Shed Those Unhealthy Layers (Like A Snake)

Did you know that snakes shed their old skin because they outgrow it? The snakes that do not outgrow their old skin still shed it anyway, to replace it with a healthier new skin. We should take this lesson from snakes and apply it to our own life. I’m not talking about ripping away layers of skin, either. I’m talking about digging deep beneath our inner layers to find out what’s driving you to live an unhealthy life.

You see, more often than not, being overweight is simply a symptom of much bigger problems that you don’t want to deal with.

Here are some questions to ask yourself, to help you dig deep and shed those unhealthy layers…

What is your earliest memory of feeling fat?

Think back to the first time you thought you were fat. What made you feel that way?

For me, it was when I was 17, in 12th grade of high school. I distinctly remember feeling like I was enormously fat. I skipped breakfast every morning and only ate a bag of popcorn for lunch. I ate skimpy dinners at home, too. I constantly worried about how I looked and always felt fat.

The crazy thing is, when I see pictures of myself back then, I was perfectly normal. I was a normal size (8/10). There was nothing fat about me. But I felt fat.

I think the biggest reason why I felt fat was because I had a lot of issues going on then. There was a serious issue I tried to deal with my entire life; something that had happened to me that I’d never told anyone. On top of that, my parents were constantly engaged in physical and verbal abuse with each other throughout my entire childhood. The last two years of high school for me were filled with a lot of pretty bad stuff happening at home, which accounts of my zero self-esteem back then.

What are you feeling when you overeat?

More importantly, what are you thinking while you are eating, when you aren’t hungry. One thing I learned when I did attend Weight Watchers meetings was the H.A.L.T. method. When you head for the kitchen (or fast food joint), halt (stop) and ask yourself, “Am I…?”

• Hungry
• Angry
• Lonely
• Tired

If you can honestly answer yes to any of these questions besides the first, then you should not put a bite of food in your mouth. All too often, people who are overweight eat when they aren’t hungry do so because of emotions. If you aren’t hungry, but your mood can be fit into one of the other three categories, you are eating just to appease your mood.

This is where keeping a weight loss journal or blog comes in very handy. When you want to eat because of an emotion you’re feeling, rather than being hungry, you can turn to your journal and write about why you are feeling the way you feel.

Not many will do this because they don’t want to take the time to sit and write out their feelings. Sadly, these are the very people who remain stuck in a body too big, because they won’t allow themselves to “go there” and dig down to the root of their weight issue.

Keep Digging Deeper

Now that I have you started, I want you to take some time over the next few weeks to dig deeper. Uncover the issues that drive you to overeat. Work on releasing yourself from childhood wounds and unhealthy habits. Until you can get real with yourself about what’s really going on inside, you will never be able to lose the weight and keep it off.

Do this for you…because YOU ARE WORTH IT!