We talked about one of my favorite topics during my WW workshop:

I like this topic because exercising this thought process has the power to transform my weight loss journey. Sensing hunger ought to be like an alarm going off because one of two things is going on…

1. I’ve waited too long to eat and now I’m hungry and the danger is that I will eat too much. Allowing oneself to get too hungry is the number one reason why people are not successful when it comes to weight loss.
2. I’m feeling some sort of emotion, like boredom, stress, sadness, even happiness that has been mistakenly associated with hunger. This behavior leads to weight gain. It goes like this, “I’m stressed out, I want an ice cream cone.” – No… you’re stressed out.

These two scenarios are especially troublesome because they can play on each other. If I overindulge because I’ve had some emotional need the night before, I wake up and either I am not hungry or I’m trying to delude myself into believing I can counterbalance the prior night’s episode. It’s one big rationalization – and by writing it down here I’m trying to debunk it so I can make an important, meaningful change on my weight loss journey. I’m trying to be more than I am right now.

Why do I constantly look for an escape route? Maybe it’s a primal brain thing with the amygdala (fight, flight, freeze). In the face of danger I’m not someone who naturally goes to “fight” – I’m not someone who’s natural disposition is to “freeze” – I am a “Run for your lives!” flight kind of girl. This is something I have to actively work on because let’s face it, feeling stressed over looming deadlines is not the same stress as running away from a lion. The thing is, my brain doesn’t know the difference.

Weight loss is sort of like an evolution isn’t it? It’s not that I’m saying that if I’m at a healthy weight I’m more evolved. It’s more to the fact that I want to live my life at a healthy weight, I want my energy to be the best it can, and I want to feel confident. Those are my reasons, and they matter to me. My job is to figure out how to get past my reptilian brain so I can accomplish this goal.

I would be wise to remember that this is big work, and it takes time. If you find yourself in a similar situation, finding weight loss difficult and the feeling of being stuck, then don’t beat yourself up. You’re in this and that is what matters, it’s not the slip ups, nor is it the moments of weakness. Understand there is a reason why weight loss can be a struggle. It’s not some kind of flaw in your personality. It’s not that you don’t have willpower (you do have willpower and it gets depleted as you use it – for real). It’s simply a challenging goal. Don’t focus on what other people do and have focus on you. You’re the most important person in your weight loss journey. You can do it -remember that and believe it.