Weight Loss & Body Image

All of the chatter inside my head...

"30 g of protein"

"What I eat in a day.."

"Fat & fiber"

"Vegetables and volume"

"45 inside and 45 outside"

"It's not easy to go from this... to this"

Aaah.

Don't you want to just tell it all to be quiet? Tell the noise to stop?

You do.

But you can't, because deep down you are TRYING to listen.

Trying to listen to see if there is anything in the chatter that will HELP you.

Help you to lose weight that you really want to lose.

Not because you aren't confident in who you are. Not because you want to be an Instagram model, but just because you want to feel like yourself again. You want to wear clothes you love yourself in again. And you want to be healthier and DO the things you love, again.

WHY AM I SHARING THIS?

I think we currently live in a world where weight loss and body image have been blown out of proportion on their importance and value. I want share why this is less important than we make it, validate your frustrations with weight loss and body image, and encourage you that you can indeed lose weight and change your life (if you want or even have that goal - no one must to lose weight!).

WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT TO US?

At the library perusing self-help books I quickly scanned over the small shelf of books on various topics and then walked down an entire row of purely health, fitness, and diet related books on both sides. A WHOLE ROW.

And thats the library. The ancient information source that we sometimes forget exists. Now factor in reels, Tik Tok, Facebook, podcasts, Insta stories, etc. and you know there are literally THOUSANDS of fitness, health, a beauty hooks to lure us in.

Why?

Why? is this so important?

I think there is a couple reasons... so let's explore.

1) People understand the value of health. There is no denying that exercise and proper nutrition make you feel better. Being able to age gracefully, strong enough to carry kids or fix your house, not suffering from digestive, cardiac, injuries, or other health problems, being productive at work, etc.

I think as a society we understand "hey, this makes a big difference for my life."

I've seen many people struggle with health, weight, and body image. It can be so taxing. So destructive to your self-worth, your lifestyle, and so discouraging. It can affect everything you do - from hobbies, to vacations, to clothes, to outings. It CAN affect your self-talk, your image, your confidence, and your mental health. It is a big deal and it does add a lot of value for our lives.

What gets tricky is at some point you reach a moot point where all the time, energy, money, and focus you put into health is not really gaining you anything. For example, once you have your basic needs met - does having more money really make you happier? No. (unless it can buy you a boat haha)

Many people act like they are the next All-American athlete. Between ice baths, strict and structured protein and nutrition goals, supplements, education, endurance and other training - heck you'd think we'd all be in the Olympics at this point!

However, most of us are just trying to stay in good enough shape to enjoy the things that matter to us. Family, work, hobbies & good sleep.

That being said - if you want to run a 100K or do an Iron Man or win the heavy lifting contest - amazing! I guess its just good to keep in perspective the IMPORTANCE we place on health and fitness.

2) Second reason - $$ MONEY $$. That's right, people know we will BUY THIS. So they write books, become instagram models, start a gym, and go into nutrition and other coaching. Basic principles of supply and demand, value, and money. If it is something people want, they know they will PAY for it.

What we also need to keep in mind is how we perpetuate the cycle. Because people are willing to pay for it, they increase the demand. Media works hand in hand with industry to deepen the NEED and increase the DESIRE to look fit, skinny, and healthy. And the crazy part is - we are buying it. We believe we need our skincare routine, protein bars, ice bath, and gym pass so that we can do what we NEED to do and DESIRE to be like.

I don't in any way want to demean, lessen, or diminish the importance of health and fitness gurus in the world. My life has been made better by some of those people who understand and teach the importance of nutrition, exercise, and overall wellness. I guess my only point is I think in the pursuit for wellness and health, we don't forget WHAT we are doing it for.

Are we doing it just to look good? Or to feel good.

Are we doing it to look better than others? Or to support others.

Are we spending so much time and energy on it that we have room to LIVE? Or is it our life.

Are other values in our lives just as important? Or do they stay at the bottom of the list.

WHAT DOES BEING HEALTHY EVEN MEAN?

This is a great question to ask yourself.

Like even just right now.

What does being healthy mean to you?

I think the great thing about this is- like most things in life- you get to choose what it means for you. Is it a weight that you get to? Is it the distance you can run? Is it how well you sleep? Is it what tasks you are able to do without assistance? Is it how many grams of protein you eat? Is it writing in your journal daily? Is it coping well with mental illness? Is it being present and spending time with those you love?

What is it to you?

I believe "being healthy" is being PROUD of the person you are and ABLE to live the life you want to life. You are able to handle and overcome physical and mental challenges to serve those around you. To feel comfortable in your own skin. To book that flight, sign up for that race, to change that behavior, and be there for your children and grandchildren. Everyone is given different cards when it comes to health. Some are good and some are not - but I think seeing what you can and cannot control with your health is VITAL to taking charge of the things you can control. And feeling good about your efforts.

So next time you feel sad because you aren't healthy - just remember what you definition is and stick to it. Don't let what everyone is telling you healthy is make you feel bad.

YOU HAVE VALUE:

Remembering the cycle of industry creating need and desire for this - we can't forget that need is created by establishing the fact that you are "not enough". Skinny enough, pretty enough, thin enough, healthy enough, fit enough. So don't be alarmed when you start to feel that way in listening to media, influencers, etc. Its not true, its just their marketing strategy. But remember,

You are enough.

"No one is waiting for you to lose weight, they are waiting for you to LOVE YOURSELF." - Billie Blake

It is a constant battle but I truly believe you have to swim against the current on this one and remind yourself your worth that is not at all tied to your weight. I liked these quotes below:

"Let me reemphasize: if the pull of the world is stronger than the faith and trust we have in the Savior, then the pull of the world will prevail every time. If we choose to focus on our negative thoughts and doubt our worth instead of clinging to the Savior, it becomes more difficult to feel the impressions of the Holy Ghost." - Joy D Jones

“As we remove the distractions that pull us toward the world and exercise our agency to seek Him, we open our hearts to a celestial force which draws us toward Him.” If the love we feel for the Savior and what He did for us is greater than the energy we give to weaknesses, self-doubts, or bad habits, then He will help us overcome the things which cause suffering in our lives. He saves us from ourselves." - Paul E. Koelliker

"No amount of time in front of the mirror will make you as attractive as having the Holy Ghost with you." - Sheri Dew

MY STORY

So all that being said, I wanted to share a little bit of my story in case it helps at all.

Like most people, I've had ups and downs with weight and body image throughout my life. When I was twelve years old, I was overweight. Granted, this happens to most girls as their body prepares for puberty. But for me, it was a little more than that.

My mom was awesome. She and I set the goal to learn how to run, with the end goal of running a half-marathon together. Not necessarily solely for weight loss, but to learn healthier habits as well.

During this training she printed different articles for me to read about drinking water, listening to hunger cues, and eating vegetables, etc. I learned things I had never known before about health and eating.

My mom also had a diet plan to follow with different choices for breakfast, lunch, and then I ate whatever she made for dinner. The plan focused on portion sizes more than anything, and I remember just eating a lot less than I was before.

Along with this diet was the encouragement to drink 12 cups of water a day (probably like 9 oz kitchen cup) so I would make a little sticky note every morning with 12 circles and cross them off as I drank each glass.

The running started real slow- I don't think I could run a mile. She would run with me everyday right when I got home from school/or when my dad got home. While we ran she would teach me about how to use my heel then toe, how to breathe longer out than in, what to wear, etc. she taught me about how to set a pace and listen to your body.

She taught me all the positive things about running. The things you could do while running like memorize scriptures or poems, talk to a friend, prepare your thought for a lesson or project, etc.

It really showed me how running can be an outlet for emotions and thoughts and that it's not just about physical health. I remember me and my mom developed a pretty cool relationship as we would talk about life and all things on our runs and she would tell stories about her life, give advice, and ask me questions. That's something we kept up for a lot of years and would say to each other "do you want to go on a run?" And we would just chat.

Throughout my journey of training for the half-marathon and making changes to my eating I had lost 15 lbs. I was grateful to have lost the weight before heading into teenage years and playing sports and what not. I think it set my high school experience up well so that I could play sports and such and feel more confident. It also introduced me to weight loss at an early age. So I don't know... little bit of a catch 22. But that was my first experience with weight loss.

Ten months ago I had our beautiful, miracle baby girl. And with having a baby, I gained a lot of weight during my pregnancy. Like 60 lbs of weight. Which, while weight gain is normal during pregnancy and I would do it all over again to have her, I wasn't at a spot I wanted to be. I missed being able to do the activities that I loved and feeling the energy and strength I had felt before pregnancy.

So, I thought, "well, its been a while since I've needed to lose a substantial amount of weight. What am I going to do?"

I didn't want to calorie track, diet, or obsess over food because I knew I didn't like that type of focus and culture.

One night I was driving late to a cabin trip I was trying to stay awake by searching for a good podcast.

I was discouraged.

Seven months postpartum, I felt like I tried my "move more, eat less" by running two half marathons, and was still at the exact same weight. I tried swapping out foods for veggies and eating more vegetables, and am pretty sure I gained weight?! Overwhelmed by all the need for supplements and balancing hormones, etc. etc. I wanted a solution because what I was trying was not working.

I listened to a podcast of an ex-eating disorder girl and.... while it had some helpful tips, I just did not like the focus or feel of her content. Too focused on body image and macros and results and restriction.

Thats when I stumbled on Billie Blake.

I was driving and my husband and baby were asleep and this podcast just... hit different. It was real. It was focused on the right reasons to lose weight. It spoke my language about living life instead of focusing on diet and health. It was simple. It was encouraging, uplifting, and made me feel better after listening to it. Funny how so many things we consume do not have the same effect.

Anyways, I dove in. I listened to four episodes in a row on that drive, captivated by all the new thoughts. On the way home I listened to two more episodes, energized and excited.

I listened and I thought about what she said and I started doing what she suggested.

Simple, basic habits to lose weight.

and... I lost weight!

And I mean not the kind of weight loss to be an IG model or sell supplements, but the weight loss to easily do the activities I love again, feel comfortable in my clothes, and to feel little more like myself and the version of me I want to be.

But the craziest part is this: the weight loss wasn't even the best part

THE BEST PART:

Honestly, as wonderful and as great as the weight loss was, the best part was learning the lesson through Billie Blake that I've wanted and needed to learn for a long time:

How to use your thoughts to change your life.

How to think about and treat myself differently. How to stop cycles of self- deprecating thoughts, guilt, shame and say, "I don't talk to myself like that anymore." How to identify, process, and control emotions and stop emotional eating for good. How to manage cravings in a non-restrictive way.

I learned how to think about my life, my situations, my problems differently so that I could show up for my life differently. How to THINK about my life differently to then LIVE my life in a way that I WANTED to every single day.

And you know what - it feels so good.

It feels so good to not be managed by stress, guilt, other people, excuses, anxiety, etc. I LOVE having the ability to change my thoughts to then change my life. I love eating intuitively and not having to worry. I love not being stressed wondering "what if they say a hurtful comment today?" because I can prepare for how to think and respond.

Am I perfect at it? no. Am I still learning? yes! But it has truly given me a skill and relationship with myself that I have always wanted to have but never known how to develop.

I learned that our eating is 90% about our thinking and that if you really want to change your eating, it starts with your thoughts.

SO, HOW DO YOU DO IT?

First off, I just want to share my experience because I genuinely loved it so much and want to share awareness for anyone else that might benefit. I am in no way receiving anything from promoting The Ready to Lose program or anything like that. And all the content is not from me but 100% belongs to Billie Blake and the Ready to Lose program.

This approach to thinking and weight-loss was so grounded and wholistic that it didn't feel obsessive, pressing, or restrictive. I felt that I learned more about how to live a good life, how to be the person I want to be, and how to create the habits and life I love more than I learned about how to lose weight.

She has four simple habits:

1- Plan Your Food

2 - Listen to Hunger Cues

3 - Drink Water

4 - Sleep

So simple, almost too simple haha. But the thing is that they actually work! The more you dive into the simplicity of it, the more you realize it is actually quite complex. And you can progress and dive deeper and deeper in your progress on each of these habits, getting better and better at each one and defining what it looks like for you.

For example, I learned to not only plan my food, but also to plan my thoughts for the day so that I could think and eat the way that I wanted even when things got tricky and stressors came up.

I learned what being hungry and having enough looked like for me and how to start and stop eating based on my own hunger cues. Truly different than anything I had done before.

I started reading before bed so that I could go to bed early and wake up when I wanted to.

I learned to identify and understand cravings and emotional eating so I could stick to my plan and learned how to identify and process emotions instead of consciously or subconsciously eating them.

The only thing I would add in is the movement piece. I believe we were born to run, made to move, and it genuinely makes us happier and improves our mental health. When we move, we also gain confidence, control, excitement, etc. which leads to making better choices in how we show up for the simple habits. It's not a necessity for losing weight, but in my mind it is a necessity for a happy life! This wasn't really something I changed to lose weight but has always been a part of my life since the half-marathon and played into the momentum and mental game of weight loss for sure.

By doing these habits, meeting with her to learn more about my thoughts and specific areas of eating and thinking, I really learned how to create the life I wanted to create.

YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

So now if you have read through all this and are thinking, "oh good for you" I hope you take a deep breath and tell yourself "it can be good for me too."

Change is so hard. So vulnerable. So uncomfortable. So new. It takes effort. I takes time. And more than anything it takes confidence that you can do it - even when deep down sometimes you feel like you can't.

You can learn how to change your thoughts and then your life, too.

You can feel comfortable in your clothes and decisions, too.

You can not be run by your emotions and negative thoughts, too.

You can lose weight, too.

I guess all that is to say, if you are looking to make a change but have been unsure of how to do it, I want to be someone in your corner telling you to go for it. For me, it was Billie Blake and the Ready to Lose habits that really helped me change my life and learn how to control my eating and thoughts in a healthy way.

I don't know what it will be for you.

But, I hope you find it. Whatever it is that works for you and helps you to feel good about yourself and not listen to the media, weight loss, and body image culture that is shaming you.

Why?

Because YOU are worth it.

Your health is worth it.

Your family is worth it.

Living the life that you want to live every day, is worth it.

Can't wait for you to go find it.

Lindy

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