If you are anything like me, you have been lured into buying a magazine because the front cover offered the key to unlocking the secrets of weight loss. You have most likely tried countless approaches to shedding the pounds.

Personally, I have done calorie counting, diabetic exchanges, low carbohydrates, frequent small meals and no sugar to name a few. Admittedly, each diet method worked for a season. In fact, I can think of multiple diet scenarios that culminated with a big smile and a satisfactory number on the scale. However, as soon as the diet was “over” it was only a matter of time before my weight began creeping up once again.

Why Do We Assume That Weight Lose Works Better If We Pay For It?

The pay-for-progress mentality is an interesting one. Somewhere along the way, we buy into the idea that we can only get what we pay for. While this is typically true for a lot of things, I no longer think this philosophy fosters life-long success with weight. How many of you have tried more than one paid program to lose weight?

Why don’t these programs bring lasting results? Because, most of us are not willing to invest in pricey weight-loss programs for the rest of our lives. What’s more, most of these programs cannot be incorporated seamlessly into our daily lives. People who successfully manage their weight eventually come to the realization that successful weight maintenance never ends.

How I Made The Mind-Body Connection

In November, 2014, I took a completely different approach to weight loss.  I decided to record my thoughts along the way through journaling. I had done food journaling several times in the past. But those times revolved completely around the foods I ate.

This time, I wrote about my frustrations and small victories. I noted when I felt the hungriest and I paid special attention to the foods that were the most difficult to resist. Most importantly, I recorded my self-talk; the internal dialogue that bounced around in my head when I was faced with temptation.

Quite frankly, I didn’t know what to expect from this exercise, but I was fed up with my inability to manage my weight and I decided it was time to get to the bottom of it. Slowly, an epiphanic thought took shape in my head after the first week of journaling. Ah yes, I just said, “epiphanic!” Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines this as the adjective form of epiphany:

epiphany : a moment in which you suddenly see or understand something in a new or very clear way 

My weight gain was a symptom of some seriously flawed thinking about food. Now, I am truly convinced that your mind is the key to your weight loss and management.

“It all begins in your mind. What you give power to, has power over you.”

Matthew Hogan

What Journaling Taught Me.

I discovered that I had always felt powerless with food. Honestly, I truly believed that I was unable to resist food and its draw. In retrospect, others who so confidently choose the most sensible menu items or pass on yummy desserts have always perplexed me. I guess I just figured that my willpower was either broken or misaligned.

Finally, my eyes are open to the reality that weight gain is a symptom of my flawed thinking about food. Food can only exert power over me if I allow it to. Ultimately, I am the one who chooses what, when and where I eat.

I want you to have your own epiphanic thought! Will you continue to rely on money and programs or will you consider engaging your mind for lasting weight loss? It’s time, past time, to get this weight thing under control, so we can go on with the business of living fulfilling lives.

(Parts of this post were published in an earlier post, Your Mind Is The Key To Your Weight. This post was my first post about weight loss.)

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