How to Use One Past Win to Successfully Lose & Preserve After Age 50

How to use a past spectacular accomplishment to elevate our lives today.

Pearl One

It’s a strong question to ask ourselves: do we think that weight loss/preservation is merely a skill that can be learned similar to learning Spanish or ____________ (blank space for you to insert a super cool skill that you learned in a step-by-step process and crushed it. Yes, even if there were hiccups along the way).

For example, we can easily understand the steps involved in getting a new recliner for the living room. We’d do this, that and the other, and the new chair arrives.

No big deal.

But of course, losing weight after age 50 and keeping it off forever, is a thousand times more complex.

Now pick your favorite win and deconstruct it. What happened first, second, third and so forth. Why is the accomplishment so awesome? How did you handle the obstacles? What kept you engaged with the process? Pretend as if you’re explaining to someone else how you brought the accomplishment to life.

I took one of my wins  (I homeschooled my boys). And when deconstructing my win, I learned that to create a successful experience for myself, I needed:

• to go full immersion into an activity.
• Fun to be a huge part of the equation.
• access to classes/mentors to energize me.
• a super strong “why.”

Getting to Know You

Now, it’s your turn. In your journal write about your top four or five accomplishments that you most cherish. (Has to be an accomplishment that you really wanted; it can’t be that you got your masters to make your mom happy). As you journal-write, really explore what steps were involved that led to that big, wonderful win?

Now pick your favorite accomplishment and ask yourself, how did I make that happen? What was involved deep-down under the surface? What talent and skills did I bring to the accomplishment? (Tenacity, a gut feeling that you were on the track, a super strong “why.”)

Journal-writing is all about getting to know yourself better at deeper and deeper levels.

My theory is that we can look at past successes and tease out the skills it took to make that win, to create another win today. ♥

Pearl Two

Years ago, I was watching Jessica Simpson and her then husband Nick Lachey on a reality show. On one episode, the couple’s traveling and we see them enter their hotel room. Jessica heads straight to a food gift basket that the hotel staff left for the them.

As she picks through the basket, I remember her forlornly saying (I’m paraphrasing), “None of this is on my diet.”

At that, she walked away.

I don’t know anything else about these two, but her one comment stuck in my mind. I remember marveling, “wow, even someone built like she is, fights the daily demon that is food in our current culture?”

It was news to me.

I’d automatically assumed that the “beautiful people” arrived out of the package looking perfect.

That’s my long-winded way of saying, “look for inspiration everywhere: on silly TV shows, in a restaurant, in the grocery store.

Inspiration is everywhere. ♥

Pearl Three

In January, we’re talking stress-eating, and how we can walk it quietly out of our daily

If we’ve grown up with trauma or drama, we haven’t learned how to deal with our emotions without drinking, drugging or eating.

When we have a strong emotion as an adult, we don’t know what to do with it, how to handle it and how to soothe ourselves through it.

Maybe we grew up with people who didn’t know how to engage with their emotions, and therefore couldn’t teach us. Nobody taught you that feelings float in for a few minutes, and then float out like clouds.

If there’s trauma in our background, a big feeling can trigger our PTSD.

And when our PTSD shows up, that’s when we go for the food.

The overall plan is to get a toe and eventually an entire food in the space between “feeling” and “the PTSD.” Our old model was: Big emotion/PTSD/Eat!

We’re working towards a new model: Big emotion/our foot/Go about our life.

What do you do to insert a toe (at first) into the model: essentially “talk yourself down.” Plan this stage in advance of a big emotion, don’t try to do it as you’re having one.

Journal-write about how you’ll soothe yourself when the next emotion that threatens to drown you appears. Begin by teaching yourself the cloud metaphor again and again. It works best when it’s stored in your heart. ♥

Pearl Four

I’m a little down. I’ve plowed through seventeen books trying to find one worthy of book-dessert status. This time, I came up empty.

So, I’m doing a short list of my favorites and by next Friday I’ll be back on track. I’m learning as I go and I think I have a way to fix this.

If you want to laugh: google Lisa Scottoline’s non-fiction series. Her books start with My Third Husband Will Be a Dog. Lisa is best known for her many mystery books, but I love the non-fictions.

One of my favorite books of all time: Pachinko by Min Lin Lee.

I was just about to include an amazing read, The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen and discoverec that he’s come out with a brand-new book, Nothing Ever Dies. Now I’m stoked to read his latest!!

Last, a story that actually happened. A Woman of No Importance the Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell left me absolutely floored. This book falls into the historical non-fiction genre and the author knocks it out of the park having written the book in a way that you can almost feel the Gestapo just steps behind Virginia as she flees France. Review: an incredible read and one to remember always. Buy this book for every girl or woman in your life. ♥

Pearl Five

“It’s not just about losing the weight; It’s about losing the lifestyle and mindset that got you there. ♥

Steve Maraboli

I’m babysitting my favorite puppy pair this weekend. I don’t know what’s better, the silence or the beautiful, super clean home? (And the furry angels.)

And want to update you that I’ll begin posting a sequence from my life on Totally Tuesday.

The Inspired Eater: Fed Up! is here.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

♥, Wendy

P.S. Are you new to the Inspired Eater? Welcome!! This blog won’t make much sense until you first read the Aunt Bea post (and you’ll find Aunt Bea on this page to the right under my short bio). On your cell you’ll see it immediately following the first post. After you enter your email address, the Aunt Bea article will be sent to your email’s inbox. If it’s not there, you might check the spam folder. And always feel free to email me at Wendy@TheInspiredEater.com and I’ll get Aunt Bea right to you!

You know the scoop: I’m an Amazon affiliate. If you buy from a link in my post, I’ll receive money, but the arrangement won’t cost you a dime.

I am not an expert, a doctor, a surgeon, a nurse or a nutritionist: the information within TheInspiredEater.com is based solely on my personal experience and is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. ♥