If you have battling your weight for years, it's time to give up on it. Surrender. End the war. Let peace begin.You see, that really is the key to permanent weight loss... ending the battle.
When you are constantly at war, when there is no peace, you get lost in the battle, and lose your ability to raise up your head and see the far horizon. And when you can't see far enough ahead, into your own future, you get lost where you already are.
Weight loss efforts are too often spoken about using the language of war, the soundings of endless battles, the din of combat.
That is where the language gets you sucked-in to the wrong analogies. And you start believing the words, and not see there is a different way. You get locked into the language mentally and start acting as if the weight loss war is real.
You start thinking in terms of winning and losing battles.
You start relating to "being in the trenches". The incessant drum of the words of war assault your sense of peace, and you find none. No peace, at least not on this front (see, even "this front" is a term borrowed from wars).
When you are at war you gather 'round you the weapons of war, the accoutrements of battle, and equip yourself for the struggles ahead. You prepare yourself daily to fight, and perhaps lose skirmishes and big battles for your weight. You never leave it behind, whether at home, at work, at restaurants, at parties, or at a friend's house. You are vigilant to make make sure you are not surprised by having to eat something you know you shouldn't.
With all that clang and bang and confusion of battle rattling inside your head, you lose the ability to hear yourself. You no longer have the ability to filter out what is true and right for your body. That is where your struggles get you lost, without you understanding the best solutions for yourself.
You look to the battlefield ahead to see what can help you lose weight better, this time. You go from the "new breakthrough this" to the "old familiar that," to your friends' suggestions, to your wondering if the late night infomercials really do have something for you. Or perhaps that sexy woman online from the TV fat loss contest really does have something that works.
How can you sort all that junk out and make sense of it, if you can't hear yourself? If you can't hear yourself well, you lose your trust in your judgement, because so may things you once thought were good for your weight loss, all turn out to be worthless.
War. Battle. Weapons. Winning. Losing. Struggles.
Whew! No wonder you are tired when you wake up. Almost as tired as when you went to sleep. And you are certainly no further ahead in your ability to lose weight and keep it off permanently.
It's time to lay down the weapons of war. It is time to lose the battle.
Time to stop the insanity of pursuing the same things over and over, and never getting a better result.
Take off the instruments of fighting. Drop your weapons, and come home. Come home to you. Where you are safe and it is quiet. And peace reigns.
In a place of quiet you can hear yourself. It may be a bit unfamiliar at first, but your voice is in there. Just let your inner voice bubble to the surface. Then listen. Listen to your heart beating. It's beating right now. Listen... ... ...
Hear it? That amazing sound is your heart beating, amidst amazing silence. Peace.
You have to begin in peace if you want to be in touch with what your body is saying about your weight loss efforts. In your place of peace, you can really hear the difference between truth and bs. When you really want to energize your weight loss efforts, peace is the only way you will ever be able to know the difference between what will work for you, and what will not.
You have an amazing body. It knows a lot.
Your body knows when you feed it garbage. It knows how to make you feel great when you eat healthy regularly. You just have to listen to it.
But, after years in the trenches, at war, struggling, fighting, winning, and ultimately losing the weight loss battle, you get disconnected from your body. It's difficult to know when you are really hungry, or if something else is going on. It is difficult also to know how to deal with the cravings, and what to do to get rid of them. It is especially difficult to know when you are full, and understand why you can't put down the fork, even though you know you don't really need more food.
The war with your weight leaves scars that run deep.
Every combat veteran will tell you that the biggest, most frightening scars are the ones unseen by others – unsuspected by others – often unknown by you for many years – your very personal form of weight-loss-delayed-stress-syndrome. Like most war veterans, you won't admit it, or don't see it. Nevertheless it is real. And you will only be able to deal with it by leaving the war behind. Permanently. And know it is permanently behind you.
To a veteran, war fades slowly from memory. Your quick reflex actions of defense and aggression from the war zone are automatic for a long time. They preserved you in battle, but in a place of true peace, they are out of place, not needed, and almost always the wrong thing to do to control your weight, and make it drop permanently.
Are you a weight loss veteran, you may ask? Seem like an extreme analogy? Over-wrought?
No. Absolutely not. That may be difficult to see when you are still in the war zone. But after you have been out for a while, you will see just how difficult all those war years really were. Plus the toll it took on you emotionally as well as physically.
So, at this point of time you just need to step back, see the weight-war that is being waged around you – within you. And accept that it is time to lose the weight loss battle. That is your path to VICTORY.
The Top 5 Reasons You WILL Have Weight Loss Victory
5. YOU WILL STOP DIETING
• Dieting is the #1 reason for long term weight gain – the more you diet, the more you will gain, long-term
• Dieting disconnects you from your normal feelings of hunger, and fullness
• Dieting is the #1 cause of eating disorders
• Dieting makes you feel deprived, which increases your chance of binging
• Dieting causes your body to retain fat, and lose muscle mass
4. YOU WILL FIND REASONS TO EXERCISE 4-5 DAYS A WEEK
• It will relieve your stress
• You will burn excess calories and body fat
• It will make your body build muscle, which helps you burn more fat
• It will combat osteoporosis
3. YOU WILL STOP CHASING THE WEIGHT LOSS FADS
• You will stop believing all the hype about the latest popular weight loss programs
• You will stop looking at short term weight loss as a valid criterium for evaluating weight loss programs
• You will begin researching the world of science-based, permanent weight loss
2. YOU WILL FIND A PLACE OF PEACE
• You will engage with supportive friends, and de-stress twice a day
• You will get 7-9 hours of sleep every night, and make it a priority
1. YOU WILL STOP BELIEVING YOU CANNOT SUCCEED
Lose the weight loss war. Find peace. Achieve victory. And finally believe you will succeed at permanent weight loss.
VP Programs Development, ScaleDown for Life
VP Education, GoZonkers Inc.
Founder, CelebrateLifeNutrition.com
Curb Your Appetite – Stop Your Cravings
©2009 Laura Gontchar. All Rights Reserved.
