Welcome to 2016!  Become a Seeker!

Light at Last - a blog about weight loss

Dorothy Rodwell, LMFT

January 9, 2016

Seeking yet again

A body relationship

That sings and dances

Yes, each year it is so tempting to want to start again with a weight loss program.  And yet, we don’t really believe that we could be successful for the long term.  Or do we?

As I pursued  my interest in the idea of Light at Last, I am glad to report that using The Virtual Gastric Band program has brought me the sense of control, freedom and the results that I seek.  Have I lost a large amount of weight?  No, but I have lost steadily in small amounts and that shows me that my  habits have changed and I’m doing what needs to be done.  And you can do that too, even if you have a lot more to lose.  Remember that I lost 50 pounds some years ago and now I’m making another adjustment that will last a long time.

What has happened that has made the most difference?  I am absolutely committed to doing my three small meals a day every day.  Because there were just a few guidelines for the program  (and one of them is to forget everything you know about dieting) my mind cleared and I stopped having internal conversations about food for me and others.  What a relief!

So, in this new year I ask you to become a seeker.  Find a long term solution for your relationship with food.  Take your time to do this as it is so important.  It can be done!

In this blog, I will describe the skills that make a difference in success once you find your solution.

Clearing Food From The Mind

Light at Last - a blog about weight loss

Dorothy Rodwell, LMFT

November 20, 2015

Food dreams in my mind

Just don’t happen anymore

I am Light at Last

After living with The Virtual Gastric Band since September, I am glad to report on what has happened to my mind and my body.

Prior to The Virtual Gastric Band I was thinking about food a lot.  In fact, I was using self hypnosis and journaling what I was eating and trying all kinds of ideas in order to watch the weight go down.  Yes, I had done it before with good results that lasted 12 years until the pounds began to creep upward.  I had set up a warning system of when to get the weight down as I resolved never to go back to my highest weight again.  Hooray for that decision as it led me to find a way to get what I wanted!

Each day I thought about food a lot and of course, that just reinforced its hold over me.  Amazing how that goes.  The complexity of the issue left me down and feeling heavy.  I longed for clarity and lightness: thus was born Light at Last.  

With The Virtual Gastric Band I eat to live and not live to eat. After following the program for over 28 days the new habits are in place.  I don’t think about what I will eat ahead of time as I eat whatever I want all the time.  What others folks are doing around me or saying while eating is just something to be noticed and requires no response from me.  My enjoyment continues and when I am comfortably full I stop.  It’s great for me to decide portion size instead of someone else.

I’m free!

A Breakthrough - Virtual Gastric Band

Light at Last - a blog about weight loss

Dorothy Rodwell, LMFT

November 1, 2015

A sense of fullness

Happens quickly with each meal

Making change easy

As I have been working with the LIGHT system of permanent weight loss, I have been reading many resources and discovered one that I want to include here now.  While in the UK this year I was introduced to the Virtual Gastric Band procedure and how it shifts relationships with food.

This type of program has been in existence for years and is a variation of the laparoscopic gastric banding used for weight loss.  This medical procedure has a surgeon putting a band around the upper part of the stomach so that the amount of food that a person eats is reduced as he/she feels full after just a small amount of food.  The prep for this surgery includes reduction in food intake.  Psychologists  wondered that if people could reduce their food intake before the surgery why couldn’t they do the same thing and not have the physical surgery but a mental surgery instead.  And what they discovered is that yes, many folks can do just that.

On September 9, 2015 I had my Virtual Gastric Band operation and am very happy with the results.  In fact, I am already passing along what I have learned to others who are also enjoying a new found sense of control over what they eat, how and where they eat it.

What I have noticed is that although we may not want to be forced to give up food, when we choose to eat intelligently realizing that we are not a garbage can for excess food anymore, we can stick to our plan until it becomes our new norm.

Grow New Networks - My Nonviolent Communication

Grow New Networks - My Nonviolent Communication 

Light at Last - a blog about weight loss

Dorothy Rodwell, LMFT

September 14, 2015

It is good to know

Talking makes a difference

To me and myself

  While noticing how others are treating us as we strengthen our healthy eating habits it’s important to also note how we are treating ourselves.  Sometimes, we do not treat ourselves like a trusted friend and instead act like we are in a battle between me and myself.  In a way we can consider that to be our logical mind and our emotional mind.  

What to do?  How we talk to our emotional mind makes a difference.

  Marshall Rosenberg developed a process of nonviolent communication and it fits well into the discussion here.  There are four parts to this communication process: observation, feelings, needs, and requests.  By observing what I see, hear, imagine, or remember without evaluation the first step is taken.  What am I observing?  I am observing whatever does not contribute to my wellbeing around intelligent eating.   

Here is an example of this process in action.  When I see that I have eaten two portions of ice cream…… I feel sad ….because I need to know that I can count on doing what I want to do with my eating…..Am I willing to stop after one portion and eat a healthy sweet instead? 

As each eating celebration happens daily, new habits form and new networks are formed in the brain.    For today be curious not furious!

There is a pdf download of this process at http://www.nonviolentcommunication.com/pdf_files/4part_nvc_process.pdf

Improvise - Sabotage From Friends or Just a Miscommunication?

Light at Last - a blog about weight loss

Dorothy Rodwell, LMFT

August 20, 2015

Noticing a time

When others offer comfort food

That upsets the plan

You are on track and that feels really good!  You are eating well, being active, and setting and getting your feedback that the body is responding to all that you are doing ….and likes it!  In fact, you are noticing that the idea that “I enjoy becoming thin” is sounding and feeling true.  In fact, it is guiding you toward a lifestyle success.  What a great makeover is in progress!

And then you notice that others are not having the same response to your new adventure. Your friend  may be eating fat laden foods and offering them to you.  Other friends are with you and yet, they offer advice about becoming too thin and how obsessive you have become.  What’s happening?

No,  your friends have not abandoned you but their subconscious/emotional mind is taking charge.  Remember they are not you and have not been inside your body/mind as you have been shifting thoughts, behaviors, and emotions.  Their connection to you had been based on their past relationship to food and to you.  Now that you have changed a bit, it may take some time for them to adjust and tune into your success.   And they may miss the food connection that you had in the past.

There is an interesting article by Colleen Pierre in Prevention called Dieting With The Enemy:  Are friends and family making you fat.  The website is http://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-tips/weight-loss-sabotage-friends-and-family. 

Consider that being on the journey to joyful living the way you wish is the real prize!  Remember that love in the connection; not food.

By communicating honestly and kindly, others can enjoy your joy as well.  Next week I’ll discuss the work of Marshall Rosenberg and specific examples of how to communicate when difficult feelings are involved.

Improvise - Jump Start Your Day

Light at Last - a blog about weight loss

Dorothy Rodwell, LMFT

August 12, 2015

Connecting the days

Bringing peace and excitement

Into awareness

Have you noticed that sometimes it is easy to wake up and feel excited about the day and at other times it seems better to just stay in bed?  It’s true that everyday does not have a celebration that we look forward to…….. or is it?  What if we can harness the mind and body right away so that we are clear and looking forward to doing what there is to do this day?  We can!  

STEP 1: Plan to wake up refreshed and ready to go in the morning.  Set up that intention before you sleep by thinking of it after you turn off the light and are just drifting off to sleep.

And then in the morning...........

STEP 2: Be GLAD in the morning.

G            

Show Gratitude –  be grateful for the rest of the night and now being awake and on track with how your body feels  - be grateful that you have control of your feelings  and what you eat on this day – know that whatever happens you will get right back on track - smile

L             

Look forward to the unfolding of this day – plan short pauses for yourself to recharge especially before and during eating anything – you are on track now

A 

Activate the body – yawn, big breaths (longer in than out), stretch and release arms and legs while still in bed - smile

D             

Dance or sing inside your body and let your mind feel the same rhythm – do the same while eating and being active during this day

Improvise

Light at Last - a blog about weight loss

Dorothy Rodwell, LMFT

July 26, 2015

Things come to my mind

As I swing higher and see

The joy in my life

Yes, it’s time to use the motion of the swing to make it easy to keep the body calm and the mind alert.  With that in place, now we can improvise and consider an entire new swing set.  Imagine a swing held up by birds flying through the air.  They are doing the heavy work and you just enjoy the flight swinging as much as you wish.  You can glide at times and work harder at times depending on the air currents and whatever you wish to pay attention to in the clouds or just seeing the vista below.

Is that appealing?  If there is a different swing set that you wish to build, now is the time to begin.  What wild animal, light, or star enables you to embrace the freedom and power of the swing and your body in the swing?  Take a bit of time to try on different ideas and choose the one that brings the most lightness to your body and mind.

Breathe that image into your body and feel it filling up your body with a sense of comfort. You may close your eyes and enjoy the feeling of moving toward that image.  As you do this notice that two things you have been wanting to do to achieve your weight loss come to mind.  Hold them up to the image one by one and notice that they are light and doable for a week.  At the end of a week you may notice how they worked and continue them or not.  That will be the time to add two more things to your enjoyment of eating in a way that satisfies the senses and allows any emotions to seek other ways of expressing themselves.  Eating for the body is our first task to begin as this allows the subtle signs of hunger and fullness to become more clear.  It may be that you wish to eat more slowly (add 50% more time  - if it took you 10 minutes to eat, then take 15 minutes now) and breathe more consciously.  Being on the swing makes it easy to think about those two behaviors as happening right now and realizing how just thinking of them is the task.  Once you have the thought, seeing yourself 5 pounds lighter on the way to 10 pounds lighter, hearing a friend commenting on how you are losing weight  and feeling really good as you notice how your clothes are loose, you have the power to enjoy the swing.

Keep the end in sight.  Consider eating each meal and how you feel and compare that to how you feel at the end when that is over and you see/feel results.  Yes, it may be just like those who exercise on days when they would rather not but they do it anyway.

Improvise – do things differently to suit where you are right now!  Using the power of the subconscious (emotional mind) offers a way to supercharge your efforts and get the results you seek.

Enjoy your new swing set. Be Light at Last.