The Tale of Eating Beauty How She Broke the Food Spell and How You Can Too!

By Jean Hausmann

The Tale of Eating Beauty is a brilliant and inspiring approach to
building self-esteem while taking on the challenge of obesity. What a
clever book for our times. A must read, if there ever was one.
CAROLINE MYSS, author of Anatomy of the Spirit

Alifetime dieter, Madge has just about given up hope of ever getting out
from under the power of food. Will she ever have a body she loves, not just
in weight and size, but a body with energy, health and vitality? She is filled
with remorse, anger and disgust, the day she meets Viv, a mysterious woman
who offers to show Madge how to break free of the spell food has over her.
As her journey unfolds, Madge learns that losing weight permanently begins
by changing from within. Viv shows her how to accept herself and become
conscious of choices and their consequences. Challenging useless beliefs,
finding her own power, dealing with what sabotages her and developing her
self-esteem are just part of what Madge needs to do. In the end, she no longer
needs diets; she has become an empowered woman in charge of her lifeand
with the body she loves!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Oct 23, 2012
• ISBN: 9781452557885

Jean Hausmann

About the Author Jean Hausmann is a teacher and works as a wellness coach, specializing in weight loss. A dieter for many years, she eventually found techniques within herself to successfully reach and maintain her ideal body weight and live a life-style that supports real health and wellness. She has a masters degree with an emphasis in body, mind, spirit wellness and has studied many years with major teachers in the field. She recently graduated from Coach U. She designed and teaches a popular course at local colleges in Wisconsin and Arizona, “Weight Loss from the Inside Out,” which helps people learn the methods of transforming the interior self in order to change the exterior body. She lives in Wisconsin and Arizona with her husband and travels regularly to visit her children and grandchildren.

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Copyright © 2012 by Jean Hausmann.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

ISBN: 978-1-4525-5787-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-5788-5 (e)

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Cover design: Amy DeVoogd

Balboa Press rev. date: 01/16/13

Contents

Preface

1:   Madge Meets a Mysterious Stranger

2:   How It All Started

3:   Madge’s First Week

4:   The Journey Begins

5:   Crash and Burn

6:   Retrench

7:   The Power of Choice

8:   Lasagna or Not Lasagna

9:   Imagination Used Right

10:   Starting to Make It Work

11:   But I Would Rather Not Exercise!

12:   Life Will Always Give Us Reasons to Use Food

13:   A New Response Can Change the Outcome

14:   I Can Do This!

15:   Are You as Important as a Movie Star?

16:   Stuck in the Stall

17:   How Attention Can Change the Experience

18:   Stepping Out of the Box

19:   Eating as a Sacred Event

20:   The Last Message

Epilogue

Bibliography

About the Author

Preface

L ike so many people, I struggled with weight and food issues. I was under a food spell for much of my life. After following many diets, I eventually found techniques within myself to successfully reach and maintain my ideal body weight and live a life-style of genuine health and wellness. I wanted to share the techniques that I used to change myself from within, so I designed a course, Weight Loss from the Inside Out, to help people learn strategies for changing the interior landscape of ourselves in order to change the exterior body. I have been teaching this at colleges in Wisconsin and Arizona for years. Students in my classes always ask if I had a book with the concepts that I taught. When I decided that I would write the book, I wanted it to be different from the usual how to diet book with food lists, charts, calorie count and menus. There are a lot of good books of this type out on the bookshelves.

I decided to use a story to get to the heart of the issue with weight loss: One must change from the inside first. Diets and food plans, strategies and workouts are part of the process, but in order to have sustainable success, one must first think and then do something new and different.

I also wanted to write a story that people could relate to: a woman who has struggled for a long time with weight and low self-esteem. She has her ups and downs, but her effort and persistence pays off; she loses the weight, but more important, she embraces a completely new life-style. As she goes through the process, she not only gets some new and practical tools to use, she also learns how to dig deeper into herself and conquer some of her deepest fears.

I thank Charles, my husband, who continually encouraged me to finish the book, even though I would put it down for months at a time. My five lovely daughters as well as my best women friends were also a great source of support.

Next I wish to thank my editors, Peter Occhiogrosso, who went chapter-by-chapter and made valuable suggestions as well as editing. Next Elise Orange and Mary McManus who read the manuscript more than once with those red pens of theirs! Thanks to Leah Grant, a great coach who inspired me to finally get the book finished. Also a thank you Jean Donovan, Jane Waldron, Kathy Chaney, and Mary Ellen DeHaven, friends who read the book and gave me valuable feedback.

Last a big thank you to Amy DeVoogd who designed the beautiful cover, but also helped me so much in navigating through the world of publishing.

1

Madge Meets a Mysterious Stranger

S he is full; stuffed, actually. Full of burgers and brats, potato salad, chips and three cupcakes. Right now she feels really disgusted with herself. I don’t even walk anymore, I waddle, she thinks.

She is trying to shed a few pounds – more like the 40 to 45 pounds that her doctor said she needed to lose. She agrees with him and she knows what to do, but despite her best efforts, she has lost and regained those same pounds more times than she cares to remember.

It’s the Fourth of July, and Madge has just finished a picnic with her family at a park close to her home. They were all there: Madge’s husband, Stan, her two adult children, Callie and Peter, and her one grandson, Darryl. Her sole sibling, Carol, and her family were there as well. That made ten in all, counting her two nephews and one niece. It was a great family get-together with lots of lively conversation and games with the kids.

Yet in spite of all of this, Madge is not happy.

Recently, this has been her pattern. She begins a well thought-out food plan, follows it anywhere from a day to a week or two, and then – boom! One cookie, a piece of chocolate, or a second helping of fried chicken sends her back into the spiral of too much food, especially unhealthy foods. It isn’t that she wants to be thin, or to have a perfect body; but she does want her body to be healthy, energetic and nourished in all the right ways.

She looks at all the dirty dishes, the paper plates sitting on the park tables with the remains of dinner on them and decides that she’s going to let her family clean it up; she’s going for a walk.

In spite of the fact that it’s July, it’s not too hot out for a nice stroll. Madge is wearing some cotton capris and a quarter-length T-shirt and has on her comfortable sandals. She is already thinking about the hot summer and how much she dreads being outside. With her body as plump as it is, she is not about to wear shorts or a short-sleeved T-shirt. She feels fat and dowdy, and partly because she has been feeling down, she has let herself go.

She wanders along a tree-lined path for about twenty-five minutes, then stops to sit on a bench and just think. But her thoughts are hardly new. They start down the same old road: Why do you make this so hard? What is wrong with you? Why are you such a weak-willed woman? Why can’t you just eat less and stay away from all the high calorie carbs? How many times do you have to feel this way?

Madge can barely stand hearing the same tape loop running in her head, but she doesn’t know how to turn it off. She can’t stand being fat anymore. She hates how she looks. She hates being winded when walking up stairs, or when her grandson grabs her chin and says that she has a gobbler neck. Her doctor has told her that she is a serious candidate for adult onset diabetes. She takes blood pressure medication, has poor cholesterol numbers and her knees bother her. So losing weight is about more than just looking good. It’s about staying alive and healthy. She even wonders if she is not being taken seriously because she is fat. Would she have to have a heart attack or something equally serious before she can stick to a diet?

On and on the inner tape played. She is so busy ripping into herself that she doesn’t realize that a woman is sitting next to her. The woman is a bit older than her, but looks almost athletic, or, at least in good shape. She looks the way Madge has fantasized about looking someday. The woman also seems vaguely familiar as she smiles at Madge and asks her if she comes to the park often. Soon they’re having a conversation, and after a few minutes, the woman tells Madge something startling.

It’s really no accident my being here, she says. Madge’s eyebrows furrow as she wonders just what this woman is going to say next.

This is probably going to sound a little weird, the woman says with a kind smile, but in a sense I am ‘you.’ I am your wise woman within, the you who has the ideas, the motivations, and the strength to create the life you want. I am your Wise Self.

Madge clears her throat, and stares, wondering if she should get up and leave. I’m afraid I attracted some nut case, she thinks. Polite woman that she is, though, she doesn’t want to interrupt her visitor, which would be rude. The woman continues as if this is the most normal conversation imaginable.

If you like, she says, you can call me Viv.

Viv? Madge repeats to herself. She says she’s me, but she has a different name. Definitely a nut.

So here you sit, most unhappy, lamenting your life, Viv says, smiling. It’s not a pretty picture. Let me ask you one question: What has been stopping you from doing something about it?

Madge looks up blankly. What has stopped me from doing something about it?

That was the question, Viv says.

Well, I have tried and tried, Madge says, realizing that she has willingly continued to chat with the strange woman.

And what happened? Viv asks.

I start off with good intentions and lose a few pounds, Madge says. And then I get bored and discouraged and restart the eating that keeps me heavy.

Why do you think you go off your new way of eating?

Staring to feel annoyed with this line of questioning, Madge nonetheless answers, Because it’s so hard!

Viv stands up, walks a few feet and picks up a small rock, then places it at Madge’s feet. It’s so hard, Reason number 1, she says. Go on, what else happens?

I get bored!

Viv picks up another rock and lays it beside the first, Reason number 2: boredom. Are those the only reasons you have?

Are you kidding? There are plenty more, Madge says.

Well, then, let’s hear them!

I am afraid, Madge says. I’m afraid that if I change too much, it might mess things up with people.

Viv sets another rock at her feet. Reason number 3: fear of the consequences of change, she says.

Ok, says Madge. Reason number 4: I am afraid of feeling hungry. Number 5: I’ve always been fat; we are predisposed to it in my family. Number 6: I hate exercise. Number 7: I love to eat. Number 8: I love sweets and I really love salty, crunchy food, like chips. Number 9: Food is my friend when I feel bad and need comfort. It soothes me. Number 10: I have no stamina. My tolerance with discomfort is very limited. Number 11: I use food for all the wrong reasons and I know that what it is there for is to nourish my body and soul, yet I am still in this state. There are more reasons, I’m sure, but I can’t think of them right now. So how’s that for why I haven’t done anything about it?

Unfazed, Viv sets down a handful of stones at Madge’s feet. Are these the things you are usually thinking about when you’re trying to lose weight?

Yeah, of course, Madge says. Are you going to tell me that what I said isn’t true?

No, Viv says, "but I am going to tell you that those are your current beliefs based on your experience. Those are your excuses. Most of our behavior, until we become more aware of what we are doing, is automatic. We have created mindless habits. Not just habits of doing something all the time, but habits of thought and beliefs. It’s as if we are asleep or in a spell. Call it a food spell.

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Our old food and eating habits form a deep groove and create a challenge for us with weight loss. Becoming conscious of our habits is the first step.

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Certain beliefs and habits are like the deep grooves in the ground like those once formed by wagons. These rocks represent all the mental concepts that you have built into your belief system. They are your excuses and your saboteurs, and right now they have way too much power over you. Imagine trying to carry all these rocks around with you all day; think of how weighed down you would be with no freedom to do what you wanted. These attitudes, beliefs and thoughts are also holding you back, as I said, similar to being under a spell. The spell says that this is the way it’s been and it’s too hard to change.

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Our thoughts and beliefs can be one of the reasons we are in a food spell and feel that it is nearly impossible to lose weight or keep it off. To change anything, we must first change how we think!

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I never thought of it like that, Madge says. Is it possible to change this?

"Yes it is, but understand this idea. The first changes must come from within your own mind. You can choose to replace these useless thought patterns with some new thoughts. To change, anything, we first have to change how we think. Let me repeat that: To change anything, we first have to change how we think.

"Here’s a second, powerful truth: You move toward what you focus on all day long. The good news and the bad news about that is: It makes us responsible for where we are at in our lives, but at the same time, it strengthens us to make lasting change and helps put us in charge.

"Madge, I can see that you are in a lot of pain, that you hate yourself, and feel frustrated and discouraged. I came to show you a way out of this continuous and repetitive behavior that has kept you from losing weight. More important, I want to show you how to create a new life. You can drop that excess weight, have a body that’s healthy, learn to honor and give your body what it needs to have the energy to be engaged in life. Plus, you can have the body you like and are comfortable with. I am not talking about some skinny body like you see on fashion models, but the right weight for you to enhance your life!"

Madge was shocked, She even knows my name! How does she know who I am?

The woman didn’t look dangerous, and in spite of the strangeness of it all, she was piquing Madge’s curiosity. Who are you, seriously? she asked. How do you know my name?

Maybe I should have given you a better explanation before, the woman said with a laugh. "My name is Vivian, which in French means ‘full of life.’ I love my name because when I think ‘life’, I think LIVE, an idea I want to explore with you, Madge." Here the woman paused, as if giving Madge time to take in what she was saying.

I am part of you, the part that knows more than your five senses can pick up. I am the part of you that has wisdom, understanding, self-control, acceptance and inspiration. When you tap into me, you are able to live your life from a different perspective. That means in the area of food, you begin to have an inner shift, and food will take a new place in your life, no longer having the power over you that it does now.

Madge was still suspicious, but she was desperate for change. Well, if you are me, Madge said, why are you sitting next to me on a bench, and why don’t I already know you from within?

Excellent question, said Viv, and the answer is simple. Most people do not have much awareness of the wisdom within them that will help bring them into a balanced way of living; they might read about it and maybe even believe it, but usually don’t take the time to learn how to access their inner Wise Self. So I decided to make myself visible and audible to you in the five-sense world, in order to teach you how to find your Wise Self within; that is, your best self where inner wisdom, strength and perseverance abide.

Hmmm, was all Madge could manage to get out.

Madge, how do you feel about this being your time? Viv said. Time to stop settling for a life of tolerating things that you should not be tolerating anymore, too many yeses to wrong actions, resulting desperation, with few pleasures and joys, and too much pain and most of all, a life without self-esteem and self-respect! Are you ready to raise some of your personal standards, to raise the bar, as they say?

Madge was absolutely stunned by her words.

All of that is true, she said, but really, how do you know all this?

Viv smiled and looked her in the eye, "I get how hard this must be to take in, but honestly, I am a part of you. I am just visible so that you can learn where to find all the wisdom and answers and