OK, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Raise your hand if one of your New Year’s resolutions was to lose weight. Four weeks later, how are you doing with that resolution? For many people, weight loss is the first thing they think of when they think of “getting healthy” and it’s one of the main reasons people want to hire a health coach.
I think there are two important questions. First, why do you want to lose weight? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Do you want to find love and think you need to be skinny to attract the right person? Do you think that when your body conforms to society’s norms, then you will be happy and successful?
And why are you not at your ideal weight now? Is it simply that you are eating crap that does not nourish you? Are you eating all the “right” foods, but you are left with overwhelming cravings for “bad” foods? Are you starved for joy and comfort and don’t know how to get it, other than from that midnight bowl of ice cream?
Overweight and starving means you eat, but it’s not the right food. Your body still craves nutrition, and so you are compelled to eat even more to try and actually FEED yourself. It might also mean that you are trying to meet your emotional needs with food. It’s a horrible, joyless place to be.
There is a solution! My experience is that a two-pronged, interwoven approach works. Keep in mind that somewhere between 60 and 90 percent of your feel-good chemical serotonin is made in your gut. And that leaky gut allows toxins into your body which affects both physical and mental health. So, a gut-healing nutrient-rich diet of whole, real foods, with plenty of brain-building fats is absolutely necessary to optimal health. AND, addressing life-style issues like stress and body image are also critical.
It’s been a long journey of finding out what works for my body and my spirit. I’ve spent the last year healing my gut. My migraines are gone, and I generally feel happy and serene. I try hard to get enough sleep and to be gentle with myself. I found a life partner who loves me for who I am and tells me every day how beautiful and sexy he finds me. Now, I am working on losing weight. It’s going well. With a few tweaks, the gourmet, decadent diet I have been on for the last year can even be a weight loss plan. I am not feeling deprived because I am getting all that I need. I feel like I am freeing up I even more energy for living a life I love.
SOME OF MY FAVORITE RECIPES THIS MONTH:
Sliced zucchini (instead of crackers) with goat cheese on top. It’s delicious, filling, and an easy lunch if I don’t have time to prepare anything else.
Beef Jerky makes a very tasty and low-carb carry along snack. I make my own so I know exactly what’s in it.
Fennel braised with garlic in chicken stock. Fennel is an anti-inflammatory. Served with locally made sausages and mustard, warming and healing.
Shrimp Chowder was super yummy, made with coconut milk for healthy fats. Great for a cold winter night.
I think there are two important questions. First, why do you want to lose weight? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Do you want to find love and think you need to be skinny to attract the right person? Do you think that when your body conforms to society’s norms, then you will be happy and successful?
And why are you not at your ideal weight now? Is it simply that you are eating crap that does not nourish you? Are you eating all the “right” foods, but you are left with overwhelming cravings for “bad” foods? Are you starved for joy and comfort and don’t know how to get it, other than from that midnight bowl of ice cream?
Overweight and starving means you eat, but it’s not the right food. Your body still craves nutrition, and so you are compelled to eat even more to try and actually FEED yourself. It might also mean that you are trying to meet your emotional needs with food. It’s a horrible, joyless place to be.
There is a solution! My experience is that a two-pronged, interwoven approach works. Keep in mind that somewhere between 60 and 90 percent of your feel-good chemical serotonin is made in your gut. And that leaky gut allows toxins into your body which affects both physical and mental health. So, a gut-healing nutrient-rich diet of whole, real foods, with plenty of brain-building fats is absolutely necessary to optimal health. AND, addressing life-style issues like stress and body image are also critical.
It’s been a long journey of finding out what works for my body and my spirit. I’ve spent the last year healing my gut. My migraines are gone, and I generally feel happy and serene. I try hard to get enough sleep and to be gentle with myself. I found a life partner who loves me for who I am and tells me every day how beautiful and sexy he finds me. Now, I am working on losing weight. It’s going well. With a few tweaks, the gourmet, decadent diet I have been on for the last year can even be a weight loss plan. I am not feeling deprived because I am getting all that I need. I feel like I am freeing up I even more energy for living a life I love.
SOME OF MY FAVORITE RECIPES THIS MONTH:
Sliced zucchini (instead of crackers) with goat cheese on top. It’s delicious, filling, and an easy lunch if I don’t have time to prepare anything else.
Beef Jerky makes a very tasty and low-carb carry along snack. I make my own so I know exactly what’s in it.
Fennel braised with garlic in chicken stock. Fennel is an anti-inflammatory. Served with locally made sausages and mustard, warming and healing.
Shrimp Chowder was super yummy, made with coconut milk for healthy fats. Great for a cold winter night.
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