When it comes to weight loss, the information and MISinformation out there is endless and exhausting.

Gluten-free, Paleo, calories in vs. calories out, macrobiotics, sugar-free, Whole30, cross-fit, yoga, 5ks, 20ks, kinesthetics, gym memberships, weight training…………

Does anyone else want to rip their hair out yet???

Let’s just cut to the chase, because let’s face it, all this BS is life-sucking. When it comes to weight loss, here’s what REALLY works:

Cultivating and tapping into your body wisdom.

I can’t tell you how many times I hear it – “My best friend lost 30 lbs on Paleo, I think I’m gonna give it a try.” Or, “I read that green coffee bean extract/Advocare/Whole30/HCG (oh God, please NO!)/South Beach/raspberry ketones/Hydroxycut (please NOOOO!!) will help me lose weight.” 

We are constantly looking outside of ourselves for the answer, the solution, the quick fix. But all of this is incomparable to your own body wisdom. You can get all the advice in the world, but if you don’t know your body, your just going to end up right back where you started.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am aaaalllll for experimenting and trying new things. This is what I ask of you: that you don’t come from a place of needing to ‘fix’ something about your body, because YOU ARE NOT BROKEN. I ask that if you make the decision to try something new, that it comes from a place of love, not hate, guilt or ‘not-enough-ness.’ 

Are you saying to yourself “how the hell do I tap into my body wisdom?” I can teach you how to make weight loss, health and happiness work for you and your unique life. And in a way that’s sustainable to-boot, because when you put all that hard work into losing weight, I want you to keep that shit off – for good. 

Embodiment

Too many of us are walking around like floating heads, disconnected from our bodies and our lives. In so many ways we are fighting our existence on this planet by numbing out with food and Facebook when the going gets tough. We don’t want to feel how crappy we feel, so we check out, go unconscious and deny, deny, deny.

If we want to get to where you want to go, we must end this vicious cycle.

Ways we disembody: getting on the scale and letting a piece plastic tell you how to feel about yourself, counting calories vs. feeling hunger/fullness, refusing to look at yourself in the mirror, punishing exercise.

Ways to embody: allow yourself to feel ALL the feelings – good, bad and indifferent, be silly and playful, flirt, where clothes that feel fantastic on your body, dance, do something that lights you up. Anytime you are present, aware, in your body and mindful of the moment, you are embodied.

Embodiment heals. Period.

Owning your imperfections

The beauty industry is killing us. It’s setting ridiculous, unreachable standards for 95% of American women who do not naturally have a model’s body type. Guess what?? As humans, we are imperfect. And getting so attached to being perfect or reaching a weight goal, often  works against us.

So what does work? Accepting exactly where you are, owning your body (and your weight!), trusting and surrendering. Period.

There is no such thing as the perfect diet, or the perfect body. There is only your diet, and your body.

Want to tell perfectionism to fuck off? Take The Eff Perfect Pledge and join us, where failing at perfect is our greatest success.

Slowing down and managing stress

Everything in life is fast these days – fast internet, fast cars, fast life. We are moving at warp speed and while doing so, creating so much stress in the body. Truth be told, the body wasn’t built to be a stress-machine. The body wasn’t built to live with stress daily like so many Americans do. 

We’ve become too accustomed to the stress. It’s ‘normal’ to be stressed out and constantly on the go. After all, productivity = worth, right? WRONG! How many times do we beat ourselves up for not getting something done that we ‘should have’ gotten done? Answer: too many times. Getting things done is a false sense of accomplishment and value. The truth is, your value and worth are not conditional on the number of things you tick off your list, or how many pounds you lose, or what kind of car you drive. 

Your value and worth are innate – so stop killing yourself for it!!! Sustainability with weight loss and health come from a place of being, not doing. 

What are you trying to prove? Who are you trying to impress? Do you really want to live a life that is based on checking things off your list? What about feeling worthy and enough at the Soul level? Shouldn’t that count for something??

Managing your stress and slowing down your life is going to put you in the ideal state to lose weight and be the healthiest you could possibly be. Period. It’s time to slow down our lives in every aspect – how fast you eat, talk, drive, walk, work. It’s time to stop going through the motions. It’s time to drop into your life and be here. 

Because one day you’re gonna wake up and you’re gonna be 60 or 70 or 80. And you’re gonna wish that life didn’t go as fast as it did. Period. 

As my amazing teacher Marc David has said:

“THIS IS MY REMINDER TO YOU: WE ARE MOVING OUT OF AN ANCIENT PLANETARY HABIT OF SURVIVAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND PHYSIOLOGY. WE ARE GROWING OUT OF COMPETING AND UNNECESSARY FEAR, SCARCITY AND SURVIVAL-BASED THINKING – WE ARE HERE, NOW, TO STEP INTO A NEW LIGHT. WE ARE LETTING GO OF ATTACK OF EACH OTHER AND THE SELF. WE ARE HERE TO HEAL NOT JUST TO OURSELVES, BUT OTHERS AND OUR PLANET THROUGH PEACE, LOVE AND RESPECT.” 

What does health and happiness mean to you? Tell me in the comments below!