Lisa Lewis, author of Being Fat Sucks! But Life Doesn’t Have To! has recently launched her book. I asked her to talk to me about the book and tell us why she wrote it and what’s unique about it. I was surprised to hear that it’s not really a diet book–from experience, Lisa shares why weight struggles are more about what we feed our minds than what we feed our bodies.
Q. You’re in the process of publishing your first novel, Being Fat Sucks! But Life Doesn’t Have To! Why did you write this book?
A. I have finally been freed from a life of constant self-defeating thoughts and actions that have plagued me my entire life, and I know there are so many other people who suffer with this same thing every single day… and I wanted to share with people what worked for me. I would have given anything if someone else had told me something that could have freed me from the hell that I was existing in. In that aspect, I hope that my experiences will provide others with the wisdom that will help them live a happier, more joyful life.
Q. Tell me a little about your background, Lisa, and your personal struggles with weight.
A. I have always struggled with my weight. Looking back, I see that it was emotional eating for comfort and to fill the empty spaces in my heart because, as most kids do, I felt different, not accepted and lonely. It’s rare that we feel safe enough to disclose to someone else the dark side of our thoughts and feelings, and I was no exception. I would soothe myself by eating, which led to a life of emotional distress and ultimately fatness!
Q. What is your expertise in the field of health and wellness?
A. I have personally studied personal development, self help, and diet plans for years. When I finally had my awakening, I decided to thoroughly turn my studies to food and nutrition to get to the root of what the true function food is supposed to have in our life. I have become a Certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultant and now counsel people on how to discover the nutritional value of food so they can replace the emotional necessity of it with physical well being.
Q. What was your greatest challenge in losing weight?
A. The constant battle with my inner voice that tries to sabotage me and encourages me to give up, such as, “It’ll never work, why bother, just eating one potato chip won’t hurt” and more self-defeating, negative thoughts that made it an arduous task to undertake. I had to wrestle that inner voice to a dull roar by getting honest about where those thoughts were coming from and dealing with that first and foremost.
Q. What has been the biggest challenge in writing and publishing Being Fat Sucks?
A. Reliving the pain of what I went through… but then seeing where I am now made it all worthwhile. That’s one of the biggest things I learned: it takes more effort to stay fat than it does to get and stay slim. I now know that the worst day I can experience as a healthy, thin person is still 1,000 times better than my best day as a fat person!
Q. Was it difficult to write about yourself objectively?
A. Yes. It’s always been difficult to be objective about myself. I worry that people will think this is just my ordeal and, therefore, will not relate to it. What I found is that I was able to present the main ideas without getting too pinpointed, and many people feel the same way, react the same way, and think the same thoughts I did. People tell me that they can totally relate to my story and that makes me feel really good about having written this book.
Q. What are the biggest rewards you’ve received from losing weight? From writing your book?
A. Wow, the rewards from getting my body and mind healthy are too many to name, but to hit a few: my doctors are amazed at my new physical well being, and I feel better than I did when I was 20! I can run and jump and move with ease now. I love shopping for clothes now, whereas I loathed it before. I enjoy getting compliments, and even more than that, I love accepting and feeling those compliments are true and that I deserve them. My thoughts are clear and positive and self confidence is my normal state of being now. Life is all together new in so many ways. The future really looks bright now!
Q. What, for you, is the most enlightening chapter?
A. For me it’s Chapter 7 – The Turning Point – because this truly was the catalyst for me to move from my old patterns to the new ones I created for myself. The truth is a very powerful force and is always the best way to go. “Only the truth of who you are will set you free,” Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth.
Q. In your book, you talk about feelings of inadequacy, embarrassment, and loneliness. Do you think other people have the same experiences and can relate to your stories?
A. Absolutely! Some people know they are having these feeling consciously, but others, many others, are having all these feelings unconsciously and then trying to soothe these feelings with food. Worse yet, they don’t even know it! I hope my book will help them become conscious so they can finally find their truth and their road to health and attaining their desired state of being.
Q. Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from Being Fat Sucks! but Life doesn’t have to?
A. I really want people to understand how to dig deeper within themselves to discover the truth about why they continue to do things, such as eat too much or eating nutritionally vacant foods, that keep them locked in a self-imposed prison of feeling bad about themselves and their body. I want people to wake up to the fact that changing this pattern is not only possible and doable, it can also be how they live the rest of their life, starting today!
Q. What book promotions/signings are scheduled in the near future?
A. Great question! I have been spending time with my family since I finished the book, as it was somewhat all consuming, and now I am ready to get out there and start talking to people and sharing my message and my book. I would like to be everywhere that people want me to be to promote better health and freedom from fatness!
Q. Where can people purchase a copy of Being Fat Sucks?
A. They can get my book on Amazon.com or at my website which is www.WhyBeingFatSucks.com.