In Late March of 2013, I was attending my sister’s baby
shower. That day I looked at myself in a picture that I’d just taken and was
faced with the reality that I had loss perspective. Somehow I had strolled into obesity without
realizing. My stomach had become a
separate entity; really it had a life of its own.
I looked on as a family friend scrolled thru the pictures
we’d taken smiling (obviously not shocked or horrified by my weight or my
sluggish disposition). But I was! I knew I had transitioned out of a size 18 and
into a size twenty sometime the year before but it hadn’t until that day or
moment alarmed me. Obviously, the
consciousness that had helped me to create this masterpiece of excess and that
had sustained my progression towards obesity had changed. I knew my consciousness had changed because I
stood looking at myself in the pictures with new eyes. What exactly had shifted to make an alarm go
off in my head that would ring out to my heart and soul? I didn’t know but it was about to show itself
to me.
I remember in the months leading up to this moment, I had
seen a couple of television programs that left me with new insight and planted
seeds of interest. I can’t remember the
order in which I uncovered them but I remember the “Aha’s” they brought
on. There were three to be exact.
The first Aha! came as I was watching Dr. Oz being
interviewed on a show. He mentioned that
when he saw people with huge stomachs, what he really saw were people who were
unable to manage stress. That touched me! One, because I had a ginormous stomach and
two, because of the humanity he showed to a growing epidemic. Suddenly, I realized that it wasn’t all about
“greed” and “the lack of will power” that are often associated with overweight
and obesity. He also stated that we needed to focus on foods the colors of
the rainbow. Aha! (I thought)
The second seed had been planted one morning as I was
watching Deepak Chopra and Oprah speaking on her network. I was fairly familiar
with Deepak Chopra. I knew he was a
spiritually aware person who studied consciousness. I had heard him speak
before and I knew he always brought revelation with him. As part of the conversation, he happened to
mention that it took approximately 66 days to automate an action. I was struck
by his use of the word automate. I
thought, “What if I really could automate my actions with 66 days of ritual?”
Aha! I took my seeds and stuck them in the back pocket of my mind. Surely this
was useful information.
The third T.V. epiphany I had— came as I watched the rapper
DMX on Iyanla Vanzant’s show “Fix My Life”.
I remember sitting on my couch feeling so sorry for him; to see his
struggle with drugs and to see how he had sacrificed his family and career for
his addiction. I cried for him. I prayed for him! And then I cried for myself, because I too
had an addiction. In that moment I moved
from sympathetic to empathetic. I
allowed myself to step out from the illusion of “got it togetherness” and fully
stepped into my unwaged battle with overeating.
The Aha here was to see how I too was sacrificing a better life for an
addiction.
Seeds I tell you! Seeds! What great things can happen when
we exercise our power to choose to watch meaningful television!
So it’s now April 2013.
A few weeks had passed since the baby shower and I was still dancing
with the thought of making real change.
By this time, I had weighed myself and I was again horrified to learn
that I was 248lbs. “248lbs? Really? What
happened?” “How do I fix this?” “Where do I begin?” Just some of the thoughts that taunted me as
I now danced with the reality of knowingly being 248lbs. So, I sat and talked to God. Two words… “Show
me!”
Bet
you know didn’t know you could get God’s attention with just two words.
Completely usher in the Holy
Spirit with two words! “Show me Lord!” I
prayed
Before long I had a plan! Remember those seeds of interest?
Well, they had already started to break open in my spirit and I found myself
yielding to their fruit. I decided that
for 66 days I would focus on mainly eating foods the colors of the rainbow. I
would eliminate meat, chicken, turkey, fish, cheese, milk, mayo, packaged
juices, soda, and anything else that didn’t come from the earth. I made only one exception; eggs. Which I just feel is a gift to humanity. The assignment was 66 Days of Ground
Foods! 66 Days of Ritual; cooking and
preparing all my own foods.
Needless to say, I felt the weight of what I was attempting
to do; the weight of the giant I was about to go up against. But I understood the value and I understood
what was waiting on the other side. I
knew that all those moments that I had shrunken and hid at the back of the room
would be a thing of the past. I knew it
would force me to suit up and get in the game.
No more standing at the window of life with my nose pressed up against
the glass. No more 6 ft. ceilings
sitting right above my head but new horizons I would see from mountain
tops. Oh, I fully understood the
crossroad where I stood. I also
understood that I could not go at it unprepared. So I decided I would start my 66 day quest on
May 1st, 2013. But I didn’t
want to deny or lose the momentum of the shift that was taking place so I went
ahead and made the eliminations of meats and poultry, butter, milk, cheese,
sodas, pasta, and many of the condiments I would normally use. I courageously severed my relationship with
McDonald’s the fast food machine where I would many days eat from twice a
day. I spent the next two weeks making
more eliminations as I researched and remembered what food was at its
core. I became obsessed with learning
about all the health benefits of foods the colors of the rainbow and felt a
growing will and desire to embark on my 66 day journey.
To my shock when I stepped on the scale the morning of May 1st,
I was 235lbs. “OMG !
Are you kidding me? No way!” I was down 13lbs. Just the news I needed to go full speed ahead
with my plans. So off I went! In the weeks to come I began making lots of
soups combining all sorts of veggies. I
ate yams, spinach, zucchini, broccoli, plantains, avocados, oatmeal, nuts,
bananas, eggs, lots of fresh salads, and much more. I completed my 66 days with only one or two
slip ups. Once when I ordered an onion
soup and didn’t realize it had cheese in it and another time when I gave way to
a snicker bar!
Oh yes, I had human moments along the journey but mostly the
time was highlighted by really triumphant moments like when I traveled to
Orlando to a 2-day Hair Conference and carried all my premade meals with
me. Or when I showed up at my sister’s
door in Tallahassee in June to meet my new nephew with bags of groceries I’d
brought with me from Miami—all fresh produce that wouldn’t last until my
return. Oh, I felt triumphant!
At the end of my 66 days, I was 25lbs down from my original
248lbs. I felt lighter, more energized, and oh so powerful. Learning to yield my mind to my heart’s
desires and to operate my personal will in such a way was priceless and
alluring. Now the subject of automation!
Would it come? Would I uncover it? Could I keep it? All very pressing questions only time could
reveal at the time!
Fast
forward to this moment right now November, 2015 and I can say... “Yes,
automation came.” “Yes, I uncovered its
wonders!” And I decide everyday whether
I get to keep it or not based on the choices I make. You see, the truth about
automated response is that you have to continue to choose the same response!
On Sept. 30th, 2013 I encountered another window
of grace as I was finally able to overcome my embarrassment and walked across
the street, no more than 25ft from my apartment to the public park that I had
thought about going to since I’d moved there in summer of 2011 and decided I
would not only walk but run. My exact
decision was, I will run and only walk as needed. I knew I had to amp things up. I still was holding on to my 25lb weight loss
but I wasn’t losing any more weight. The
time to get active had surely come. I
knew at the beginning (back in April) that I was after total
transformation. I had lost 20-30lbs
before at different times and then some mental/emotional wall would get right
up in front of me. Not this time! A
shift had truly taken place. I no longer
wanted to sit out. I wanted in on life.
That same day, I walked into my local Planet Fitness and
became a member. The next day Oct. 1st,
I began my 1st 90-Day workout challenge. And I did it!
Didn’t miss a day! Didn’t succumb
to a single excuse! I ran at the park, I went to the gym, and I had begun group
training sessions with a trainer.
When April 15, 2014 came around, exactly 1year after I’d
began making changes, I was 72lbs lighter. I felt amazing. I felt
accomplished. And most importantly, I
felt unstoppable! On Oct. 24, 2014, I
ran a 10K (6.2 miles) and finished in 1hr 3mins. Not bad for someone with no
athletic history. And then the next
month, I followed up that victory weighing in at 156lbs after completing my 2nd
successful 90-Day Workout Challenge. It
was unbelievable … 92lbs Lost!! I was so happy in my soul; in my heart!
But here’s what I’ve learned:
I’ve
learned that true weight loss is not about weight; it’s about walls! Yes, I lost a tremendous amount of weight but
I lost an incredible amount of walls. My
challenge was to change the way I identified and used food! I’m still working every day to drill it in my
head that “Food is Fuel” and therefore I should consume it only as needed.
So, here I am.... nearly a year after that monumental weigh in. I’m now 169lbs. I’ve began lifting weights and I’m attempting to reach my new goal weight of 148lbs which will bring me to a total of 100lbs lost. It's been a challenge for me to completely get rid of my stomach and seeing the numbers on the scale go up is not easy to ignore but I'm still in my same clothes from last November so that seems to keep me sane.
I still do not eat
pork, meat, turkey, or poultry. I almost
never drink sodas and/or packaged fruit juices.
I still prepare most of my own meals; 85% at least. I still eat lots of
fresh greens. I occasionally eat cheese, bread, and yogurt—however, I no longer
buy bread and I gave up my toaster over a year ago. I only buy quinoa, brown rice, or gluten free
pasta and only occasionally. I continue to enjoy eggs and I eat fish 3-4
times a week. I now work out 3-4 times
a week and I am considering doing a half marathon in January 2016.
I moderate a Facebook group called “66 Day Ground Foods
Challenge” soon to be called “The 66 Day Appetite Reset Challenge” where I
share my food preparations and encourage those who chooses to take the
challenge. I’ve done the challenge a
total of three times and the first time is still my most successful. My last attempt to do the challenge this September was not successful and is not included in the three. I’m
currently building a website named “Drop the Load” to share my story and to
share my journey as a whole. www.facebook.com/groups/DroptheLoad
I encourage you all to live the life of your dreams. Unleash the Power of the Mind. Cultivate the seeds you find along life’s
journey and prepare yourselves for a harvest that will feed you forevermore.
Go with God!!
NaTisha
your Emotional Life Coach
your Emotional Life Coach
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