Self-love is key to maintaining your healthy, ideal weight. The body has a natural ability to create and maintain the perfect weight for you as long as you are aligned with your true self. For in your true self is everything that is good and perfect about you. By getting back to the truth of who you really are, the real you, you will get to a place where all your problems with weight begin to disappear. Only the power of love can help you find your true self. You have to understand love, a power that is greater than your own. In fact, it’s greater than any addiction or eating disorder that you may have. Learning to love will allow you to overcome the power of hate because the truth is that unhealthy eating is an act of self-hate.
The power of love is perfect, healthy, all-knowing, self-healing, and abundant. Self-love is essential to survival. There is no successful, authentic relationship with others without self-love. We cannot nurture others from a dry well. It is not selfish or self-indulgent. We have to take care of our needs first so we can give to others from our abundance. You will have to love yourself and love your body. Whether you feel fat or overweight, you have to love your body now, unconditionally. If you can’t love your body now, then you can’t truly love yourself unconditionally. If you can’t love your body because you don’t like the way it looks, then know that the reasons you became overweight were not all your fault. But now that you have new knowledge about healthy eating, it’s time to forgive yourself and others so you can let go of your old body and move toward your slimmer, healthier body.
When you understand the power of love, you can actually love food and make it your friend rather than your enemy. Food nourishes and sustains you; it cements your relationships with family members and friends. Food is meant to be eaten and enjoyed…but in moderation. You are not a slave to food. You eat when you are hungry, but you can leave food alone if you are not.
The only way to attain a healthy relationship with food is to learn to love it and ensure that the food you put into your body loves you back: it fuels you, nourishes you, and supports your optimal health and vitality. A candy bar does not love you—it’s full of sugar and processed chemicals that harm your body. The people who made it don’t love you, either—they are just trying to make money by selling you a product. Chemicals and processed foods lead to poor health, sickness, food allergies, ailments, and other diseases, none of which I would classify as “loving” conditions. So, if you are in a place where you still desire candy, that just means that you’re still growing spiritually and have not reached your highest, true self. When you do, you won’t desire foods that are harmful to your health.
Foods that love you are those that contribute to your health and wellness, such as fruits, nuts and seeds, and vegetables. These healthy, natural foods make your body stronger and able to fight illness and disease and have beauty and vibrancy. Natural, healthy foods make your body strong, fight illness, restore your body, produce beautiful skin, revitalize your mind, give you energy, slow the aging process, and will taste so much better than you can imagine once your taste buds have been reprogrammed. You have to be deliberate about finding healthy foods because unhealthy foods are readily available and easily accessible. But in some instances, I bet you have driven right by the farmers’ market or health food store. It’s time to make a stop there and begin to change your life.
Don’t stress about trying to stop eating unhealthy foods at the beginning of your journey. It is a process that involves breaking your addictions to the many unhealthy foods you eat and think you “love” today. Just be aware of exactly what you’re eating and know that there will come a day when you will no longer love foods that don’t love you.
For me, I overcame my addiction to sugar, sweets, and junk food over time by taking gradual steps. Instead of eating regular chocolate chip cookies with refined white sugar, I began to eat sugar-free cookies that contained artificial sweeteners. Although they were not very healthy, either due to the white flour, trans fats, and artificial sweeteners they contained, they did help me break my addiction to white refined sugar. However, a few months later, once I learned about the dangers of artificial sweeteners and trans fats, I stopped eating sugar-free cookies as well. You will find the right approach for how you transition to more healthy foods that is right for you.
For some people, overeating is a way to cope with painful feelings and emotions. Being overweight and overeating tends to be a relationship issue. You hide behind your weight issues. You have built a wall around yourself, making you unavailable to new friendships and love. It’s time to tear down the wall and let self-love heal your mind, body and spirit.
JJ Smith (www.JJSmithOnline.com) is a nutritionist and certified weight-management specialist who has been featured on The Montel Williams Show, The Jamie Foxx Show and on the NBC, FOX, CBS and CW networks. Her advice has also been featured in the pages of Glamour, Essence, and Ladies Home Journal. Since reclaiming her health, losing weight, and discovering a “second youth” in her forties, bestselling author JJ Smith has become the voice of inspiration to women who want to lose weight, be healthy, and get their sexy back! JJ may be contacted by email at info@jjsmithonline.com and on Twitter: jjsmithonline and Facebook Page: RealTalkJJ