Please Keep Trying!

I get asked repeatedly how I did what I’ve done. I tell them, I eat like a traditional Japanese woman. Meaning I eat veggies, tofu and fish with very little dairy and eggs and absolutely no meat from mammals or poultry. There. No need to write a book now, right?

Even after I give people this info, they still want to know more: “Is that it? Isn’t there anything else?” Uh, yeah, it involved me taking responsibility for my actions and owning my habits. It was a re-education. It was me starting to walk 15, 20, 30, 60 minutes a day. It was tossing out the ho-ho’s and baloney.

Is that it? No, no noooooo. Then I tell people, OK, let’s get esoteric: I believe everything happens for a reason. I believe I became fat in order to develop into who I am today. My lard was my cocoon, and my present self is a reflection of the hard work I had to do in my head in terms of acceptance and growth.

This is the point people’s eyes gloss over and I know I’ve lost them. Any time I mention “self-work” or “acceptance” or “it starts in your head and your soul”, the people so desperate to know my “secret” have tuned out. All they heard was: “Japanese food=me get skinny“.

This makes me frustrated, angry and sad. So sad. There’s a saying: “When the student is ready, the master will appear.” The master in this case is a person’s desire and determination to truly change, no matter how painful the process. When the master finally makes his/ her appearance, you know you’re ready for change. The book I plan on writing is about the arrival of my master and how I’m still following him to this day.

Anyone still waiting for their Sensei to make an appearance?