At times, even the words of those who are close to you cannot reach you with the needed efficiency. At times, even the most logical information cannot reach this part of yourself that would make you go “yes, this is right, this is what I have to do”. And then, all of a sudden, a complete stranger manages to touch you in a way that you wouldn’t have suspected, making all the rest suddenly take on a new meaning. Isn’t this a very weird feeling?
This is what happened to me at the beginning of this year, when, following the recommendations of a nice person I met on Livejournal, I got myself Phil McGraw’s book The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom. Before this, I didn’t know the man at all, not living in the USA and not even having cable or sat TV to try to catch his show and make my own mind about what he does (for that matter, the only TV I watch is our tapes and DVDs, but this is another matter). I was quite sceptic, I must say; the whole “Dr. Phil” thing sounded very guru-like to me, and I was vaguely wondering if this was really serious, even if the book itself (or rather, its summary) on Amazon looked as interesting as I had been told.
In all honesty, it was. While I still don’t care much about McGraw’s show or about the hype around, his book really reached me, pointing at all these nasty little behaviors that were a possibility of why “losing weight and keeping it away” is something I had never achieved. It made me think and think again about this whole issue, about my own issues, and it ’spoke’ to me, in a manner that I hadn’t experienced before - direct and sometimes hurtful, but also providing advice and solutions, not blame only.
It’s easy, indeed, for other people to tell you that you need to eat better and to exercise more, yet how many of these people really tell you what could help so that you can achieve this? If you’re a compulsory eater, how many will offer you solutions to take your mind off the food, instead of just saying that you need to do it, period? If food is a form of comfort for you, how many will help you find other forms of comfort, so that you can finally walk away from this peculiar relationship with food?
The advices and problems exposed in the book are all, in fact, pretty logical - they’re simply presented in a way that has the potential to strike people, rather than sounding like some overdone mantra we only listen to with one ear (at least in my opinion). It may or may not reach everyone, as we don’t all react to the same things; it sure did reach me, and was, in fact, one of the elements that made me ‘click’ and seriously envision a definitive weight loss, stripped from all the blindfolds and various excuses I had indulged myself in.
It’s still helping me now, when I’m feeling like giving in to a chocolate crave or just closing my eyes on what I eat because at times, it can be so much worry. It’s still helping me busting out sabotaging behaviors, or looking at myself and reminding that eating just because I’m bored isn’t something I should do. It still contributes to making me keep in mind that exercising is an important, long-term key, and that I shouldn’t leave it aside just because “I don’t feel like doing anything today”.
Perhaps it won’t bring the exact expected nutrition advice (the ones he gives are pretty good-sounding and logical no matter what, yet I also know that some of us may need an eating plan that is more defined than his). All in all, though, even if the man himself, his other books or his show won’t be an inspiration, this part of his work is certainly worth the read. There’s nothing like someone virtually grabbing us by the shoulders, pointing at the faulty thinking and showing us how we can counteract it.
- Kery
