Last week I talked to Dr. Tran a bit about what it took to be skinny – and she asked me to journal about what I originally thought it took to get skinny vs what I think it takes now.  I thought it was an interesting exercise & wanted to share some of my thoughts on it with you!

Being Skinny
My younger dieting self was always aiming to be “skinny”.  I didn’t care how I got there and I didn’t care about anything but the number on the scale and the number on the tag in my pants.  My entire focus was to look good – and that meant skinny. Now that I’m 42, and I’ve lost weight and gained it back more times than I can count, my main concern is being healthy and fit.  For me, that’s less about trying to fit into a bikini and more about feeling good and strong, showing up consistently for my son, and having a healthy relationship with food. Yes – I still want to look good, but I see that as an added bonus rather than my main reason.

Eat Less, Move More
Ok – so I don’t disagree with this exactly, but I feel like it’s missing something.  What I’ve learned is that there is so much more to weight loss than eat less, move more.  Through my work with my coach, Emily, I found that a lot of my eating is emotional (stress, boredom, anger, happiness, etc…).  Eating has been a way for me to cope with my feelings instead of feeling them. This is a much more complicated thing to tackle and I think it’s the backbone of weight loss.  If you don’t work on your relationship to food then you’re going to fall into your old eating habits as soon as there’s a bump in the road… and there will always be bumps in the road.  So yes – eat less, move more – but also work on the real (hidden) reasons you struggle with your weight. 

It’s Genetics
So this is sort of a double sided thing for me.  In the past I have blamed my genetics on being overweight.  It might have something to do with it, but it’s not the end all be all – and I think ultimately it’s just another way I’ve excused my behavior.  I’ve also discounted thin people – writing their bodies off as genetics. Yes – they might come from “good stock”, but it doesn’t mean they don’t work for the body they have.  I caught myself thinking that about a friend, but when I really paid attention – I realized she was really careful about what she ate 80% of the time, and she worked out daily.  Genetics plays a small role, but ultimately I believe I have the power to create the body I want.

 So those are just of few of the ways my mindset on weight loss has changed.  I definitely think I’m on a healthier path this go-around, and I feel like focusing on my relationship to food has been a game changer!

~C