On Weight Loss

"If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten."  -I don't know who said this, but it's on Pinterest all the time.

Here's what I've always done:  Feel fat, start exercising, try to eat less or healthier, lose some weight, don't reach my goal weight, get sick of feeling hungry and deprived all the time, get discouraged because I'm not reaching my goal weight and it's taking FOREVER, eat little snacks througout the day, justify that said snacks are okay, and eventually give up for awhile, having lost some weight but still feeling like a failure because I didn't do what I set out to do.

I do have a couple of advantages.  The first is that I do know a lot of the principles of eating healthy.  Also, once I lose weight, it doesn't immediately come back.  I attribute that to knowing mostly how to eat healthy.

You want to know something interesting?  A lot of people think they'll be happy when they lose the extra weight.  A lot of those same people aren't happy if and when they do.

There is no magic pill for permanent weight loss.  Weight loss is not a magic pill for feeling happy.

What is the phrase?  Mind Blown.

Have you ever read the writings of Geneen Roth?  She has some interesting things to say.  Plus, she's an interesting writer, which makes her books fun to read.  Basically, she decided one day, after years and years of dieting and bingeing and being anywhere from anorexic to obese, that she was no longer going to diet.  Ever.  It wasn't worth it.

The first year on this plan, she ate ice cream and cakes and cookies and learned to love and listen to her body and her instincts.  She gained 15 pounds.

The second year on this plan, she practiced loving and respecting and listening to her body.  She lost 30 pounds, and has been there ever since.  She learned to be happy being herself at whatever weight she was, and because she loved her body, she wanted to take care of it.

I like that plan.  I want to listen to my body.  I've been trying it for the last few months.  It's been fun.  It's been surprisingly hard.  It continues to be hard.  It continues to be fun.  I'm still learning.  I don't think I went quite as batty as Geneen did when she stopped dieting, but I have begun to enjoy this whole eating thing. 

Stay tuned... there will be more to come on this topic!