The Stages Of Developing Your Healthy Thin Mentality
Remember that your thin mentality will get you to a normal lean healthy weight. It will not get you weird skinny because Mother Nature is wise.
So, for those of you who want to be underweight, please understand that to be underweight, you have to develop an abnormal eating mentality, and that is not what this site, or my message, is about.
I advocate using your healthy thin mentality to deliver your body to its ideal weight range. Again- not super skinny.
And this happens in stages.
Stage 1
You realize that dieting has made you food obsessed and has not gotten you permanently thin. You regret all the sacrifices you made as a dieter and are saddened by all the disappointments you endured.
Stage 2
You are ready to learn how to develop your thin mentality. You make that solemn promise to yourself that you will not diet again. You do as much as you can to learn about the differences between being a dieter and being a person with a thin mentality. You begin to make the transition.
Stage 3
You feel unbelievably free. And that freedom scares you and makes you question whether or not this is too good to be true. You know that you are doing the right thing. It feels right. It feels normal. But you have a lot of anxiety during this time because you fear that you will gain weight. You try to keep your focus on the one golden rule: Stop eating when hunger is gone. You know that as long as you do that, you will be okay.
Stage 4
You start to have a little faith and confidence that you can do this. You enjoy eating what you crave when you are hungry and you are happy that this is not making you gain weight. In fact, your clothes are starting to feel looser. And you start to really believe that maybe, just maybe, you can be a thin person, not a dieter.
You are glad you made a pledge to never diet again, and although you meant it at the time, you feel stronger in that commitment now. People are asking you what you are doing, but you know that it is best to get stronger in your thin mentality before you try to defend it against other people’s opinions. You know they mean well, but you also know how pervasive the pro-diet propaganda is in our culture, and you don’t feel strong enough yet to try to convince others of the wisdom of practicing thin behavior, not dieting behavior, to get thin.
Stage 5
You are starting to feel relaxed around food and eating and you enjoy your food more and more. You are becoming very familiar with your hunger, and what foods you truly love, what foods take care of your hunger the best, and how to know when to stop eating.
When people ask you how you have lost weight, you are starting to get more comfortable talking about your thin mentality, and defending your decision to listen to your body instead of the “experts” to get and stay thin.
Stage 6
Some days you still wonder if this is all too good true to be true. But you are starting to have a lot of optimism and confidence. And although you know you can eat whatever you are hungry for, you notice that you are getting used to that freedom. And that is good. You enjoy desserts and french fries and other once forbidden foods, but you actually find that since they aren’t taboo, a bit of the thrill of eating them is gone.
Stage 7
One morning you wake up and realize that you are that thin person you always wanted to be. You don’t obsess about food, you are happy with your weight, you have energy in your life for other issues besides your weight. You are comfortable, relaxed and happy.
These stages are just a rough outline. And you may cycle through them in a straight line, or you may waffle back and forth a bit. That is fine. You are unique, and your journey will be unique too. And some people will take three months to get to stage 7- others may take 3 years.
There is no better alternative. You know that.
Believe in yourself. Listen to your body. Respect your cravings. Value your hunger.
It is a gift that means wonderful enjoyment is in the near future. And stop when your hunger “sauce” is gone.