For All Of Us Who Like Food

While watching a special with Dr. Andrew Weil the other night (you know the guy with the beautiful white beard!)he said something quite intriguing.

He was talking about how to design a weight loss program that works. (Of course I’m listening!) He mentioned something extremely interesting that I thought I’d share with you.

He said something like this: ‘Did you ever notice that the people who design these diets usually don’t REALLY like food?’ (I don’t have the exact quote sorry, since I didn’t tape the show)The crowd laughed of course but it struck me: How right he was!

Did you ever have a thin friend or relative that just didn’t like food? And if they are anything like the friends I have that don’t like food, they would look at you funny if you ever brought up the topic of how to lose weight? They don’t understand right?

When I was in university I had a friend who was tall and thin. He was actually always trying to GAIN weight (to look buff for the girls!). But the problem was that he didn’t like food!

And I have to say that our friendship was seriously strained by the fact that he was rather snotty when it came to people who were a bit on the plump side.His rational was ‘Well, they should just stop eating. What’s wrong with them?’

No, I didn’t kill him. But it did show me that a lot of times people who have never struggled with an area (say weight) have little or no understanding of those who do.

And sometimes, the people who make up diets don’t really LIKE food! They see food only as a tool to mould or shape their bodies. They have no problem sticking to their diet because they don’t care if they eat a salad or a cheeseburger.

That’s ok, I’m not saying anything negative about these people. But the fact is that some people (ok, most people) LIKE food. They like the taste, the smell, the act of eating.

That doesn’t doom them to overweight (I would have no hope if that was the case). It just means they have to find a weight loss or weight maintenance program that allows them to enjoy food without feeling guilty.

I believe that food was created for us to enjoy. I’m not one of those people Dr. Weil talked about who doesn’t like food. I enjoy my food 100%. In fact, many of the skills that I teach in my online course Weight Mastery are designed to increase your satisfaction level with food.

Because when you get full satisfaction out of food, you don’t need nearly as much! I’d much rather have a 300% increase in quality and maybe a 25% decrease in quantity, wouldn’t you?

So if you’re like me and ENJOY food, I’m here to tell you that it’s ok. You don’t have to feel guilty because you like food. You can still lose weight AND enjoy food. And don’t feel bad if you can’t stick to a diet designed by someone who doesn’t have a strong emotional connection to food.

You’ve got to find what works for the unique individual that you are. So go ahead enjoy your food without guilt!