I’m reaching out to you to talk about weight loss because I want you to have the freedom I have now. You know that magic pills don’t. You also know that the more you try, the more heartbreaking it is when your efforts don’t give you what you want. What I know about weight loss is that it’s complicated.
I chased skinny and it made me crazy. Every calorie restricted and drop of sweat I forced out of me, gave me an illusion of power and control and fed my belief that I was closer to happiness. The more emotionally vulnerable I felt, the more retreated I became; this crazy cycle allowed me to hide even more behind my skinny chase. I’ve learned from my personal experience as well as my functional medicine education and I want to share with you some insights.
My approach to weight loss is different. It’s actually not focusing on losing weight at all. It’s about focusing instead on what you want losing weight to give you. Freedom from food and dieting obsession, full heart, more energy and vibrancy, clear mind, good sleep, active body, self-love, confidence, happiness… you fill in the rest!
Something I’ve learned: Losing weight won’t bring you happiness. I tried so hard to lose weight because I believed that I would be a better person and more lovable if I was skinny. Here’s what happened instead, losing weight made me feel more vulnerable! I had all these emotions and reactions and no outlet for them. Everything I would do to eat or restrict or hide behind diet-chasing was now exposed. My insecurities, my super-sensitivities, my shyness, my low self-esteem, my fears…. were all exposed.
Why would anyone want to lose weight if this is guaranteed to happen? I felt everything and feeling is what helped me grow. I grew-up emotionally. If I had reverted back to food and obsessing about my weight, I would have never learned what I needed to learn in order to continually take care of myself. I learned about respecting my body, listening to my hunger and satiation cues, showing-up for myself and others, growing emotionally and spiritually, leading a full life.. all which has kept me at a balanced and healthy weight for me.
Are you ready? Taking better care of yourself in your efforts to achieve your personal happiness goals is about acceptance. Have you been neglecting yourself? Are you worth your full attention? It’s going to mean that being too busy, too stressed, too tired, however legitimate these reasons may be, can no longer excuse you from your commitment to better yourself. It’s about finding small ways to say “I matter enough to (eat breakfast, drink more water, cry, get more sleep, find ways to laugh more, be outside, etc)”. Do you matter?
How I plan to help: In the upcoming blogs, I will be debunking the top 5 weight loss myths using a functional medicine approach. Sure, there will be science and facts, but my favorite part will be the focus on more ways towards working with your body instead of against it… A partnership towards more health and more love! (I sent out the first of the series 2 weeks ago, “Stop Obsessing Over Calories”. You can find it here.)
I want to give you as much value as I can to support you on your journey to treating your body and spirit the best you can so you can feel freedom from dieting and food obsession.
Warmly,
Shanti Pappas
Certified Holistic Health Coach and
Functional Medicine Nutritionist
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P.S. If this isn’t for you, please forward it to someone who might find my approach to weight loss valuable.
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