How to Lose Weight: Here’s What You’re Not Doing
March 19, 2010 by Steven Diamond
Filed under Daily Blog, Guest Bloggers, Noah St. John, Uncategorized
Best selling author and guest blogger at StopStressingNow.Com Noah St. John knows how to get people to succeed in life. He’s coached thousands. Sometimes what is keeping you from success can be the most simple thing.
Click Here To Listen To An Amazing Podcast Interview With Noah
Here’s Noah St. John
You Know How to Lose Weight, Here’s Why You’re Not Doing It
Let’s face facts: every one knows that in order to lose weight, all you have to do is eat right and exercise. But a new diet book appears on the bestseller lists about as often as Hollywood releases a new Amy Adams movie.
So why, with this avalanche of “how to lose weight” information, are Americans still getting fatter by the nanosecond?
Here’s the surprising answer no one’s talking about: It’s NOT because you need more “how-to’s” of losing weight. It’s because you need to uncover your hidden Why-Not-To’s of Losing Weight.
Judy, a 55-year-old working grandma from Texas, had tried every diet and exercise program out there. She’d lose weight temporarily, then gain it right back and beat herself up.
I asked her in our coaching sessions why she didn’t want to lose weight – to list her Why-Not-To’s of Losing Weight. Judy realized for the first time that she believed that keeping the excess weight would protect her.
I asked her, “Protect you from what?” She said that excess weight gave her a feeling of security, because it shielded her from unwanted advances and allowed her to feel “mostly invisible”.
Many of my working mom clients have said the exact same thing. Shedding excess weight means a number of things to the psyche, and while we think they’re all positive, not all of them are.
Once Judy identified her hidden Why-Not-To’s of Losing Weight, she lost 24 pounds in the seven weeks leading up to Christmas. Yes, you read that right: she LOST weight while the rest of America was packing on the holiday pounds.
Oh sure, you’re saying. It’s one thing to lose weight. But did she keep it off?
You’re right. As of this writing, Judy isn’t down 24 pounds. She’s down 42 pounds.
If you’d like to save yourself a lot of time, money and frustration, stop looking for a magic “how-to” of losing weight. Instead, ask yourself three simple questions:
1. What will I GAIN by losing weight?
These are your Why-To’s of Losing Weight. These should be relatively obvious: “I’ll look better, I’ll be healthier, my clothes will fit better, I’ll live longer, I’ll feel sexier.”
2. What will I LOSE by losing weight?
Your Why-Not-To’s of Losing Weight hide in your subconscious. That means, you don’t go around thinking about what you’re going to LOSE when you lose weight; but your Why-Not-To’s are lurking beneath the surface of your consciousness like the bottom of an iceberg. And unbeknownst to you, they’re secretly controlling your behavior.
Many working moms have discovered surprising answers to this simple question, including: “I’ll lose my ability to disappear; I won’t feel safe; I’ll feel vulnerable; I’ll have to buy a new wardrobe; what if my partner/boyfriend/spouse isn’t attracted to the new me; what if my friends are jealous of me?”
That last one can be particularly prickly, because, well, women can be downright mean to each other. You’d think that your friends would support you in your weight loss efforts, right? Try losing 20 pounds in seven weeks like Judy did, and you’ll learn who your REAL friends are (and aren’t).
And finally:
3. Which one is greater: my Why-To’s of Losing Weight, or my Why-Not-To’s of Losing Weight?
No one can tell you whether you should or shouldn’t lose weight. That’s a private decision only you can make.
But you can – and should – answer the question for yourself, once and for all. And let go of the angst about (and stop looking for the “magic pill” for) losing weight.
And in case you’re wondering why Oprah Winfrey has fallen off the weight loss wagon over and over (which she has talked about extensively), the simple answer is that she hasn’t fully come to terms with her Why-Not-To’s of Losing Weight.
Clearly, Oprah can work with any personal trainer or dietician she wants. But all she really has to do is uncover her hidden Why-Not-To’s of Losing Weight, and she’d get off the roller coaster ride. (Oprah, by the way, if you’re reading this: Call me. Happy to help.)
And once YOU identify your hidden Why-Not-To’s of Losing Weight, you’ll never have to fall off the weight loss wagon again – and you’ll stop spending your hard-earned money on “how-to’s” of losing weight that you already know.
Click Here To Listen To An Amazing Podcast Interview With Noah
About Noah St. John
Noah St. John is the #1 bestselling author of The Secret Code of Success: 7 Hidden Steps to More Wealth and Happiness
(published by HarperCollins).
Jack Canfield says, “Noah’s work represents one of the most significant breakthroughs in the study of success in decades.”
Discover Noah’s Formula for living a truly rich life: http://RichLifeFormula.com
Noah St. John thinks that all we have to do is figure our our why-to’s and our why-not-to’s???
I just love these uneducated psuedo-doc’s who think they have the answers to complex questions that go beyond their simple rhetoric.
Weight issues have both physical and emotional foundations. And sometimes they are the result of learned behaviors and poor habits.
Regardless, we each deserve to be respected and treated as the individuals that we are. None of us are the simpletons that Noah St. John would like us to be.
Oh and I am 5’4″ and 128 lbs now because I found out that I have insulin resistance and can’t eat simple carbohydrates. Plus I had learned behaviors of not eating all day and loading my calories into the last third of my day. AND I did eat based upon emotional cues not hunger a great deal of the time.
I never felt hungry and I still ate. Some of the other women I have spoken to on this subject were physically hungry all the time. Humans are wonderful complex creatures.
Do you think he understands Oprah’s personal situation any better than he understands mine?
Shante,
Thank you so much for your very honest comments. I found your point of view very interesting. I agree with you that “Regardless, we each deserve to be respected and treated as the individuals that we are.”
I personally don’t think Noah was trying to generalize anyone. Especially those with serious medical conditions. He truly wants the very best for you.
At least that wasn’t my take on what he said. However, you’ve made me think. I am going to ask Noah
to personally respond as I don’t want to put words into his mouth. Stay tuned.
Warm regards.
Steven
Hi Shante,
Thanks for you note. As you’ve shown us, food and eating are very emotional issues.
Naturally, I don’t treat people like simpletons nor do I think you are one.
And you’re right, weight issues are often the result of poor habits and learned behaviors.
Which was my point exactly.
My clients who’ve come to me with weight loss issues have often found this simple exercise helped them identify the CAUSE of those habits and behaviors.
The purpose of this brief article wasn’t to give an entire “weight loss” treatise, but to shine a light on what is a very emotional issue for many.
But it sounds like you got to the bottom of the issue and resolved it for yourself. Well done!
Thanks again for your note.
Very best,
~Noah