One of the most frequently asked questions am asked is, if I tell people to quit eating meat or dairy or some other food. The fact is, I don’t take any long term decisions for my clients. However, I do invite them to try quitting certain foods for a brief period just for the feel of it. I’ve a lot of dairy and meat loving clients that come to me. Most have complaints about stubborn body weight problems, irregular periods, acne, irregular bowel movement and so on. We have our customary on-boarding chat that goes something like this –
Them: “Girija, it’s just soo baffling to me how this weight thing is one problem that I can’t seem to handle ya. It feels like such a basic thing .. it’s food and exercise after all, but I don’t know what it is … it’s just – !”
Me: “I totally get it! You handle such big projects for your clients and accomplish such amazing stuff at your work, and all you do for the community, plus run the house .. but we all have one such thing where we feel perplexed .. just puzzled how nothing seems to work”
Them: “You really feel this weight thing can be dealt with?”
Me: ” I do feel like you have a fair chance .. are you open to taking guidance as part of working with me?
Them: “Of course .. but give me an example”
Me: “Like, if I said please give up so and so food for a period of say – 10 days, would you be offended?”
Them: “LOL, I wouldn’t be offended .. but I love curd .. I mean I REALLY LOVE curd! And wait, I LOVE sea food, grilled chicken .. I REALLY REALLY LOVE meat”
Me: “LOL, It’s absolutely fine to love it all .. no need to stop loving it. But what if you just had to not eat it for a brief period of time?”
Them: “Ah, if I assume it’s pooja time, it’ll be possible. No problem!”
This was exactly a month ago. In just four short weeks Mayura has lost over 10 pounds of weight and has completely turned around her way of eating. And above all else, she is HAVING FUN doing it. Yesterday, she sent me pictures of how she and a friend went out for pizza – she just asked for a pizza minus the cheese and had it made with hummus instead PLUS plenty of colorful veggies. And for dessert she had mango compote with chocolate.
She saw it first hand how, quitting dairy and meat not only did not feel as tough but it has greatly added to her sense of self-esteem. She now has a reference for both scenarios – how the body feels with and without dairy and meat. She is better equipped than ever before, to decide which way she wants to go. The secret was in having the openness to giving up some food she liked, just for the experience of it. Developing that mindset is really the first step.
Truly empowering, isn’t it! It is a series of tiny actions of responsibility like the ones Mayura has taken, that make a person feel good when they look in the mirror.
I am immensely proud of you Mayu! She is a CEO and her multiple-award winning organization is doing some phenomenally good work in the area of craft – preservation and creating livelihoods.
As always, a reminder to say – this post is a very generous share to inspire anyone that may identify with this story. These are not typical results and no big promises are being made via this post. Mayura is a real person, as am I and she has worked very very hard for what she has got and continues to do so.
Amazing Mayura 👏👏👏 Good luck for days ahead!