“I had this really amazing ‘ah ha’ moment. I realized that I could either spend my life thinking ‘I wish I could lose weight’, or ‘I’m going to’, or ‘Im trying to’. One of those things was going to need to happen, but I couldn’t be a whiner anymore. I couldn’t be that person who is like, ‘I wish I could. I wish I could.'”
Those are the words from one of Hollywood’s most powerful women and undeniably owner of Thursday night TV (unless it’s football season), Shonda Rhimes. Yes, that Shonda Rhimes who is the creator, head writer, executive producer and showrunner for “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Private Practice,” and “Scandal.” In addition, Rhimes is the executive producer for the show, “How to Get Away With Murder”.
Rhimes, 50, grew up in Chicago—her father was a professor (he was the CIO at the University of Southern California); her mother earned a PhD in educational administration after raising six children. Graduating from Dartmouth (where she gave a rousing commencement address last year), Rhimes found her way to film school at USC and, eventually, to one scriptwriting success after another. Grey’s Anatomy earned her a Golden Globe for best TV drama in 2007—the same year she made Time magazine’s hot 100 list; and she recently completed a trifecta of awards from the Writers, Producers, and Directors Guilds of America.
Shonda has lost an impressive 150 pounds since she has been in the public eye.
“After I lost weight, I discovered that people found me valuable. Worthy of conversation. A person one could look at. A person one could compliment. A person one could admire. A person. You heard me. I discovered that NOW people saw me as a PERSON,” she wrote in her newsletter, Shondaland.
In order to acheive a 150-pound weight loss, obviously her diet changed and she exercised more. But Rhimes claims another factor has been the catalyst to her weight loss journey: Happiness.
“Part of it is that I got really happy. Being really happy was an extraordinarily huge part of it, and I don’t know how to explain it except that I stopped eating my feelings because I got really happy.”
MUST READ: 3 Signs That Tell If You’re An Emotional Eater
How we handle stress in our lives is directly related to our weight. Many people overlook the mental aspect of weight loss. Any form of depression, no matter how mild, affects neurotransmitters that control mood, thinking, appetite, and behavior, making you more likely to eat poorly, skip exercise, and gain weight.
Food is not a replacement for happiness. Emotional eating is dangerous because it becomes a vicious cycle. You’re sad, so you eat to make you feel better. While food temporarily improves your mood, that wears off minutes after you finish eating. Essentially, the end result is…
… more and more weight gain, which in turn depresses you more. This is why emotional eating is a vicious cycle.
The simple act of smiling goes a long way. Sometimes life can depress our mood to the point that we find it hard to smile. Remember the saying, “Fake it until you make it.” Well even if you’re not happy yet, smile anyway. You’ll begin to notice that you will actually begin to feel that way.
Another vital step to achieve the happiness you need for weight
loss is eliminating negative people in your life. These people may not be bad people but may be bad for your life. Someone that always has something negative to say about you, for example, should be removed from life. Spending time with a person like this is filled with you focusing on so called “flaws” that the person points out. You can’t reach that level of peace, mentally, until you clear your head of the negativity.
Shonda has some final words for those trying to lose weight–no matter where you are in your journey: “”If you are a kid and you are out there and you are chubby and not so cute and nerdy and shy and invisible and in pain, whatever your race, whatever your gender, whatever your sexual orientation, I’m standing here to tell you: You are not alone. Your tribe of people, they are out there in the world. Waiting for you.”
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