Guess what? Weight loss is not just about diets and treadmills. I’m here to spill the tea on how your whole self – body, mind, spirit, diet, and surroundings – plays a role in the journey. Trust me, even your spiritual life matters! Your weight story is more than meets the eye. Ready to discover a fresh perspective?

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Story: Elizabeth Smart and Forgiveness

Products: My favorite tea

Articles/Studies: Forgiveness: Your Health Depends on it

“Diet and exercise, diet and exercise, diet and exercise.”

STOP!

Just stop.

There is so much more to YOU than what you eat and what you do. Why should your weight be any different? If you want to lose weight, the answer is NOT just “diet and exercise.”

Archaic advice

The experts used to believe that weight loss was a simple formula: calories out must be more than the calories in.

We now know that is not true.

Is it part of the picture? Yes.

Is it the whole picture? No.

You are a whole person: you have a body, a mind, and a soul. You eat. And you live within an environment. Each of those parts is interconnected; they cannot be separated from the others.

Body – Mind – Spirit – Diet – Environment

When you sit in a chair where one leg is shorter than the rest you have to work to stay stable. Every once in a while you accidentally shift your weight over that short leg and you get that adrenaline jolt when, for a split second, you think you are falling.

The same is true for the whole you. Every aspect of yourself needs to be functioning well or you will be off balance.

One of the cases this is most noticeable is in weight.

First, let me be very, very clear: You are more than your weight. Your value is NOT based upon how you look.

That being said, I know that your weight bothers you. It weighs you down mentally and emotionally. You don’t like to get dressed because you don’t feel like you look good in your clothes. Perhaps, you are uncomfortable going out in public because of your weight. You notice your weight when it is time to play. Even worse, you can’t keep up with your kids or grandkids like you want. Overall, your weight is holding you back from the life you could be living.

Your feelings about your weight impact everything. How you feel about your body impacts how you see yourself in the mirror. It changes how you interact with others. Your weight even affects how you eat—you might eat too much because “it doesn’t matter anyway” or you might have days where you don’t eat enough because “I need to lose some of this.”

Holistic Weight Loss: Physical

List three to five things you like about your physical appearance.

Is this hard? I’m sorry.

You are valuable.

You are strong.

You are beautiful.

You are more than the lies you have been absorbing through the media and your own negative self-talk.

Think again. Figure out at least three things, but hopefully, five things you like about your physical appearance.

Now write them down. I know, you are reading this on a screen. But if you want this to be truly powerful, your brain needs to “hear” these five things in different ways. Writing them down is great!

After you have written your list. Say them to yourself. It might take some time, but eventually, you will get to the point where you actually believe yourself.

Holistic Weight Loss: Mind (“Duck Oil”)

Taped under the bathroom mirror, is a list titled “Duck Oil.” Just as a mama duck applies her oil to her ducklings to make the water roll right off them, we apply “duck oil” each morning. This list of truths is repeated (out loud) to that face in the mirror every single day. Eventually, we will believe it and the lies we hear will roll off.

Instead of hearing and believing that “I’m stupid” when a mistake is made, that lie can roll right off. Because I am valuable. I am creative. I just made a mistake.

This same principle applies to your body and mind. If you are constantly telling yourself that you are fat or ugly or awkward, your mind will believe you and look for ways to validate those words. When you look at yourself and tell yourself nice things, your mind will start to believe that and look for ways to validate those words.

If you tell yourself every day that you have strong and beautiful calves, you will notice them as you are walking up a flight of stairs and appreciate them.

When you tell yourself that you have gorgeous and happy eyes, the face looking back at you in the mirror will not be your enemy.

Do you have that list yet?

Weight is More Than Diet and Exercise

You are FIVE parts: body, mind, spirit, diet, and environment.

So far we have covered just the body and mind.

I can’t wait to share more with you in my fall group coaching program. Because your weight is more than just diet and exercise.

Holistic Weight Loss: Spirit

You were created to live in peace, harmony, trust, and love. Any time you are out of these, your physical body is under more stress. Things like fear, defeat, hate, mistrust, and bitterness all are spiritual things that affect your overall health, and yes, your weight.

How can bitterness, fear, and envy affect your weight? Each of these increases the stress upon your physical body. Stress causes increased cortisol levels in the blood. (I talked about cortisol more in-depth in several episodes including episode 24.) Cortisol, in turn, promotes fat storage, increases your hunger and cravings, and decreases metabolism.

The antidote to bitterness is forgiveness. {Remember, forgiveness doesn’t mean you excuse the crime. It just means you are no longer willing to be the victim.} Experts at Johns Hopkins report:

“the act of forgiveness can reap huge rewards for your health, lowering the risk of heart attack; improving cholesterol levels and sleep; and reducing pain, blood pressure, and levels of anxiety, depression, and stress.”

Is there someone you need to forgive? You don’t need to do it for them, but for you. If you are struggling with this, I encourage you to watch Elizabeth Sharp’s story of how forgiveness set her free even after she had already been physically freed from her horrendous 9-months in physical captivity by her kidnappers.

Holistic Weight Loss: Diet

I’m going to remain true to my promise of not talking about “diet and exercise.” But there is still something you can do in the “diet” aspect of the whole you.

Make some tea.

Next time you are craving something (anything) try making a cup of tea. Boil some water. Pick out your tea. Smell it. Steep it. Sit there with your cup and just breathe for a minute as it steeps. Enjoy that tea-time. When you are done, chances are, you will not be craving what you were before.

Often, when we are craving something sweet/salty, it is not because our body needs that food, but rather because our mind or spirit need a break.

Holistic Weight Loss: Environment

This leads right into environment. That calming process of making and sipping a cup of tea works for every other time you eat as well.

Your digestive system functions best when you are calm. You process your food better when you are sitting down and focused on your food instead of eating on the run.

Guess what! When your digestive system is working better, you can lose weight! Also, when you are mindfully eating, you feel your body’s “I’m full” signals much, much better and will be less likely to overeat.

It’s Your Turn

What is one simple thing you will do after reading this? Will you brew some tea? Let me know below.

Photo by Jasmine Huang and TeaCora Rooibos on Unsplash