The 12 step programs have a slogan: The meaning of insanity is performing the same task repeatedly and expecting a distinct result. According to that definition, when it involved my mass, I was insane. Over the years, I counted points on Weight Watchers, ate frozen Jenny Craig foods, worked out at Inches Away, guzzled Slim Fasts, slipped into trances in hypnosis, charged the entire body of mine with Energy Tapping, yelled my feelings within Radix, as well as discovered the inner kid of mine in regular talk treatment. Whenever, I hit the goal weight of mine, then gained the majority of the weight back. So two years ago, when an orthopedic surgeon explained I needed knee surgery but would not run until I dropped a few pounds, something snapped. I’d to do things differently.
For months after the surgeon’s pronouncement I resisted, complained, and also procrastinated, but eventually reached acceptance. I needed a strategy. I was not comfy in gyms where the younger generation with buff bodies strutted their stuff. I am not, and neither have I been inclined to jog or even play sports. If I attempt something sports, invariably I break a bone or strain a muscle. Instead, I discovered a gym filled mostly with folks on oxygen and who use walkers to get around. At fifty nine, I was one of probably the youngest members. Exercise physiologists gave me a workout based on the history of mine plus physical abilities and so I wouldn’t hurt myself and try to do too much too rapidly. The staff members nutritionist taught me how you can eat healthy foods without becoming obsessed.
I didn’t understand this at the point in time, but what I put together was a means to be conscious about my food and body. Eckhart Tolle, in A brand new Earth, says humans carry an accumulation of old emotional pain, that he calls “the pain body.” He also says the “pain body” thrives on negativity, applying emotionally distressing experiences as food. No wonder I couldn’t sustain weight loss. My “pain body” craved misery. Unless I learned to identify when my “pain body” became triggered, it would go on to seek what it knew best–pain and suffering.
I decided to weigh myself daily. Previously, that led to daily frustration as well as obsession with results (or lack thereof). This time, my goal was to learn more here about and understand my body to see what elements influenced the fat of mine. I learned not to identify with what I noticed on the machine. When I caught myself at the labeling game: “good” if I lost a pound; “bad” if I did not, I did what Tolle advises accept “what is.”
Everyone’s body is unique and I discovered what is effective for mine: I am hypoglycemic, but didn’t comprehend how that was troubled by nutrition. I have to have at the very least 3 starch servings each day (i.e. one piece of bread; ½ glass of whole wheat pasta). Or else, I get light-headed and very irritable. Drinking enough fluids was important as well I tend to retain water. Adding fruit and vegetables into my diet was hard, but essential. I switched from products with white flour to whole grain pastas and breads. Lastly, I started taking probiotic health supplements to normalize my body’s digestive system. Irregularity influences body weight.
Above all, I started to be familiar with the negative self-talk running through the head of mine. It was challening to continue being vigilant enough to recognize the voice of “the pain-body” and not react. But as this process unfolded, my attitudes began shifting and I found myself making various choices. What emerged were eight ways my “pain body” tried to sabotage the losing weight of mine. Tolle teaches us not to be able to reject or resist the negative emotions of ours, but to acknowledge their existence. awareness and Acceptance must arrive before actions if long-term changes are to occur. See in case these internal dialogues from my “pain body” sound familiar. They are followed by the beneficial way I reframed them:
1. Do not get on the scale. Then you are able to pretend you are not gaining the weight back.
The scale is my friend and also keeps me honest. If my mass begins to creep up, I am able to stop it at five pounds, rather than thirty.
2. Wear only clothing with elastic waists so you can pretend your clothes still fit.
When that zipper is a little snug, it is time to take inventory. I have to travel on the scale and figure out just how much damage I have done and take corrective action quickly.