Read 53 times since Thursday, February 04, 2010
We all know that diets fail. If you're like so many people, you may keep trying hoping this one will be different. But what hasn't changed is one essential factor that always gets ignored. It requires a whole new way of being in your body-but it also promises to change your life forever. It allows you to diet from the inside out and make choices that will sustain you for years to come.
What's the secret? It's simple. Listen to what you need.
This sounds simple, but what does that mean in the world of diet and exercise? Here are three ways it shows up and three ways your new attitude will change everything.
1)Are you listening?
Most of the time the biggest downfall to dieting is that we stop listening to our own bodies. We've been on so many programs telling us different things that we don't even know anymore if we're actually hungry, or tired, or sad. We might grab for a bag of chips when what we really need is to move around a little, get outside, call a friend or take a nap. Food becomes the default solution to every need.
Ask yourself the next time you go to grab for something how hungry you actually are on a scale of 1-10-if you're only at a 1 or a 2, you're clearly not eating because you're hungry. Be willing to ask yourself what else you might need right now: are you lonely? Bored? Sad?
Other than hunger, your body has bunch of different signals to tell you what it's feeling. Once you listen and begin to speak its language, you can tell the difference between sadness and hunger and create solutions for the real need. A bag of chips-as we all know-doesn't really make us feel less lonely or tired. Sometimes it just makes us feel worse.
2)Make choices that are realistic and enjoyable.
Part of listening to what you need is not kidding yourself about what lifestyle choices are realistic for you. If you have to get up at 6am already to get the kids off to school, you might be setting yourself up for failure if you decide to exercise beforehand at 5am.
One of the most common causes of diet failure is not setting goals that can fit into your life. It doesn't take much to reconnect with your body and get healthier-if you can commit to a half hour walk every day at the office while you return calls on your cell phone, that will make a bigger change over time than the weight-lifting you say you'll do at the gym but never get around to because you hate it!
Ask yourself what's realistic for you and what you actually enjoy. You don't have to do things you hate to start making positive changes. Listen to what you love and find a way to bring it into the choices you're making: go on a walk with a girlfriend, take a yoga class. If you pick a form of exercise that takes the real you into account, you're much more likely to stick to it for the long haul.
3)Remember what it's like to trust yourself.
Years of dieting can bring along years of mistrust and disappointment. You can stop feeling like you know what's best for yourself or feel that if you actually take the time to listen to what you need, you'll only want what's bad. The truth is, you know what you need--and as you learn to listen to your body more and create a healthier relationship, it will be harder to ignore the signals that tell you what's really right for you.
Think about what it would take to trust yourself and your choices again. This is, after all, the mindset of people who feel great in their bodies and it's where you want to get to as well. What would it feel like to be at peace with your body and know that you will take the time to listen to what you really need? Imagine what that would feel like and call up that feeling whenever you start getting apprehensive about your weight loss goals.
Learning to listen to what you need is a process, but if you can really make a change and commit to it, you'll be able to let go of diets forever and make choices, moment-to-moment, that truly serve you-and your body-best. Anna Stookey is psychotherapist & bodymind specialist who helps people move into their highest vision of health and wellness by partnering with their bodies rather than working against them. Read her ongoing blog at www.bodyreunion.blogspot.com or sign on to the website: www.bodymindguide.com
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