Hi Guys, CJ here.
This is quite embarrassing to admit to you but earlier this year I had a body fat percentage of 37.6% – I looked like a walking ‘before’ photo. I then had a life-transforming revelation in a suburban shopping centre (so much more comfortable than the whole climbing up the mountain thing), and it dropped to around 22% which I find comfortable and fairly easy to maintain. My approach may not work for everyone but it’s certainly the one which has finally (finally!) worked for me. Okay, so I’m something of a slow learner. “Welcome to remedial weight-loss with CJ”. Hmm, there’s a workshop right there. Anyway… being as I’m not a Fitness Guru like somebody else around here, I thought I might share a getting-in-shape story from a normal chick with normal genetics and zero fitness or medical qualifications – perspective. Not that you-know-who is abnormal.
Then again, I think he is.
Bulging Bookshelves
Ok, I have a confession to make: I’m a recovering Diet-a-holic. Yep, it has been almost twelve months since I bought my last diet book. Here are some of the diet books that I had on my shelves until quite recently: Outsmarting Your Female Fat Cell, The Doona Diet, The Zone, The Scarsdale Diet, How to Lose Weight Without Dieting, Dr Phil’s Weightloss Solution, Half My Size, I Can Make You Thin, The Syndrome X Diet, The Liver-Cleansing Diet, CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, The Two-Day Diet, Skinny Bitch, The Carbohydrates Addict’s Diet, French Women Don’t Get Fat, Diet No More, The Women’s Weekly 21 Day Wonder Diet, Do I Look Fat in This?, Crunch Time and Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? And that was after I bundled up quite a few and gave them to the school fete.
Hope Springs Eternal
Part of my addiction was my inability to start the New Year or even a brief holiday without a shiny new diet book clutched hopefully in my fat little hands. I’ve almost missed planes because I was scouring the airport bookshop desperately searching for my fix. Once home, I would approach my new diet with compulsive gusto: cleaning out the pantry, visiting the supermarket or health-food shop, preparing the (often unpalatable) meals, eating by the clock, avoiding social occasions where I might be tempted to break my ‘diet’ and then watching the scales fanatically for any sign of downward movement. The motivation was always manically high until, inevitably, I crashed. Every single time. The crash might begin with some extra ‘allowed’ food, a tiny bit of ‘forbidden’ food or a full blown lock-up-your-children-she’s-on-the-loose binge after which the diet book would be resentfully placed on the bookshelf to meet its new friends. I would then enter the miserable, self-loathing ‘eating myself into the next clothing size up’ phase of my cycle which would last until the next holiday and the mandatory new diet book.
Disorderly Conduct
Due to my diet addiction, I spent my twenties and most of my thirties in one of only two states: gaining weight or dieting. There was no in between. Either I was eating like a fat kid at a birthday party or I was trying to convince myself that following a diet plan that involved weighing, counting, charting, restricting and analysing food was normal and sustainable.
We all know the lure of the diet and we all understand the main reasons why they don’t work – or why your new clothes won’t even have a chance to wear out before you’ve grown out of them again. Been there lots of times. I think the (well-dressed) homeless people of Sydney are going to erect a statue in my honour. However, for me, it was the fact that I was allowing my food intake to be externally controlled by a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution formulated by someone who had never even met me or seen my body which made lasting success impossible.
I am the Problem and the Solution
One day I was in the bookshop searching for my next fix. Again. I had reached rock bottom emotionally. I was fat and I hated myself. My hand reached out for the next diet book and at that moment I knew that I couldn’t do it again. As much as I tried to muster motivation, enthusiasm, hope and excitement, they just weren’t coming. Nothing. I finally recognised the futility of my diet cycle; I lowered my hand and walked out of the shop.
Perhaps it was reading this site and its focus on the internal rather than the external; perhaps it was being inspired to get a little uncomfortable, be a little brave, to suck it up and stop looking for someone else (an expert) to solve my problems. Perhaps it was the moment I grew up. Whatever the stimulus, the thought emerged in my mind that perhaps I had been missing something incredibly obvious:
I had been listening to everyone except myself.
Talk to the Hand
Somewhere along the line, probably when I was twenty, I had stopped listening to my body. I exercised my veto power - just about the only thing I did exercise (my gym membership card being in my wallet for decorative purposes only). Whenever my body said ‘stop eating’ then ‘please stop eating’ followed by ‘really, I’m serious, stop eating!’ then ‘FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PUT THE FORK DOWN FATSO!’, I would constantly over-ride the signals because I didn’t want to stop. There was no point waiting for the ‘you’re hungry now’ signal either because I never gave myself the opportunity. I convinced myself that I was being Hollywood-cool and ‘grazing’ – which is great if you’re eating grass but not so great if you’re eating high calorie people-food (ever seen a sheep munching on a peanut-butter sandwich?). I can remember having to fast for twelve hours before a blood test and the burning hunger was such an unfamiliar sensation that I considered calling an ambulance.
If I’m Awake, I’m Eating
I was simply eating too much for me. I had disconnected from my body in a way that allowed me to keep abusing it. And then to rationalise that abuse. Some of the food was healthy and some of it wasn’t but the fact was that I was consuming more calories than my body needed. All the time. I would eat for every reason except genuine hunger. Like boredom. And, yes, it is possible to be flat-out exhausted and bored at the same time. Like when you’re at home with small children you can’t very well say: ‘You know what, kids? I’m a little lacking in mental stimulation so I’m just going off to learn a new language. Here’s a jar of babyfood. You’ll find a spoon in the top drawer. What? You can’t reach? Try dangerously teetering on a chair. Now what? You don’t want Mummy to go? You’ll call Child Welfare? Shit. Ok. I guess I’ll stay home and stuff my face with biscuits instead.’
I would also eat to make myself feel better when I was upset or lonely, when I felt I was being bossed around at work, when I needed a hug (or something else), when I needed to go for a walk and clear my head but I was stuck at home. When I needed to have a difficult conversation with someone but I didn’t have the courage to initiate it. When I was disappointed. When I was worried. When I was happy and celebrating. When the moon was in Aquarius. When I wasn’t getting the warmth and affection that I needed from my parents. When it smelled good. When it was there. To be honest, any scenario which involved being awake, I interpreted as an opportunity to eat.
Self-Storage
All those excess calories had to go somewhere. What was my body to do with them? Make a nice little fat sculpture for the front garden? Bundle them up and post them to Nicole Richie? No, my poor body was forced to find storage for it all – a bit like Storage King but instead of paying $89 per square metre per month, I had to pay with my health and my self-esteem. Those ‘storage containers’ were squeezed under the skin on my butt, my thighs, my face, my stomach, my upper arms, everywhere, really – I had numerous unwanted kilos of fat stored away for a rainy day. Which, of course, never came.
You Can Run but You Can’t Hide
Sadly, the results of not listening to my body were plain to see. That’s the heartbreaking thing about overeating: there’s no hiding it. It’s not like a wicked little secret addiction to Ebay or stationery (actually, I have that too; the Officeworks catalogue is like soft-porn to me) or even the odd tipple. No, with overeating, I might as well have worn a t-shirt which said on the front I Eat Too Much and then on the back Often – strategically positioned above my fat arse for effect.
Discovering the Wisdom Within
But that day in the bookshop it dawned on me that my body knew exactly how much food I needed to consume every day. I had my own state-of-the-art-food-consumption-monitor inside me and I wasn’t using it. At that moment I decided to dust it off and see what it could do. I promised myself that I wasn’t going on another ‘diet’ (nothing places padlocks on those storage containers faster than a diet); I was just going through a ‘diagnostic’ period where I would find out exactly how much food I actually needed.
Is That It?
The first few days were awful. I could go hours without feeling hungry. Waiting for that ‘eat now’ signal seemed interminable. But it always arrived, eventually. It was also shocking to learn how little food I needed to keep the hunger at bay. How disappointing! I had been eating 30-40% more food than I needed (hence the fat arse). What a revelation.
Finding a New ‘Normal’
Tapping into that internal mechanism was the solution that changed my life. Listening to our body’s signals is normal. Eating only when we’re hungry is normal. Eating only enough to satisfy that hunger (not every other emotional need we can think of) is normal. Once I adjusted what my mind considered ‘normal’, my body became ‘normal’.
Sometimes I feel almost guilty that it has been so easy to lose my 14kg (31lbs) of stored fat. We often search for complex solutions to what we perceive to be complex and multi-faceted problems. But my problem wasn’t actually complex at all and neither was the solution. It was so very simple: listen to my body and give it what it needs – as opposed to what my head wants (as he says).
Once I had made a genuine internal shift in my thinking, the external transformation could begin. And it stuck. Sorry homeless people, no more Calvin Klein for you.
CJ xox
{ 2 trackbacks }
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi CJ, my light bulb moment came about a month ago, I am not too sure exactly what turned it on, but I made a decision to stop over eating. Hearing Craig speak on Sunday has really lifted me off, and tonight I nailed down my NON Negotiable behavior’s. I have kept a food diary this week and have an appointment with a fitness guy/nutritionist next Monday to help me plan what I should and should not eat.
Internal Shift has begun.
Yes! Thanks for this motivational article! I think you need this internal shift before the outside can follow, at least that’s been the way for me. Finally my inside changed and I realized that eating a small bowl of ice-cream instead of the whole package is not about depriving myself, but about giving myself the joy of losing pound after pound. Running 5 km three times a week is not about torturing myself, but about succeeding and feeling great and getting fitter every week!
So far I’ve lost 7.5 kg and 6 more will follow. And I know that because I am the solution. I am in control.
Sarah
Hi CJ – Thank you, thank you, thank you!
The dim lightbulb in my head is getting brighter…
I’m aware that I eat too much, too fast and too often… but not really known what the answer is.
I’m just watching a bird eating some berries and it has eaten what it needs and just flown off. There are plenty of berries left. If it were me, the bush would be stripped of berries! I am a plate-clearer (it’s rude not to) and I’m easily led (if everyone else is eating, it’s rude not to).
Strangely, I have no problem giving things up – it’s been over a year since I’ve had a peanut butter sandwich (my favourite!) but I have completely tuned out of my body’s signals.
Any tips on tuning into that signal?
That’s what worked for dropping my last 10 pounds – and you’re right, it was easier than any other “diet” I followed in the past…
The only problem with this method is that I have to face my uncomfortable feelings when I don’t numb myself with food…
No more dieting for me either. I’ve been ‘dieting’ for 20 years (and I’m only 30!). I too have every weight loss book under the sun and in one way or another, I’ve started a new diet every Monday (which means 1040 diets!).
Finally I’ve started to listen to my body, and while there are still a couple of kilos to go, I finally feel ‘at peace’ with food and alcohol (another crutch).
This ‘peace’ filters through everything in my life now and I’ve found that all a bad/uncomfortable/difficult situation needs is a deep breath and a little perspective. Not a packet of tim tams and a bottle of scotch
Love your posts CJ – keep em coming!
Carly
Heya CJ,
Love your post this morning – Thanks!
I have lost at least 1.5 kilos per week for quite some time now, by using a simple reading technique. I read the labels on the food and do not eat it if it contains more than 10g fat per 100g or 12g sugar per 100g. It really is that simple. I used to be a portion weigher and calorie controller and points counter and was fatter than I had ever been – now with the simple approach, along with daily exercise it is easy to maintain this continual weight loss (although the rate seems faster and much easier since RYL last Sunday.. i don’t even crave for the gingernuts that i had been for some bizarre reason..) Now for the hard bit, to continue to loose weight whilst listening to work colleague who,whilst eating sandwiches and grapes at the same time, tells me she can’t loose weight because its hormonal! How do we ignore the people who don’t want to listen anyway – but continually go on and on about it? I don’t mind that she is happy to sit on the lounge after work, nor do I mind when she seems to be continually eating – her choice not mine – but how do I share a small space with this person who continually moans about how good she used to look and nothing she does makes a difference????? I have directed her to this website, suggested some of Craig’s quotes that have resonated for me at times, and done the total ignoring it approach…. and still it continues…
The thought of having 5 Freestyling days per week seems very appealing, but not sure the money would continue to trickle into the account if that happened.. so how? How do I deal with the “nay-sayers” when I am living proof that it can happen – you just have to make the right decisions…
Help, I am thinking evil thoughts about hiding all her food so she spends all morning out fo the office looking for it…..:) Its driving me MAD! any hints or suggestions greatly appreciated.
Hi CJ you could be my twin I dont buy the diet books but the food thing sounds exactly like me. I dont know my hunger signals and i dont know when to stop,sometimes i eat till Iam bloated and feel that i am moving around a mountain.
I go shopping and the smell of the food makes me want to eat it hungry or not. I eat cause Im sad, lonely etc just like you did. but how do u control that?.
Having been sexually abused when younger i keep myself fat to protect myself and make myself ugly but it aint working anymore and now Im an adult i dont need this defense mechanism.
How do you stop the motor that has been running for quite a few years now?
I have a wardrobe of size 20 clothes that i used to be able to wear now i walk around in size 22-24 and Im not happy but Im stuck and i know the only person who can un stick me is me.
Sometimes it feels like i have one foot nailed to the ground and all i am doing is going around and around.
do i starve myself to find out what is hungry like but then how do i know when to stop eating?
And why is all the bad food so tempting and taste so good not like lettuce leafs and carrots etc?
That is an excellent article! Pow!! right between the eyes but also very empathetic at the same time. Little humour added too. Not to mention informative and insightful. I can’t confess to have ever been in the same situation but it really gets to the crux of what needs to be done to get a long term ongoing result. Great message
Wow CJ, that really hit the spot with me. I eat until I feel sick, I’m drawn to food in much the same way as you described, if I’m awake, there’s food to eat. It was great to hear a real story from a real person. Thanks, your an inspiration. Love you Craigo, but this is chick stuff…. !!
Antho. xxx
Hey CJ … nice article girl!
I’m a fellow diet-book-aholic … or I should say, a fellow former diet-book-aholic!! I don’t buy them anymore either.
Slowly, I am getting control of my food … a couple of issues still elude me, but I’m working on them.
My lightbulb moment focused more on what I was drinking, rather than eating.
At RYL2 I made a very firm decision, it snuck up on me very quietly – I didn’t see it coming – and I’ve never “felt” a decision like it … it was almost cellular. I made a public declaration that “alcohol no longer plays a part in my life”. My words were very deliberate, I never said “will no longer”.
As soon as I said that publicly, I felt like a non-drinker. Haven’t had an alcoholic beveraaaaaage since and I haven’t missed it.
I honestly believe (this sounds wanky) the day I made that decision and public announcement was the day I finally listened to something my body was telling me. It was urging me not to drink anymore, and I listened, made a decision and it’s been the EASIEST thing I’ve ever done.
Like you say, if we just listened to what our bodies are telling us, how much better off would we be?
I’m guessing, a lot.
Nice one chick … I love your posts, you bring a new dimension to this site and I for one am really enjoying it. Keep it up.
Em
( ) x
WOW, your article really resonated with me, it was like reading about myself! hahahahaha My light bulb moment came in April of this year and since then I have lost 25kg well 25.2kg to be exact! I feel amazing and have learnt to listen to myself, to not deprive myself and to use other methods aside from shoving food in my mouth to deal with my bad times and happy times! I have another 20kg to go but I know I am going to do it and feel even more amazing! I feel like I am recovering from an illness and am well on the way to being happy and healthy for a long time to come!
Hi CJ…..great article & WHAMMO……I think this is what I need. I need to learn when to stop eating. I too am of the “eat everything on your plate” team & the other that just eats for any occasion being happy or sad or great smells or boredom etc…… I do recall being told to eat half the food on your plate & then sit back & see if you’re still hungry & then go half of the half & check your hunger again…..for me, I think the plate would have to be taken away from me, cos I see food (seafood hee hee) & eat it!!!!!!
Just want to throw out a big hug to Gail….I hear ya sister…..
Cheers,
Pet
xoxo
If I donate my diet books to the salvos I would have enough space on the bookshelf for the full encylopedia Britannica set (oops that shows my age – noone has encylopeida’s these days).
CJ I’ve taken your advice and booked in to see Rona when I’m in Melbourne next week to get those hard scientific facts. This time next year your story will be my story. Watch this space.
Oh and Jacki remember nobody will change unless they want to (remember Craig trying to convince his mother to give up smoking) so I reckon you should save your emotional energy to concentrate on you!!
Hi guys,
Wow! Thanks for your lovely comments. I’m so glad that my story has resonated with many of you.
You’ve raised some very pertinent questions which I’ll attempt to answer this arvo based on my completely non-existent qualifications. I’m just about to leave to go swimmers shopping for the new bod (I reckon the swimwear shop should supply a bottle of vodka and a trauma counsellor, don’t you?) but I’ll be back (said in Arnold Schwarzenegger voice). Please keep the comments coming, I love to read them all – I’m a needy middle-child, the resident only child has nothing on me.
Enjoy your Friday everyone.
CJ xox
CJ – this is such an accurate and articulate portrayal of a journey that I’ve travelled too – it’s great to have had the mind shift to a calm place where I listen to what my body needs actually through the emotions rather than eating to medicate them – no more pity parties happening at my place! I laughed at so many points – my soft-porn is Howards Storage World catalogues – wandering through that shop produces such feelings of euphoria that …. oh, sorry – digressed a little
Your list of diet books is quite similar to a pile of books I recently sold at some local markets – it’s quite special buying a book for $25 or more and getting nothing from it and selling it for $2.50 – it hurts and humiliates just that little bit more ….
Thank you so much – fantastic article !!
CJ… I can’t believe you called me abnormal. Back in therapy for me
Great article. Stop being so talented and clever. It’s annoying.
xx
CJ
Absolutely brilliant post this morning!!
The diet book purchasing addiction was me too! One year I spent an entire 3 weeks reading ‘Dr Yoshis’s cleansing diet at a camping holiday… reading and getting all this knowledge… at the same time sloshing down buckets of red wine and red bubbles by the camp fire. …..Ready to return home armed with masive amounts of knowledge I stocked up on all this weight reducing herbal teas and healthy food. 2 days into it the headache from hell arrived (as it does!) and ..back onto the normal food’….
Oh well, better buy another one… so I have ALMOST got the same books on my shelf too!
I am only 5 kgs over my ideal weight…but have been all my life. The same damn 5kgs!
I exercise regularly, eat pretty much perfect in the week…Friday night comes around..and it is time to relax…I spend the rest of the weekend in ‘party mode’ rewarding myself for a great week of food and exercise!
Well, now you know why that 5 kgs…..goes, comes back, goes comes back!
Listening to my body…. that is what i need too.
Thanks CJ, keep the posts coming! Really great read!
K
Good stuff! I have only been very overweight once in my life. It was about 7 years ago. I was about 30 pounds over. I lost the weight when I realized that food was a substitute for something.
I found that I ate more when I achieved less. That was about the time I became obsessed with my personal development. Once I became satisfied with my life and what I was doing with it, my desire to eat myself into a coma subsided. Although my weight may fluctuate every now and then, I have not looked back.
Thanks for the reminder
ok, now everyone here at work thinks i’m a nutter. sitting here eating a Cadbury Crunchie (I don’t even like chocolate, but I”m tired from my workout at the gym at 6:00am!) wetting myself laughing at your article. You just described me to a tee..
I wondered why eating my 5-6 small meals a day I still failed to drop the body fat despite working out 6 times a week hard with a PT for the last 12 months. hmm perhaps because I was eating when i wasn’t hungry but the diet said I should.
Brilliant advice.. Now all I have to do it listen to my body too…
Great Post CJ, I wonder if some of my family members would get upset if I made them a “I Eat Too Much” t-shirt for Xmas
What is it with me? Clearly I’m pretty damn weird and dysfunctional. But can I clarify something. Is it really that dysfunctional to spend 1/2 hr eating a meal? Or are you ‘meant’ to guts your food down in like 10 mins (or less)? My PT could only laugh at me this morning when I told him it takes me that long to eat. I asked him if it takes him that long and, laughing, says “NO!” as if I had 3 heads. Anyway, whatever. I’m a slow eater. I can live with that
I could relate to a lot of what you said, too, CJ. You weren’t alone through that (longish) ‘phase’ of your life. So glad to hear you’ve moved beyond all that now. No more buying ‘diet’ books for you. BUT rules are made to be broken, right? Your only allowable exception to this rule is… if it is authored by Craig Harper! HA HA!!! * I was being serious
Quoting the ‘famous six words’ from the longest post of Craig’s you’ll ever read: “don’t eat what you don’t need.”
Hi Pet,
Thanks for the hug nice to know a kindred spirit is out there.
Hugs back to you.
Hi Guys,
Well, the swimmers shopping wasn’t quite as psychologically damaging as I had anticipated. I found a nice little (a loose term) number which covers all the bits which really should be covered and will hopefully save me from being surrounded by wildlife volunteers throwing buckets of water at me, shouting ‘Keep her wet!’ and trying to roll me back into the surf. That last time was so embarrassing …
It’s very encouraging to read that many of you have already implemented the whole ‘only eating when you’re hungry’ thing and have reconnected with your bodies. Enjoy your results and the amazing feeling of freedom which comes from being released from the diet merry-go-round – it is infinitely better than any momentary sensation that food can offer.
Now, some questions have been raised from your fantastic comments (thank you, by the way, they gave me a middle-child glow). Bear in mind that I am no expert. I can only share with you what I have learned from my journey and you will need to decide whether or not it will work for you.
How do we cope with our feelings if we’re not self-medicating with food?
Ok. I know both ‘feelings’ and ‘food’ start with an ‘f’ (lots of good words do) but that’s where the similarity ends. Have the courage to separate the two and face your feelings. It is possible – if a Princess Needy crybaby like me can do it then so can you.
How do I know when to start eating?
Experiment. See how long you can go without food before you begin to feel a little hungry. Savour it. That’s your body talking to you. Respect your body enough to wait for its signals; recognise those signals (no, that’s not wind, that’s how it feels when you last longer than five minutes without stuffing your face) and reconnect with it. Once you’re in tune with your body, you’ll find the idea of eating when you’re not hungry mildly ridiculous.
How do I know when to stop eating?
If your pets and your children are starting to fear you, it may be time to stop. Again, it’s a matter of experimentation. Track your food in a diary until you have worked out exactly the amount of food you need to keep you satisfied for a reasonable length of time. There’s no point eating half a water cracker for lunch if you’re starving 10 minutes later. There’s also no need to eat a sandwich the size of your laptop. Perhaps have half a sandwich for lunch and keep the rest for when you’re hungry again.
One vital aspect of my journey was to let go of my need to feel ‘full’. I now understand that ‘comfortably satisfied’ is the sensation to aim for. If I feel ‘full’, I’m actually ‘over-full’. Does that make sense? We all have different bodies and our needs can vary from day to day – handing over the reins to my body was the only way for me.
Jaki – the only thing I can suggest is to make the subject off-limits. She doesn’t want a solution, she wants you to say: ‘There, there bunny. It’s not your fault that you’re fat.’ When she begins her rant, tell her calmly ‘We agreed to avoid that subject’; then ask her a question about something else. If that doesn’t work, tell her that a Cadburys Chocolate truck has overturned in the next street and spilled its load everywhere – you’ll get a peaceful hour or two and she’ll get some exercise searching for it.
Wow. Is this the longest comment ever?
Have an awesome weekend everyone. Enjoy your bodies (no, not in that way. Then again, whatever floats your boat …)
CJ xox
Great Post CJ
As I read it i wondered if you had been spying on me? It is all me. I keep hoping for a light bulb moment. I know all the things I do wrong but still do them.
Your post has motivated me though to keep trying
Hugs
I’ve resisted commenting here because I’ve never bought a diet book. In fact, until I turned 40, I was a twig who ate like a lumberjack. Don’t hate me, please keep reading- esp. if you’re heading for 40…
Five pounds crept on. Nobody noticed, I was still underweight. So, I didn’t try to lose those 5 pounds.
Then I was at my physical and my doctor read me the riot act, .explaining that I’ve entered a new phase in my life. My body is never going to lose fat as easily as I would have before. He was upset with me for putting on weight, going on about rising cholesterol and all the other ramifications of excess bodyfat, and ordered me to lose it before my next check up. He said if I didn’t work at bringing my weight down, it would definitely go up further.
My friends and family were shocked that he’d been so harsh.
The shock for me was…I couldn’t lose it, He was right, and I’m so grateful that he cared enough to take the time to set me straight.
Anyway, kind of a long story but it ends like yours C.J, I started listening to what my body needed. And I got back to the size that’s right and comfortable for my body frame. And I can never eat as much as I used to again, but that’s fine.
I wanted to share this because nobody clued me in about the biological and hormonal effects of aging as they relate to fitness until I was already spiralling with them. Maybe this will affect someone’s efforts in a positive way.
Giant hugs!!
LOVE it! This is so easy to relate to. I think many of us fitness/health conscious people have gone through or are going through something similar. It’s tough not to become caught up in the snazzy hype of any new diet or ‘expert’ theory, and that’s even as an industry professional.
It’s only natural to continually seek ways to improve upon ourselves, but if it means we forget how to read our own body then soaking up all that information (no matter how great some of it may be) is a huge waste of time.
The best investment any of us can make is to close our eyes and ears to the info, the hype, the experts, and take even just a few days to listen to our body. To think about how each meal or food choice affects us physically, emotionally, and mentally. And then to make the next choice based on that outcome rather than on an advertising-based suggestion of what’s good for us.
Love ya work C.J. !
thankyou for your story.
This article was my lightbulb moment.
after years of dieting and then bingeing, how simple is it – eat when you are hungry and dont eat when your not hungry. WOW, I might be able to be a normal person finally.
So ever since your story, i have just been eating when hungry and i think I have HALVED my food intake.
no more high protien, low carb diets, no more calorie counting. hooray, I finally feel free