When I work with people who are unhappy with their weight, sooner or later I get around to recommending a little book that I first discovered back in 2008.
The title of this book by Sondra Ray is 'The Only Diet There Is'.
It was first printed back in 1981, right around when I was at the height of my dieting 'career'.
At my 'fattest' in my late teens/early 20s, I weighed about 10 kg (22 lbs) more than I do now... not much, but, enough to have me loathe my body and how I looked and felt in my clothes.
So, naturally I, along with all my female friends, was on the dieting bandwagon. I remember nearly fainting from low blood sugar, surviving (barely) on 800 calories a day. And since then the thought of dry toast, half a grapefruit (no sugar) and black coffee gives me the chills. (Thank you Dr. Scarsdale.) Diets of deprivation, scarcity and self-punishment.
Dieting didn't work for me, made me feel awful (and awful about myself) and ultimately only helped to keep the weight on.
So why turn to (and tell others about) yet another book with 'diet' in the title?
Because 'The Only Diet There Is' is a diet from negative thinking and a diet of forgiveness and love.
Oof, here I go again, singing the same tune of self-love and self-acceptance (so neatly encapsulated in the EFT set-up phrase, 'Even though I..., I love and accept myself completely.')
Here's the thing, you've (we've) tried all the other ways:
- Berating yourself
- Punishing yourself
- Being down on yourself
- Making yourself wrong
- 'Shoulding' on yourself
So many of us were brought up with the message that we have to be hard on ourselves to keep going and succeed. Motivated by misery. And yes, it works to an extent. But OMG it feels horrible, and I would suggest, is not a long-term solution.
If you're wondering 'Yes, but how do I do this?' here are 3 suggestions for you.
1. I would definitely take a look at Sondra Ray's book. It's still available on Amazon and presumably other places too.
2. There's also a great audio on YouTube by Louise Hay entitled How to Love Yourself. She suggests about 33 ways to love yourself more, including 'stop criticizing yourself' and 'stop scaring yourself with future predictions.'
3. And finally, check out my blog (from 2015) called No Diets Allowed. This is pretty much my eating philosophy from when I lost the above weight (in my mid-20s) to now. Disclaimer: I truly believe we each have to find what works for each one of us (for example, I eat only fruit every morning, but that doesn't suit everyone.)
Let me know how you get on! 
BTW, this self-love stuff works for weight loss! My client has lost over 2 stone since we started working together last November.
Want to know what it could do for you? Schedule a Discovery Call and let's talk.