The Counterintuitive Weight Loss Decision That Helped Me Lose 40 lbs—And Gain My Life Back
Ten years ago, I was at my highest weight—and at rock bottom with food.
🥗 I’d spend my days sipping green smoothies and picking at tuna salads, trying to be “good” with all my eating choices.
But at night?
I’d faceplant into crackers, chips, cereal, chocolate, and peanut butter—making up for every bite I denied myself earlier… and then some.
No matter what I tried, I’d keep “falling off the wagon,” and the scale would inevitably keep going up.
But one day, I made a counterintuitive decision.
And as a result of this decision, I pretty effortlessly lost the 40 lbs I once had to fight so hard to lose.
I’ve shared the details of this counterintuitive decision with many women who, like me, have struggled a long time with their weight and food.
There is always a wave of relief and empowerment that floods through the room when I do.
I know this decision has massive potential to help you, too.
So let’s get into it. 😉
“I’ll finally be happy once I lose weight.”
Have you had this thought before?
(Maybe you’re thinking: “Yep, just about every day of my life.”)
This was the thought that once ran through my mind every single day.
🚦I was barely in my 20s with my whole life ahead of me, but I felt like I was stuck in limbo, waiting for the magical number on the scale to give me the green light that my real life could begin.
This waiting had real consequences.
🛑 It made me put off taking action on my dream of living in New York City.
🛑 It meant I avoided going on dates because I didn’t feel like I was “attractive” enough for guys to be interested in me.
🛑 It even convinced me to avoid seeing my friends because I hated how I looked and didn’t want people to perceive my body in its “work-in-progress” state.
I kept telling myself:
"Once I lose the weight, then I’ll do all those things."
I dangled fun, adventure, and romance in front of myself as a reward, thinking I’d finally “deserve” them once I reached my goal weight.
But there was one big problem with this plan…
The Common Weight Loss Trap That Kept Me Stuck
Living in a constant state of waiting felt miserable.
It was lonely.
Boring.
Deeply dissatisfying.
And all of that?
Made me want food even more.
To the point that no matter how “perfectly” I followed my diet plan all day, the dullness and deprivation would catch up with me when I was alone in the kitchen at night.
Then, I’d wake up the next morning, full of food and guilt, and try to "fix" it by eating even less the next day….
Which only made the cycle continue. 🫠
One day, while Googling trendy weight loss solutions (as usual), I stumbled upon a blog article that was very different than what I was used to reading.
It described my exact experience in a way I had never seen before:
The trap of “waiting on the weight loss.”
It was the first time I saw someone describe, in writing, this cycle that women suffer through while trying to lose weight:
➡️ We put life on hold until the scale gives us ‘permission.’
➡️ We feel unfulfilled, disconnected, and stuck.
➡️ We turn to food to numb the emptiness—then hate ourselves for it (and for the weight gain that ensues).
➡️ We double down on dieting, making life even smaller and more miserable.
➡️ We repeat the cycle. Again.
I finally saw it:
Waiting on weight loss was weighing me down, in every way.
The Decision That Helped Me Lose the Weight Struggle
I decided to go after all the things I thought I’d be, do, and have after I lost the weight…
…and start pursuing them now.
(Regardless of the fact that I was at my heaviest weight ever at the time.)
I decided to stop waiting on the weight loss and take action on the needs and desires I’d been denying myself for so long.
Here are some of the things I did:
🧦 I signed up for a knitting class.
I know… not the most wild, sexy hobby to take up.
But let me tell you, signing up for this class where I learned how to knit socks was the first thing I did just for fun in years.
It was 90 minutes every week where I wasn’t thinking about food any more because I was so engrossed in learning, crafting, and conversing with the other women.
And when I got home, I no longer felt the urge to poke around my snack cabinet.
This class started satisfying a part of me that had long gone unfulfilled.
💃 I went out dancing with friends.
The next time my girlfriends invited me to go out?
I said, hell yes.
🪩 I even bought sparkly body makeup and new accessories.
(Say goodbye to hiding and hello to the spotlight!)
I decided that if I expected to enjoy life in my body when I lost the weight, I may as well start “practising” for that future now.
💋 I started dating.
That first night out?
I connected with a guy I met through mutual friends, and we went on a few dates.
While that particular dalliance didn’t work out, it opened me up to make space for a little romance.
Within 6 months of being open to the dating world, I had met the man would would become my husband.
💰 I tripled my income.
At the time, I was self-employed as a piano teacher with a handful of students.
I didn’t even consider that business growth would be a result of me no longer “waiting on the weight,” but it’s what happened.
I believe that clearing the obsession with weight loss out left me more energetically available to grow my business and make more money.
(In fact, I’ve seen a direct correlation between my clients stopping “waiting on the weight” and getting a financial payout. 🤑 More on this in a future blog post!)
🗽 I fulfilled my New York dreams.
With my new conviction to live the most fulfilling life possible, I decided to reach out to a few professors to advise me about applying for creative writing programs in New York.
Taking action on this dream is one of the things I’m most proud of in my whole life.
It led me to a (surprisingly spacious!) apartment in Williamsburg and two dreamy years of learning and writing in the city that never sleeps.
🤯 And yes… I lost 40 lbs without trying.
What I want to be clear about is that in all this time, I completely abandoned the past strategies I had used to try to lose weight.
❌ I wasn’t restricting any foods.
❌ I wasn’t counting calories.
In fact, I had never had more freedom with food.
I was learning to listen to my body, take pleasure in my meals, and eat in a way that satisfied me.
As months went by, my jeans continued to get looser… until I had to buy some new pairs.
I want to be really clear about how this happened—because it certainly was not by prioritizing weight loss.
The simple but powerful truth is:
When my life was more satisfying, I no longer felt the urge to turn to food as my one source of satisfaction.
And I believe this is the piece so many women are missing that would change everything about their relationship with food.
Are You Still Waiting on the Weight Loss?
If you’re waiting on weight loss before you…
❤️🔥 Put yourself out there in the dating world—or spice up your current relationship
👩🏻💻 Take the next step in your career
✈️ Say yes to more travel and adventure
💃 Let yourself feel sexy, dress up, and enjoy your body NOW
🎨 Explore the hobbies and activities you’ve been curious about
…you might be waiting forever.
But if you stop waiting and start living NOW?
You’ll finally feel full—in a way food alone never could make you.
If this post resonated with you or want to know more about The Delicious Life coaching program, where I guide amazing women like you through the exact shifts, steps, and support to create true satisfaction and success with food and beyond…
📲 DM me the word “delicious” on Instagram.
💌 Or send me an email.
I can’t wait to connect with you!
