with our body, our hunger signals and do a little detective work.
We need to get good at learning what our individual body needs, uses, stores and releases to find the best protocol for our individual weight loss journey.
One Size approach to weight loss doesn’t fit all.
How much you eat is important, the sensitivity of your unique hormonal response is also important. We know this because two people can eat the same amount and one will lose weight while the other gains. Remember walking by the cafe and smelling those cinnamon rolls and getting home and seeing the scale weight has gone up even when you are eating rice cakes instead of cinnamon rolls? Since we are not into comparison trap or thoughts like “I’m just so broken” (insert whiney face), We want to become curious about how YOUR body responds to certain foods, how those foods affect your hormones and so on.
Think about your current eating patterns. What is going on INSIDE your body physically AND emotionally? What habits do you have that support your current weight? Even maintenance has a favorite type of food and intake. We want to learn to understand what eating patterns you currently have,(and what thoughts lead you to the pantry when you aren't hungry) so you can begin to learn how to make changes. This level of awareness will happen over time, and I want you to keep an accurate record of what you think and consume so that we can become that creative mad scientist who discovers your exact magic weight loss formula.
So this week take note, or a lot of notes.
What are you thinking before, during and after you eat?
How does it feel in your body to be physically hungry? How does it feel emotionally? Do you have a habit of eating because it's a certain time on the clock?
The more you learn about your hunger signals, how foods work and respond to your body and why you are eating (could it be due to the scent of cinnamon rolls at the cafe or the conversation you had with your boss that didn't make you feel like the stellar employee that you are?) are all key things to learn in order for you to become someone with mad skills at weight loss.
Just start to become aware of your patterns. And NO JUDGMENT!!! And specially no COMPARISON with the girl sitting in the cafe eating that cinnamon roll. She's just doing her and it's time for you to drop the judgment and do you. Trust me, this works. You will get really good at coming up with the new thoughts that will support that new protocol you are building. You will get really good at listening to YOUR body and filling the tank with what works best for YOU.
So start by putting All Foods on your food/protocol list, (a protocol is just a list of things you are choosing, it's not a DIET. Please stop doing diets that don't work for YOU!) Next discover what your BODY is telling you about certain foods? You already know which foods cause you heart burn and keep you awake all night. But have you experimented with trying that same type of food at a different time of day? Of trying to eat only 1/2 and seeing if it continues to cause you issues? Does your tummy cramp up with too much dairy? Do you get an insulin spike with surgery treats that drive over desire for more without even noticing you've eaten way past the hunger signal that is screaming TIMEOUT!!! You've reached your limit on the way to stuffed-ville!
Spend some time this week just tuning into your body and let it talk to you. Write down what feedback it gives you.
I like to pretend I'm having a meal with the most important person in my life and I'm so caught up in how amazing they are that I notice every little thing they say because it's the most special person in my life and I only get to memorize the color of their eyes when I look adoringly into them and they say the most funny and inspiring things so I listen to every word-o.k. I need to take a breath from the run on sentence train, I do go a little crazy when I spend time with my husband. He's pretty amazing. And I can get a little carried away sometimes. But THAT is what I want you to do about connecting with YOU!!!! Because hey you are the most important person too!!! And when it comes to setting a goal to lose weight without crazy making diets, why not just learn to sit with yourself and discover how incredible you are and how perfect your body is created???
What thoughts are whispering or yelling at you? Do these thoughts serve your weight loss goals? I like to think of a goal as a dream. It's the dream that when believed is not only possible but gets you excited to try new things without fear of failure because you are in connection mode and ready to discover what works for YOU.
Let me know what things come up for you.
If you have questions or just want to tell me how that corn dog really hits the spot or if you have decided it's time to honor your gut by taking a time out on the gluten train you will know how I have changed how I connect with by mind, body and spirit and have lost 72 pounds through this process.
One Size Dieting will never solve for your current weight issues. Discovering how to reconnect to your body, mind and spirit is an approach that has been around since, well, you were born. And it is an approach, when practiced, becomes the practical guide to discovering an effective and natural way for you to lose weight.
Next week I’ll dive into hormones, states of hunger and how desire is driven by our thinking to help you make changes that can make a powerful shift in your weight loss results.
Have an awesome week!
Love you! Girl, You've Got This!
Coach Shel