Sofia Bothwell

In the arena of losing excess weight we have to acknowledge one thing - We are trying to make ourselves less. Less big. Now, how on earth could that be important, it is simply obvious, and certainly not worth any consideration. It is just a fact you want to be slimmer - end of! Or is it? In my own story of weight loss, delving into my subconscious to ascertain how and why I got overweight and had crazy eating habits, I discovered several things. One: There was a lot more to this ''losing a few pounds'' than first meets the eye. I had to look deeper into my subconscious motives. I discovered ''being big'' meant something. I had no way of ''being big'' in terms of being appreciated, supported or nurtured in the world I was growing up in. Being big meant being seen and I certainly was not seen. My parents hardly ever looked at me unless it was to scold me over some (often) meaningless issue, like ''Eat your peas.'' Two: Bein...

 Self-pity breeds jealousy, spitefulness, and an attitude of ''you owe me''. Maybe you know people in your life that are ''takers'' - well that also comes from their self-pity.  When one feels self-pity, it is because one feels deprived of something. What do you feel deprived of? The feelings of deprivation often are linked to food for compulsive eaters. The forced restriction of their favourite food is, straight away, a 'being deprived'  if I want to be slim.  With Healing the Eating Habit, we do not deprive ourselves of anything, in fact the opposite is true, for an attitude of allowing oneself your favourite foods, as long as you are genuinely physically hungry and it is that specific food you fancy, then go ahead and eat until satisfied. Satisfaction is of the utmost importance in truly healing an eating disorder. So reassuring yourself that you are no longer going to deprive yourself - When you are hungry, you can eat. And you can eat your f...

We live our lives under the influence of many, many things. From the TV, that is maybe on in your house from dusk till dawn, to the music you hear played in the supermarket as you do your weekly shopping. We think of these things as just background noise or entertainment, but really they effect our lives in so many ways, to the extent that I believe you would have a different life if you were not under the influence of these things. Quiet time is important, and freedom from the pressures you consider yourself to be under is also important. That is why I recommend breathwork as a skill that everyone should know about and experience. Simply deepening the breath and connecting the breath, opens the way for emotional resolving in a very rapid and holistic way. It provides peace and calm, and clarity as to how to move forward in your life no matter what. Start with an affirmation ''Every day in every way things are getting better and better for me now.'' Use this daily for t...

 When you have a problem you can either go unconscious about it or you can become more conscious about it. The former (going unconscious) involves eating when full, drinking, drug taking, zoning out on too much Netflix or any of the many avoidance tactics you have access to. There is little or no hope of a resolving or solution to be found if you are hardly aware of the problem. Running away from the feelings that are trying to highlight to you that something in your life simply needs your conscious attention; does not benefit you in any way. The later (becoming more conscious) involves stopping when full, no alcohol, cigarettes or avoidance tactics; instead taking a moment to feel what you are feeling about the problem or issue and considering your options. You ponder and seek to move forward. You use any tools or methods that seem appropriate such as ''The Work'' of Byron Katie, that aid a shift in consciousness that opens you up to a different perspective and helps y...

As little as two generations ago women were washing clothes by hand in the Western world. Women with large families, maybe five or more children and men who were working hard in the fields, or in mines, or  some other  manual labour. If you have ever washed heavily soiled material by hand you know it is no joke. We now so easily take for granted our automatic washing machine. It is a luxury and a great blessing in truth, and if we take a moment to be thankful ,really thankful and grateful for the differences and ''moving on'' that us women of this generation have that our mothers, and their mothers, and their mothers did not have, it would bring a dawning of a movement of improvement. Yet we must break the shackles of past conditioning. When I was discovering the way to heal my habit of 'eating when full' when I was nineteen, I also read a good bit about feminism. I found it interesting, and certainly found some of its attitudes and wisdom empowered me. However ...

 Holding excess weight on ones body and being unable to lose that excess weight is often about the need for protection and / or nurturance. You must ask yourself - How do I nurture myself? What does the word 'nurture' mean to me? Also you must check in with yourself to see where you are afraid, and feel you need to be protected. Who in your life scares you? What in your life scares you? It is in facing up to these issues that we move forward in breaking free from compulsive eating and they are covered in depth in my one to one Zoom, Skype and Face book video call sessions.

What provokes emotions for you? What song makes you cry? What film? What does that person repeatedly do that makes you agitated or angry? Who makes you yell at them? What tone of voice or word from who makes you upset? These situations, scenarios and people are difficult because you, like most of us, have never been taught how to handle your emotions - so you turn to ''food when full'' to help you cope. And that puts excess weight on and keeps excess weight on.  What diet teaches you how to handle emotions? None. That is why you lose excess weight on a diet but always regain it. Because it is your coping mechanism to eat when already physically full. No one is going to take that away from you - it is all you have. That is your subconscious belief. That is why people spend a lifetime being overweight. The problem never gets solved until the underlying emotional stuff has been addressed.  So who makes you angry? Note it down in a private notebook. Helping you find new cop...