Today is all about love — it’s Day 3 of the “Give Back Diet.”  Feeling loved is vitally important in your efforts to change.  I know from experience, I didn’t feel very loved as a child, other than through food.  That was the main way, if not the only way, my family knew how to express love: through chocolate cookies, high fat comfort foods, and especially ice cream! I would eat a lot of them, just to feel loved.  My clients, too, have expressed this phenomenon of love and overweight going hand-in-hand.  One of the primary methods I teach in my book and workshops is to connect with people in ways other than through food or eating, in order to feel love and compassion for others, and to receive it.  That’s a cornerstone of “The Give-Back Diet” too.

Taking good care of yourself, eating in a healthy way, expressing yourself physically and emotionally are excellent ways to honor the love that God has provided for you.  Life is a very precious gift of love that God gives us every day we wake up anew.  Don’t forget to feel that spiritual love on a regular basis through prayer, gratitude and meditations.  We will do one together today.

Today’s Action Plan:

• Please continue the entries in your journal.   Keep noting what you eat, how and what you do for movement and physical activity, and identifying and recording your emotions.  Keep looking for connections between food, activities and your emotions.

• Add a “love page” to your journal.  Write how you feel loved in your life: perhaps the feeling that someone cares, a friend, a spouse, your neighbor, or maybe it’s an old memory of when someone was there for you.  Feel and write about the love you get from God, that feeling of connection when you pray or meditate, or from Church, or in Nature.

• Go for another 10-minute (minimum) walk or stretch.  Today, you might want to consider looking to join with others in re-creation: find a class, such as stretching, yoga, or easy movement at a community recreation center, hospital, or church. Partner with a friend or neighbor for morning or lunchtime walks together.  You might want to post an email or signup for a “weight loss buddy” on a local website, Craigslist, etc.

As you move through your day, here is an easy meditation on love to try.

Find a quiet place, away from busyness, phones and interruptions.  Close the door to your bedroom, or office, or go to a quiet park, or house of worship for 5 minutes.  Close your eyes and take 3 cleansing breaths, holding for 3 seconds at the top of the inhalation, and the bottom of each exhalation.  Now, with eyes still closed, focus on your normal breathing, and quietly say the words in a whisper or silently “I love.”  Breath in, say “I,” breathe out, say “love.”  Do this for a few minutes.

Finally, I want to encourage you to do your best to accept love from God, and from people in your life.  That can be difficult for some folks, but it is worth the effort.

Please post a comment with your experiences, some of your choices for food and re-creation, your feelings, and even the glorious mistakes you’re making along the way.  Give it all back.  Also, please feel free to send some “love” to your fellow program participants: give them some praise, understanding, and some ways that YOU are losing weight, making healthy choices, and enjoying your life.  But please, don’t offer any criticism, judgment, or specific advice.

>>> I’m delighted, and so are all the folks at Beliefnet that you’ve been commenting, and participating in this program.  Please keep it up!  Return here again tomorrow, and feel the love in this great online community.<<<

If this is the first time reading about the give-back diet, don’t worry. You can start today.