NEW LESSON: SPRING 2009

The quality of your life is much more important than the number on the scale.

As a diet survivor, you’ve probably spent much time believing that losing weight and attaining a certain number on the scale will lead to a happier life.  In fact, surveys have revealed that a large number of people would be willing to give up years of their life in exchange for being thin.  It is certainly true that people have given up precious time chasing after weight loss.

In the process of being preoccupied with your weight, you have comprised the quality of your life.  Perhaps you skipped social events, denied your hunger, berated your body, or just felt drained from the mental energy required to remain vigilant about your food intake.  You may have put off taking a dance class, going to the beach, or pursuing life goals and dreams until you lost enough weight.  You have put your life on hold.

Focusing on the quality of your life does not mean you must compromise your health.  You can engage in all sorts of behaviors that are known to improve your health, and therefore the quality of life, without losing weight.  For example, regular exercise is known to increase longevity.  As you feel ready, you can find ways to move your body that feel comfortable and fit into your lifestyle.  Activities such as meditation or stress-reduction techniques also improve the quality of your life.  Remind yourself that the weight loss that occurs from dieting rarely lasts and the harm created actually compromises the quality of your life.

Grab hold of your life today.  Just as you have begun to fill your home with the foods you love, you can begin to fill your life with activities and relationships that honor and sustain you.  The fullness of who you are is too great for the smallness of the scale to hold.

Activity:   How Do I Want To Live?   A Meditation

Find a comfortable sitting position.  Take a few minutes to allow yourself to follow your breath.  Observe the inhalation, and then observe the exhalation.  Don’t try to change your breathing in any way.  If you breath is shallow, let it be shallow.  If your breathing becomes deep, allow your breathing to be deep.

Next, turn your attention to this question, “How do I want to live?"  Just as in the breathing observation, there is no “right” or “wrong” response.  Simply observe what thoughts and feelings come up for you as you meditate on this question.  Gently guide yourself to reflect upon who you are in this world, who you invite to share your world, and how you want to fill your life.  If you mind begins to wander from this focus, simply observe that the mind is wandering and lovingly bring your attention back to the question of how you want to live in this world. 

You may want to repeat this meditation, or to keep the question with you during the days ahead to discover what comes up for you when weight loss is no longer a prerequisite to living your life in the way you desire.

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
-Annie Dillard