Can I lose and maintain weight this time?

by Elad Levinson

Yes, thousands have and you can too. But it will not be because of some revolutionary diet or exercise program. What the successful have found is that you must give up the notion that something other than new behavior and acquired skills will make the final difference.

Our research overwhelmingly demonstrates that there are two profoundly simple sets of behaviors that lead to newfound competence and capability to improve health and lose weight.

1. Stop, look and listen- stopping refers to slowing down our actions and reactions by using our breathing as a tool to maintain calm and focus; looking relates to observing objectively to our wants, needs and desires and then decide which are self caring versus self harming; and listening is the act of hearing our best self’s answer to the question: “what do I need right now to stay on purpose and focused upon improving health and losing weight?
2. Redirecting the desire to nurture and care for ourselves solely through food or anything we are over doing to caring for ourselves and others who are suffering in a manner that builds self esteem. Nathaniel Branden, the founder of the self-esteem theory, defines it as “Our reputation with our self”. We become more positive when we are kind, compassionate and loving in a healthy way.

In Pounds for Poverty, we say that skills trump good intentions and we are aligned with the aphorism in Alcoholics Anonymous that, “you can act your way into right thinking faster than you can think your way into right action.”