Tracy was struggling. She knew what to do, and we’d talked about many of the drivers of her emotional eating. Most of the time she could make better choices, but some days – Then a day turned into a few, then a string of weeks and months. She landed in my office in tears.
The frustration left her with depressive feelings, and memories crept in. You know how when you begin to see your flaws, they’re like grey hairs — they multiply? She was in the thick of it, and they all felt true – even if they weren’t. We get stuck in that repeating pattern, and we return to our old ways: Food will make me feel better.
Cue the beat down, and the industry tries to soothe with statistics, clichés, and generalizations – “only 5% can maintain, so you’re not alone. You can be healthy anyway. It’s okay – everyone regains their weight. Just start again.” It helps a little, but it doesn’t help resolve the issue.
SECRET: It is possible to lose the weight you want to lose AND maintain that goal weight.
Once you find what works for your body, then what’s driving you to food and heal that, then you are free to reconnect with your best self. When you are acting from your best, isn’t it easier to make better choices?
The truth is, sometimes we need some emotional excavation to reconnect. We know she’s in there. She pops up now and again, and sometimes for large portions of our lives. Then something triggers, and up pops that lesser self, beating up, diminishing, and questioning oneself.
We are wonderfully complex creatures.
We’ve spent years adjusting to the world around us rather than just being ourselves. Our lesser selves are like a robot vacuum – when something goes wrong, we return to our base of habits and responses. It takes time to shift that base to new habits and responses. When you hit a trigger, it’s an opportunity to practice the new. Yes, remembering in the midst of it is a challenge. That’s why we need practice.
With Tracy, we’d done a lot of work already, but she needed a bit more help getting over that mindset and heart-belief edge. I made her a bespoke visualization to help her see the possibilities and ingrain some better thoughts, and she listened daily initially. Since late October, she’s lost 20 pounds.
When we reconnect, our best selves allow us to make good choices that steer us toward our goals. Then it’s more than possible to lose the weight AND keep it off.
How’s your best self? If you want some help to reconnect, contact me.
