Welcome to the May 1, 2022 edition of
Midlife Musings on Weight Loss and Life
Moving Forward One Step at a Time
I recently came across this quote from James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits: “Walk slowly, but never backward.”
This quote is a gentle reminder to keep moving forward. If you are on a journey to change your relationships with food and eating and to lose weight in a healthy, sustainable way, you are going to make mistakes. You’re going to have days when you don’t want to eat what you planned to eat. You’re going to have days when you impulsively eat the doughnut (cookie, pizza, burger, etc.) before you even realize what you’re doing. You’re going to have days when you keep eating beyond being satisfied.
None of these things is a big deal in and of itself.
It will come down to what you make these things mean about you and your ability to change and lose weight.
We tend to be perfectionistic.
Our brains freak out when we make mistakes.
We think something has gone terribly wrong.
It hasn’t. It is simply the brain’s way of trying to keep us “safe”.
To the brain, safety equals familiarity, even when what’s familiar doesn’t serve us.
SO…
You can decide to think that:
~you’re just not capable of changing your habits and losing weight.
~you just don’t have what it takes.
~you’re hopeless.
OR…
You can decide:
~that none of it means anything about you as a person.
~to see these actions as habits that can be changed.
~to see these actions as opportunities to know yourself a bit better than you did yesterday.
You can gently, compassionately, and with curiosity ask yourself:
~What’s going on?
~Why did I eat ________ when I didn’t really want to?
~What was I feeling when I grabbed the cookies?
~What was I thinking when I kept eating beyond comfortably full?
~What can I do differently next time?
~How can I better support myself on this journey?
Mistakes mean you’re a human being.
Learning from mistakes means you’re evolving.
Figuring out what works for you and what doesn’t, one day, one step, one mistake at a time is growth.
Mistakes move you forward.
Upcoming Masterclass – Setting Yourself Up for Weight Loss Success, Part Two
I am offering a free masterclass on ways that you can set yourself up for consistent weight loss. This is the second class. What’s special about this class is that it has nothing to do with food, eating, and weight loss (on the surface at any rate).
Over three years ago, I lost 100 pounds for good, by not using traditional diets.
I lost the first 25 pounds unintentionally, without trying. At the time, I was pretty desperate to lose weight. But absolutely nothing was working. Having tried everything more than once, I was at an all-time low – demoralized and discouraged. I honestly didn’t know what to do in terms of food and eating, so I decided to focus on showing up in other areas of my life.
It turns out, that how you show up in one or more areas of your life can and will have a tremendous effect on other areas.
Join me for my free masterclass, Setting Yourself Up for Weight Loss Success, Part Two, on Saturday, May 14th, 9:00 AM, Pacific Daylight Time.
Here is the Zoom Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2669530662
I look forward to seeing there!
Have a beautiful week of peace and joy.
~Jenny