Which weighs more?

Sarah, from the gorgeous blog Ah, the Possibilities, is graciously guest posting for me today. I have been lucky enough to get to know Sarah a little through the whole blogging and weight loss and writing adventure I have been on over the past year. I feel very lucky to count her as a friend.


Lucy - thanks for hosting me.

The other night my mother looked me up and down thoughtfully and said to me: “You know, I’m surprised you haven’t lost more weight by now.”

In previous years this kind of remark would have made me cry or buy a packet of TimTams which I would hide in my room to eat. But instead I walked into my bedroom to my husband and said wryly that it was no bloody wonder I had spent years with such a screwed up relationship with food.

Now my mother is not a bad person. She’s a very good person. But she is obsessed with dieting and food. Obsessed. And she passed that on to me.

So here’s my story. It’s probably an all too familiar one. Slim child growing up. Hits adolescence and over zealous mother puts them on a diet. The result? Years and years of yo-yo dieting.

I’ve done Weight Watchers, Atkins, the Pritikin Diet. I’ve been great with all of them. I’ve lost weight, hit “goal” and then just as quickly put it all back on.

Yay me!
So what changed?

Well I figured out this year that maybe it wasn’t about my self control or determination. Clearly I have both in spades given my success with weight loss.

So instead I took a deep breath and made an appointment to see a psychologist who specializes in hypnotherapy.

It’s changed everything.

The hypnotherapy has stopped me craving food or needing snacks between meals. But doing the therapy sessions in addition to the hypnotherapy has been invaluable.

For the first time I’ve examined my relationship with food. What it was that triggered my cravings, my binges and my obsessive need for control. I learned how and why I punish myself when I fail and why I’m my own worst critic.
I’ve learned to let a lot of stuff go. I’ve learned to be honest about my feelings instead of repressing them and using food to self medicate.

And yes I’ve lost several kilos.

I’m still losing weight and even though I’m under a lot of stress at the moment with renovations, living with my parents, juggling work, offspring and a husband who often has to work away I don’t reach for the chocolate anymore.

Hypnotherapy and therapy hasn’t just helped me shed the kilos, it’s helped me shed the emotional baggage I’ve been carrying, which, trust me, weighs a hell of a lot more.