The Weighty Question ...

Is it really about what we put on our plate?

I have a friend who I love dearly, and I know she loves me. She has been been there for me for over twenty years through divorce, work stress, home moves and the one of the funniest, brightest and most supportive, wonderful people you could ever meet. She would never, ever deliberately hurt my feelings.

However, I have struggled with my weight, which went up and down like a yo-yo. She has tried to understand, but naturally slim, this has not been easy for her and as a result, her views on weight gain have at times been accidentally hurtful.

Since starting a new chapter of my life the weight has dropped off rapidly and she has repeated her mantra of "Well, it just shows, its all about what is put on the plate" as if this was the answer.

It isn't. Anyone who really has struggled with weight management knows that it's not that simple. None of us think "I will eat that in order to put on weight and I will help matters along by putting lots of it on my plate." The reality is that our brains get in the way. We need to find a way to effectively deal with the reasons why our brains are bullying us into doing what we intellectually know takes us away from a goal we have chosen, be it weight management or anything else.

No-one wants to be unhealthy, risk diabetes, heart disease and all the other negatives associated with being over weight. No-one chooses creaky knees and being the one that has to be boosted onto a camel on said friends shoulder because they are too heavy to do it themselves (yes, I am ashamed, that happened, I told you she is a good friend).

I am not skinny. I am now a 14/16. I am happy with that ... and now proud to say I can mount a camel unaided should the need arise. How did I do it? I used a solid understanding of why my brain was pushing me down a path I did not want to take, the good "reasons" why it was doing it for my safety and I played by it's own rules to get it in line.

I also had a handle on the little tricks it used to hang onto the pounds despite my eating less. For many of us it is not always about the pounds of food on your plate but more about the 3 pounds between your ears - your brain!!

Simple? Probably not simple, but once I had my brain working with me the weight fell off and I now have the skills I need not to put it back on again,

Yes, portion control is relevant, but you cannot take control of your portions until you take control of your brain and you cannot rely on willpower until you and your mind are working together as a team.

If you would like to know more, contact me for a chat. (PS The answer wasn't the gym or bareback camel riding - honestly!!)