Can’t stop eating? Here’s why
We feel so crazy around food because our brains are responding to the threat of deprivation, or actually starvation. You’re not crazy, weak, or out of control if you really want to eat foods that taste good. You’re a normal human. If you feel like you Can’t Stop Eating, ask yourself why you would want to. Maybe a better question is why food has become so important in your life, and what you need to add into your daily experience to create more balance and peace for yourself.
Will I Be Fat When I Die?
This notecard is tacked beside the desk of a petite elderly woman who has just moved into assisted living. This woman is brilliant, had an impressive career, and lived an independent, wealthy, enviable life. When I saw the “127 Pounds” beside lists of books she wanted to read and pictures of places she’d visited and lists of goals she had for herself, it broke my heart a little bit.
Why the Scale Will Always Derail You
If you are a die-hard scale devotee, I understand how important that ritual is to you right now. It helps you feel like you’re in control. You’re almost a little addicted to the drama of discovering today’s number. You can’t imagine going through a day without knowing the “truth” about what’s going on with your body. I completely get it, because I lived that way for years. The damage of weighing myself really crystallized for me one day about 8 years ago, and the impact was so dramatic that I haven’t been tempted to weigh myself since.
But I have to lose weight for my health!
There’s a lot of evidence that losing weight and keeping it off isn’t possible for most people -- you really need look no further than your own experience, most likely. And each attempt to lose weight messes with your metabolism and appetite over the long term -- it’s not a benign act. Let’s talk about why focusing on weight loss derails you from your actual goals.