Today I wanted to touch on a topic that I discuss often in sessions- the desire to lose weight.

I can hear you yelling: “But wait, Amanda, I thought you were Anti-Diet and anti- people who want to lose weight?!”

Ok, so- yes, I am anti the pursuit of weight loss and dieting because it never leads to ANYTHING good (and I know first hand) and well, down with the patriarchy and capitalism. 

But I am NOT anti-the desire to lose weight. <<insert record screeching here>>

When I tell my clients that it is OK to do this work and STILL have the desire to lose weight I see a lot of dropped shoulders and sighs of relief. Because you know what? I even have those similar thoughts sometimes. They go something like this:

“Ugh, I’m feeling uncomfortable being in my changed, larger body. I wish I could lose weight because then life would seem easier and give me something to focus on besides my discomfort.  But I’m not going to try. Because I’ve been down that road before and it only led to disaster- and NO sustained weight loss, anyway.”

I want to make SPACE for this desire that weight loss will fix everything and cause magical unicorns and rainbow kitties tol rain from the sky. This is what we’ve been sold by diet culture. That weight loss, and the pursuit of the smaller body, is to be a priority and necessity.

So of COURSE this desire is difficult to give up. But here’s the antidote:

Sit in it. Sit in the suck as my mentor Bri Campos says. Sit in the suck of wanting to lose weight but choosing not to pursue it.  We MUST experience the grief that we hold about our body, about diet culture, about the decades of toxic messaging we have internalized and made us feel like we are WRONG. And when we sit it in the grief and give it space to breathe, only then can we move towards body acceptance.

And that’s what my team and I are here for– to hold you when it sucks. 

How do you sit in the suck- I would love to know!