How to Accept Weight Restoration

Gaining back weight you've lost can be emotionally frustrating and difficult to accept. Acceptance feels as if you're saying, "What has happened is all right with me," when you're really wishing things had gone differently. Realize that you're not going to be able to keep the weight off until you're ready to make internal changes, not just external ones. The first step to accepting (and eliminating) weight restoration is to unconditionally love and accept yourself. Just as you are.

Instructions

• 1

  Be kind to yourself. Don't listen to the voices in your head that criticize and point out flaws. Remember those voices are projections of the way you think others will react. Be your own best friend. Support and love yourself. Treat yourself the way you would treat a child or loved one struggling with weight gain.

• 2

  Look at the situation honestly. Ask yourself why you've gained the weight. Were you underweight and needed to pack on a few pounds? Are you eating to soothe emotional or physical pain? Are you feeling depressed about your home life or unsatisfied at work? Know that your weight restoration is only a symptom of a situation, not the situation itself.

• 3

  Take steps toward resolving the real issue. If you're depressed, seek counseling. If you're in an abusive relationship, get support from family friends to help you leave. If you're unsatisfied in your career, find out what you love to do and do it. If you're not taking time to prepare healthy meals, learn to put yourself first. Stop depriving yourself of a full, happy life. Know that you're worth it.

• 4

  Love yourself. Thank your body. Thank your feet for carrying you around and your legs for supporting you. Thank your thighs for giving you muscular strength and carrying you up and down the plateaus of life. Thank your stomach for digesting your food and processing your nourishment. Thank your arms for holding your loved ones and your hands for carrying things, petting animals, picking up babies and cooking meals. See yourself as a whole that is greater than its parts.

• 5

  Live in the now. Know that each moment is a perfect moment, and everything that has happened has brought you where you are. If you don't like where you are, know that now is the perfect moment to change it. Take pleasure in the fact that it is always now.