The Superhero of Weight Loss
Sep 19, 2018
Every year my family and I go to a community gathering. There’s singing and acts of service. It’s a nice touchstone.
Well, this year I noticed something very disturbing.
We’re outgrowing the event.
It’s for young families and that’s how I identify myself and my family—my kids are young. Except . . . they’re not so young anymore.
I watched the other families with their young children. I saw how hard the moms were working at this 2-hour event. They packed snacks and books and toys. There were noses to wipe and shoes to tie. There was chasing after and crying to soothe.
I remember those days, but I had to admit I was not in them now.
I’m having a hard time accepting that those intense mothering years are over. Just writing that gives my heart a pang.
If I resist accepting that my kids are no longer babies then will they stay babies?
Nope.
It just means I’d miss out on what’s actually happening with them now. I’d miss who they are becoming and my actions, in an attempt to keep them babies, would hinder their natural development.
Same thing happens with our bodies and weight.
If we resist accepting our current size, will the excess weight magically disappear?
Not likely!
What happens instead is we delay living our life. We’re surprised by the figure in the mirror and we eat to muffle those uncomfortable feelings.
A downward spiral of denial and false comfort.
Accepting means acknowledging the truth. Once we do that we take responsibility for the situation and only then can we make realistic changes to get us where we decide we want to go.
This is my ode to acceptance. It’s one of the main tools in my arsenal to help people lose weight and keep it off. It’s a superpower.
Accept your circumstance.
You don’t have to like it or be resigned to it, you just have to acknowledge that it is the truth right now.
Once you do, you have all the power. You can act to change what is.
For example, it may become obvious to you that you can’t keep ordering fast food for lunch if you want to lose weight (too many calories).
Or it may become clear that you can’t keep working late and be able to make dinner once you get home (you’re too hungry and tired).
Something has to change.
Maybe work hours, maybe someone else starts cooking dinner, maybe you get a healthy meal service.
There are many ways to troubleshoot once you see the actual problem. Really see it.
Where we get stuck is wishing it were different. Thinking, “I should be able to bring home the bacon and fry it up in the pan.” We have our limits (that’s another hard thing to accept) and as grown-ups we need to work within them.
Accepting my family is growing up allows me to appreciate what I had, grieve the loss of the younger years and move on with open eyes to the future so I can be the mother they need now.
Accepting your food system as broken allows you to figure out the real problem and find solutions to fit your current life situation.
It takes courage to live life this way. There’s an ease, though, once there is acceptance. Acceptance makes way for momentum. And that’s what I want for you—ease and glory.
Are you part of the free Facebook Group yet? If not, join here!
Now check out this Ounce of Prevention Chat: we see where Acceptance can get us (hint: skinnier!)
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