I continue to get masses of email from women responding to my What’s Eating You messages of last week.
I already knew that of all the problems we women face as we go through menopause, gaining weight and feeling flabby is one of the top concerns. Because of the tremendous response to these emails, now I know I’m on the right track in getting to the root of the problem, controlling our appetite.
Isn’t it interesting that of all the thousands of diet books out there, very few of them even discuss how to deal with the root cause? Instead, they just focus on symptoms of what you’re eating and how much and when. While those things do matter, if you train your appetite to be satisfied in a different way than it is today, weight loss comes naturally without a lot of stress and strain.
And training your appetite is something you can master, just as you can train your muscles or train your brain to do anything else, like balance a checkbook, drive a car, or use a computer.
Doesn’t that sound like a much saner and simpler approach than trying to beat yourself into submission and calling yourself names if you slip off the wagon?
“Going on a diet” is a set-up for failure, as you steel yourself for days, weeks or months of deprivation. As someone who has tried them all, what I noticed was as soon as I said those words to myself, I would immediately get focused on FOOD and the tug of war was on!
In short, the more you make losing weight a BIG DEAL, the more pressure you put on yourself and the more internal resistance you create.
If you turn it the other way round and train your mind to direct your appetite, the process goes a lot smoother and the results will be permanent.
I’m working hard on a project to bring all of this information together, which I’ll be announcing within a couple of weeks, so stay tuned.
In the meantime, don’t make losing weight a Big Deal. Instead, breathe deeply, get relaxed and do the mental exercises in my Fit and Fabulous for the Fifties and Beyond program that will get you started on the right path.
To the Fit and Fabulous You,
Susan Blais
Copyright 2009 by Susan Blais
