Anyone who says that losing weight is quick and easy is selling something. I mean literally selling something.

I’ve spent most of my life on the diet merry-go-round. Always searching for the magic pill, liquid, formula, answer to my never ending quest to be thin enough to feel as if I matter.

My journey with food has been a tumultuous one. For years it would fall under “It’s Complicated” on Facebook. Now I can tick off “In a Relationship” in the little box and be good with it.

My Instagram is full of photos of dinner plates filled with colorful, juicy, healthy bites of goodness. Now that we get along, my body is responding in healthy ways like never before. I’m no longer trying to feed my soul with the food meant for my body. Once I began feeding my soul and retraining my mind, the habits were easier to change.

This has been a deliberate and slow process but every step is a move forward. I started by cutting out sugar and simple carbohydrates. I made more subtle changes to suit my own body and gauged it according to my own needs. Some changes were fast, others are still happening.

The beauty is in the gentleness it has brought to my life in every way. Although you can see the changes in the photos, it’s the changes you can’t see that is carrying calm throughout my days. The journey started inside with confidence in who God has made me to be.

You can’t package this. It will never be part of a marketing campaign that promises to change your life with a “pink drink” or “energy drink”. If it does take extra money, it’s investing in better, more healthy food that will give you energy by replacing what we’ve passed off as food for so long.

Everywhere I look, someone is pushing their program with it’s packets and pills to vulnerable souls who feel desperate to lose weight. A friend of mine was approached at the DMV by a stranger who asked her to join their fun “weight loss group”. She didn’t but it turned out to be a sales meeting for distributors.

There is a catch, along with high priced magic potions. They suggest you cut out certain foods in exchange for clean eating. It seems these miracle products take effort as well as a hefty pocket book. Perhaps if their clients tried the eating plan without investing, they’d find the courage to become healthy and keep their money. Like me, they feel as if they have tried everything and the stakes get higher every time.

Eating well for better health will never have large advertising budget. I don’t know anyone who taking this same path that is plastering social media with their weight loss stats and offering to tell you their plan. There aren’t any stylish graphics or catchy phrases. There are no ploys to lure you in or get you on our team.

All I have is the story of my process. No before and after photos, only during.

Close to two years ago, blood test results shouted clearly that things has to change. I distinctly remember thinking, “I don’t need to go fast, I need to go forward”. Just navigating this new place was enough of a challenge. Doing it in 24 days wasn’t going to cut it when this struggle has been going on for thirty five years. I asked questions from a friend whose body needs were different but her commitment to healthy living was obvious. She has been patient with my questions and has never needed to judge me because she has asked for nothing in return. In other words, she wasn’t selling me anything.

Here is my challenge to you. Be gentle with the creation that is your body. Educate yourself on what it needs to be healthy, not what it needs to look like. Learn to eat high quality, unprocessed food that nourishes you in every way. Commit yourself to healthy living, not to a company or a product that’s claims seem too good to be true. If you want support, find someone who is willing to hold your hand without strings to your purse.

I’ve been asked, “What is your secret?”. There isn’t one and that may just be the best part.