“As soon as I stopped focusing on losing weight, I healed from my eating disorder…” or “As soon as I stopped dieting I lost weight…” I’ve heard this from clients again, and again and again and again.
Why do you think that this is true for so many people? I know that focusing on weight loss keeps people pulled into the bingeing and restricting cycle and pulled into the “I’ll be better when…” syndrome (and there’s never an ending to the when…), but it’s also because the focus on weight loss is always inherently focusing on something negative… losing instead of gaining. One thing that I help people do in their recovery is to focus on adding instead of subtracting and gaining instead of losing. Like adding healthy, life affirming foods instead of taking unhealthy foods away, like gaining strength and health instead of losing pounds, like adding positive behaviors instead of subtracting negative behaviors away. The hope is that the positive behaviors and thoughts will eventually crowd out the less desirable behaviors and thoughts… and it works! And it’s so much more enjoyable to feed yourself healthy, loving foods, thoughts, and actions than punishing yourself, criticizing yourself or restricting yourself.
What would it be like if you took JUST ONE WEEK and decided to not focus on weight loss at all, to not even think about it.
It’s my one week challenge to you. See what happens and then report back.
What are some things you can focus on instead of losing weight? I’m glad you asked:
1. Gaining strength
2. Gaining inner peace and calmness
3. Being self loving
4. Going toward health and well being
5. Filling your evenings with self-soothing rituals (ie: baths, good books, foot massages and cuddles)
6. Breathing into your belly or meditating when you are feeling stressed or anxious
7. Getting more sleep
There. There are seven things you can focus on for the next seven days. Each day choose one and by the end of next week, see how you are feeling, see what it was like to spend a week totally not focusing on weight loss.