June 2016 | Page 111

Weight Loss WHY IT’S NEVER JUST ABOUT THE POUNDS by Vanessa Chamberlin O ne of the things that I often hear from clients is that they’d like to lose weight. They know that they are carrying some extra pounds and think that a plant-based diet will help them drop those pounds. On the surface, they think if they lose weight, they’ll look better, and if they look better, they’ll love themselves. It’s never just about the pounds. What I see with clients every day is that weight gain is never the sole cause of unhappiness. It might not be helping you to feel good, but it’s almost always a symptom of other problems. For some, it’s because they don’t think they deserve to be pretty. For others, it’s because they are trying to fill a void left by an absent parent, a loss early in life, or are punishing themselves for mistakes they’ve made, sometimes even decades ago. Many people are trying to live up to impossible standards and pressure from the outside world, and are so stressed that they don’t know how to make time for self-care. As I talk to people and eydismedia.com 111