Why Self-Discipline Can’t Fix All Our Weight Loss Woes – In Session with Marc David

Raelene, 46, would love to lose about 40 kilos. And she’s had great success in the past: all she has to do is eliminate sugar, cut down on the carbs, watch her calories and portion sizing, and the weight will eventually come off.

 But the problem is, she just can’t seem to stick to a diet plan for more than a few months. 

 A cooking teacher and mother of two, Raelene says she simply doesn’t have the discipline to stick with it. And after 15 years of off-and-on-again dieting, Raelene still hasn’t reached the promised land – and like so many of us, is pretty frustrated and confused about what to do.

 This is clearly a conundrum.

 She knows what she needs to do, but she just doesn’t have the discipline to do it.

 In this episode, Marc David helps Raelene realize something important:

 Diagnosing the cause of her weight challenges as a lack of self-discipline is misplaced. And we know that to be true, in part, because her many years of trying to simply muster more discipline hasn’t been working. Discipline by itself will never solve her weight loss problem.

 The reality is, Raelene hasn’t been in the right conversation with herself, all because of an incorrect assessment she made about herself many years ago.

 As you’ll hear in this episode, Marc helps Raelene refocus on the true heart of the matter:

 ⇒ Understanding what’s truly driving her relationship with food (her eating psychology), and changing her core beliefs about food, weight, self-worth, and lovability. 

 So many of us focus on our weight from a place of judgment. But we deserve so much more than that. When we can bravely learn to step away from our harsh inner critic, and instead evoke compassion towards ourselves, we can discover what’s really behind our patterns with weight. 

 For Raelene, part of that is understanding the impact of what she learned in childhood about weight loss: she was a “good” girl only if she was slender. Fat girls would never be loved and accepted. 

 It’s no wonder that food became a source of anxiety, and the simple act of eating took on so much stress and pressure. If being overweight means being unlovable, then everything she eats must be just right, and her appetite must be in absolute control so she can finally receive love.

 But the reality is, Raelene knows deep down inside that this is a battle she can never truly win. So a part of her rebels against dieting because her dieting is being driven from a place of low self worth. Eating to prove one’s self worth is unnatural, and it goes against our humanity and our dignity.

 Marc helps Raelene see the beautiful truth that she is unconditionally loved by her kids, her husband, and the people who care about her the most. There is no one in her life who needs her to lose weight so she can be more lovable. Except for herself. 

 And it’s time to give herself some love when it comes to her body and her weight.

 Episode highlights:

•  Eating psychology tools to help change unhelpful beliefs about food and body

• How to take the pressure off of weight loss, while also setting ourselves up for weight loss success

• How to shift out of dieting mentality

• Discovering who you are as an eater, and why that matters when it comes to weight

• How to quiet the unwanted inner conversation around food