The philosophy of weight loss

Food propoganda: They’ve made addicts of us all! The “distasteful” addiction (which most of us suffer from…) that no one wants to talk about

It has been 2 weeks since I last published, my humble apologies. My intentions are pure but… my adhd brain is scattered and depression(cleverly disguised as procrastination) loves to keep me from doing the things I love and ought to do.

Also I have spent the last 2 weeks planning and prepping for my twins 5th birthday party which should be fun and frivolous but… when you’re an autistic perfectionist, can quickly turn into a logistical (expensive…) nightmare. All worth it in the end..the kids had a great time and so did I! Surrounded as we were by friends and love.

We bring joy and beauty of creation through work/effort , next year I plan to not let myself get too stressed out by the process. Easier said than done but hey…a girl can dream.

I try not to make too many excuses for things that I cannot control but, please know…I do feel badly about my inability to maintain structure. Do not judge me too harshly… if you had my brain you’d know how hard it is, to function at the level of neuro-normies.

This week, I will be speaking on a touchy subject, one that has brought me much hate over many a social media platform. Perhaps I was abrasive in my approach…I am not known for the gift of subtlety. BUT…in general, people seem to be quiet easily and intensely triggered by this topic.

Why is this, I wonder?

I believe it has to do with toxic shame and vanity, and the uncanny ability we humans have of deceiving ourselves when a Truth is too uncomfortable to bare.

Maybe you have your own opinions around this topic, I would be glad to read them, any and all comments and criticisms are welcome and encouraged. I enjoy me a good debate, good for the mind, good for expansion.

I have written this philosophy for my clients, and it reads as such, but it is generic, and is applicable to everyone, food addict or not. It may offer you some useful insight into the nature of the pandemic of obesity, which may lead to a kinder more tolerant viewpoint on the whole. Fat shaming is still a thing people. It absolutely should not be, cruelty in any form should no longer be present in human hearts but here we still are. Perhaps, not for much longer. A girl can pray…

So without further to do, here it is: My philosophy for weight loss.

We live in a world that, in general, has cultivated in and forced upon us a very unhealthy relationship to food and our bodies.

This is the reason that many MANY people (I’d say the vast majority of people living the kind of lifestyle that affords them consistent access to a variety of foods…)are struggling with weight and food addiction issues. (It is possible to have food addiction without being overweight. If you manage the addiction well enough it need not impact your waist line, this does not mean that your mind and mood are not impacted)

So point number 1 for you is…FEEL NO GUILT FOR YOUR FOOD ADDICTION AND WEIGHT ISSUES. It is a toxic society that has caused this in you. Guilt is a BIG driving force in unhealthy relationship to food and the body. NOTICE when you are feeling shame or guilt, and remind yourself that this is NOT your fault. When the feelings/thoughts of guilt and shame arise…acknowledge them, and gently push them aside. The more you do this the less power the guilt will hold over you.

The way we think about things, and the way we label things, is very important.

I would like for you to begin thinking of your issues with food as an addiction. If there is a certain food that you turn to for comfort, a certain food you cannot seem to stop eating, even though you know how bad it is for you…then this IS an addiction and should be treated as such.

(the addiction can be specified to one food but, eating in general can also become the addiction, as it was for me.

I would binge eat, and not be able to control myself around food. My weight would fluctuate. I would have periods of strong will power, where I could fight the addiction for long enough to lose weight, and then inevitably, my will power would crumble and I would succumb to the addiction again. The weight would pile back on.)

It was a never ending cycle and I was miserable in it.

After nearly a decade of struggle, I was able to finally break the cycle, rise above the addiction, and I can help you do the same for yourself.

It is a psychological process more than anything else, which is why this philosophy is very important.

I am going to show you how changing your perspective can break cycles of addiction, freeing you from them, rather than fighting a never ending battle against them.

I have developed a multi pronged approach to breaking the cycle of addiction.

• PHSYCHOLIGICALLY- Change your thinking around your issues with food. Food, like any substance (drugs, alcohol…)can become an addiction and I think that in our present society, it has become the largest unacknowledged addiction.
• It is not openly spoken about, there is alot of shame surrounding this addiction and it’s effect on the human body (ie. Excess weight),
• and we are exposed daily to marketing campaigns that actively drive the addiction.

When you think about it this way, you will see that it is almost impossible NOT to develop a food addiction of some kind.

(and why are we all so susceptible to addiction in the first place? Is it because our souls are starved of true nourishment, that can come only from one source, THE source …I am talking about God…which, coincidentally, modern society seems set on discouraging altogether?

Or pehaps(and not unrelated to our souls need for divine connection…) addiction is a coping mechanism in a species doomed to suffer intergenerational trauma that is a direct result of being forced to participate and live in an imbalanced society?(see my article on yin and yang, bringing balance to a toxic society)

I know for me, it was intergenerational trauma that did it. Obesity is not genetic. What is “genetic” is BEHAVIOUR learned, in my case from my mother.

I watched her fight a losing battle against food addiction all her life. A once stunningly beautiful woman, the addiction robbed her of it and her self esteem.

I watched her go through the same cycle I did, rally the will power…find some ill fated fad diet, lose the weight, be unable to sustain said fad diet (because most of them are developed by lunatics and totally unsustainable. I watched my mother put BUTTER in her morning coffee, and truly believe that this was the solution to her weight woes…) then fall back into the same toxic eating pattern that caused the excess weight in the first place.

The saddest part for me, was when she’d approach me, sadness tinged hope in her eyes, desperate for the lie…” am I really THAT fat?” She was over 100kgs at this point, and 163 cms tall. Surely she could not NOT know? Yes mom, you really are.

I remember harboring the same delusions. I’d catch a glimpse of my bloated body, sadness and hopelessness would overwhelm me, and instead of FEELING the truth, I’d repress it…”I’m not THAT fat…most women I know are bigger than me…I am curvy. Boys like a little extra cushion for the…” you know. Avoid the Truth at all costs.

The turning point came for me, the day I decided to NOT look away from the distasteful image of my overweight frame. To NOT repress the feelings of sadness…”Look at my beautiful body! I did this to myself! And I hate it!”

From here, I began asking questions…why was it so hard for me, and all of the women in my life, to maintain a normal weight? Surely that could not be normal…

Self awareness had began to blossom and the Truth began to reveal itself to me.

The collective attempt of women in my life…small town housewives and their daughters…stuck in the same awful cycle of toxic shame and self delusion, subconsciously keeping each other trapped there. “You’re too skinny. You know when you reach my age say goodbye to your figure! etc.etc…”

Food propaganda…. The trauma driving the depression causing me to seek comfort via bingee eating.

The picture became clear, and the shift in perspective allowed me to step outside of the narrative I’d unknowingly fallen victim to, and just like that…my food addiction was beat. I began seeking ways to heal my mind, to cultivate even more self awareness, and the weight…which had been a secondary symptom all along…dropped off effortlessly. I have never again been a slave to food,

I digress. Back on topic.

In our current society, food is seen as one of the principal ways to induce pleasure. We use it as a reward and status symbol.

Eat a croissant with your morning coffee and you are sophisticated.

Have some meaty/salty snacks whilst watching your favorite sport game with friends (I’m looking at you South Africa and the tonnes of biltong consumed at every weekend rugby match) and you can relax and have a good time.

These are 2 examples of food propaganda and it enables and encourages worldwide food addiction.

Food is for NOURISHMENT AND SUSTENANCE and yes, also for enjoyment… God would not have made food taste so good if it was not meant to be enjoyed…but we must control the impulse to meet every physical desire or the desire will become destructive.

Do not despair the loss of your “favourite” foods!

Once you have established a heathy relationship with food you will be able to enjoy the odd treat, even participate in the social food rituals, without guilt or adverse impact.

Once reset, your body will tell you when it has had enough, and you will begin to notice the impact of unhealthy foods on your mind, so you will not WANT to indulge too often, maybe not even at all.

It will become your new nature, you will crave health above egoic bodily satisfaction. And then you will enjoy a balanced lifestyle, without the unhealthy implications.

Getting to this point that will take time and patience, with yourself and the process. I am here to help and guide you. It is so worth it. Being free of food addiction is liberating, and it has helped alleviate many mental illnesses in me, that go along with being slave to our addiction…(such as depression, anxiety, low self esteem, etc.)

• Physically- Trick your body into craving healthy foods/snacks

People often underestimate the power that cravings have on the mind. Your body has become used to a certain way of eating and now you are trying to change that. There will be kick back, you must expect this and prepare for it.

There are ways of making this process easier…

The mind will experience the cravings of the body and will begin to weave all sorts of elaborate stories to get the body what it wants. Your job is to remain vigilant and not fall for these stories.

(Here we apply the philosophy of separating mind from body from awareness. You are the awareness and you can exert will power over the mind/body)

Initially, into the first 2 weeks of this journey, I would like for you to ALLOW YOURSELF TO GIVE IN TO THE CRAVINGS.

Do not fight them and NEVER allow the guilt to take up space in your psyche, push it gently aside and remind yourself that this is a detoxing process you are going through…no need for guilt.

GUILT IS TOXIC, LOW VIBES…it is a trick of the ego and you do not need it. Please remind yourself of this constantly. The world we live in drives guilt which goes hand in hand with all sorts of mental illness/disorders. We must build our defenses against the guilt and it all starts with AWARENESS.

ou will feed your cravings, thereby giving your body what it wants, getting the mind to stop bugging you, but you will trick the body, by indulging In healthier, and then eventually, ONLY healthy foods.

SO for example if you are craving yoghurt, have some yoghurt. In that first week, have the yoghurt, BUT only allow yourself HALF the usually amount and replace the rest with healthy foods, like fruit or nuts…If it is sweets you are craving, have a sweet fruit to go along with the half serving of yoghurt. Or raisins or cranberries. (“But I don’t like fruits…” then have some dried fruit…BUT also remember, not liking something is simply a sign of not being used to something.

Challenge yourself to become used to tastes and textures that are unfamiliar and eventually you will enjoy them. Believe me, the body craves HEALTHY foods…once you begin this process of reprogramming, your body will drive it and it will become easy.

If it is crunch you are craving, have half a bowl of cereal (with NON dairy milk…for the first week you can mix, half dairy and half non dairy, then the second week ¼ dairy and ¾ non dairy, by week 3 you should wean totally off dairy because this is the biggest culprit in your weight gain and it is super important to wean off…but do it slowly, with kindness and patience, and it will be sustainable)

Replace the other half of the snack with some lightly salted popcorn, cooked in minimal oil (best to buy the popcorn kernels in the packet, not the microwave kind) This is my go to snack when I feel like comfort binge eating, which i sometimes still do when my depression is activated.

NOTE: Times of hormonal surges are times when depression is at it’s worst, and depression is a big driving force in addiction. (for example, During menstruation women are highly hormonal. So allow yourself the binge if you need it…

just slowly replace the unhealthy snacks with healthy ones, with will alleviate the guilt immediately and allow you to meet the need without the damage. Eventually, once your mind is healthier and by proxy, your body, these episodes of needing to binge will become less and less.

If it is salt you are craving, popcorn, nuts and even lightly cooked vegetables are all good options.

Edamame beans cooked in salted water is my go to savoury snack. (When I first began this journey, I HATED vegetables. Now, I cannot go a day without eating 3-4 healthy and basically prepared ( cooked in minimal oil or water, with some salt and seasoning…)vegetables.

I love vegetables now, my body craves them and i do not feel satisfied until i have had my daily dose.

It took some time to get used to, I was accustomed to only eating vegetables once a day with dinner, and prepared in really unhealty ways…with a cheese sauce or some kind of rich gravy…(we don’t even taste the vegetable this way…)

But with a little bit of willpower, my taste buds have changed completely and my body thanks me for it by being and LOOKING healthy, strong, fit. You will get there too I promise.

This brings me to another important point:

THROW TRADITIONAL MEAL TIMES OUT OF THE WINDOW.

Another damaging ideology is the one of:” these are breakfast foods, these are lunch foods..these are dinner and snack foods, etc.”

This practice of only eating certain foods at certain times of the day is WASTEFUL AND LIMITING.

It is also stressful, and frustrating, when you do not have x food available for breakfast you will find yourself grumpy all day.

It also causes you to spend more money purchasing foods you don’t need to meet the demands of societal food norms, when you could be whipping up some veggie stir fry for breakfast with left over rice and broccoli.

I would like for you to begin thinking of FOOD AS FOOD.

I often eat rice, eggs and vegetables for breakfast. With fruits to break my fast in the morning.

Then a big meal at about 10am…I do not eat lunch, i never feel hungry at lunch time, and i eat an early dinner, 6-7pm, a another large meal.

If i do feel peckish during the lunch hours I’ll eat some fruits and nuts but this is more for enjoyment as I never really feel hungry at this time.

That being said, each body is different, I do not want this to be overly unpleasant for you.(some unpleasantness is unavoidable, we are reprogramming the brain and resensitizing your body to be able to detect unhealthy foods in excess. )

There is a detox and withdrawal phase when stopping any addiction, which cannot be avoided. But we will make it as bearable as possible by applying the psychological principals of patience, persistence, perseverance and kindness.

What works for me may not work for you. Intermittent fasting works for me and many others. It is something to get used to, try work up to it over 3 weeks and see how you feel.

Next issue (promise!) We’ll discuss the insidiousness of the meat and dairy industry, how excess meat and dairy consumption is effecting our planet, our bodies, minds…and our relationship to God.

Thank you for reading.

#nurtureyin

#bringbalance

Yours

Heidi Rachael Pieterse

released Monday 7th October