I Can’t Be the Only One; You Mean They Really Don’t Care?

Pearl One

Admittedly I can be gullible, yes, it’s true. But I cannot be the only person who thought – back when – that the diet companies legit cared about their customers: you and I. I mean, maybe not “cared about us,” but at least had something valuable to teach. I assumed that if a business sells a product like a diamond ring, we pay money and and go home with a ring.

But here’s the rub with the diet-cartel: we think we’re buying a weight loss that will last a lifetime but they think they’re selling a forty-pound weight loss over and over again.  And the diet-cartel has actually convinced us that if we gain back the forty-pounds it’s our own stupid fault. So millions and millions of us think that we don’t have the right willpower, the ability to say “no” or the rigor for the long-term.

So, you and I board the diet-train to chunky-ville over and over again through the years. Never the wiser.

And nobody ever asks, “. . . but . . . how do I make my weight loss last for the long run?”  In the diet-cartel’s world there’s not a word or a term for a lifetime maintenance (I call “preservation”). They slap their knees in laughter. and when they finally get serious say: “lifetime loss was never the deal.”

My take back then was “these companies are lying to us!! They’ve never had our best interests in mind at all! They’re hoodwinking you and me, and it’s time the insanity stops!”

Then one day reality rained down. 

Ohhhhh.  Of course, the diet-cartel is not here to help us. We’re the diet-cartel’s target market and if we lose weight for “a lifetime” they won’t profit. They’re in business to make money.

Of course, the diet-cartel is not here to “help us.” The diet-cartel is alive and well, and in business to make as much profit as possible and they’re succeeding into the billions. My bottom line is let’s use the diet-cartel’s products as tools like a vacuum cleaner or a snow shovel. They are merely tools. They’re not riding a white steed ready to come to our weight-rescue. We can rescue ourselves, thanks. ♥

Pearl Two

Being uncomfortable is part of change. Say you want to embed the habit of always keeping your cold-tote packed in great bites by your side every day. The first day you forget to grab your already-packed cold-tote entirely. The second day you forget to take it off the roof of the car. Oops. The third day you remember the cold-tote, but forget that you filled it with “blah” food and everybody is having lunch at the Dairy Queen while you chew on a stalk of broccoli (you grabbed it as you flew out the door).

On your drives to work you call yourself “so lame” re: the cold-tote. You conclude with, it’s never going to happen tor me anyhow.

Hello? Self-sabotage much?

So, right at this moment, stop the frame and take a good look at how you’re talking to yourself.

One: your self-talk is cruel and unnecessary (critical self-talk is rarely helpful). Two: your expectations for yourself are off the rails. Remember my favorite study out of England that concluded it takes sixty-six days to embed a new habit? Well, I noticed something interesting as I was embedding a new habit: it was only the first sixteen days that were truly challenging. So expect a lot of false starts.

It takes time and effort to develop a new habit. Chill out on yourself. Talk to yourself with as much kindness and patience as you can muster. Babies learn to walk on their own schedule. Developing a new habit takes perseverance and time. And purchase the Atomic Habits by James Clear if you haven’t yet! ♥

Pearl Three

Sequencing is taken directly from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The purpose of sequences is to help us move from reacting to circumstances to responding. I encourage you to do a sequence a day in your journal. Powerful stuff.

Automatic Sequence

• Situation (something very concrete): The scale tells me that I’ve lost fifteen-pounds.
• Thought: Get out of here!!
• Feeling: Rapture.
• Action: I wear the white jeans I haven’t worn in years.
• Result: They fit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chosen Sequence

• Situation (something very concrete): The scale tells me that I’ve lost fifteen-pounds.
• Chosen thought: I’m thrilled, of course, but Wendy coaches that we dial the drama down. This is the moment where I talk to myself and remind me that I’m entering a healthy period of “holding.” And as I hold I keep telling myself that I can accept my new weight, accept compliments with grace, and that people will still love me and want to be friends at my new weight. (I say this to myself over and over again.)
• Feeling: I feel tentative, careful. I know how fast the pounds can return plus I want to lose twenty more. But for now I’m holding and adjusting.
• Action: Per Wendy, I continue working on my habits, just holding my weight, and telling myself that I’m okay as I accept the new weight loss.
• Result: I’m starting to understand the idea that if we lose weight quickly our cavewoman shows up and ruins everything. I continue taking it slow so that my mind can accept the fifteen-pound loss.

Pearl Four

Books love us and want us to be happy.

I spent the last week pouring through stacks of books. It’s hard to find what I’m looking for: a book dessert. It can’t be scary (because life already scares me enough), it can;t be chick-lit, have Nazis or be a total downer. So this week I’m leaving it up to you. In the comment section down below: share your favorite book titles. Share your favorite of last year, the favorite one of your whole life or even your favorite author. But please share. ♥

Pearl Five

Sweetheart, you can’t go listening to every little voice that runs through your head. You’ll go nuts.” ♥

Samantha Jones, SATC

I’ve always been near-sighted. Out of nowhere — bamo! — I can’t read the copy in a book. Even the laptop screen is harder to read. So I got a new prescription, took it to Costco and await their call.

Have a smarty eating week!

♥, Wendy

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.

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I am not an expert, doctor, surgeon, nurse, dietician, or 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.