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the answer is within us

tom tyler
on 2/6/06 4:39 am - Aldan, PA
Losing pounds is as easy as healthy eating and exercise Being a thin YOU is so much more!! The single most important weight loss tool might take you by surprise. If you think it's a good diet, an effective exercise program, eating enough protein and lots of small meals a day, drinking enough water or even a support group, you'd have mentioned some essential things to weight loss. However, you would not even be remotely close to the right answer on how to live a thin life. The weight loss surgery is a weight loss tool, just like the kinds of food we eat, the amount of water we drink and all the other things we have learned but the reason why people gain their weight back is because they don't have the tool to Live THIN. Learning this tool could transform your life and make all the difference in your long-term healthy weight loss and ability to live the you, you were meant to be. The 12 step program for alcoholics, talks about living in the answer, rather than the problem. This tool makes the difference between those of us who are successful and happy with our new "self" or struggling and sometimes even gaining back weight. And what is this tool? The answer is you. You are the most important ingredient. To be more specific, knowledge about yourself is the secret factor that is most often left out of diet programs. Plato said "An unexamined life is not worth living" and another one that we've all heard "to thine own self be true" You may know a lot about exercise and diet and calories and follow a detailed weight loss program or post surgery guide lines to the T, but if you don't know what makes you tick (your needs, inner hungers, addictions, fears, hopes and ultimately what makes you eat uncontrollably, or what's eating you), you run the risk of eventually re-gaining all that hard-lost weight but even more importantly, you'll never feel like you fit in your new body. If you needed to get from Columbus, Ohio to a vacation spot in sunny California, the first thing you would need would be a car, directions on how to get there and the ability to drive the car. It's a long trip so basic car maintenance might be helpful as well, along with someone to support you in the driving. It is a long trip after all. Living who we ARE is far more complex than driving across the country, and far more complex than just having surgery but most dieters know far less about themselves than they do about their own cars or a trip they may take. No wonder so many people struggle after weight loss. They don't know who they are now that they have finally achieved what they always thought was their dream. And it's because they didn't know who they were even when they started out!!! You are a complex and wonderful being. You have needs and wants and fears and hopes and desires and expectations that all have a direct effect on what and how you eat. You hunger for so many things in your life and food is only one small part of the picture. Did you know this? Did you know that a little self-exploration can make a giant difference in your ability in how to live into YOUR answer to becoming all that you can be? Sometimes we have been starving to death all along, but all we knew was to feed that hunger with food. What if the hunger was for something else? Maybe that's why we could never fill it with food no matter how hard we tried. A big weight loss tip: If you are stuck on the way to your weight goal then self-knowledge is probably what you need to have a breakthrough. How do you get this knowledge? Try answering the questions below. They will move you in the right direction. Weight-Related Self-Knowledge Questions: ? What is my greatest inner hunger other than food? ? What major life risk have I been unwilling to take? ? What intense feelings most influence my overeating? ? What am I willing to do to learn about and productively manage those feelings? ? What childhood trauma is still affecting my emotions, eating habits and self-image? ? To what degree do I still fear growing up? ? How often do I blame others for my current life situation instead of taking responsibility for my choices? ? How did/does my weight help me hide from life? I encourage you to explore these questions in depth. Do not settle for brief and easy answers. You will only sell yourself and your new life short. The more you know about yourself the more you'll feel like you "fit" in your new skin.
dcox94
on 2/6/06 10:09 am - North Wilmington, DE
Tom, Where were you this weekend??? Thanks for these words. And the meeting I did tonight coupled with this post....I have a lot to think about and hopefully move me to a better place real soon. I really hate these funks! I don't have many but when they happen its like being on a rollercoaster...now I want off the ride! Its official. I am working it today! Your positive force is really appreciated. Debbie
ews
on 2/6/06 10:13 am - Hockessin, DE
Wow...Great things to think about. Thanks, Ellen
one twenty five sixty to
go

on 2/8/06 11:13 pm - Wilmington, DE
Thanks for these great tips Tom! I am going to sit down and answer these questions truthfully because sometimes we really don't recognize what's eating at us. I was at a plateau and decided that I needed to start from the top by following the rules I followed in the beginning but still there was something missing. Although I started losing again I still felt as though I was in a struggle. This board is truly a godsend and it helps us to dig a little deeper within ourselves to figure out how to be and remain successful after WLS. Thanks again! Prycey Lady AKA Carol Pryce
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