Make The Shift - Respecting Your Body - Healthy Weightloss

Make one small change at a time that you can live with until it sticks. Then start on another small change, like eating an apple every day. In six months to a year you will be feeling and looking so much better you may not recognize yourself! Six months really is not as long as it sounds, just think how close Christmas is and it seems like it was just here! In a hurry to lose weight just does not work to keep it off. bonnie--


by Julie Fuimano

After losing over 40 pounds and shrinking by five dress sizes, people who see me now ask, "How did you do it?" Of course, my reply is not anything special or unique, "I eat less and work out just about every day." Everyone knows how to lose weight. I keep waiting for someone to ask me the right question, which is, "Who did you need to become in order to treat your body differently and achieve healthy weight loss that lasts?"

A Quick Fix

Most people are disappointed with my reply because they want the quick fix. By asking how someone has lost weight, what they really want to know is, what new fad diet or what pill can they take to change their figure? What is the miracle cure for eliminating the extra bulges "round the middle"? There is no such program. The only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you take in, given what your body uses in a day. Eat less, work out and the weight will come off; it has to. Eat less, work out = healthy weightloss!

People struggling to lose weight are focused on behavior modification, a noble effort but full of effort nonetheless. It is your thoughts and beliefs and how you relate to yourself that determines your actions and those actions manifest your results. If you focus only on changing your behavior, then while you will see results, they will not be sustainable unless you also change the thinking behind your behavior. If your ideas about food and your body do not change, then you will be forever on the diet, worried about your weight and focused on your behavior. The moment you stop your focus, you’ll start to regain the weight.

The Inner Shift

The real work when wanting to change your body is on how you think and feel about your body. The relationship you have with your body and with food is where the inner work comes in. Learn to love and respect your body - after all, it's the only one you’re ever going to have - and learn to treat food as a source of fuel rather than pleasure. When you learn to treat your body differently, you will lose weight as a byproduct of thinking and "being" different.

Your body is an incredible machine. It is your spirit's home. It deserves your love and affection. Your body is how you are able to experience this world. Without it, you would not be here. Learning to appreciate and honor your body is your responsibility. And learning how to use your body in order to navigate this world is how you live a rich and fulfilled life.

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