Maintain a Sense of Compassion for Yourself
According to Dr. Lorne Ladner (author, The Lost Art of Compassion), “Craving is a state of mind, and it can be dealt with only through understanding and training the mind itself. When you gain insights about yourself through contemplation, your [sabotaging] defenses can turn around and also cause you to forget those insights or to put off applying them in your life. . …Subtle suffering accompanies desire-driven living. What’s needed in such times is a profound sense of compassion for yourself. Such compassion can keep you from turning your awareness away from the truth and can give you the energy required to break old habits, renouncing the deluded cravings in your heart that causes your suffering.”
Indeed this is true. Allowing yourself to stay in touch with your negative feelings around your weight struggle, while maintaining a sense of compassion for yourself, is a great combination that will keep you motivated for change. When you experience a series of successes in squashing the urges coming from the midbrain, you will feel a profound relief at getting some control back, and feel an eagerness to continue with your long-range goals.