What’s The Secret To Successful Dieting?

My name is Greg McBride,

And at one time in my life I weighed over 450 pounds.

In fact,

When I would step on the electronic scale I owned at the time,

It would read ERR.

And I didn't understand what that meant until I got out the owner's manual for the scale and saw that that was its code for error.

The scale was not programmed to go above 450 pounds.

As someone who was overweight for most of my life,

And then finally took off the weight sensibly without surgery or prescription medicine,

And has kept the excess weight at bay for almost two decades,

I'm often asked,

What's the secret to successful dieting?

And I usually want to reply,

Don't.

And I mean don't diet that is.

Now,

While this response might seem facetious to some,

I assure you it's not.

It's communicated with compassion and understanding.

I started to gain excess weight during the first grade,

And my parents,

Thinking they were making smart decisions on my behalf,

Immediately put me on a strict diet,

Which taught me what and what not to eat.

Naturally,

I was more drawn to the forbidden fruit,

The richer,

More caloric foods than I was to the iceberg lettuce and cottage cheese.

So my parents next started locking up the crackers,

Chips,

Sweets,

And any other foods they deemed not diet worthy.

Although still at a young age,

I quickly learned the concept of being on and off of a diet.

And for anyone listening to this with a furrowed brow,

I want to quickly point out that I do not demonize my parents for doing this.

Again,

They were making the best decisions they knew how to make.

My father was in the air force,

So his whole family being perceived as trim and in shape was very important to him,

And he believed to his job.

But mentally armed with knowing what it meant to be on a diet,

I knew exactly how to go off of the diet.

I eventually began stealing money out of my dad's wallet,

And used the cash to buy sweets and treats that I would hide in my bedroom closet.

My secret stash as it were.

By the time I was a teenager,

Still being put on various diets,

Some even completely liquid based,

I was buying contraband food while my friends were trying to get their hands on contraband beer.

You can probably surmise that as my constant dieting efforts continued,

So did my excess weight gain.

Because we were stationed on an airbase in Germany,

I was forced to shop for clothes from the Sears Big and Tall catalog.

Nothing like forcing yourself into a pair of large sized tough skinned jeans to remind you of even more ways you don't fit in at high school.

But not even that kind of self perceived shame kept me from going off whatever diet I happened to be on.

And certainly there were times that I stayed on the diets,

But that was usually just the first day of them.

After which,

All bets were off.

I continued to try every kind of diet known to man as I gained more and more weight.

Sometimes I'd actually lose weight on the diets,

But I'd eventually regain the weight I lost and even gain some extra bonus weight when I finally went off the diet that I'd been most recently successful on.

On off,

On off,

On off.

All with more and more weight gain.

And what was a common denominator?

The diets themselves.

It wasn't until I finally dropped the diet mentality that I began to make some real progress towards getting healthy.

Healthy being the key word.

Suddenly I wasn't as focused on getting thin and getting out of those damn tough skinned jeans as I was on feeling good.

When weighing as much as I did,

I would get breathless just from talking on the phone.

I would become winded walking up a single flight of stairs.

I had even broken a movie theater seat that buckled under my weight while on a date no less.

When I focused more on feeling good and the benefits that working my way to a healthier weight would bring me,

I realized the diet wasn't as necessary as it had been originally presented.

Now this doesn't mean I didn't do everything I could to learn about nutrition,

But I also dedicated myself to embrace the concept of moderation.

As I learned to enjoy food in a way that wasn't like the last time I would ever have it,

I didn't have to overeat extreme amounts.

I could have one scoop of ice cream,

Because I knew there would be more reasonable amounts of ice cream in my future.

The concept is simple I know,

But sometimes it's the simplest changes that lead us to the biggest triumphs.

I did a lot of work on my mental self as well,

Realizing that after many years of child abuse,

Separate of the extreme diets I had been put on,

I had as much mental weight to get rid of as I did physical weight.

But this was all doable,

And it began with reminding myself of my true goals,

Feeling good,

Being healthy,

And loving myself,

No matter what brand of jeans I might be wearing.

All while being able to enjoy the occasional rich food in moderation.

Don't get me wrong,

A reasonable and nutritious food plan is something that can definitely help us learn portion sizes.

But you might want to drop the word diet when incorporating the food plan.

And the plan shouldn't be as much about restriction as it is about delicious,

Healthy choices in quantities that satisfy our hunger while also fueling our bodies.

Dieting can be a concept that doesn't work for a lot of people.

Otherwise those of us with diet mentalities wouldn't have to keep starting and restarting diets over and over again.

For some of you who are trying to change their lives and better your health,

It might be time to try dropping the D-word from your vocabulary as you commit to your overall goal of living a happier,

Healthier life.

Now for those of you who'd like to join me,

Let's sit for a minute.

Get into a comfortable position.

Maybe you're seated in a chair,

On the couch.

If so,

Don't cross your legs,

Just let both feet touch the floor.

Maybe you're sitting cross-legged.

Maybe you'd like to lie down.

Just get into a state of comfort.

Although try and think of your spine,

Your back being straight.

It allows us to breathe a little bit easier,

So you might want to sit up for this one.

But again,

Be comfortable.

You can close your eyes or just get a soft gaze going.

And let's breathe three times.

Thinking in as we breathe in.

Thinking out as we breathe out.

This allows our body and mind to get in sync,

To become mindful of our surroundings.

Let's let that second breath go now.

Let's breathe in.

Thinking in.

And breathe out.

Thinking out.

Just taking this moment for you.

You are so important.

You are so worth it.

Let's take that third breath.

Breathing in.

Thinking in.

Maybe holding at the top.

And then breathing out.

Thinking out.

And now just be here with me.

Wherever your hands are,

Feel the contact.

Maybe they're on your thighs.

Maybe they're resting on the surface of whatever you're sitting or lying on.

Just feel that for a moment.

Be mindful.

Allow your breathing to return to normal.

And just be in this space.

If thoughts enter,

Whether it's a to-do list,

Things you don't want to forget,

Things you do want to forget,

Whatever it is,

Just see it as a passing cloud.

Take this moment for you.

Again,

You matter.

Your body matters.

Your health and your psyche matter.

We can be there more for other people when we are first there for ourselves.

And that includes our health.

So whoever's listening to this that maybe has a goal of releasing some excess weight,

I join you in that.

And remember,

You want that release of excess weight to be a gift for your body.

Don't make it a burden.

Don't make it about shame.

Whatever choices you made about eating and nutrition in the past,

They somehow served you.

So just be here right now.

This is the moment.

Nothing in the past can be changed.

And there is no reason to feel guilt about it,

Whether it happened five minutes ago,

Whether it happened five days ago.

Whatever it is,

Let it go.

Instead,

Think about feeling good.

Think about being your true self,

Which is one of happiness,

One of peace,

And one of acceptance.

Even if we want to lose some weight,

We can live out that acceptance starting right now.

In other words,

Mentally,

We can be at that goal of loving ourselves,

Of feeding ourselves in a nutritious way,

Of eating to a point where we are satisfied,

But not going beyond that,

Because we know we can have more food later.

And yeah,

If we are wanting to take off some excess pounds,

We're going to think about some of the foods we eat.

We might eat cleaner foods.

We might eat in a more natural fashion,

Less additives,

Less preservatives,

And maybe less caloric.

But that doesn't mean that other richer foods aren't available to us,

Maybe for a special occasion.

And we can eat them in quantities that really let us enjoy them,

But that don't turn into a binge,

Don't turn into pain later,

Physical pain because we've eaten so much,

Or mental pain beyond that,

Because we feel so guilty.

We can release all that right now,

No matter what food plan,

Or if you want to call it a diet,

That's okay too.

Whatever you're choosing to help you reach your goal,

We can be mentally at our goal right now.

Because whatever you weigh in this moment is perfect.

This is where you are.

You are a beautiful being inside and out.

And I really,

Really,

Really want you to own that right now.

That's not easy for some of us that have been overweight,

For some of us that have felt the pain of people making fun of us,

Or the pain of us maybe judging ourselves.

But try and get past that,

Even just for a minute.

Just get a hint of it,

A taste of it if you will,

A taste of feeling good about you.

This is what will be the key to your success.

No matter how you define that success,

This will be the key.

It's not going to be the diet,

It's not going to be the food plan,

It's going to be loving yourself.

And whatever tools you choose,

Whether it's diet or exercise,

Drinking enough water,

Getting enough rest,

Of course those are all wonderful.

Everyone,

Everyone uses those tools.

Whether they want to lose excess weight or not,

That's how we operate in a way that lets us enjoy our day.

Lets us be there for other people.

Lets us feel good about whatever we're doing,

Whether it's a mundane task or something fantastic.

So again,

Just breathe in this moment of you being perfect.

Right now.

You're not defined by your weight.

You're not defined by your size.

You're not even defined by how other people perceive you.

Just feel it in your heart right now.

You are here and you are perfect.

And because of that,

The choices you make moving forward can reflect that.

Maybe it's smaller portion sizes.

Maybe it's some healthier or more natural food options.

You want to nourish your body just as you want to nourish your mind.

And by taking time right now to sit and meditate and just be here,

Be mindful,

That's how you know you're going to do it.

Whatever your goal is.

The fact that you're taking this moment for yourself means that you're going to get there.

There's no time limit.

There's no schedule.

There's no absolute must.

We're all different.

We're all going to get to our goals on different timelines and in different ways.

That's why there's not one diet that works for everyone.

Sure,

There's some eating plans that people go on that are successful,

But for others are not.

So by being more mindful of yourself,

More mindful of your goals,

More mindful of what nourishes you,

You can decide what food plan,

What exercise plan,

What health plan is going to serve you best.

And that all starts with knowing you are perfect right now.

I really mean that.

If you are listening to my voice right now,

Your body is perfect.

You are perfect.

If you want to make some changes,

Some healthy changes,

That's good too.

That's perfect as well.

But that's a part of you.

No shame in that.

Okay,

You ate differently yesterday.

You made some choices that you might make different today.

That's all good.

We all do that.

Every single person.

Even people that might not know what it's like to want to get rid of some excess weight.

They're making choices.

So that's what you're going to do.

It's not punishment.

If you decide to change your eating plan in a healthy,

Nutritious,

Wholesome way,

That's a gift.

This is a gift.

You're not going into food jail for a number of months until you reach your goal.

You are living your life.

You are sustaining yourself.

And you are letting yourself know and the world know that you are worth it.

And you are perfect.

So just be here with that for a minute.

I know perfect is a hard thing for us to wrap our heads around,

Especially those of us that have known what it's like to be very heavy by society's standards.

But perfect is the word.

You wouldn't be here otherwise.

You're a part of this beautiful society of all different shapes and sizes.

Of different people.

Of different flavors.

This world would not be the same without you.

And again,

That doesn't mean there can't be positive,

Wonderful,

Happy change.

But the key word is happy.

Keep it happy if you can.

And always come back to knowing that the past is the past.

We are mindfully accepting this present moment.

And we're going to mindfully move forward as we make choices about our health.

And we are mindfully going to remind ourselves that we are fantastic.

Let's take three breaths to end the practice.

And I use the term end loosely because I want you to take this with you.

This knowing that you matter.

I want you to take this with you even when we're done here.

So let's take three breaths.

Again,

Thinking in as we breathe in.

Maybe hold at the top.

Think out as we breathe out.

Another little beat.

Now our second time.

Breathing in.

Thinking in.

Staying present.

If a thought comes up,

That's OK.

Breathing out.

Thinking out.

Try and stay here with me.

Breathing in a third time.

Hold it at the top.

A reminder of that little space just for you.

Breathing out.

And maybe letting out a sigh.

Opening your eyes or refocusing your gaze,

Whatever it is.

And I invite you to come back to this meditation if it has resonated with you.

And I also invite you to please really take the message with you that you matter.

And make choices from there.

And then we don't need that pesky D word anymore because we are enough.

You are enough.

And even with your health-minded goals,

At this very moment,

You are perfection.

Namaste.