REUTERS
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) –
September 19, 2006
U.S. weight loss coach Janice Taylor spent a
lifetime losing and gaining weight until she found a new approach to
weight loss -- making art about food instead of eating it.
She dropped 50 pounds (23 kgs) about five years ago and has kept it
off - and more.
New York-based Taylor now runs workshops on weight loss, coaches
people individually, runs an e-newsletter, and published a humorous book
about shedding pounds called Our Lady of Weight Loss
(www.OurLadyofWeightLoss.com) this summer.
Q: Who's Our Lady of Weight Loss?
A: I was weighing in at a group meeting, at my heaviest ever of
177.6 pounds (81 kgs), feeling depressed, defeated and deprived when I
just heard a voice in my head saying you will never succeed if you
already think you're not going to make it. I went home and decided to
make weight loss into an art project. I had never had such a shift as
fast in my life. I knew I had a new faith in both the voice and me and
said aloud "Our Lady of Weight Loss." A year later I had lost 50 pounds.
I gave up my job as a business manager after 17 years to pursue this new
passion - weight loss combined with art.
Q: What is your key to permanent weight loss?
A: It is all about mindset and about being creative about losing
weight. I make art about food instead of eating it but for others it can
be different. Not everyone is so passionate about art but I have yet to
find someone who hasn't got a hidden passion. Some people like to garden
or grow fresh herbs. It is really about project buildings and your
focus.
Q: What's your biggest temptation?
A: I don't have any big temptations but there is something that I
allow myself to over indulge in - sushi with sake. The message is that
you will get into temptations but think of it like this. If you are
driving down a highway and you miss your exit what do you do? You
turnaround. You should do the same if you eat a piece of cake. Don't
punish yourself. Just get back on track.
Q: Do you exercise much?
A: We live in a walking city. I walk a lot. I take the stairs.
Before I lost weight my blood pressure was high and my cholesterol
level. My body ached. I was always needing to sit down. But my health
wasn't my motivating factor for losing weight. I looked in the mirror
and saw I was five minutes to never sexy! I wanted to wear leopard for a
while!
Q: Best advice you can give someone who wants to lose weight?
A: You really need to look forward. Let go of the past and the
negativity. It is really about being positive. If I can lose 50 pounds,
anyone can.
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