Do you have a closet full of clothes in three different sizes?
You’re not alone. Seems like the harder you diet, the faster you fall off it, and the pounds come racing back. [For those of you who are wondering how I got off on this tangent, public health is my first love. Decades ago I got my masters degree to study issues like obesity, tobacco and alcohol abuse prevention.]
It’s not all your fault. You are being bombarded at every turn by food food FOOD, most of which is crap. Walk into your neighborhood supermarket and take a look at what displays are most in your face: soft drinks, candy, snack “foods,” grab ‘n’ go calorie-rich meals–all high profit margin items.
Below are two examples (of a dozen other possible similar shots) of what I saw at my local store this week. SOFT DRINKS:
Checkstand candy temptations
More crap than basic foods, I swear. And this is just in the grocery store. Fast food options are proliferating and restaurants lure you in with rich foods in large portions. We snack constantly, which totally baffles our slim friends in Europe.
Adding to our pain, we compare ourselves to skinny celebrities, then blame ourselves for being weak. Let me be clear, shaming oneself (or others) is a terrible strategy for succeeding at weight loss. It is far better to build on your strengths, as I experienced in my own weight struggles decades ago.
Back in 1975 I ditched the diets for good and created a mindfulness process for myself to free myself of my toxic “fat mindset,” so I could begin eating like a “normal” person, without shame or guilt. I turned my process into the revolutionary Thin Within workshops, which became a model for many subsequent weight loss programs.
The Cherry Pie Paradox: the Surprising Path to Diet Freedom and Lasting Weight Loss will be released by Luminaire Press in late spring 2021. It describes the step-by-step process of self-discovery that has helped so many free themselves from the harmful grip of food and body-shaming. I can’t wait to share it with you!
Here’s what one of my very successful students says about it:
When I took the original Thin Within workshop in 1977, I was staggered that no one had ever thought to develop a program based on the body’s cues of hunger, fullness and pleasure. Joy Imboden’s brilliance changed my life and was the beginning of developing my own thoughts and program for breaking free from compulsive eating. I cannot say enough about her work and therefore, her recommendations in this important book. Most people are synthesizers, not true originals. Joy is a true original and I am so glad she is finally taking her place. Bravo, Joy!
—Geneen Roth, author of the #1 NYT bestseller, Women Food and God; Breaking Free from Compulsive Eating; and others.
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