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Disclaimer
Beverley has prepared the content of Bev's World irresponsibly and carelessly. She therefore disclaims all warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, originality or completeness of the drivel presented on this blog or on other linked websites or on any subsequent links. She vehemently denies that the information may be relied upon for any reason. Beverley shall not be liable for inflicting laughter, shame, disgust, torrents of tears and the eventual desiccation or crashing boredom on readers.

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Monday, 1 September 2014

I'm on my soapbox this morning!

1st September 2014
The best advice I’ve ever received is ‘no one else knows what they’re doing either.  Ricky Gervais

I did it, I completed my first week of my food journal, 11 weeks left to go, can I do it – of course I can, will I do it – yep because I’ve made that commitment!  I’m chuffed with 1.5lb weight loss, I wasn’t expecting it to be honest, I just wanted to get back to being aware of what I eat to start with and get a handle on my old habits that have slipped back into place.

I may be wrong in some people’s opinions but I believe what a person weighs is totally up to that person, I’m not convinced of the validity of the BMI chart, I appreciate why it is used but I don’t really like it, I think you can have two people the same height and weight and they will look completely different, one could be heavier and yet be super fit whereas the other could be thin and eat nothing but junk, so for me personally I think there’s so much more to your health than what you weigh.  For me it’s not about what size you are, it’s about your relationship with your body and with food. 

I had a lovely compliment in our facebook group yesterday when a member thanked me and said “I can finally say I stop eating when I am full and save for later instead of ramming it in.”  This it me is so much more rewarding than helping her lose weight by following a counting system but not teach her anything about how to change her basic habits that helped her to gain the weight in the first place.  Weight loss is actually easy if all you’re focusing on is losing, what gets hard is keeping it off and changing the habits that are so deeply ingrained as they’ve had years to make themselves at home.

People can lose weight and still have major issues with food or be unhappy with the body they have, don’t look at the person next to you and assume because they’re slimmer that they haven’t got any problems with food, I’d presume it’s a very high percentage of people who have!

Weight, eating issues and food problems are very closely connected with emotional problems, so to tell someone with a weight problem to stop eating is a bit like telling someone with depression to cheer up, it’s not really going to help the situation much.

This is why for me Weight Watchers works, yes it gives you a weight loss programme to follow, it also gives you a choice with ProPoints and Filling & Healthy, the best bit though is that meeting environment where you get to meet and talk to a leader who started where you did, who has an insight into how you feel and understand and also a room full of people who can relate to you and your journey. 

Being in a room with others in the same boat as me helped me realise it wasn’t just me; I wasn’t the only person who felt this way about food.  There’s so much guilt and self blame associated with overeating and most of the woman I’ve met (and men too) have feelings of guilt and feel ashamed over their actions.  We assume that we’re the only one who feels this way or acts this way, then we enter this room full of people who can totally relate and over the week and months that follow we realise we’re in good company, they understand and suddenly it dawns on you – if weight loss was easy, we’d all be thin! 

It’s good to talk, it’s therapeutic, it’s even better to find our own solutions with the help and guidance of others that understand!  Yes we all know that eating doesn’t change a crappy day but does that stop us doing it – not always no because in that moment…….

And anyone who has an issue with food can finish that sentence!  Anyone who doesn’t will just never understand.

Yes I’m over my goal weight right now, it’s called life got in the way, so did everything I learn through Weight Watchers and everywhere else not work?  Of course it did because the difference now is I may be overweight according to some chart made up in the 60’s by an insurance company setting their prices (well they weren’t going to make them easy number s to hit where they!) but I’m healthier and happier than I’ve been in my entire 44 years on this planet – why?  Because I’ve realised this is what happens sometimes, it doesn’t make me any less of a person, any less intelligent, any less capable of doing my job, any less of ANYTHING!  It actually makes me a better person to do my job because I’m full of empathy for those that are struggling, when I first became a Weight Watcher leader I was so full of myself “I was at goal weight, if I could do it why couldn’t everyone else!”  It makes me more intelligent because I’ve educated myself, actually let’s be honest my weight has no correlation to my intelligence or ability to do my job at all, it may have an effect on how people perceive me on initial contact but that’s their loss because I could share so much of my learned wisdom with them if they could see further than the end of their nose and their bigoted opinions that society has taught them that ‘thin means clever, smart, blah blah blah”

Anyway I’m getting on my high morale horse, I do that sometimes!  I believe it’s healthy to let out your feelings as long as it’s done in a constructive way ;0)

Right I’m off to think about breakfast, because as much as I’ve learned over the years that food isn’t the answer to any problems, it still tastes yummy and will always be a highlight of my day.


Let’s make September sensational, who’s up for taking part in “Stick to it September”, I for one am, are you BeYOUtiful?




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