Anchored

I have been looking into many medical studies regarding weight loss or better yet, the lack of weight loss for people who work hard to maintain a calorie deficit. It’s a journey I know all too well, having wrestled with diets and fluctuations in weight for over a decade. What emerges from these studies and personal experiences is a revelation: weight loss isn’t merely about calories in versus calories out. If it were, the staggering statistic of only 5% achieving sustained success wouldn’t haunt millions of dieters.

Brief Look At My Journey

My own path saw a triumph of shedding 65 pounds, albeit through initially unhealthy means. It dawned on me, after years of fruitless dieting, that a radical shift was needed. I abandoned the shackles of restriction and diet foods, opting instead to embark on a journey of self-discovery, scrutinizing my relationship with food, exercise, and ultimately, myself.

I began with questions:

• Why am/did I eat that?
• What was I thinking when I was eating?
• Did I like the taste of what I was eating?
• Was I hungry or just eating out of want? If out of want…What was it that I actually wanted? (comfort, a nap, peace, less anxiety, love….)
• When do I struggle with food or drinks the most often? Why?
• What did I think after I ate?
• How did I talk to myself before and after I ate?
• Why am I exercising or want to exercise right now?

The answers unearthed profound insights into the barriers thwarting my weight loss efforts, energy levels, muscle gain, and emotional well-being.

Key Realizations from Self-Reflection

• Eating out of habit rather than hunger was a revelation. Embracing intuitive eating, I now heed my body’s cues, shunning rigid meal times. Remarkably, honoring hunger cues stabilized my blood sugar levels and curbed cravings.
• Stress-induced eating, seeking solace in food, emerged as another stumbling block. I embarked on strategies to comfort myself sans food, addressing stressors with self-compassion and deep breathing exercises, effectively dismantling the cycle of emotional eating.
• Mindless eating, a byproduct of poor body image and food relationships, yielded to mindful consumption. I now savor each bite, attuned to flavor and satiety cues, bidding farewell to guilt-laden binges.
• Going out to eat and attending large gatherings used to be significant triggers. Peer pressure, last meal mentality, cravings, being overly hungry, and being uncomfortable in some social gatherings was the root of my eating away from home barriers. Now, I choose the foods I want, I limit or avoid foods that don’t make me feel good (no matter how much I love/want them) and I create a meal that has protein, carbs, fats and color.

My voyage of self-discovery is ongoing, punctuated by occasional lapses into old habits. Yet, each stumble is met not with shame, but with curiosity and a resolve to evolve.

Each of us has a past that has shaped our relationship with food and our bodies. Until we can get honest with these questions and more, our bodies will continue to hold on to weight, stress, anxiety, and fears that keep us stuck in the self-sabotage wheel health troubles.

True Health Success Comes From

Sharing my journey is a testament to the inadequacy of the calorie-in versus calorie-out paradigm. True success stems from a psychological overhaul, followed by dietary and exercise modifications. Social, genetic, and psychological factors wield greater influence over our eating and weight struggles than mere food choices.

What Approach Should You Take?

While calorie awareness is prudent, the composition of meals holds greater sway in achieving holistic health. Whole foods, comprising a balanced mix of macronutrients, offer sustained benefits, unlike fad diets that wreak havoc on metabolism and appetite regulation.

In a society fixated on body image, let us champion a culture of self-love in our eating habits. The transformation of our mental well-being will invariably manifest in our physical health, eclipsing the efficacy of any diet regimen.