Should We Diet in Order to Keep Fit?
How Does It Feel to Lose Weight?
Here is a conversation between a heart specialist and a heart patient.
Vic： Ive been feeling very lonely. I cant explain it, Im in a crowd but I feel lonely. And so today, .I tried to get in touch with it . The loneliness and sadness are there because several things are going on. One, I dont like my body. Two, I am very angry with my body for having heart disease. Dean： Do you want to do an imagery exercisel?
Vic： Yes. Dean： Okay, Please close your eyes and put yourself in a meditative state. If at any time you feel like this is not something you want to do, I11 rely on you to tell me that. Begin by visualizing your body. What kind of image do you get?
Vic： Just mounds of flesh. A wall of fat. Dean： Imagine that your body has a voice of its own. Tell it hello. Ask it to just say hello to you, just to identify itself. Does it?
Vic： [pause] it says hello back. Im amazedl Its voice is different from mine. Dean： Ask it if it has a name. Vic： It says, Fat .Dean： Ask Fat what is its purpose in your life. Vic： [pause] It says, To give me support. To shield me. To protect me.Dean： Ask it what it is shielding you from. Vic： It says, From everyone. Im your best friend.Dean： In what way is it your friend?
Vic： It says, Ive been protecting you.Dean： Ask it what it has been protecting you from. Vic： It says, You dont have to do a lot of things because youre fat. Dean： Ask it if its protecting you from anything else?
Vic： [pause] Yes, it says its been protecting me from my feelings. Dean： Okay-ask it if its protecting you from any feelings in particular. Vic： [pause] It says, From loneliness.Dean： When it says that, do any other images or feelings come to your awareness?
Vic： Somehow I remember getting fat when I was seven. I see myself going into a room feeling like I was all right, and finding out I was not all right . So my life has been about justification. Justification about being all right. Being accepted. So I used food as a friend. My fat says it protects me from feeling bad. I have a lot of resistance to change. I have a lot invested in this fat. And to give it up is like giving up a friend. Its been a barrier but its also a friend. Its a friend that gets in the way sometimes, but it also serves me really well. But my size limits me in what I want to do now. Dean： Stay with those feelings now. Ask Fat what it needs from you now. Vic： [pause] It says that it needs to be told its all right the way it is. Dean： Maybe you could start by thanking it for shielding, protecting you from loneliness all these years. Vic： [pause] All right. Dean： Does the wall say anything in reply?
Vic： It agrees. It says, Its about time.Dean： Good. Now ask if it would be willing to open up, to stop shielding you all the time. If you could find a different way to shield yourself when you need it-one that is easier to open and close. Vic： A replacement-is that what you are saying?
Dean Yes. Something that you could use to shield yourself when you need it, but isn t there all the time when you want to open up. See what it says. Vic： [pause] It says, Yes.Dean： Ask it what you need to do f or it to begin opening up. Vic： [pause] To get massaged. To be, perhaps, more vulnerable. To allow myself to be touched. Dean： What images or feelings come to mind of your body in that way?
Vic： Id feel freer. Dean： How would you look? Ask Fat, the one that protects you and shields you, if it would give you a different image of your body. How your body would look if you were more open and less shielded all the time. Vic： Okay. Dean： What does it say?
Vic： [pause] If Im willing, its willing. Dean： Good . W hat image do you see? You can always go back to the fat image if you need it. Vic： I see a thinner body. Dean： What does it look like?
Vic： It looks thinner. But it looks disfigured The fat is very disfigured. Dean： How so?
Vic： Its full of stretch marks. Saggy skin. Dean： Okay. What does that body have to say?
Vic： [pause] To try and attain it anyway. To try to achieve it. That its okay to have a thinner body that s not perfect. Dean： Do any other images or feelings come to your awareness?
Vic： I feel uncomfortable and sad