Does life sometimes feel heavy? Are you carrying “stuff” that’s weighing you down?
Why do I ask? Because the impact of that “stuff” matters.
When a woman comes to me with a primary goal of wanting to upgrade her overall health, it’s usually after she’s tried everything else that society guarantees will work like dieting, deprivation and borderline starvation.
For a moment she loses the weight then she plateaus or regains the weight and becomes burned out and completely discouraged.
Before I go any further, let me make it clear that I’m not a nutritionist, personal trainer or fitness guru.
My background is in external beauty and spiritual/personal development.
I write, coach and teach from experience and what I know for sure is that that external change begins internally.
So when a woman tells me her goals are to lose weight, gain energy, and feel better in her body, the FIRST thing I do is ask her about her life.
I know that hidden within her typical day is the transformation she’s searching for.
Before the solution comes, information is needed.
What is her morning routine, the first hour of everyday? Who’s she spending the majority of time with and following on social media?
What’s the state of her closet, home and car? What’s she listening to, watching or reading?
When stripped of her to-do list, identities tied to others or her job, expectations of others, overwhelm and confusion, we then begin to unearth her authentic self.
99.9 percent of the time our weight isn’t just what we are trying to lose on our waistline. That’s often a by-product of the weight we are carrying in and around us.
If our social circle conversations revolve around gossiping, complaining or judging others, that’s heavy.
If our closets are crammed with clothes we never wear or a past we’d rather forget, that’s heavy.
Hearts filled with anger, guilt, shame or unforgiveness will weigh us down.
Sometimes the extra weight is a calendar so jammed we become exhausted just looking at it.
Trying to be all things to all people is a heavy load to tote.
Our body weight isn’t so much the issue as is the weight on our shoulders we’re hauling from one season of life to the next. We stay busy, eat, shop, sip, socialize or scroll to distract ourselves and avoid the excess suffocating us.
What happens to a woman who shifts her focus from losing body weight to actively reducing her environmental, emotional, relational and time stealing weight?
Food no longer becomes a coping mechanism to carry the heavy. Over time, that heavy becomes lighter around and on her.
Today, instead of dieting and deprivation what if we practice “deletion?”
Life like a laptop has a “delete” button but too often we’re pressing “esc” to escape what needs to be deleted.
Delete the relationships that deplete you, the social media “friends” who promote division and drama and the clutter around you suffocating you.
Delete any activities that exhaust you and any habits keeping you stuck. I had to delete worry and anxiety as they triggered my food cravings and eating patterns.
Girl, start pressing that delete button!
Ten years ago I was at my heaviest using Diet Mt. Dew and Red Bull to fuel me because I was tired all the time. All they did was add more weight to my waistline, give me sugar crashes and caffeine rushes that caused heart palpitations.
I was carrying around so much “weight” internally and externally.
It was easier to reach for the cookies than to ask God for help. Guilt and shame weigh tons as does unforgiveness.
Online shopping or strolling through TJ Maxx was my way of filling voids and avoiding facing issues, ending long term friendships, letting go of years of clutter or deleting beliefs I’d carried since childhood.
Here’s the deal. Over time more of our coping mechanisms are required to numb us from all that trouble us.
Do you see how this vicious cycle works?
Whenever I clean a closet or purge, I literally feel lighter physically. You will too.
Each deletion does that.
We no longer need copious amounts of caffeine, cookies or retail therapy to get us through.
We learn to say no to what drains us and yes to what ignites and improves us.
And then one day you slip on your favorite jeans that once were just a bit too snug only to find them loose.
How’d that happen? Because by letting go of the weight around you, the weight on you followed suit. The body simply becomes a reflection of its environment.
Christ tells us to hand our cares over to Him. Why?
Could it be because He knows the weight we want to lose isn’t just on us but within us? Definitely something to think about.
When we begin pursuing a love affair with our lives, our overall wellness improves – every single time.
Press delete. Begin losing the weight around and within you.
And when you stumble and we all have and will, show yourself some kindness and grace. That girl within you NEEDS you to be on her side!
Yes, today is THE day to start losing it!
Sandra Hubbard
The Lifestyle Coach for Women
Word Wisdom
casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully]. I Pet 5:7 AMP
“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matt 11:29
Join the Discussion