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The Whole-Person Approach to Weight Loss
Edited Excerpts from
"Introduction"
Hope, Help, & Healing from Eating Disorders
Through my many years as an eating
disorder specialist, I have wholeheartedly believed in a
whole-person approach to treatment for an eating disorder and/or
weight loss. This approach incorporates all the different aspects of
your being: emotional, intellectual, physical, relational, and
spiritual.
The whole-person approach is not a
quick fix. It is a long-term, life-changing strategy for recovery
and healing. It recognizes our complex nature as people and strives
for health and balance in all aspects of our lives.
Not one thing can guarantee weight
loss. But when you address all aspects of your life, you will be on
the path to effective weight loss and a life of being
Thin for Life.
Your Emotional Self
The emotional aspect of your being refers to the natural
feelings you have about yourself and others, the way you react to
circumstances and situations. Feelings aren't always easily
discernable—they can run very
deep. The emotional self rides the currents of those feelings. It
exalts and it grieves. It hopes and it despairs. It fluctuates with
the tide of your emotional highs and lows.
Your success in weight loss can be
affected by your emotional state. You need to be aware of any
self-destructive thinking or emotions. If you feel like your a
'loser' because of past dieting experiences, then you will feel like
giving up in your journey to lose weight. However, if you chose to
approach weight loss from a different perspective than the past, you
do not have to feel like a loser. Maybe you have been surrounded in
the past by people that have torn you down emotionally. Why not find
people who will build you up emotionally?
By using some of the tools provided
to you as a visitor of Thin for Life,
you will find that you will grow more healthy emotionally and have
greater success at weight loss than you have in the past.
Your Intellectual Self
While our emotional self may demand more of our attention, each
of us also has an intellectual self. It is the part of you that
desires to grow and change, that revels in mental stimulation and
learning new skills. The emotional self may feel the thrill of
discovery, but it is the intellectual self that incorporates the
discovery into who you are. The intellectual self can hold on to
truth, even if the emotional self doesn't feel like it.
During the process of losing weight,
the intellectual self must undergo a housecleaning of old ideas,
assumptions, and expectations. Some "truths" will need to be
jettisoned, and some will need to be refurbished. The whole-person
goal is for the emotional and the intellectual selves to complement
and support each other in healing and recovery.
Be sure to read the Health News
articles, "Hope" Newsletter, the Special Reports, and participate in
the Thin for Life staff chats, so that
you may grow intellectually and have a better understanding of
successful and permanent weight loss.
Your Physical Self
The physical relates to your body, to its physiological
functions and systems. Many things affect your physical self, from
the medications you take to the food you sat. The whole-person
approach will help you take an in-depth look at your own body and
how it is working. You will look at how certain physical conditions
can affect and contribute to your weight loss.
Nutritional advances offer support to
those who desire weight loss and to help your body to function
optimally. Each of us has the ability to appropriately nurture our
own body, providing health and vitality.
We provide our visitors valuable
information on Nutritional Supplements and also give you the ability
to purchase them at discounted prices.
Your Relational Self
The relational aspect refers to your relationships with people
in your past and present. Your relational self interacts with others
and affects how you feel and what you know. It is in constant flux,
affected by those you interact with daily, including yourself.
Your ability to have successful
weight loss may be affected by past or present dysfunctional
relationships. The whole-person approach works to reestablish proper
connections with others, mend past associations, and build healthy
new relationships, including those involving appropriate sexual
intimacy.
You can develop the relational side
of your life by using the Discussion Board and Chat Room.
Your Spiritual Self
The final aspect is your spiritual nature. Your spiritual nature
is where hope resides. It is the part of you that may be, as yet,
unexplored. Don't let that stop you. Your spiritual self is a source
of great strength and purpose. It has been my experience that
whose who have success at weight loss usually say that it was the
spiritual side that kept them focused during weight loss and gave
them peace and hope. The whole-person approach urges you to
acknowledge your spiritual side.
The spiritual side is a casualty at
times in the struggle to lose weight. It can be devastated by the
effects of shame and guilt over paste events and the present.
Success is possible when you reevaluate and reestablish your
spiritual relationships with God. Even if you have not had a
relationship with God in the past, he has had one with you and
sincerely desires for you to draw close to him. By doing so, you can
come into contact with an incredible source of comfort and strength
during your journey to be Thin for Life.
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