Why screwing is better than banging (remix)

Picture a block of wood firmly screwed into the wall with a Phillips head screw. More than anything else you want to get that block of wood down.

All these years you’ve been trying and trying with the only tool that you have — a hammer. You try hitting the screw with the head of the hammer and using the other end to prise the wood from the wall, but you have made little progress. You are tired, frustrated and on the verge of tears. This is hard work.

One day, someone gives you a Phillips head screwdriver.

All of a sudden you can easily unscrew the screw and remove the block of wood from the wall.

THE DIET AND EXERCISE HAMMER

All of the messages in books, magazine and the media tell you that the only tool for losing weight and staying lean is diet and exercise. They have given you a hammer. You work tirelessly, with willpower and motivation bordering on superhuman and yet you can’t make your success last. The weight comes off, but it comes back again as soon as you relax your strict discipline and exhausting schedule.

Diet and exercise are the wrong tool for the job.

THE Mindful Eating SCREWDRIVER

The perfect tool for lasting weight loss and a lean, fit, healthy body is self acceptance, taking great care of yourself, and trusting your inner wisdom. This is the Phillips head screwdriver that will effortlessly allow you to accomplish your goals. It still takes work (you are not sitting on your arse wishing the block of wood would magically fall down!) but the work is simple, easy and rewarding.

The only tool that works is loving yourself healthy.

BUT IT COULDN’T POSSIBLY WORK!

I am not surprised that after all this time you view the humble screwdriver with suspicion. Compared to the heavy, solid hammer you are used to using, the screwdriver seem flimsy and insubstantial. Besides, you’ve never known anyone who has used a screwdriver before so you have no point of reference.

Remember that the newness of mindful eating is what makes it so exciting. You have no idea how your body, mind and spirit will respond to this new way of living and the results might amaze you.

You might find the old ‘laws’ of calories in vs. calories out no longer applies, you might discover that you maintain your muscle mass without lifting a single weight in 6 weeks, and you might discover that your days are brighter, fuller and happier without the constant worry of what and when to eat.

THEIR RULES DON’T APPLY

When you do something new, bold, and completely visionary, there will be people who will tell you that it won’t work. They’ll tell you it’s not possible, and they’ll give you reasons why. As you continue in your pursuits, they’ll keep telling you along the way. Many times, the people telling you that you’ll fail will appear to have credibility, and they’ll be very convincing. Don’t believe them. They don’t see the same possibilities and opportunities that you see; therefore their rules don’t apply.

IF ONLY YOU KNEW

I know that it is frightening to give up controlling how you eat and exercise and your greatest fear is that if you eat when you are hungry and eat what you want you will balloon into a huge lump many sizes larger than you are now.

I promise you, it will not happen.

You might spend some time eating all the things on your ‘forbidden’ list and might temporarily gain a small amount of weight, but sooner or later you will settle into an easy relationship with healthy food in just the right amounts. If only you knew how freeing it is to give away the logging, weighing and counting. I wish I could put it in a bottle and let you sample it for a day. You have no idea how wonderful it is…

I’M GIVING YOU A SCREWDRIVER

→ If you have broken free from the starve/binge cycle  and dieting hell please leave a comment of encouragement for those who are just starting their journey.

DID YOU KNOW …

• The Phillips head screwdriver was named after Henry F. Phillips born in 1890 and living through 1958. Henry was a businessman from Portland, Oregon. He was responsible for introducing the crosshead screw design into our homes and businesses around the country. The Phillips head screwdriver was originally patented in 1936 by Henry, but it was so widely copied by other individuals and companies, that by 1949 Phillips lost his patent. ~ Do It Yourself

• Cellular memory gets altered when you are on a diet. Your rate of metabolism drops and the capacity to assimilate food gets reduced. A diet deprives you of nutrition and makes cells starve, which is unhealthy. It is even more risky to go on an eating spree after a period of dieting. Since it alters the cellular memory, assimilation slows down, making it difficult for the body to burn down the excess oil and fat that you consume. These could eventually settle down in the arteries leading to a heart attack, experts warn. ~ the Tsunami Effect