We all know about FOMO (the fear of missing out), but have you heard of the joy of missing out, aka JOMO?

I really like to think about JOMO in terms of what it offers when we quit the pursuit of weight loss and work on reconnecting with our body’s internal wisdom and making peace with our bodies.

What do I mean?

Well, once you have let go of the pursuit of weight loss you can experience the joy of missing out on:

• having your mood for the day dictated by the number on the scales
• tracking every mouthful you eat in an app
• feeling guilty about eating certain foods
• feeling guilty about not getting your workout in
• putting your life on hold until you reach your goal weight
• feeling anxious about whether the party or event you are going to will have food on your ‘approved’ list
• having to reach 10,000 steps before you allow yourself to go to sleep
• feeling compelled to ‘work off’ something you have eaten
• feeling anxious about whether your diet is ‘healthy’ enough
• getting mad at yourself for eating at night
• feeling like a failure because you ate something to deal with a difficult situation
• missing out! When you quit the pursuit of weight loss and work on body acceptance, you won’t have to miss out on anything anymore – you will want to go to the party, the high school reunion, the beach. You will go for that promotion, you will take that class, you will say yes when you are asked out on a date.

That’s a lot of baggage you can enjoy missing out on!

what would you be able to focus on or do if you had JOMO after quitting the pursuit of weight loss?

Orignally published October 2017