I've been chasing the scale almost my entire life, since elementary school. So in honor of it being 10 years since I wrote my first blog, I thought I'd reflect on how my focus has shifted from chasing a certain weight and size to holistic wellness- knowing that I'm moving every day, nourishing my body and am healthy and comfortable in my skin.
At 49, I'm not at my heaviest weight and I'm not at my lightest and quite frankly, I'm tired of thinking about my weight. If there's anything I've learned over the past 10 years it's that losing weight and happiness aren't always in alignment. There are plenty of people who have lost weight and are still miserable and fighting emotional battles that being "at goal" didn't solve.
With that said, my ever changing wellness journey has allowed me to stay at a healthy weight since 2012. But Tara you just said you're tired of thinking about your weight?!? Truth. I have struggled to lose the diet mentality and weight loss focus that I've had since the 80's. The restriction. The guilt. The mental punishment for "eating something bad". Ugh! That's a lot of years lost. Everywhere we look someone is telling us we can be thinner, stronger, have whiter teeth, longer lashes, thicker hair. The health and beauty industry comes at us hard with ads. Hell, I came at you hard with Weight Watchers and Beachbody. Yet these last few years battling back from lyme disease and past my neuralgia illness have shifted my point of view.
Starting with Weight Watchers. I tracked points instead of paying attention to what I was eating and why. I knew all of the points for donuts, fries, Pop Tarts. I did learn how to eat healthier than I was before I started. I kept within the program constraints and it worked- 40+ pounds lost. I'm great at restrictive eating, it's what I know. Now don't get me wrong, I learned SO much from WW and I was a leader and there's a lot of merit to their programs. I did learn about behavior change. I just didn't realize that for the most part I wasn't putting quality foods into my body.
Moving to Beachbody. Beachbody got me closer to understanding the importance of nutrition in combination with movement. That the combination of certain foods and movement, specifically strength training, can be powerful, especially as we age. Thanks to BB I transformed my body to the most fit at 44 than in my entire life! But once again I was off balance, I managed the scale and my size way too tightly. I still couldn't lose the guilt of "skipping a workout" or "eating a bad food". Then I found Beachbody's 2B Mindset program that focuses on the quality and quantity of food and also on the mental aspect of wellness. I finally started to experience freedom. Freedom from constraint, freedom from rigid tracking. I moved to truly focusing on the quality of foods I was eating- whole foods, very few processed items and of course some occasional treats. I found that I was able to maintain my weight, not effortlessly, but with much less stress and guilt.
This was my gateway to healing my body holistically and becoming curious about what else might work for me (for my age, menopause, hormones). If you've read my previous posts you'll see my evolution over the past 4 years. My curiosity led me to the following resources.
Books:
Body Love by Kelly Leveque | No Grain No Pain by Dr. Peter Osborne | Change Your Brain Change Your Body by Dr. Daniel Amen | You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay
Podcasts:
The Art of Being Well with Dr. Will Cole | Cleaning up the Mental Mess with Dr. Caroline Leaf | Weight Loss for Busy Physicians with Katrina Ubell
I hope this post helps you see that there are many paths to health. If you've tried something and it didn't work keep trying new things until something sticks. Instead of being angry or frustrated, be open to change.
Stop hating on your body enough to pay attention to what it needs. Maybe what worked for you in your 20's isn't working in your 50's....guuuuurrrlll (or guy) your body is changing and that's OK.
It took me forever (and a day) to figure out that if you focus on health, the scale will follow. No need to chase it. And if you let it go and appreciate all that your body does for you (even with cellulite, lumps, bumps and stretch marks) your heart and mind can finally exhale and be at peace.
Make the choice. Commit to the choice and continue with courage.
XO,
Tara
