What’s Underneath Your Weight?

This is a touchy, controversial topic yet one that needs to be addressed, in my opinion, for long-term permanent weight loss success.  We don’t need to find the right protein drink, the right recipes, because it isn’t about the food.  There is no food that is going to determine our weight loss success.  If that were the case, the hundreds of boxes of pre-packaged diet foods would be obsolete.  You can eat whatever you want to eat.  Yes, I said that – you can eat whatever you want to eat AFTER you determine the reasons why you turn to food to cope with your life, emotions and to numb uncomfortable situations.

Whether we’ve had weight loss surgery, reached our goal weight through a diet problem or on our own, that’s only part of the work.  You may be able to stay there for a period of time.  I did.  I maintained my weight loss of 147 pounds for over three years easily.  However, when I underwent a real challenge and transition in my life, I turned to that soft, comfortable way to deal with things – food.  Yes, I’d lost weight but I hadn’t done the work I needed to in order to maintain the weight loss long-term and permanently.  Life is going to happen.  What we do with that is what will determine weight loss success.  Do you return to the old coping ways of before and eat for comfort?  I did.  To relose it, I had to go through the way things I did from my surgery to lose the weight.  The difference is that it was much, much harder, slower and more challenging.

So, what’s underneath your weight?  What caused you to turn to cookies and chips rather than healthy habits to cope with your life in ways other than food?  All of us can lose weight and we have!!  The key is to face the issues straight on, deal with them either on your own or with a counselor or coach, and move forward without the crutch of food.  It can be done.  The reward is to maintain your weight, be able to eat whatever you want because you will self-regulate yourself and not overeat yet enjoy that food without a day-long, week-long, month-long or years-long binge.

Many people don’t want to face the reasons why we abuse our bodies and turn to food.  They will seek out websites that have low calorie, low carb and low fat recipes thinking that is the answer.  It may be for a short time but not long-term.  There are lots of websites that have tons of traffic because they feature recipes, food-related information.  I am about the topics and issues that will provide recovery for the rest of your life from being a career dieter.  I am about ditching the issues with food that hold us back and prevent us from living our lives full-out, full blast and living out loud.

Get to the root of why you struggle with food, attend to it, and you will no longer have a weight problem.  Period.

For me, I discovered that I was avoiding uncomfortable situations and emotions.  I wanted my life to be a roller coaster with only highs, no lows.  I wanted my life to be rainbows, sunshine, happiness, and everything going my way just the way I wanted it.  I didn’t want people to let me down.  I felt defective, inferior, second-rate and inadequate to a shut-down, emotionally unavailable family.  I definitely didn’t fit in with my family.  So, I turned to food to cope, to fit in, to manage and to survive in an environment that I didn’t feel loved, cared about or understood.

Through a lot of personal development growth work, some therapy, and most effectively was working with a phenomenal life coach, and a lot of accepting myself and appreciating the wonderful characteristics and qualities that make me who I am and letting myself be who I was – I embrace and believe it is an honor to be who I am.  It took awhile, though, and it was a lot of difficult work but it has all bee worth it.  As painful as our pasts may be, don’t let them cloud and hold us back from the full, meaningful life that we are meant to have.  I wish I could give all of you the gift of facing your issues head on, dealing with them appropriately, and then moving full speed forward with a life you never believe could be possible but….IT IS!!!

Facing the truth about yourself takes courage and diligence. It starts with the desire to really unlock the mystery behind the symptoms of emotional overeating and head hunger.  You don’t have to fill that deep, dark hole inside of you with food.  There is no recipe, protein drink, diet, or anything that is the answer.  The answer is inside of YOU!!  I promise and guarantee to you that it is!  As your coach, we can worth together so you can find it and fill it up yourself.  Or, you can work on your own and do it yourself.  You can fill up that hole once and for all with you, your life, and all that you are inside.

Before you can be successful, you must realize one basic fact – your past does not equal your future.  Change the inside (which is YOU) and you automatically change the outside (lose weight and keep it off!).  You have the power to change, and YOU are that power!  It isn’t in a protein drink, shake or bar, nor is in a recipe or some magic combination of foods….everything you need to lose weight and keep it off is inside of YOU.

Believe In Yourself,
Cathy, CLC
Certified Life Coach, Weight Loss Surgery Coach
Certified Back On Track Facilitator