Many of us think we can because we remove calories and foods from our diets, start exercising more and see weight come off, but we have no idea if it was fat, or muscle tissue. The problem with that is our body is designed to maintain a certain level of fat for our survival and will adjust our metabolism and hormones that control hunger to ensure we keep it on (or put it back on). Furthermore, it will increase your baseline weight to ensure you have extra fat stores in case of another famine (diet). It is called the Weight Set Point Theory. That is why diets don’t work and often result if weight gain above the level that you started.
Think about it. If you were truly taking care of yourself-facing and questioning your painful thoughts and feelings, eating power foods (foods that give you energy and digest well in your system), eating when hungry stopping when full, moving your body on a regular basis what would you weigh? What would your shape look like? What size would you wear?
I have a naturally muscular frame and I tend to carry a bit more fat than most. I love to dance and decided I would do Barre https://www.tavonadenise.com/how-barre-sculpted-my-physique/ classes after I was hospitalized for Rhabdomyolysis https://www.tavonadenise.com/rhabdomyolysis-and-crossfit/ Naturally, I assumed that because most everyone in the class was long and lean and we were only using 3 pound weights, this type of exercise would make me lean also. WRONG. I have not lifted more than 3 pound weights in 12 months and as you can see, my body is displaying it’s tendency to be muscular, my classmate are still lean with less muscle definition. This is something we have no control over.
I say all of this to say, if you focus on taking care of yourself (see the definition above) and the only body you have been given, your body will respond. You do not have to FORCE it, it will do what it does best. Now, that may not look like you thought it would, but it will allow you to relax around food, move because you want to and start to enjoy life NOW.
Challenge:
Write down what it looks like when you are truly taking care of yourself. What activities do you participate in exercise and/or social? How do you eat? What else? (daily prayer or meditation, journaling, etc.) How do you feel?
Commit to taking care of yourself and your body will take care of the rest