Why Starving Yourself No Longer Works?

Today's Lesson:

Remember the days when all you had to do to lose weight was stop eating for a few days? I continually hear the frustration of people in their 30's and 40's who can't understand why these techniques no longer work. They blame in on their age and search hopelessly for another way to lose weight.

Why the Frustration?

Every time you have resorted to calorie cutting in your youth to drop weight - you have compromised your metabolism and your nutrition. As you get older and the stress settles in - your body is working hard to keep you going and is now in a survival mode. This may be due to lack of proper nutrition from a poor diet, stress or over-indulgence with the wrong foods. When in "survival mode" the body signals to store fat to keep you alive and have the energy when you might need it (in case you decide to starve it again).

Your body is not your enemy or something you have to beat and destroy to get it to do what you want. Think of it as a little baby or an animal that is just trying to survive through all of your "verbal" beatings and lack of nourishment. Treat your body right by eating more nourishing foods, eating consistently, exercising moderately and feeding it loving thoughts. Regain its trust and your body will feel safe enough to start dropping the stored fat. If it can trust that it will get the nutrients it needs each day - it will not have to store energy and you will start to lose weight. Interesting isn't it??

Get your body out of the stress mode by playing nice and eating well often and consistently. Now, the next time you get sick and find your caloric intake less than it should be, you may find that you lose weight again just like you did when you were a kid. If this happens - congratulations! You got your body working right again! But remember - don't abuse this technique for weight loss or you will find yourself in the stress storing fat mode of frustration once again!