My name is Shelly and my birthday is 05/23/59. I live in Minnesota, United States. I need to lose weight. A lot of it. I have been trying to start and can’t get started. Why? Will I succeed at doing this? I need to lose it by August.
You need a buddy—or at least someone that you can touch base with on a regular basis. You were born under the zodiac sign of Gemini and Geminis are most successful when they do things in pairs (or even small groups).
You also need a game plan with very specific targets set up throughout the day. You can’t be detailed enough when your Ruling Planet is Mercury. That’s because Mercury is the planet of the mind and communication as well as the planet of guides. In other words Mercury rules maps, how-to books, daily agendas, and to-do lists. This is how Children of Mercury organize their day and their lives, so this is what I think you should do:
First of all, meet with a nutritionist. Don’t treat this diet as an on-again, off-again sort of thing. Find out what foods work with your body and what foods don’t. Each of our bodies metabolizes differently which is why fad diets don’t work. Taking the time to learn what your body needs (rather than craves) and what your body can process (rather than stores away as fat) would be enormously beneficial. It also ensures that once the weight is off that it will stay off. Exploring an exercise regimen would also be a good idea. As a Child of Mercury you need to stay active both mentally and physically. But again these should be activities that are reasonable and that can be integrated into your day-to-day life. No one’s expecting you to train for the Iron Lady Marathon.
Secondly: you might consider joining some sort of weight loss group. It’s amazing what camaraderie and support can do. So much of our eating habits are unconscious or stress-related so dialoguing with others will do a lot to raise consciousness and cut down on stress. Moreover sharing stories, exchanging tips, and bouncing ideas off of people is a Gemini’s idea of seventh heaven.
Thirdly: keep a food journal. Record what you eat, when you eat it, and how much. Not only will this get you to think twice about what you reach for—because everything you eat will be written down on paper—but you’ll really ask yourself if you need to eat as much (or as many times) as you do. The anxiety of being without often drives people to eat more than they need to so seeing that you have plenty of food and plenty of time in the day in which to eat it will do a lot to alleviate these tensions.
Finally: accept yourself for who you are. We all come from a variety of body types and that’s the beauty of humanity. Lose the weight you want to lose—not the weight you feel you have to lose– and you may come to discover that finding the right diet can be a very creative and fulfilling experience. You are what you eat, after all.