Weight loss - such a "big" topic! Every month another book is out by another expert on weight loss. Everyone wants to know the secret to losing weight.

I certainly don't have THE secret, but I do have some secrets, and I want to share them with you in the hope you find them helpful.

Weight used to be a major issue for me. Losing weight was never out of my thoughts, and I can't tell you how many different diets, pills, and programs I tried until I discovered some "secrets" that have worked for me for many years.

So here they are. I hope they work as well for you as they have for me.
 

1. Change your focus from losing weight to achieving health and fitness.

I grew up as a sickly child and I was a sickly young adult. I hated being sick and never having energy to do the things I wanted to do. So, I decided to learn about what creates excellent health.

First, I read many books on nutrition and became convinced that I needed to switch to organic foods. That was quite a challenge in 1961! There was one little health food store that I had to follow around Los Angeles because it kept changing locations. But it was worth it! My rule of thumb now is - if they didn't eat it 500 years ago, then I won't eat it now. This cuts out most packaged and processed foods and leaves natural, organic food.
 

2. Read about health and fitness.

It's especially important to understand the recent research on creating a healthy gut – a healthy 'microbiome.' What goes on in your gut affects all your organs, including your brain. A toxic gut – from processed foods, factory farmed meats, chemicals, antibiotics and other meds, and environmental toxins – not only creates weight and health problems, but the toxins affect your brain and can create anxiety, depression, and many other health problems that involve the brain.
 

3. Learn to read your body signals regarding what feels good to your body and what feels bad.

I no longer read about all the different diets because I've learned to tune into MY body so that I know exactly what my body needs for excellent health and fitness. Since my body needs different things than your body, no single food plan will work for everyone. Your job is to learn to tune into what gives you energy and what robs you of energy, and what foods create calmness and which ones create agitation. Once I learned what my body needs for excellent health, I lost weight and kept it off easily.
 

4. Find a form of exercise that you enjoy and that you can do at least five times a week.

Years ago, I discovered that I love to walk in nature, so I take a fast half-hour walk every day – and do my Inner Bonding process out loud.

Exercise can be a problem if you have physical limitations or chronic illness. Losing weight with chronic illness or physical limitations is not impossible, but it can be a much bigger challenge. However, any kind of movement is better than no movement. Doctors used to think that rest would lead to less fatigue, but now they know that movement leads to less fatigue.
 

5. Learn to discern which part of you determines what and when you eat, as well as how much you eat.

We all have a wounded part of ourselves that uses various addictions as ways to deal with feelings of loneliness, aloneness, emptiness, helplessness over others and outcomes, grief, heartbreak, anxiety, depression, fear, and anger. Some people may use alcohol, drugs, spending, TV, gambling, sex, and so on to avoid their pain, while others use food. While food may work to pacify painful feelings for the moment, in the long run all addictions backfire and create the very pain you are trying to avoid. Yet our wounded self keeps choosing addictive behaviors as a way of managing pain. As long as the wounded part of you is making your food choices, you may continue to have a weight problem.

The part of us that is capable of managing painful feelings in healthy ways and making healthy choices is the loving adult. The loving adult is the part of us that has a deep desire to learn about and take loving action on our own behalf. Developing your loving adult, through your Inner Bonding practice, is a major aspect in creating health and wellbeing, as well as in losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight.
 

6. Learn to connect with a spiritual source of wisdom, strength, love, and guidance.

The loving adult is that part of us that is connected with a spiritual source of guidance rather than being governed by the programmed mind. The lower, left-brain aspect of the mind, which was programmed from childhood, is the home of the wounded self. You are being a loving adult at those moments when you choose to be guided by a source of wisdom beyond your mind. This source will always guide you toward your highest good. You just need to learn to open and listen, which happens as you practice Inner Bonding.

If your microbiome is toxic, this can make it much harder to raise your frequency high enough to connect with your spiritual guidance – another reason to heal your gut.

If you embrace these "secrets", it's very likely that you will not only lose weight, but you will also move into greater physical and emotional health and wellbeing. Once you have developed a powerful loving inner adult through your Inner Bonding practice, you will be able to lose weight and gain health and fitness.

If you really want to lose weight and feel a sense of wellbeing, there is a way!

Learn to connect with your spiritual Guidance with Unlocking Your Inner Wisdom, A 30-Day at-home Experience with Dr. Margaret Paul.