As a person with a long history of dieting and failing, I can tell you that diets don't work. The reason is simple. They don't consider the fact that we are human beings with complex needs and desires, as well as an inner wisdom that can guide us to know what we really need.

The Holistic Approach to Eating includes the whole person - with physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs. Its unique value is that it creates lasting results, because it gives you an opportunity to meet all of your needs in an appropriate way. After over 20 years of dieting, I was finally able to achieve and maintain my ideal weight permanently using this approach.

It's interesting to ask people with weight problems why they eat. There are usually a lot of reasons and hunger is generally towards the bottom of the list. Holistically, this is seen as an imbalance, where they are trying to fill emotional, mental and even spiritual needs with food, often torturing the body as a result.

If you have a problem with weight and can see that this is true for you, the following tips can provide a way for you to begin to sort this out and bring yourself into balance. You can learn more about what your needs are and find appropriate ways to fill them, so that you will only be trying to fill the needs of your body with food.

1. Love and nurture yourself regardless of what you weigh.

2. Connect with your body's inner wisdom.

3. Eat when you are hungry and stop before you feel too full.

4. Don't eat when you are not hungry.

5. Get to know your reasons for eating.

6. Eliminate self-judgment and the possibility of failure.

7. Eat what you want to eat.

8. Do not sneak food.

9. Don't use your scale to "weigh" your success.

10. Don't let other people control what you eat.

In addition, some people may actually want you to stay heavy. For example, a person who comes from a family of people who are generally overweight may find that the family members want him or her to stay heavy to maintain a sense of belonging.

Or a husband may want his wife to stay heavy to keep other men away from her. It can be helpful to imagine how you would feel with the people you care about if you achieved your ideal weight and to understand how this influences your eating habits.

This holistic approach also builds in future success. This approach has worked well for others and is the basis for my book and weight-loss program called "The Holistic Approach to Eating " ( http://www.gettingthru.org/diet.htm )

We all know that life continues to bring new challenges. When this happens, you may temporarily lose your balance and begin to gain weight. But you also know that you will have the tools you need to deal with it. By re-examining your needs and finding appropriate ways to fill them, you can quickly bring yourself back into balance and maintain your ideal weight for life.

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