Tag Archive for: Paul McKenna

They Don’t Believe Me!

I watched TLC a few weeks back after I saw the preview for Paul McKenna’s show: I Can Make You Thin! I normally would have written the show off because it made such outlandish claims, but since The Learning Channel was featuring the show, I decided to remain open-minded about it, and watch it. After all this wasn’t QVC, this was the learning channel. I am so glad I did.

For me the show was a light-bulb moment. It made sense. The reason I had gained some 20 pounds in the past decade and a half was simple: I was eating unconsciously. I wasn’t paying attention to what I was eating. Instead of eating with my stomach, I was eating with my eyes. I was eating while stressed and worried about what I had to do next, instead of focusing on how I was feeling when I was eating. There is no doubt about it for me.

Read moreI had no understanding of what hungry and full meant anymore. I was on a repetitive cycle of starving myself, and then gorging to ease the hunger pains. I had lost control as sad as it is to write, and every year, I’d pack on a more pounds.

On Easter Sunday, I sat down for brunch and decided to apply McKenna’s 4 Golden Rules. I was nervous and excited, but I was in for more of a surprise than I realized!

It was like I had been eating in black and white for years, and now that I was eating slowly, savoring every bite, focusing solely on the experience, suddenly my food experience was colorful. It was vibrant and alive!! It was tastier than I ever remembered. Food was satisfying, fulfilling, way more enjoyable, and with that, I had control!

At Easter brunch with family members feasting on the delights all around me, I confidently ate about 40% of what I normally did, and I was happy. I was content. I didn’t have a secret urge to grab another piece of cheesecake and devour it!

That’s amazing.

Yet the rules were so logical, so simple, and so basic. How could I have messed this up?

It was depressing to think that I had ignored my own sense of eating “intuitively”. I was intuitive in every other area of my life except eating. With eating, I had lost myself. While I was sad about it, I decided there was nothing I could do about the water under the bridge, so I decided to refocus on my new found success. I believe I will now be a skinny person. I really do!

When I believe something, I tell people about it. Perfect strangers. I chat, I talk, and I share the joy (when I feel it is appropriate), and in doing so, I can tell you I got priceless looks from people afterwards.

You’d think I was selling the Brooklyn Bridge.

“You can eat whenever you are hungry,” I say. “You can eat whatever you want!! You just stop when you are full, and oh, eat consciously. It’s amaaaazing,” I’d say with incredible enthusiasm. “Check out Paul’s website. It tells you all you need to know!”

No one believe me.

No one.

They’d listen me out, never ask a question and they’d give me that polite, fake smile. I could feel they wanted to me to shut up and go away–the sooner the better.

As I turned my back to walk away, I could feel ridicule follow behind me.

I had never felt such resistance before, so clearly flopping back in my face. I usually get people to open up to me. Not this time. I hit a brick wall. Head on.

I think I could have sold leaded weights to secretaries easier than I can sell this to strangers. Day-after-day of sharing my enthusiasms, each encounter, I walked away knowing I made the person looking at me think I was delusional.

I then read blogs to see what people are saying, and sure enough, there is a handful of skeptics after watching the show, too. They can’t believe it is that easy, and they are going back to weight-watchers!!

Can you believe it? I can’t.

It’s like if it isn’t complicated, people won’t buy it. Thankfully, Paul managed to get through to people. As he said, what do you have to lose by trying it? Perhaps a few pounds?! Why not give it a try?

I believe Paul McKenna is on to something with his 4 Golden Rules. I think he is truly sharing with everyone who is disconnected from food something that can be life-changing.

It’s just no one believes me when I tell them 🙁