Reflections on Turning 60
I’m super excited because … guess what? Today is my 60th birthday - and it just turns out that this is our 60th episode! How cool is that?!
I think these milestone birthdays are interesting… they give us a chance to pause and reflect. I have a lot of gratitude, and a lot of determination too!
Episode Highlights:
4:16 I am practicing allowing an urge to overeat, and I've been teaching our members how to do this and how to not give into the urge, not fight the urge, but just allow the urge and allow the emotion that comes with it and not just allow the emotion, but sort of welcome it.
6:22 How we think creates an emotional state of being that fuels our actions and our behaviors.
11:25 When we choose to eat Oreos or Doritos, for example, we're not eating food, we're consuming a drug-like food product. So they're AFPs - Addictive Food Products.
--- Full Raw Transcription Below ---
Dr. Angela Zechmann (00:00):
You are listening to the Keep The Weight Off podcast with Dr. Angela, episode number 60,
Introduction (00:07):
Welcome to The Keep The Weight Off podcast, where we bust all the dieting myths and discover not just how to lose weight, but more importantly, how to keep it off. We go way beyond the food and we use science and psychology to give you strategies that work. And now your host, Dr. Angela Zechmann.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (00:27):
Hey everyone. And welcome to the podcast today. I am so excited. How are you Marchelle?
Marchelle (00:33):
I'm doing great. How are you doing?
Dr. Angela Zechmann (00:35):
I'm doing good, because guess what? It's my 60th birthday today. And this is, and this is podcast number 60. Is that not cool? Like, oh,
Marchelle (00:45):
This is super cool.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (00:47):
Isn't that awesome?
Marchelle (00:48):
Like, I love it
Dr. Angela Zechmann (00:49):
Podcast. Number 60 on my 60th birthday. I just love it. Yeah.
Marchelle (00:54):
Did you plan it like that?
Dr. Angela Zechmann (00:56):
I did not. I was kind of hoping it might work out that way, but yeah,
Marchelle (01:01):
Really neat.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (01:02):
Yeah. It just happens that my birthday's on a Wednesday this year and it's the 60th, so very cool. All right. So..
Marchelle (01:10):
That's very cool.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (01:11):
I know. So I'm super excited and here's something that's really interesting about my birthday. I was actually born on my mother's 32nd birthday. So we've always shared a birthday and she's 92 today. She's still alive. Although now she has dementia and may not recognize me, but I actually haven't seen her since last year on our birthday. She lives in Kansas. So it's a little bit of a trip to go see her. So we actually have to record this podcast ahead of time. So I hope she makes it to 92. Right?
Marchelle (01:50):
Right.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (01:52):
So ever since my dad died in 2014, I've always spent my birthday with my mom except in March of 2020 when she turned 90. And we were all in COVID lockdown at the time and we had to have our birthday party over zoom. And that was a real bummer.
Marchelle (02:11):
I remember when you guys did that. Yeah. It's still kind of cool that you could do that.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (02:15):
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it was, it was better than not having the party. So I appreciate, I appreciate the zoom people. So but there was no traveling to go see her at that point in time. So last year I was able to go and this year I'm planning to go be with her again. So I think these, you know, I think these milestone birthdays are really interesting because, you know, I remember turning 29 and thinking, oh my of gosh, next year I'm 30. And my life is halfway over.
Marchelle (02:50):
I turned 50 this year. So I know that's a, that was a milestone for me!
Dr. Angela Zechmann (02:54):
That was a milestone for you too. Yeah. But isn't that interesting how we think like that when we're younger,
Marchelle (03:00):
Like, right.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (03:01):
Like I thought 60 would be the end of my life. Boy was I wrong? You know, isn't that crazy? So, yeah. But I also had a hard time turning 39 and then I had a hard time turning 40 because then it was like, oh wow. You know, now it's halfway to 80. And Boyt really could be half my life is over. And by the time, but by the time I hit 50, I had changed. I don't know if this happened for you. I was so happy to be 50. And I was like, it was like, there was this two week celebration and a whole weekend of partying with friends and it just felt awesome to be 50. So how, how was that for you?
Marchelle (03:45):
I, I was in Cancun, so, I mean,
Dr. Angela Zechmann (03:48):
Yeah.
Marchelle (03:48):
Have fun. There
Dr. Angela Zechmann (03:49):
You go. Exactly. So, so now it's 60 and at the time of this recording, there's a war going on and things feel a little bit different, but I will say that I'm glad to be alive here on earth and to be healthy and vibrant and overall living a really good life. And I will say though, that there are some difficult things about turning 60. And I was talking about this a few weeks ago in our empowered weight loss membership. I was practicing allowing an urge to overeat, and I've been teaching our members how to do this and how to not give into the urge, not fight the urge, but just allow the urge and allow the emotion that comes with it and not just allow the emotion, but sort of welcome it. And so I had this urge to eat and I just sat with the urge and I sat there with the emotion behind it and it told me its name was disappointment.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (04:49):
So I was feeling disappointed. And when I asked why it told me that I'm about to be 60, and there are things I would hope to have accomplished by now that I have yet to accomplish. And I will say that all of this was just floating under the surface. I didn't really know it until I allowed myself to feel the emotion, which was interesting. And it was a beautiful thing because I got to recognize that, yeah, I've done a lot. And there are still some things that I'm looking forward who accomplishing and guess what, it's okay to feel a little disappointed. There's nothing wrong with allowing myself to feel that disappointment. And I realized - what I realized, get this Marchelle it's coming from this thought, this underlying thought that says, I should be further along by now. Have you ever had that thought,
Marchelle (05:50):
Oh, I totally have that thought.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (05:51):
I should be further along by now. And I just wanna let everybody know if you've ever had that thought. It's an incredibly toxic thought. It is a horrible thought. There is nothing good that comes from that thought that I should be further along by now. How many of us think this thought on the regular? It's a super discouraging thought and, and it will not fuel you to create the life of your dreams. Remember we talk about how we think creates an emotional state of being that fuels our actions and our behaviors. And so that particular thought I should be further along fueled for me the emotion of disappointment, which caused me to wanna go overeat. Is that not interesting? So just want you to all think about that. As as you are in the process of your weight loss journey, if you ever have that thought, I should be further along, things aren't happening as quickly as they should be. All those kinds of thoughts are never gonna fuel anything, but disappointment and eating. So, so did you ever, you, you have had those kinds of thoughts. Did you have any thoughts like that when you turned 50?
Marchelle (07:15):
Yeah. Especially when I get on Facebook and I compare myself to who, like people that I knew in high school that are also my age and a lot of them seem like they're doing a lot better than I am, you know? And that's when those, those thoughts start to get to me. But then I just think, you know, of all the fun I've had in my life and
Dr. Angela Zechmann (07:33):
Yeah.
Marchelle (07:34):
And then I don't worry so much.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (07:36):
Yeah, exactly. Well, and the other thing you always wanna know is that you're always getting the glamorous parts of people's lives on Facebook. Like people are not…
Marchelle (07:44):
Exactly "FakeBook."
Dr. Angela Zechmann (07:46):
Yeah. People are not going to be posting pictures of them moving their aunt's belongings after she just had a stroke.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (07:57):
Like, no, that's not the kind of stuff you, you post when you're at a restaurant and you're celebrating and you're having a happy time or whatever it might be. So, yeah. So how does it feel to be 60 for me in 2022? That's a good question. I have a lot of gratitude. I have a lot of gratitude for my strong, healthy body and gratitude for what it can do and how it serves me. And I have a lot of gratitude for my family, for my partner Siggy and for my daughters who are grown and finding their way in the world. And for my siblings, who've known me all their lives because I'm the oldest. And for my parents who taught me the values that I live by, which are most notably integrity and contribution. And I have gratitude for my friends who are always there to support me.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (08:52):
I've got friends from all walks of life. I have gratitude for my career. It hasn't been a straight line getting to where I am for sure. I spent a lot of time confused about what I should be doing, but in the end I wouldn't have it any other way. I know I'm much better at what I do because of all the experience I've had, not just in medicine, but in my own struggles with my own eating and my sugar addiction. I have gratitude for my staff, both my staff at the medical clinic, and that includes you Marcelle.
Marchelle (09:28):
Oh, thank you. I appreciate you too.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (09:30):
I also have gratitude for my staff that helps me with our online courses and that it also includes you Marchelle. So …
Marchelle (09:38):
Thank you.
New Speaker (09:39):
So what we offer is a communal effort. I head it up, but I can't do it alone. And I have gratitude for all of you who are willing to listen and to take what we have to say seriously, recognizing that we want you to succeed at overcoming one of the most difficult problems faced by modern civilization. Really, this is one of the most difficult problems faced by modern civilization. And we're on your side here. I also notice that as I'm turning 60, I have a lot of determination, determination to do what it ever is necessary to help as many people as possible realize their dreams of living in a vibrant, healthy body that they're proud of. I have determination to get more balance in my own life. If there's anything I'm recognizing as I turn 60, is that our most precious resources is time. And I'm looking forward to more ways to enjoy the time that I have left. I also have a lot of determination to stay healthy and vibrant and active well into my eighties. And perhaps even my nineties, my aunt had just turned 90 and had been a regular golfer up until last summer. Crazy. Huh?
Marchelle (11:00):
That's awesome.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (11:01):
I know I have determination to quietly and perhaps not so quietly fight back against the food industry, shame on them for creating such highly addictive foods that make us so miserable. And I'm gonna call these foods addictive food products from now on or AFPs for short. So we can recognize that when we choose to eat Oreos or Doritos, for example, we're not eating food, we're consuming a drug-like food product. So they're, AFPs Addictive Food Products. Interesting. Huh?
Marchelle (11:38):
I like that. Im also determined to help you fight back against the food industry.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (11:43):
Thank you. Yeah, we, we need more people fighting against the food industry. It's just, it's ridiculous. What's going on? So that's all I have to say for today. I hope that if you have a milestone birthday this year, you will do some reflecting as I have. I think it's important to take stock and to think about where we've been and where we're going on our birthdays. So happy birthday to mom and happy birthday to me and happy birthday to my cousin, Dar who also has a birthday today. And we will see you all next week. Take care, everyone. Bye.
Marchelle (12:24):
All right, goodbye, everybody and happy birthday to all three of you!
Dr. Angela Zechmann (12:26):
Thank you.
Closing (12:28):
Hey, if you really want to lose weight and keep it off for good, your next step is to sign up for Dr. Angela's free weight loss course, where you're going to learn everything you need to get started on your weight loss journey, the right way. Just head over to JourneyBeyondWeightLoss.com/freecourse to sign up. Also, it would be awesome if you could take a few moments and write a review on iTunes. Thanks! And we'll see you in Journey Beyond Weight Loss!
--- End of Transcription ---
Dr. Angela
This episode was produced and marketed by the Get Known Service
