11/30/22
This year, I had several of my kiddos with me this Thanksgiving. What a blessing it was. But, when they’re here, I tend to indulge more than I usually would. And, I don’t know about you, but I love Thanksgiving food! My Dad had a recipe for cornbread dressing that is so rich and delicious. My kids request it every year, even if we aren’t having other traditional Thanksgiving foods. It’s that good. Of course, it’s good on Thanksgiving day, but it’s one of those things that’s always better the second day. It’s good for breakfast with eggs. It’s good inside the ham sandwich, made, of course with yeast rolls - my Mom’s recipe. Another highly requested Thanksgiving food. Yes, we eat lots of dressing and yeast rolls and all the delicious desserts without any guilt the entire week of Thanksgiving. It’s fabulous.
And it’s about this time every year I think I might need to lose a few pounds. It’s a familiar pattern. And just when I feel like my pants are fitting normally again, we start making Chex Mix for the Christmas holidays. And we start early. It’s a battle. No wonder the gyms are packed on the first week of January. I think the whole world is doing exactly what I’m doing for 5 or 6 weeks straight. Enjoying all the things you don’t usually indulge in. Maybe if it were spread out it wouldn’t be such a big deal. But 5 or 6 weeks in a row can do some damage, huh?
So, let’s talk about how to lose weight. I want to give you some information that you may not have ever heard before when it comes to losing weight. It may very well be the reason you haven’t been successful to keep the weight off in the past. I promise you, this information is the missing piece to you feeling in control and victorious in your weight loss efforts. And I’m going to give it to you.
Are you ready? Here it is. The secret to losing weight is not calories counted or watching your macros and micros. It’s not even intermittent fasting. Or even weight training or burning more calories than you take in. Nope. The secret to losing weight is all about what’s going on in your mind. That’s the secret sauce. Oh man, see, “sauce”, I still have food on my mind. Now those things - weight training, intermittent fasting, macros and micros, even protein cycling - will most certainly be helpful. But only and until you get your mind straight about your thoughts around losing weight.
Scientists who study genetics and the specific things that affect genetic expression have evidence that the thoughts we have and their linked emotions turns sets of genes on and off in complex situations. So, it’s not that our genes are changing, but instead that certain genes get messages to turn on or turn off, to express or lay inactive. Our genes are directly affected by the way we think and process our experiences. Our thinking changes the expression of our DNA codes. Wow, right? And negative thinking, in particular, makes our brains feel overwhelmed and shut down, and our bodies feel it too.
But, here’s the exciting part when it comes to the body’s response, how our genes get expressed: These same studies that showed negative emotions shutting down our genes actually showed a reversal with feelings of love, joy, appreciation, and gratitude. And here’s where it corresponds to weight loss. When you entertain negative thoughts about yourself and your body - like looking in the mirror and saying, “Ugh, I need to lose weight. But I’ve always been fat, my family’s fat, I’m destined to be fat; I’m not lovable at this weight; I need to be skinny in order to be good enough or to be loved; I’m a slob; I’m lazy; I’m never going to lose weight; it’s hard for me; I hate my body and I wish I looked different” - the brain translates these negative thoughts as stress. This immediately puts our brain into protective mode. The second part of the motivational triad of the brain, to avoid pain, considers stress as pain and will avoid whatever you’re doing at all costs. In protective mode, the body doesn’t think it’s safe and automatically begins to hold onto weight. It’ll even pack on more weight just in case it’s in stress mode for a long, long time. It’s got to protect you and keep you safe, remember? That’s what the brain does. That’s its job.
And the brain dictates what’s happening in the body. So, you can see why the secret to losing weight is all about what’s going on in your mind. The key to real weight loss with lasting change is to get your thoughts straight about yourself and your body first. What you choose to think and say becomes the signal that activates or deactivates your DNA expression and cellular activity, creating a metabolic state where losing weight is difficult or even undermined. This is scientific fact. There are also studies out there linking the brain to our gut health, and visa versa. You are a whole being and you cannot separate what you think about yourself and your weight loss journey. They are one.
Okay, so about now you’re saying, “Just tell me how to do it, Tricia. What do I need to do?”
Well, you need to learn to love yourself first…just like you are right now. With all the excess weight you currently have. And how do you do that when you don’t feel comfortable in your skin? Or you just know you’ll feel better when you can run and play with your children or grandchildren without getting winded and tired. How do you learn to love yourself?
First, we know that thoughts that come spewing out as messages come from our core belief system. So, I’d ask you, what do you believe about yourself? What do you think about YOU? All the things. Your personality, your passions, your character, your past, your present, your future, your circumstances, your life, your physical appearance, your value and worth. And then, what do you think your Creator thinks about you? All the things. What does He think? Have you asked Him lately? He will certainly tell you if you do. And I promise what you will hear are tender words of love and kindness. He will tell you you were made specifically, on purpose, exactly as you are. And He loves you just as you are. Right now. If you hear anything other than that - other than those kinds of words of love - it’s not your Creator. It’s the voice of the enemy who hates the one made in the image of God. Get that straight. Recognize the difference. Then decide who you want to be in agreement with.
When you can learn to be fascinated by the intricacies of your body - the brain and body connection, how your digestive system works, how your body fights illness and disease, how it’s made to create and birth life, all of it - when you’re enamored by the workings of your body, you’ll begin to love and appreciate your body. All of it.
Not long ago, I threw my weight scale away. Some of you may have seen the dramatic event on social media. I called it a “liar.” And I don’t tolerate liars in my house. But here’s the truth. Your body’s health is so much more than a number on the scale. I am so much more than a number. But I also want to lose some weight. So, I can love my body - be absolutely fascinated with it - and want to lose weight at the same time. When you do this - love your body first - then your brain is not in a stress or protective mode. It’s here that you can literally tell your brain that losing weight is not a stressor - and it believes you, because you can’t fool your brain - and then you can tell it that it’s safe to let go of excess weight. You direct your mind what to do using your will. I’m going to talk about how powerful the will is over the mind in next week’s episode. Your will is powerful over your mind…and your mind over your body. That’s how God made you. Aren’t you fascinating?!
So, friend, that’s how you lose weight. You must get your thinking straight before you begin a new lifestyle food protocol (notice I didn’t say diet) and an exercise regime. You have no idea how simple and easy it’s going to be. And I can’t wait to hear about your results. You are in control. Cheering you on, friend! Go do it!
Friend, sometimes we’ve been sabotaging our weight loss efforts by our thoughts for so long it’s just become our pattern. And we get stuck. And we can’t find our way out. And sometimes we just need some help. If that’s you, I’d love to be your Life Coach.
I’ve put a link in the show notes for a free 30-minute call just so we can see if we’re a good fit to work together and show you how Life Coaching would work for you.
Don’t forget to get the guide that will help you process through things and give you a bit of enlightenment to what you’re thinking. The link is in the show notes for your free download.
Have a wonderful week, friends. See you next Wednesday for the next episode of Another Beautiful Life.
