Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/1515290
Page 10 | Abby's Magazine | instagram.com/abbyshealthfood The holidays are behind us, the new year is beginning, and we are all thinking about putting the overeating behind us and start fresh! First and foremost, let's recognize that as a social whole, we are severely disillusioned about body image. As active participants in modern society, we are continuously bombarded by marketing campaigns, and witness and/or engage in social media interactions that give us a false sense of reality and lead us to believe that "we are not enough." This type of social and marketing fodder leads many of us to seek short-term solutions to weight-loss that are not only unsustainable but are often detrimental to our long-term health. TAKE BACK YOUR POWER If we rely on marketing campaigns to educate us on health, we often end up trying Fad Diet #1, followed by Fad Diet #2, while taking Magic Pill #3, and #4. When this combination doesn't work, we try the next Fad Diet, and the next "Magic Pill," and on-and- on it goes. What's the missing link here? The missing link for many is that we have unsuspectingly handed over our rational thinking minds to the opinions of others when it comes to body image and weight management. As a result, we fail to seek the root cause of our weight management issues and settle for short-term superficial solutions. BEYOND CALORIE COUNTING While most of us think critically about our finances, many of us tend to accept without question that weight management is purely a matter of "calories-in and calories-out." There exists the belief that if we properly manage the math of this topic, we will magically manifest our ideal silhouette. Well, surprise! It's not that simple. While food selection is an important aspect of health and weight management, it is certainly not the full story. The major "Elephant in the Room" when it comes to the topic of weight-loss involves the Mental/Emotional aspect of being Human. THE BIGGEST UNTURNED STONE IN THE WORLD OF WEIGHT-MANAGEMENT –THE MIND Our daily exposures to marketing campaigns and social media often contribute to chronic feelings of inadequacy. Feelings of inadequacy invariably give way to copious amounts of negative self-talk which in turn influences the way we perceive and interact with the world around us—including all of the health impacting decisions we make on a daily basis. When we are not happy and stuck in self-blame, we tend to treat ourselves with disrespect and in some cases, with a vengeance. A negative perspective of one's self-image not only causes you to be your own worst enemy, but energetically it leaves you feeling depleted, unmotivated, and full of blame and excuses. This is certainly not the place from which any successful endeavor can originate, especially one aimed at achieving your ideal body-shape. AN APPEAL TO HUMAN NATURE The first way out of this debacle is to recognize that you are innocent by your very Nature. Like most of us the way you arrived at your current state of body and mind is because you—like the rest of humanity—have been pursuing what you think will bring you happiness—this being the most fundamental of human pursuits. Whether it be a lavish vacation at an "all-you-can" resort or eating a box of ice cream sandwiches while binge watching Netflix—the bottom line is—our end goal as human beings is "happiness." That happiness is temporary and unfortunately, when the path to true happiness is not abundantly clear, or if the path seems too difficult to traverse, we often resort to meddling with our body-chemistry and using foods, alcohol, and drugs as a means of obtaining immediate, but short-term happiness at the expense of our health. 6 Safe Weight Management Considerations You Need to Know By Irwin Naturals