The Healing Spirit Blog | Counseling Services

Ah losing weight… Aren’t we all trying to lose weight for the next event, for the doctor who keeps questioning our recent weight gain or for that little black dress/suit you can’t fit into anymore. Weight loss is big business and a major concern for people of all shapes and sizes. At the beginning of 2017, I too decided that I wanted to lose weight. I lost 40 pounds but as of this year, I am struggling with my journey. It takes a lot of work to stay motivated to work towards your goals and there will be mishaps along the way. But since I’m still on my journey, I wanted to share some tips on how I prepared myself to finally get started and stay consistent with weight loss and eating clean.

1. Learn to love yourself as you are now. I’ve always been overweight and I hated myself because of it. But once I learned to love myself and be confident in who I am as a plus sized woman, I was finally able to take weight loss seriously. You have to love yourself so much that you don’t want anything but the best for you! And that includes dropping those pounds!

2. Set your intentions around why you want to lose weight. I made sure to pick reasons that would still resonate with me even after I lost 10 pounds, 20 pounds and eventually 100 pounds. Make sure it’s something that keeps the fire burning, gets you to the gym, and motivates you to eat that oatmeal for breakfast every morning. One of my biggest motivators is overall health and hope for the future. There’s so much I want to achieve and being overweight can sometimes get in the way. Per my last post, being overweight can also be a contributing factor to developing chronic illness. It’s important to get real with yourself about what will be a consistent and constant motivation for you stay on your weight loss journey. And once you find it, write it on your bathroom mirror, the scale, your phone, or in your journal. Keep it in view at all times!

3. Double and triple check your identified intentions. Are you just losing weight to get back at someone who hurt you? Are you losing weight just to feel and look prettier? These reasons are common for a lot of people but they may not help you to keep the weight off. Think of reasons that are long lasting like getting healthier so you can play with your children, or losing weight so you’re no longer a pre-Diabetic. The more positive and long standing the intention, the easier it will be to revisit at times when things get tough.

4. Make a plan and give yourself a start date. How are you going to lose weight? Will you join a gym? Or will you just be working out outside of the gym? What are the challenges to getting started? Is family not supportive? Take inventory of what you want or need to do to lose weight and make sure you think about what would get in the way of those plans and how to deal with it. Then once you’re al set, pick a date to start where you haven everything prepared and ready. For example, the pantry is stocked with on plan foods to eat, you’ve planned your workout schedule and even alerted friends and family to this new change. Those who plan, plan to succeed.

5. You will mess up and get off track, but don’t give up or beat yourself up. We are human and make mistakes; but the most important thing is not to give up on your journey for a day or even a week worth of binge eating damage. Keep pushing and keep going back to your weight loss plan and revisit your reasons to continue working towards your weight loss goals. Remind yourself after your 2nd piece of cake at that social outing why you started this journey and why you want to continue!

6. If you mess up today, make an immediate plan to get back on track today. It’s easy to turn one binge into a week long thing. It’s ok to eat a burger or have cake for one day. One meal or day will not make you gain back all the weight you’ve lost. Just be prepared to go without that yummy goodness at your next meal by making a plan for that day and tomorrow. We often like to think if we ate off plan today, we will just start again tomorrow, or the next day, or next week. No, this way of thinking is a slippery slope! Getting back on the plan with the next meal does far less damage to your eating plan. For example, if you had McDonald’s for breakfast today, don’t go get more fast food for lunch and dinner. Make your next meal a salad or something that isn’t as unhealthy. When I get off plan I like to meal prep some healthy food that is tasty and satisfying to get me back on track for several days.

7. Seek professional help. When I say this I don’t just mean a trainer. I also mean get in touch with a therapist! Weight loss is very much a psychological thing. You’ll notice how things will shift and change for you as you shed weight, gain weight, or even try to maintain your weight. And sometimes when we miss the mark, failure can be discouraging causing you to feel like your journey is not worth it. Talking to someone who wants to support and understand your journey at heart can be helpful and liberating during your weight loss journey.

This isn’t an exhaustive list of weight loss tips by any means! But these are some of the things I found helpful that others may not be thinking about. Also, it is never too late to start a weight loss journey. Be gentle with yourself! There will be times when you binge on ice cream, skip the gym and drink a whole bottle of wine. But if you keep trying, and get clear with yourself about why you’re doing this you will see results!

Questions, comments, or concerns? Do you have your own tips to share? Looking for some extra support around your weight loss journey? Please reach out to me down below or email me at thehealingspiritcounseling@gmail.com.

At some point in your life, the chances of the average person becoming chronically ill have increased over the last several years. Illnesses like Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, PCOS, Endometriosis, Adenomyoisis, are on the rise. According to the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, by 2025, chronic diseases will affect an estimated 164 million Americans – nearly half (49%) of the population. Each year in my practice, I find there are more and more people between ages 20 and 40 who are being diagnosed with diseases that are chronic and life disrupting. So what can you do when you find yourself in the doctor’s office staring down the diagnosis of a chronic condition that can alter your life as you know it? Let’s look at some tips!

What’s the prognosis?
- Some good questions to ask as a rule or thumbs are: How long will I have to deal with this? How will this affect my quality of life (my life as a student, professional/employee, parent, spouse)? What can I expect as time goes on?
- You want to be an expert on your condition! For much of my experience dealing with Endometriosis and Adenomyosis, knowing as much about both diseases has served me well and helped me to make informed decisions to turn down painful and unnecessary treatments. Although this has garnered animosity from some providers I’ve encountered, the right provider will be open to having a dialogue with you about YOUR treatment.
Know what treatment options are available
- Are holistic options available? New trends or recent research on treatment? You may have to do some of this research on your own. Look for experts in the field of your disease so you can learn as much as possible about the misinformation out there and doctors who may be able to treat your disease with the competency and expertise the regular practitioner may not have.
Know your rights
- Having gotten sick on the job myself, I can’t tell you how much money, peace of mind and court fees I’ve saved myself from by being knowledgeable about my rights as a patient and employee.
- Know that your doctor cannot force you to take any treatment you do not want and you have the right to end your relationship with a doctor when you see fit.
  - You can also file a grievance if you feel you have not been treated fairly or right with the hospital the doctor works at.
  - You can also file a complaint via the medical board as well
  - Know that your employer has to abide by certain state and federal laws when dealing with a sick employee. It is illegal to intimidate or discriminate against an employee who is ill.
    - Look into FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) for your state; each state has FMLA laws and other specific laws for their state (i.e.: New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act)
    - Look into ADA Accommodations as well
    - Read your employee handbook about your rights to have benefits provided by your employer, leave of absence, time and attendance and options to tele commute (or work from home) if you get really sick
    - Learn about COBRA benefits, how much they cost, and when they would apply to you
    - Learn about resignation and how it should be a last resort or as a conscious choice not something that is forced upon you
    - Look into unemployment pay laws in your state
    - Look into social security disability – this is complicated and should only be used if you are severely and permanently limited by your disease

Know the costs
- Will my treatment be covered by my health insurance?
- Are there any agencies that are paying for this type of treatment (i.e.: there are a plethora of places that provide copay assistance, transportation, ect for cancer patients)
- Is there an out of pocket maximum on my insurance and do I know how much it is
  - Once you reach your out of pocket max you no longer have to pay co pays or pay anything else out of pocket. See your individual benefits explanation to see what max limit is. This amount is tracked by your insurance company. You can reach out to them to determine this. Most doctor’s offices won’t tell you this and let you continue to pay out of pocket.

Risk management
- Nothing is more disheartening and scary than getting a huge surprise medical bill. I’ve had plenty of them myself *gasp* and a lot of times these bills were sent in error! Don’t pay a medical bill upfront without inquiring into why you’re receiving the bill first! Even if it goes to collections, most hospitals do not report to the credit bureaus (so your credit won’t be affected) until you know you actually owe the bill and look into it, don’t be so quick to give up your coins!
- Look into getting short term disability insurance (SDI)
  - For conditions like endometriosis, you may qualify for SDI if you have co morbid conditions that limit your ability to work
  - Pro-tip: If you strongly suspect you have endometriosis or fibromyalgia, before you are officially diagnosed, get an SDI policy (from your job during open enrollment or from an outside company like Northwestern Mutual or Combined). You’ll qualify and then you will get paid when you’re out of work for surgery or really bad flares, ect. However, please note, most SDI companies don’t cover pre-existing conditions until 2 years after you have the policy.
- Look into saving money for a rainy day and cutting unnecessary spending
  - Save your money, you never know what can happen. I ended up in the ER in another state at the beginning of 2018 before I met my deductible and I had a huge bill afterwards. If I didn’t have savings I wouldn’t have been able to afford that bill!

Even though I am a therapist, my journey dealing with Endometriosis and Adenomyosis, has been a wild ride. I’ve learned so much and want to make sure I share this info with other women suffering from chronic illness.

*Disclaimer: This information is based on my personal experiences dealing with endo and adeno. Do not hesitate to fact check or do your own research before you take any of the advice or tips listed here. Thank you.

Comment below to share additional tips or thoughts! I look forward to hearing from you! Until the next post! God bless!

Tags: Endometriosis, Adenomyosis, chronic illness, chronic pain, financial wealth management, employment

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Tips for Starting and Staying On A Weight-loss Journey

So You’re Chronically Ill, Now What?

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