I used to hold myself to absolutes like I’m never going to overeat or binge again. Or I’d tell myself I’m always gonna avoid certain food groups. Thing is, I could often do it for a while, sometimes even a long while, but I couldn’t do it forever. And when I inevitably screwed up, it gave me an excuse to overeat or abuse food again.
1. For simple & natural weight loss, don’t be rigid in your thinking
Being rigid truly doesn’t help you at all. All being rigid tends to do is hold you to a standard that you might not be able to meet. It also keeps you from seeing solutions that are available to you, especially about finding what works for you and doing that.
I don’t hold myself to absolutes anymore. I don’t tell myself I’m always or never going to do anything. That’s too much pressure. Always is a long time. So is never. All absolutes tend to do is fuel perfectionism and all-or-nothing thinking. And both of those things will give you an excuse to abuse food when you make a mistake.
So what I tell myself now because it’s true is that I know what to do if an event happens. I know exactly how to handle it if I overeat or use food in some way it was never intended to be used. I know exactly what actions to take so I don’t give up on myself and go spiraling out of control. In the end, that’s what really matters anyway, that you don’t give up on yourself and quit when you make a mistake.
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2. For simple & natural weight loss, don’t be rigid with rules
You will get so much further in your weight-loss efforts, and you’ll also get there with a lot less stress, if you’ll do yourself a kindness and stop being rigid with weight-loss rules or guidelines. You need to be willing and open to looking at both your life and your weight-loss efforts in a new light.
I used to rigidly follow diet rules and eating guidelines. I also used to strictly follow what other people thought was the best way for me to lose weight. I didn’t believe I had permission to change things to suit my own needs. That’s what kept on the diet-go-round for over twenty years. I kept striving to follow rules and guidelines that just didn’t fit my particular needs.
So I finally stopped listening to everyone else and started listening to myself. That’s when I gave myself permission to tweak any method or technique to suit my particular circumstances so it would work for me. I finally found success once I figured out what worked for me and I did that. If you want your weight-loss efforts to succeed, which I know you do, then you’re going to have to do the same.
3. For simple & natural weight loss, don’t be rigid with what you believe
It’s especially important to not be rigid about what you believe. Your beliefs are what drive all your actions. So it’s really vital to your success that you’re open and willing to change any beliefs that aren’t serving you, and that includes beliefs about losing weight.
I used to believe that I had to eat a strict number of calories a day, so I counted everything I ate and wrote it down. I used to believe I had to avoid entire food groups altogether, so I’d refuse to eat whatever food category a diet told me to even if it made me miserable. I used to believe I had to deny myself foods I really liked and eat foods that didn’t taste good to me and drink so much water a day that I felt like I was waterlogged. Now I don’t do any of that.
I lost the weight by eating what I wanted. I’ve kept the weight off for eight years and counting while still eating what I want. The reason I can do that is because I was willing to open my mind and believe something else, something that would serve me better. If you want that for your life, then you can and need to do the same.
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My weight loss transformation & how it can help you have simple & natural weight loss
You absolutely can break the diet cycle. I got free. Your life can be that way too.
I made my own path because I needed to get myself out of the crazy-making behavior I was having around food. I needed:
- no more dieting.
- no more restrictive eating.
- no weighing and measuring food.
- no off-limit foods.
- no more judgment around food.
- no more trying to figure out healthy eating or just what healthy foods to eat.
- no more judging my self-worth based on the scale.
- no more you’re-not-doing-it-perfectly diet rules that were only fueling my constant thinking about and obsession with food.
I needed to stop: searching for weight loss tips, wondering how to lose belly fat fast or how to lose weight fast, worrying about how to eat healthy or finding healthy snacks for weight loss, coming up with yet another healthy eating plan, trying to have quick weight loss, or forcing myself onto yet another weight loss diet. What I needed instead was to find, out of all the weight loss programs out there, the best weight loss program for me. Turns out, the best way to lose weight was to find out what works for me and do that.
- I’ve lost 160+ pounds naturally by simply trusting myself and listening to my intuition (mindful eating and eating intuitively).
- I have maintained that weight loss for 9 years and counting by trusting myself and listening to my intuition (mindful eating and intuitive eating).
- I no longer have any eating disorders, including bulimia (bulimia nervosa) and binge eating disorder (compulsive overeating).
- I no longer have a fear of food.
Just imagine what you could be doing with your life if you’d just commit to having your own before and after weight loss success story. You could be: following your own dreams and reaching your own goals, cultivating your own passions, and making both your inner and outer worlds a more blissful and peaceful place.
I got that for my life. I want it for yours. I will teach you how.
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Let today be the day you make peace with your body and with food.
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