These Five Secrets Can Help You Lose Weight -- NutriExpert

These Five Secrets Can Help You Lose Weight

Weight loss is such an important topic! Every month another book is published by another weight loss expert. Everyone wants to know the secret to losing weight.

I certainly don't have THE secret, but I do have a few, and I want to share them with you in hopes that they will be helpful.

Weight used to be a major problem for me. Losing weight was never out of my thoughts, and I can't tell you how many different diets, pills and programs I tried until I discovered a few secrets that have worked for me for many years now.

So here they are. I hope they work as well for you as they did for me.

1. Stop focusing on weight loss and focus on good health.

I grew up a sick child and was a sick young adult. I hated being sick and never having the energy to do all the things I wanted to do. So I decided to learn about what makes for good health.

First I read tons of books on nutrition and became convinced that I had to switch to organic foods. It was quite a challenge in 1961! There was a health food co-op store that I had to follow all over Los Angeles because it kept changing locations. But it was worth it! Today, my rule of thumb is: if we didn't eat it 100 years ago, I won't eat it today. This eliminates most packaged and processed foods and makes room for natural and organic foods.

2. Learn to read your body's signals to know what works for it and what doesn't.

I don't read different diets anymore because I've learned to listen to MY body to know exactly what it needs to be healthy. Because my body has different needs than yours, there is no one-size-fits-all diet plan that works for everyone. Your job is to learn to recognize what gives you energy and what takes it away, as well as what foods calm you and what foods agitate you. Once I learned what my body needs to be healthy, I lost weight and kept it off easily.

3. Find a form of exercise that you enjoy and can do at least 5 times a week.

I found that I like to walk in nature, so I take a brisk half-hour walk every day. However, this can be a problem if you have physical limitations or a chronic illness. Losing weight with a chronic illness or physical limitations is not impossible, but it can be a much bigger challenge.

4. Learn to discern which part of you determines what you eat, when you eat and how much you eat

We all have a wounded part of ourselves that uses various addictions to cope with feelings of loneliness, isolation, helplessness, anxiety, depression, fear and anger. Some people may use alcohol, drugs, spending, television, gambling, sex, etc. to avoid their pain, while others use food. While food may soothe painful feelings in the moment, in the long run, all addictions backfire and create the very pain you are trying to avoid. Yet our wounded self continues to choose addictive behavior as a way to deal with the pain. As long as the wounded part of you makes its food choices, you can continue to have a weight problem.

The part of us that is able to handle painful feelings in a healthy way and make healthy choices is the loving adult. The loving adult is the part of us that has a deep desire to learn and act lovingly on our own behalf. Developing a loving adult is a major aspect of creating health and wellness, as well as losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight.

5. Learning to connect to a spiritual source of wisdom, strength, love and guidance.

The loving adult is that part of us that is connected to a spiritual source of guidance rather than being governed by the mind. The mind, which is programmed from childhood, is the home of the wounded self. You are a loving adult in those moments when you choose to be guided by a source of wisdom beyond your mind. This source will always guide you to your highest good. You simply must learn to open up and listen.