I had a conversation with a client this week. The first time we had met, her name was Jenny*, she was really struggling. She sat in tears in my office while she recounted the journey of losing and gaining well in excess of 50 kilograms in her lifetime. She had tried everything, been to so many diet clinics, could recall the calorie value of every food item and could tell me in detail the exact weight of every food she put in her mouth. She had read every diet book out there and had an incredible depth of knowledge on nutrition. I sat and listened to her story of desperation for quite some time, acknowledged her difficulties and quietly asked what she felt she needed from me to help her on her journey. Her response was I need you to tell me what to eat to help me to lose weight, that’s why I am here. I paused for a moment and said to her do you mind if I ask you a question before we move on any further.
“Jenny, how do you like your eggs cooked?”
She looked at me like I had grown two heads. There was a delayed silence, she then lifted her head and replied:
“I know that poached eggs have the lowest fat so that would be my choice”
“Which type of eggs would excite your taste buds the most? Give your mouth the pleasure that you deserve?” I replied. She left my clinic that morning not with more diet rules to follow, more calorie counting and restrictions to put in place but to ponder the question ‘how to I like my eggs cooked?’
For Jenny this was the start of a long journey to regain trust in her body, trust in the innate wisdom that we all have within us that if we listen, tells us exactly what our body needs at any time.
*Not her real name
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