Being racehorses in weight loss land was never real. We’re sea turtles: slow and adorable.
Pearl One
You and I are wise to the ways of yesteryear’s diet-cartel with their unsustainable “lose two pounds a week”, but then saying nothing at all about how to maintain. So, women in the last century, had no option but to live the classic yo-yo existence. But today, in 2025, we’re now peering decades into our future understanding that maintaining our precious weight loss is the real challenge and requires new tools, mindsets and habits.
The habits we embed today will have our back decades from now.
That said, I want to caution you – as you go about your daily – not to enact massive change all at once such as using new weight loss cookbooks with all new recipes that call for ingredients you’ve never heard of; setting your alarm for a new early wake-up time, or beginning a rigorous workout that can’t be sustained. Too many changes at one time burns us out and is inauthentic to our deeper self.
Don’t overdo change. Know at your core that establishing strong habits around food and weight, take time and deliberate focus.
Returning to the old diet mentality of yesteryear versus making a lifestyle shift: two totally different things.
What important habits do I suggest installing into your daily? These are the habits I would go for in the beginning of a big lifestyle shift.
My favorite study out of England (2009) concluded that it takes 66-days to instill a smart new habit. The good news is that only the first two weeks are most challenging. Here’s what I’d need to be set in stone in the beginning:
- I’d embed the idea that losing weight after 50 is akin to having a part-time job. The very thoughts gives me 20 hours every week to spend on myself allowing me to shift from yo-yo eater to someone who rocks the Smart Eating Lifestyle. I know that recommitting to the job description every morning when I wake up is crucial.
- I’d stop eating after 6 p.m.
- I would breakfast like a king, lunch like a princess and eat dinner like a pauper. That’s all I would suggest doing for the first month or two.
- When I was fully confident that my first three habits were no longer on Bambi legs, I’d put into place tracking my food meal-by-meal day by day. (Get a pretty notebook, spiral-ringed like these.)
- I’d prep food for the week on Sunday afternoon to make life easier on myself once the week starts.
- Next, in my habits tool chest I’d include “eat before you eat.”
- Then I’d create the habit of using a cold-tote every single day filled with bites I loved.
- Finally, I’d put journal-writing into place (I recommend spiral-bound like this one.)
Whether you’re losing, stabilizing (once called plateauing) or maintaining say to yourself every day, “I’m not working on my weight, I’m working on strengthening my habits.”
Given that each habit takes 66-days to embed, you can see how slow your first year – or more – can take ingraining strong habits.
If you’re thinking “well, it didn’t take me that long to establish strong habits: that’s way too slow.” I worry for your lifetime-loss. You want to think the very opposite of what was once said about weight loss: take the pounds off quickly, you’ll be a size 8 tomorrow.”
No. The animal does not exist.
Remember, a lifetime loss isn’t about quick fixes; it’s about staying the course, day by day. Every small step forward matters. Just slow the roll to experience the best results. ♥
Pearl Two
Our journal writing pearl.
- You grew up in the get-thin-fast culture. What do you think of the idea of keeping our cavewoman none the wiser by going slowly to take off weight for a lifetime?
- If losing quickly is important to you, could you slow your roll maybe by fifty percent?
- Explain to your journal how going quickly worked in the past.
- Which habits would you most like to develop in the coming year?
- Define a plan to put the habits into place.
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. Apply to your own life.
Initial Sequence
- Situation: Jennifer’s mom passed and left her money.
- Knee-jerk thought: I need a new car, a trip to Europe and trips to Lake Tahoe for snow skiing.
- Feeling: Woo-hoo!
- Action: At Christmastime Jennifer is drinking Café au Lait in Paris.
- Result: The money she inherited is dwindling.
Chosen Sequence
- Situation: Jennifer’s mom passed and left her money.
- Chosen thought: I know that I have a strong tendency to not think before I spend because I always “need” stuff. Could get out of hand quickly. Instead, I’ll invest in CDs at the bank.
- Feeling: Jennifer feels a boost of happiness.
- Action: She invests the funds for use in her retirement which her mom would have loved.
- Result: Her initial investment actually makes money for her.
Pearl Four
I’m just today dipping into The Island of Sea Women but what I’ve heard from trusted sources is that a) this book is immersive and difficult to put down and b) the author, Lisa See, rocks and all of her novels are masterpieces: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, and Lady Tans Circle of Women.
Pearl Five
“A strong habit is a gift we give to ourself.”
Me
It’s a five-star day. My very surly son just came over to me to share a beautiful, small porcelain pumpkin he bought at a fair. It’s a beautiful piece of art. It’s glazed in blue and just gorgeous.
But he wanted to show me something: yay!! Now I have to look cool and like nothing happened otherwise he might retreat into surly mode.
I hope you’re doing well and have many blue pumpkins in your near future!
♥, Wendy
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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.
