Today I am going to talk about the fifth and final principle of BODY FREEDOM. This is the final step you need in order to move from weight loss fatigue, feeling stuck in your body, and stuck in your mindset with sabotaging behaviors with food, to BODY FREEDOM, where you’re comfortable in your body, it is second nature to eat well . and you have self-mastery over your choices around food including choices to enjoy occasional indulgences.  The whole challenge of weight and food issues are behind you. This is BODY FREEDOM. I encourage you to visit my recent posts if you haven’t already to learn more about the first four principles discussed already, which include:

• The first principle: HAVING A PLAN. You want to develop a plan that works for you, to provide structure, clarity and direction. 
• The second principle: Your “WHY” You need to determine why you want to lose weight and be healthier. The “why” comes from a deep, value-driven motivation. 
• The third principle: Develop ROUTINES INTO HABITS. You need to develop healthy habits so that you can both lose weight and successfully keep the weight off.
• The fourth principle: COURSE CORRECTION. This involves developing strategies to get back on track if you’ve experienced a setback in your weight loss journey.

The Fifth Principle: FLEXIBILITY

Today we’ll discuss the fifth and final principle: FLEXIBILITY. I had a client many years ago tell me: “Dr. Sher, I can do deprivation really well, but I can’t do moderation.” Well, ultimately, people want a lifestyle where they Can maintain  their weight,  they choose to eat well because  they are motivated to feel better and be healthier. They can also enjoy indulgences within reason and not worry about that leading to uncontrolled weight gain. 

We don’t want you to be obsessing about food and weight. Sometimes, things will happen; your weight might go up a bit from time to time , but you know exactly what to do  to course correct and bring it back down with ease. You don’t feel like you are consistently following a strict plan, and you get to the point of flexibility, or being in the flow. You are liberated completely from this consuming mental and emotional focus on your weight and food. 

What Does FLEXIBILITY Look Like?

FLEXIBILITY is reaching a point after losing weight where you don’t feel so rigid and restricted, otherwise you can never truly achieve freedom in your body. I had one client years ago who prior to working with me had  successfully lost weight many times but always gained it back. hile working with me, she lost nearly 70 pounds. But, after losing this weight, she was still terrified in the maintenance phase; she feared that any little indulgence would undo all of her hard work, as had happened to her in the past.

I worked very closely with her during the maintenance phase, to help her reach a confident mindset, establish maintenance routines,  practise doing course corrections when necessary so that she was able to apply the final principle of flexibility. The strategies we used, including intermittent fasting and working on the right mindset, build up her confidence to where she understood she could occasionally have a dessert without everything falling apart. It’s important to realize that you are in control, and you are keeping things in check, including occasional indulgences. Control is not about perfection it is about empowered choice.  I like to teach the 80/20 rule: at least 80% of the time, you are following healthy eating habits because you want to, and giving yourself permission 20% of the time  for  pleasurable indulgences .

FLEXIBILITY means you can have these , occasional indulgences  and you can enjoy them without guilt, without fear or anxiety knowing that  you can get right back on track with your regular healthy eating. You are choosing when and what you eat while staying true to your overall desired outcome to take care of your body.  

Applying all Five Principles
This is where it becomes very important to remember that all of the principles I’ve been discussing apply not only to losing weight, but maintaining weight as well. Following the principles allows you to reach the point of FLEXIBILITY, where you can choose to allow yourself those occasional indulgences which are part of BODY FREEDOM.  If you do it by choice then, you know how to make your COURSE CORRECTIONS, and everything will work out. Ultimately, this is what I work towards with my clients. I don’t want them experiencing just a short term weight loss; I want to  set them up for long-term success and easy empowered maintenance, including emotional and physical BODY FREEDOM. They feel great in their body, they love how they look, and they’re liberated from this albatross that has been around their neck for so long. This is what I wish for you, and all my clients. 

Start Your Journey Towards BODY FREEDOM!
Perhaps after reading about these five principles, you’ve reflected on your own past experiences when you have tried to lose weight and struggled or gained it back again, and  recognized  which principles were  missing from your journey. All five principles really are key aspects for achieving body freedom. If you’ve been struggling in the area of weight loss, and you truly want to reach the point of BODY FREEDOM so you can feel great in your body, have an empowered mindset and have optimal health and well being while enjoying a lifestyle that allows for flexibility then I encourage you to reach out to me.

1. You can book a complimentary call, and discuss your challenges, and obstacles, and together we can determine if my program is right for you.
2. You can also go to my Facebook page, @DrSherBovay, where you can find and join my Private Facebook group, The FastLane Mind Body Reset Mastery Group. Here, I host Facebook lives and frequent posts where you can engage and learn more. 

If you’ve found my recent posts on weight loss and BODY FREEDOM relevant to your own challenges, then I encourage you to reach out to me in one of the ways above. Let’s work together to get you on the path towards body freedom, where you can love your body, enjoy your lifestyle, and feel permanently free from the struggles of weight loss. BODY FREEDOM will free up more of your valuable mental time and energy  so you can dedicate it to more fulfilling and exciting areas of your life. I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, we’re coming into January now so we can all (finally) say goodbye to 2020.

So here’s to 2021, let’s make it a great year.