My diet was failing. AGAIN.
My New Year’s Resolution for 2012 was to lose weight, and soon it was Memorial Day weekend, and I’d gained. In previous years, I’d worked hard to back down from my highest weight ever (more than once), but I’d been stuck in this general range for quite a long time. This wasn’t a plateau. I’d just done what I’d always done – I got fed up, I stopped trying, and my weight would ricochet.
Can I ricochet back, please?
Now, I HAD to figure this thing out as my 50th birthday was looming. For me, the key was dealing with my baggage. I’d dragged around the nonsense for decades – all the shame and guilt, wounds, and not-so-pleasant memories as well as my skewed perception of all of it – letting that tell me who I was. That summer, unpacking that baggage and letting go of those beliefs released me to create a healthier relationship with food as well as life.
Every summer since has presented a growth theme – and it has helped me. Significantly helped me.
Want to play?
Whether it’s work, personal, family, weight loss, overcoming emotional eating, or another focus, shall we begin with finding YOUR way to drop the remains of who you WERE? We have to unpack our baggage before we can pack it again for the journey we want to be on.
What baggage do you want to offload?
Is it emotional eating? If so, what about yourself most drives you to food?
In whatever category of growth, assess what’s true of you vs. no longer true of you.
What old pieces would you like to sift away?
If you chose to let go of one thing, what would most effectively help you?
What would it look like if you were no longer dragging your baggage with you?
It takes time and some practice – you’ve been doing it this way for a long time, so give yourself some grace to stumble as you move forward. You’ll get there. Just be kind to yourself.
Renée Jones is a counselor and coach specializing in overcoming emotional eating. After 40 years on the Diet Yo-Yo, she struggled to find what worked for her while emotional eating sabotaged every attempt. When she finally overcame that emotional eating to lose her weight, maintenance on a low-fat diet left her tired, hungry, and cranky. In April of 2015, she found the ketogenic lifestyle and later Carrie Brown’s recipes, which freed her from the Diet Yo-Yo and dark mood swings.
Now she helps others get free of their emotional eating and other baggage so their hearts can heal along with their bodies. She has a Master’s degree in Counseling with certifications in both traditional and contemporary models as well as Horse-Assisted and relaxation methods. She has an international counseling and coaching practice.
Author of What’s Really Eating You: Overcome the Triggers of Comfort Eating
Connect with Renée!
www.packyourownbag.com
