Don't Blame Mom

Happy Wednesday!

I'm in Southern California visiting my aunt, and it's wonderful having time to catch up with her! She is my mom's younger sister and it's amazing how much we have in common - such fun!

One thing we definitely have in common is a long-standing struggle with weight. She and I spent a lot of time talking last night about our respective struggles and our perspectives on our struggles. We both developed our unhealthy mindsets about food in childhood (as did most everyone else reading this!). Food was often used as a reward, especially if we cleaned our plate, and it was used to comfort us (have a cookie . . . ). Food occasionally was also used as punishment (if you don't do this, you won't get dessert tonight). For my aunt and I, and for most of you, our unhealthy relationship with food goes back to the earliest years of our lives. It's not that we're blaming our mothers - please understand that (and this has nothing to do with the fact that my mom reads my blogs!), but it does mean that it takes a lot of work to undo a lifetime of food association.

The good news is that it IS possible to reprogram our hearts and minds. It's not easy, and I readily admit that I don't do this perfectly, but it IS possible. As we choose to make different choices, and as we begin to enjoy the benefits of those choices, it makes it a bit easier to make other positive choices, which in turn makes the next choices easier still. One choice at a time, we can change how we think and feel about food. Undoing a lifetime of faulty thinking doesn't happen overnight, but today can be one day closer to making that change permanent.

Are you willing to make choices today that will better support getting you to a healthy weight?