If you've attended the Institute, you know that your body does work and you can exercise.  Did your body surprise you at how well it did?  Did you listen to what it was telling you?  Did you notice how good the healthy food tasted and that you were satisfied with smaller portions?  Now that you are feeling better physically, it’s time to go to a deeper level.

To get the body you want you must accept the body you have.  If you look at your body in the mirror and think negative thoughts, it only encourages self-loathing and anger.  Most of us look at our face every morning and, although we may not like everything, we accept it.  But how often have you avoided social events because you felt overweight?  Have you ever said that when you lose weight you'll hit the beach in a swimsuit?  If you never lose weight, will you never go to the beach?  Learn to take your life off hold, accept the body you have, and enjoy!

When was the last time you listened to your body instead of your mind?  Have you felt hunger pains and ignored them?  Your body is telling you it needs fuel to run effectively.  You don't ignore your body when it tells you to go to the bathroom, get a drink of water, or scratch an itch!  As babies, we cry when hungry, eat until full, and push the bottle away.  Your body tells you what it needs.  Listen to it -- give it back its voice.  The body doesn't lie, the mind does.

Your body won't let you down.  It only responds to what you do to it.  If you overeat and don't exercise, you'll gain weight.  If you eat when you're not hungry, you're feeding an emotional hunger.  Boredom, loneliness, anger, and fatigue are not hunger cues.  They are uncomfortable feelings.  Often we use food to calm those emotions.  Why not allow yourself to feel them?  Feelings can be uncomfortable, but nobody ever died from one.

Willpower and control are not enough for a lifestyle change.  Pure self-discipline can produce short-term change, but it creates constant internal stress since you haven't dealt with the root cause of overeating.  The change isn't natural, so eventually you give up, drop the diet, and quit exercising.  You return to what is safe and predictable.  There is a better and easier way, and it takes place in your mind.  Learn to change the way you think.  A true lifestyle change is more than just losing weight or inches, it's a new way to think and act.

Do you really want to be on a diet forever?   The best way to gain weight is to go on a diet.  They cause feelings of deprivation, resentment, and dependency.  Diets are  rigid and unnatural, causing you to ignore body signals until you no longer trust your body, making food the enemy and leading to increased weight gain.  Compulsive overeating is not a response to physical cravings but to psychological hunger.  Learn to regain control of your life.  The Institute can help you make a lifestyle change that you can live with.

Back to Articles & Research