“How are you doing? Are you thinking and eating like a slim person? Or are you still dieting?”

Welcome to the 11th Fat Chance! weight loss blog.

Hi there! When I first started blogging, I explained that the Fat Chance! approach is not about dieting and I introduced the idea that the only feasible alternative to dieting is changing to a sustainable new healthy lifestyle. To do this, I said, you must “forget about how fat people diet and concentrate on how slim people eat”. If you want to be slim, I said, you must learn how to eat less food, just like slim people eat, not just for a time, but for the rest of your life.

But slim people don’t just eat differently, they think differently (please refer to my blog, Discovering the slim person you were meant to be). It works like this: If you think of yourself as a slim person you will start to act accordingly, changing your attitudes and habits regarding food, eating and your priorities. If you do this, I said, healthy and permanent weight loss will follow.

I have to do this myself, so I know how hard it is to not think in terms of dieting and I know many people have trouble changing their thinking about this and are tempted to diet.

So I would like to know how you are getting on.

If you bought a copy of Fat Chance! The no-going-back Weight Loss Workbook, you will have a head start. I am absolutely delighted with the testimonials and feedback I have been receiving, not just about the weight loss (although my readers are losing weight) but about how Fat Chance! is helping people change their thinking.

Here are just a few examples:

• “I can’t believe how empowering this book has been in more ways than just weight loss.” – Carla
   
• “The insight I’ve gained into what I eat and why I overindulge has been a major breakthrough.” – Megan
   
• “I’m seeing the changes I am putting into place as sustainable, lifetime ones.” – Lara
   
• “I love how the questions relate to me and I can be honest without fear of ridicule.” – Julie

So are you learning to think and live the life of a slim person, or are you still dieting? Are you discovering the slim person you were meant to be, the slim person inside waiting to get out? Do you see being slim as your normal state? If you can, you won’t diet, because slim people don’t diet. Instead you will think, eat and behave as the naturally slim person you are.

But it is not about dreaming or imagining you are slim. It is about making the lifestyle changes to really live differently: eating less; eating a healthy, balanced diet; and being much more active. It means de-throning food from its position of importance in your life, finding more constructive (non-food) ways to meet your emotional needs and enjoying more of life now, not waiting “until you are slim”.

You may need to work on your confidence to believe you can be this person. Here is an extract from Week 4, Day 1 of Fat Chance!, ‘A Slim Person Values Themselves’.

“In your new slim life you have to start loving and caring for yourself from this moment onwards… slim people know inside themselves that they are valuable so they have a good sense of self-worth and confidence. A slim person is not concerned about what others think of them, or what they look like. They are kind to themselves. This may be hard for you. You may think of yourself as a failure, as undeserving of being slim. But you do deserve it! You are worth it! You are already a good person! And you must start to believe this about yourself from today.

• Write down six things you really like about yourself. If this is difficult, write down what you would like to like about yourself.
   
• Write down six things you have been or are successful at.
   
• Write down why you deserve to be slim.
   
• It is important to treat, comfort and reward yourself well (without using food). What can you do to be kind to yourself this week? Just for you.
   
• Write down short, positive phrases about yourself that you can use to motivate or encourage yourself.”

And remember: Slim people don’t diet. So how are you doing?

I wish you every success in your weight loss journey!

Susan

PS. Thank you so much for your support as I Lived Below The Line!

Susan Maiava PhD is the author of Fat Chance! The no-going-back Weight Loss Workbook, available from Paper Plus, Whitcoulls, independent bookshops and Online at www.fatchance.co.nz (free delivery in NZ). RRP $39.99. Fat Chance! is ideal for groups. Professional enquiries also welcome.