RISING WOMEN EXPERTS...

Won’t accepting my body as it is lower my motivation to lose weight?
    By Nancy Anderson Dolan of WiseHeart Wellness Services

No, no, NO! No matter what you weigh, accepting your body is the key to mastery of your weight and eating issues. We don’t lose the desire to be thin; we gain the ability to get there by accepting our bodies. Your body supplies all the guidance and motivation you need to be at your optimum weight. The resistance to our current situation is the only real barrier to being well in our bodies.

When we are out of touch with or ignoring what our bodies are saying about food, eating becomes a problem instead of a pleasure. Lack of acceptance leads to lack of listening. When we accept our bodies, we respect our bodies. When we are constantly resisting our own bodies, we are constantly distressed and discontented in our lives. That ongoing state produces chemical changes in our bodies that inhibit weight loss!

What often is at the root of the non-acceptance is the desire to perpetuate the weight problem as a distraction from our real issues. All our energy goes into the weight struggle while we ignore more frightening or difficult problems.

If we are eating in a way that harms us, there is always a good reason. Whether it is emotional, physical, mental or spiritual, accepting our bodies as they are gets us to the real source of the problem far more quickly, with far more energy to devote to the solution.

Our culture perpetuates our body dissatisfaction. But wait! We can use this propaganda to propel us into wellness. Compassionately observe reactions to the unrealistic models, the diet headlines and the relentless focus on “beautiful people”. This provides access to our subconscious body discontent. Acknowledge it as a diminishing thought and release the emotional charge it carries.

By being fully present with these thoughts and feelings, rather than taking them as indications that we must bully our bodies into better shape, we can move out of self hate and into self acceptance. Then turn our attention to listening to what our bodies really need and want.

Reconnection in this way creates wellness in our minds as well as our bodies. Being “faithfully thin”, listening to and accepting the inner messages about food, activity, nurturance and touch that our bodies are constantly emitting, will get us to our personal “perfect” weight.

For more details on healthy eating habits, please contact Nancy Anderson-Dolan at WiseHeart Wellness Service at 403.685.0864. www.wiseheartweightmastery.com