Weight Loss: It Begins...

One challenge to living in joy for me has been being overweight and the health effects that come along with it. For one thing, I often feel physically exhausted. Who wouldn't if they had an extra hundred pounds clinging onto their body? For another, trying to lose the extra weight has been demoralizing, and I've allowed it to seriously damage my self-image. I've berated myself for not having willpower, for being weak, for having no self-control, for allowing myself to become unattractive, for being a slob, etc., etc., etc.


As I've studied the practical spiritual teachings of Abraham off and on over the years, I've learned that negative self-talk sets up a personal vibration that attracts more of the same. That's the last thing I want (though it's exactly what I've been getting)! I've begun working on becoming more conscious of when the negative self-talk kicks in and using Abraham's recommendation to substitute more positive thoughts, even if I have to switch to a different subject.

For many years, I had given up on trying to control my weight via how I eat. No matter what I'd tried, even if I'd lost some weight, I seemed completely unable to sustain it. I finally decided my only hope was to try to get more exercise. I've had a little better luck with that, but only sporadically. I've lost about 15 pounds over the last two years--an accomplishment I forget to give myself kudos for. However, I still don't have a regular exercise habit.

As you can see, the negative self-talk continues! However, one note of positive self-talk that I continually give myself credit for is my persistence. After all these years of coming at my weight challenge from what seems like an infinite number of directions, I still haven't given up! I'm still ready to try anything I find that looks like it will work for me.

I've gradually come to realize that approaching this challenge on the physical level alone, or even the physical and emotional levels, is unlikely to clear the challenge in the way I want it resolved. This is a spiritual challenge. I've begun looking for a spiritual approach.

Recently I came across the work of Martha Beck (see my post on New Teachers for how that happened). While I was initially attracted by her thoughts about what she calls "wayfinders" or "menders," I later found she had written a book about losing weight, too. I was enjoying her spiritual approach so much in her most recent book (Finding Your Way in a Wild New World) that I quickly clicked over to Amazon.com to purchase The Four-Day Win, her book about achieving what she calls "thinner peace."

She begins by referring eager readers to the Appendix, where there is a four-day Jump-Start plan. However, she first extracts a promise that in return the reader will come back and work through the entire book. The Quick Start will give some immediate results, she says, but to create lasting results requires changing how a person thinks, and that is what the rest of the book guides the reader through.

I'm going to give Martha's approach a try, and I've decided to document how it goes via this blog. This is a very critical piece to my return to joy. It is so far the greatest challenge of my life in terms of the effort I've put into trying to learn what I can from it. I so want to find a place of peace and understanding regarding what it means in my life.

To find all articles in this series, use "Search This Blog" (see right sidebar) with the term: weight loss.