Sheet music is written in black and white, but music is not heard in black and white. The notes represent something much bigger.

As the music begins to play, notes are transformed into sound waves. These musical sound waves are received by our ear “drums”. Not only do they change the physical atmosphere around us, but  now they have the ability to change our thoughts, our feelings, and our mood.

Our weight loss is not a black and white matter either. Although it may appear so on the surface. Whether we admit it or not, the thoughts we are telling ourselves have the ability to change our feelings and our mood.

Our thoughts and emotions are signals, producing bio-chemicals, which relay messages and communicate information from our brain to our body’s cells. This creates what researchers refer to as “body music”. In her book, Who Switched Off My Brain, Dr. Caroline Leaf explains groundbreaking scientific research done by Dr. Candace Pert, which shows how our emotions are cellular signals that directly impact our mind and body.

Our mental attitude and the thoughts we think regarding the weight loss experience and ourselves are vital and directly determine our long-term outcome.

Our success can't be measured solely by the clothes we wear or the numbers on the scale. These aren't the only factors involved in our healing and recovery. Just as in music, weight loss includes many variations of up and down rhythms. Sometimes our losses may be fast and jazzy and other times we seem to slow to a waltz while reaching a rest or plateau. But we must trust that all of these phases are just a normal part of the process.

It’s during these times we can change our focus from frustration to just enjoying where we are in the journey. We can use these rest periods to make other adjustments in our spiritual or mental attitudes. 

It is an important part of our healing process to begin to recognize our emotional health as well as our physical health. As we begin to detox our brain, we will become more skilled at feeding our mind and emotions with healthy thoughts.

As you practice playing a new musical instrument, the more you are able to add rhythm as simple tunes advance from “Body and Soul” to “Beethoven’s Fifth”. Soon your body, thoughts and emotion will come together in concert and you will be well on your way to the grand finale.

Yes, you can....tune in next week for more of this on-going series.