Charlene Rayburn

Since I’ve started to focus on the process rather than the outcome, I focus on how I feel right now, rather than how I hope to feel in some far-off future.

How was an approach that advised me to take my focus off losing weight going to support my health goals? Wouldn’t that be giving myself permission to give up and give in?

I recognized the brilliance of the Mindful Eating Cycle as it told my story of eating in the past, present, and if something didn’t drastically change, my future! Like watching A Christmas Carol again and again, through my ongoing practice I’m discovering and appreciating the layers and depth it reveals.

My self-care practices are uniquely tailored to my personal needs, wants, and goals. Therefore, they are rewarding and motivating and I return to them again and again, creating more healthful habits…which may very well add precious moments to my life.

For these reasons, gardening is an act of self-care for me. Since reading Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat, I am more aware than ever why practicing self-care is recommended to enrich our lives.

Now I have a beautifully expanded view of exercise that includes a loving, listening partnership with my body, a totally different intention while exercising, and reframed definitions of both exercise and what it means to be healthy.

Can you remember the last time you were able to honestly say, “I’m happy being me!” without attaching any conditions? Hopefully, you don’t have to think all the way back to preschool! But even when we know that it’s not about looking a certain way, getting that promotion, meeting the perfect mate, or buying the perfect whatever, it is still difficult to refrain from comparing ourselves to others, or to some ideal image of ourselves.

I found old Weight Watchers booklets, points calculating books, restaurant guides, and a daily encouragement book. Actually, I found several versions of each, reflecting the many times I started the program, stopped, restarted, and stopped again. Once we paused for a break from the packing, I flipped through them. The Weight Watcher’s marketing team has gone to great lengths to try to make the information inspirational. However, as I thumbed through the material and took a short trip down memory lane, I felt the opposite of inspired.