We all know how difficult maintaining our weight can be, especially after menopause, and particularly during the holidays. We think, ‘Oh, I’ll watch what I eat before the holidays so I can just eat and drink whatever I want during the holidays!” But, does that ever really work? Usually not, because what happens before the holidays?…we meet up with friends and family we maybe haven’t seen since last year, go to extra parties; where, what do we do, but eat, drink and be merry! Oh, and don’t forget holiday baking. All this starts after Halloween, because now we are getting ready for Thanksgiving (those of you who are from the US), and then there are all the holidays after that.
What can we do to STOP THE MADNESS???
Well, bare with me…But, have you ever tried using self-care to help maintain, decrease, or yes, even increase your weight? By going back to my definition of self-care meaning to spend time on yourself, to do what you want and need to do to improve your overall well-being, this would definitely make sense.
What do we do when we are not happy with our weight? We bully and badger ourselves into a horrible place; now, feeling guilty for eating that bowl of ice cream or having that second margarita. Does that really help you feel better, bullying yourself, sabotaging your health, your weight? It doesn’t. It just pushes us back and makes you want to eat more! We start that yo-yo dieting that we lose weight, and regain, lose weight, and regain, over and over and over again. That, ladies is not healthy for our bodies.
Why not try a couple different new things. Like, we need to stop the fight with ourselves. We go on one diet, then another, then another. It doesn’t work because that is not what our bodies want…more pressure! Instead, try sitting with the pressure. Remember, the more we resist something, the more it persists. That is a fact! If we sit with it and just show compassion and love to that side of us, we will be able to forgive ourselves and let it go. The more you just let go of that pressure of “I can’t eat this. I can’t eat that…” or, “I can’t believe I’m such an idiot and just ate that!” “I’m such a loser!” Bullying yourself is just not going to get you anywhere. In fact, it’s going to just make you feel worse, which is going to make you want to eat more. Instead, just sit and tell yourself, “you know what, it’s okay that I messed up. The next thing I’m going to eat will be something healthy.” Or, just don’t even worry about the next thing you eat. Just forgive yourself and let go of the anger, the pressure. See what happens.
By just sitting with those self-sabotaging thoughts and just allowing them and really feeling them and let them BE, instead of pushing them away can really make a difference. Sounds crazy, I know. But, it works. If you stop the fight and stop fighting with yourself, you can let go and release that pressure. Maybe you are eating for a reason, a deeper reason. What is or are those reasons? If you sit quietly and just meditate for even 10 minutes or so each day, you might just figure it out. Did you suffer with weight issues growing up and/or get bullied or were not allowed to eat what you wanted? Did something happen to you that you emotionally started to eat to calm yourself, to love yourself, to feel safe? There probably are reasons. I used to be a stress eater. Anytime I got stressed, I went to my bag of Cheetos, and I usually ate the whole bag! It wasn’t until I realized the ‘WHY’ I was eating that I was able to stop. If there are deeper issues, seek professional help to find out what that is. It may change other areas in your life, also.
Here are some self-care techniques you can do also. Just remember, don’t pressure yourself. Try not making it a punishment but something great for you and your body, for your health. Make it fun.
Self-care techniques to help your eating habits:
- Don’t bully and self-sabotage your eating. If you mess up, it’s ok. You are only human.
- Meditate, sit in quiet and ask, “Why do I have weight issues?”
- Use EFT/Tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique) to calm your nervous system and release old beliefs about eating.
- Drink eight, 8-oz glasses of water (at least) daily. When you feel hungry, try drinking a glass of water first before eating something. Many times we are dehydrated and we feel hungry, but it is our body craving water. This will fill you up for a while.
- Try to substitute something healthy into your diet instead of an unhealthy food. Eat more fruits, grains and vegetables.
- Cut back or delete sugar, white flour, dairy and pop completely from your diet and watch what happens….
- Exercise. Even if its going for a 15-minute walk a day, use stairs instead of elevators, do sit-to-stands a couple times a day (this is where you go to sit down in a chair, but just graze your bottom on the seat and stand back up. You can help using your arms to push up from the arm rests if it is difficult for you, or cross your arms over your chest if it is easy. Try 5 – 10 and increase as able.
By starting with these self-care techniques to change your eating habits, you will start to see changes in your habits and weight. However, it may be slow, and that is okay. You don’t want that quick weight loss, because it almost, if not always comes back and sometimes it does with a vengeance. Make it more about the health and not the fight. Remember, make it fun. It’s not pressure, make it self-care, showing love to yourself. You Deserve It!