Since 2007, I have lost over 12 stone (76 kg) without dieting. I often get asked how I lost weight, so here is my story…
As a child and then into my teens I was always very skinny and acutely conscious of that fact. After I joined the army at age 16 I started to put on weight and from then I have always had an issue with both controlling my weight and sustaining any weight loss I did have.
There were periods in my life where I was at a healthy weight but for the most part I was overweight.
At around the age of 40-44, I was at my heaviest and weighed over 27 and a half stone (175 kg).
Up until that point the diets I had tried to control my weight (and there were many) never worked. Yes, I would initially lose weight but it would always come back on because I couldn’t or didn’t want to sustain it. I wasn’t willing to let go of the foods, like bread, pasta, chocolate, alcohol, cakes etc. that I knew to be the cause of my weight gain.
In 2007 things started to change. I began to attend the presentations of Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon and there I gained a better understanding of:
- How food truly affects my body,
- Why I choose to eat these foods,
- Why I choose to eat the quantity of food that I was eating,
- When I choose to eat these foods.
I had never been presented with this knowledge before and so with this understanding I was able to start making changes that truly supported me.
It wasn’t easy at first as I had to undo over 30 years of neglect and abuse. One thing that really helped me was to use ‘bridging’ as a tool. I knew if I came off a certain food ‘cold turkey’ it would be very hard to continue so, for instance, with something like coffee (I loved my cappuccino with chocolate sprinkles). I first started with decaf coffee, then after a while I went onto soya milk, then no chocolate sprinkles and then eventually no coffee at all.
Apart from alcohol, which I stopped straight away, I found that I could substitute all of the foods that didn’t support me and eventually come off them altogether. Trying to control my weight loss or sustain it wasn’t even a consideration at this point, it was more a choice to start to love and support myself in a way I had never contemplated before. Naturally, as a by-product of this new change the weight started to fall off.
What was also a big revelation for me was the fact that because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight. I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it.
It has been 7 years now and when people find out that I have lost all this weight they are very surprised, mainly because I don’t have any sagging skin that is associated with a large loss of weight. I am able to share with them that the way I lost weight and kept it off it has been done gradually. I also share that if I had seen it as a diet then it would have become goal orientated and as soon as I reached my intended weight I would have wanted to celebrate, which would have resulted in going back to the foods that put the weight on in the first place.
I also share that I lost the weight without having to go through any rigorous exercise regime. My only form of exercise was walking at a normal pace for a minimum of 15 minutes and occasionally I went to the gym for weight training.
My weight at the moment is just over 15 and a half stone (99 kg) and the weight loss is an ongoing process.
So when I am now asked how I lost weight, I can express that I feel diets do not work, and that only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss.
By Tim Bowyer, Age 51, London Bus Driver
You may also be interested in:
How to Lose Weight (Unimedliving.com)
I wonder if we hide our sensitivity behind being overweight as we live in a society where being sensitive especially for a man is a sign of weakness not a strength. So we eat comfort food to put up a barrier between us and the outside world to somehow lessen the pain we feel.
It is never to late to make choices and change this life around, this is an awesome example.
“So when I am now asked how I lost weight, I can express that I feel diets do not work, and that only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss.” So true Tim. I know many who through making dietary changes a way of life have sustained weight loss for ten years or more. I also know those who ‘diet’ lose a lot of weight and then reverting to their old way of eating, put back the pounds and often more than they started with.
12 stone!! this is extraordinary and whats even more amazing is that this is for real, no yo diet here.
There is a huge difference in your gaze between one pictures and others. What I can see in your current pictures, Tim, is a sparkle in your eyes that is not found in the other ones. It seems that you have addressed your approach to food along with much more stuff in your life that has taken you out of the initial density you were living by not expressing yourself as you are.
It’s not only what food we eat, but how we feel while cooking, eating and living, as it is our whole way of living what nurtures us or not.
What a great before and after Tim, this should be front page news as so many of us have also made amazing changes in our lives so lets hear more of these good news stories.
Diets don’t work as we see it as bullying and depriving ourselves but when we choose to honour ourselves with what we put into our precious body we can feel the difference.
Thank you for these photos….there is such a difference ..not just in the weight factor but in the shedding of loads of “baggage”. The second photo shows a man who is bright and cheerful and ready for whatever is presented – there is a lightness in every sense of the word.
What a fantastic inspiration you are Tim. To have a deeper understanding of why we go for certain foods, rather than simply trying to omit them from our diet gives a true purpose to what and how we eat, leaving no reason for ‘dieting’ but an openness to another way to take true care of oneself.
Absolutely, self-care and self-love are great foundations that are both needed and supportive for all changes we bring into our lives.
By bringing in a more caring and nurturing way of living we make big changes to our health, there has to be a consistency and a commitment to a healthier and more supportive way of living and eating if we wish to maintain these benefits.
Tim what I love most is your zest for life – which really shines through in your blog. I also love your perspective on life, I think often we get obsessed and consumed by our weight and by losing weight rather than just seeing is as a gradual step by step process – after all if our approach to it isn’t healthy, how can the end result be healthy?
Learning to love and support yourself is the key to losing weight and keeping it off. Because when you are full of love (or as full as you can be) for yourself, it is easier to say no to things that are not loving for you (i.e. that second helping, foods that make you feel dull, that extra episode of TV so you stay up a little later etc….). Then when you say no at that time, your body registers that, like a marker, and even if you say yes to things that are not loving, that marker is still there so you know how it feels when you say no, supporting you to say no again.
Sustaining weight loss is a completely different story to short term loss, because it takes consistency and a commitment to a healthier and supportive way of eating as opposed to a sporadic pattern of eating little and then loads.
For some it may seem like an impossibility to lose weight, get fit and become healthy again. Tim, you show what is possible and how to do it. You are a fantastic role model.
Anything that is done without self-love and self-care often doesn’t last long at all. And, I agree with you Elizabeth, true change definitely has the foundation of self-love and self-care otherwise it will crumble.
Great to read your blog again Tim, you look incredible and we would love an update on how you feel now. Your photos after Universal Medicine are beaming with vitality and we can see the sparkle in your eyes and your entire body. You’ve shown us how we can support our body to return to its natural size and weight without having to go through any painful exercises or diet regime. It is all in the way we choose to live, it can either support us or make us sick.
Just looking at your photos Tim shows that you have accepted a greater level of responsibility for yourself and this is truly inspiring.
What’s described here can be applied to so many other things – smoking, stopping drinking, stopping making ourselves anxious… what stands out is how the focus wasn’t to lose weight but to love yourself more. When we shift the focus like this, there’s no fight and battle against the thing we’re trying to give up or stop doing. The transformation almost happens as a by-product of the other choices we make to start to love and appreciate our bodies and listen to what they’re trying to tell us. Thanks for sharing Tim.
These changes are amazing Tim, and testament to the fact you are committed and dedicated to a life that honours your body, and in doing so inspire us all to see we can live a life connected, healthy, loving and vital.
Thank you Tim.
It is amazing to see the person that you are blossoming out and feeling incredible for it. Which just goes to show how much love there can be for oneself and how our bodies will always reflect this fact. Which is also incredible, because as it is our bodies that we move around on the earth each day amongst the communities that we live in, then how inspiring are you, for us all to see that there can be a body a love living and walking amongst us.
It is a good way to lose weight. I will try to follow. Thank you for the useful knowledge
The key ingredient to any true change of your diet, is definitely a good dose of humble honesty. Without it you will never understand why you use certain foods the way you do.
Holding on to hurts, emotions etc burdens our body and they are heavy, it is not just our food habits that weigh us down.
So true Samantha, and everything is all related, we tend to eat more when we are feeling emotional or hurt but this is not always the case for everyone. It shows that our size and shape has a lot more to do with how we feel and the issues we carry than just our consumption of food.
I love how you bring expression into this blog, the fact that by expressing yourself more you lost weight. We can carry around so much internal baggage and to begin to discard that is a real weight of our minds. …and it seems our bodies.
“Only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss.” These words Tim fully understood would make the whole diet industry go out of business.
Asking questions such as ‘how’, ‘why’ and ‘when’ when it comes to our choices are great pointers to reflect and not just accept our decisions as failures or successes, e.g. our diet or performance in an exam or work project.
When we approach issues lovingly we get to see the real ‘issue’ was not what we thought originally but the hardness we had with ourselves.
When dieting becomes the focus the key issue for why the weight is on doesn’t get addressed then when the weight drops the anxiety increases as the issue comes up again and this is often why we see people yo-yoing back into old patterns as they have not addressed the issue that led to the weight gain in the first place.
Wanting things to change (relationships, weight, income etc.) from a focus on changing a ‘bad’ to a ‘good situation doesn’t provide long lasting results. Every time my life has changed and remained comes from focusing on loving myself and being gentle and tender with myself first.
It’s hard to get over the change in you Tim – you look beautiful. Great reminder too that true change doesn’t occur in a quick abrupt way but gradual loving and understanding steps. This blog is very bridging too.
Food can be a poison or something that supports us, depending on how we use it. If we use food to bury what we feel it will always be a poison for the body.
This is lovely Tim what a transformation thank you for sharing.
It is very empowering to learn, explore and realise how the foods we eat are the end result of an energy we have chosen, through which a momentum is initiated affecting our behaviour and choices thereafter. If we are willing to go deeper than just dieting, and open ourselves up to honesty and truth as you have done and shared so beautifully Tim, we discover that it is mostly due to hurts that we seek to protect ourselves and seek comfort with food and behaviours that do not truly represent or support us to simply be who we are. There is always more to reveal if we are open to exploring, and the gift in that is that there is always more of us to discover and live.
The link is often ignored but when we stop to clock for actions before we eat we are given gold in finding that the foods are set up for us to eat even though we know that this a far from supportive for the body.
Your honesty is so refreshing – how you knew the foods that caused your weight gain but were not willing to let them go and the fact that the more you chose to express the more the weight dropped off. So interesting that so many weigh themselves down with all the unspoken issues that they dare not talk about. No need for all those fad diets – all that is required is to lovingly start to express!
” I also share that if I had seen it as a diet then it would have become goal orientated ”
This part seem to be very important in that , you had no goal , but by making the choice to be more expressive ,loving caring about yourself and your responsibility to your body , and therefore your body benefitted by lousing weight
Yes, Tim loosing weight too quickly would naturally ocurr to put it back on quickly. Slowly and lovingly supports understanding and being honest with food. Once I kept a food diary and every time I ate I recorded my feelings, emotions, what I ate and how much etc. This opened me up to being more aware with food.
It is about a way of life, so true Tim when we introduce love into our lives and thus in our body things are shifting without effort.
Tim I just adore looking at these photos of your transformation through the diet of (self) love : )
I have found that getting to the right weight from either being overweight or underweight comes naturally when we know how to listen to our body.
Very inspiring Tim, I love what you share in that you didn’t force yourself to go off any food but allowed yourself the space to gradually let it go as you were ready to. When we do it the other way we then feel like we are depriving ourselves of something and that’s then when the thoughts and cravings can kick in.
Nothing beats eating healthy eating, when we get our food right for our body our life flows and becomes less complicated. Your experience Tim is a perfect example of the miracles that can happen when we listen to wisdom of the body rather then the mis desires of the mind.
Well, doesn’t this example just blow all the other theories out the water? What’s so awesome about this weight loss program is that it actually makes perfect sense. I can’t imagine anyone would argue with this because it brings you to your knees in that you are asked to be entirely responsible for your choice in your relationship with not only food, but your body.
As a serial, life-long yo-yo dieter Tim I relate to your story. The only problem is I’ve always had the knowledge part you describe – and that hasn’t been enough to affect lasting change. Now, thanks to my own relationship with Universal Medicine, I am able look at the issues behind my weight gain and loss story, which has been primarily about my relationship with awareness and not wanting to feel what I could/can feel all around me generally, and as a result of specific incidences. This is the part I am now working on – acknowledging what has taken place, developing true self-worth, and strengthening my self-love so it allows me to be OK with what I feel in myself and in society.
Your weight loss Tim is extremely inspiring and goes to show that an honest, steady and consistent commitment to caring for ourselves is one of the wisest tricks in human life for us to master.
These days I am very slim and petite and people are often very jealous of this. What I have come to realise is that we all know when we are not our true size and this brings up a discomfort in us. I used to be 20 kgs heavier and most of that weight was due to bloating from absorbing everything that was going on around me as well as me protecting myself from the world. I used my weight as a fortress, which of course did not work at all.
Working out the reasons we may overeat is paramount for healing and change to occur. I know I do it to release the tension I have in my body because I have not lived the love I know myself to be. When we dampen our light in anyway we always pay the consequences.
Awesome Tim , so wonderfull you have shared this true life experience with your weight and the truth you found about dieting. I love the way you described how you made the choice
” it was more a choice to start to love and support myself in a way I had never contemplated before “
I have been wondering why we can lose a lot of weight when we have a major illness and then promptly put it back on once we have recovered. What if the extra weight has a purpose, a purpose that is not needed when we are very ill? Losing weight is stressful for the body. Why does the body go through that process when it is already in a very stressful situation and why doesn’t it do so in all cases?
Amazing to observe the change but also feel the difference in quality of expression in the before and after photos.
Yes Michael the light coming through in the after photos is sparkling and no hiding whatsoever, you get what you see.
What you are sharing here is such a powerful message. You highlight how losing weight, returning to your true body shape, was not sustained from what you ate alone, but more so from a choice to love yourself and appreciate who you are, through which your choices reflected this. In honouring yourself the choices you made were naturally self-honouring. In other words, what you have shown us is, how the quality of love in which we hold for ourselves reflects the quality of choices we make and as such the quality of life we live.
I agree. I find that my fluctuations in weight don’t seem to be closely connected to what I eat and how much of it, though that could be a coincidence.
I am not on a diet but for the last nine months I have enjoyed monitoring my weight every day. Despite eating extremely regularly and almost always identical amounts every single day, my weight still fluctuates considerably – sometimes as much as much as 0.5kg within one day. This is entirely dependent NOT now what I have eaten but what I have taken on – thus I am of no doubt (and have nine months of proof) that weight is to do with so much more than just the food I am eating. As your blog so brilliantly exposes.
That’s a fascinating science experiment, Otto! Clearly there is so much more to the science of weight loss than the industry is currently willing to look at. What if weight loss is about choices, attitude and energetically what we take on; wouldn’t this change our whole approach to dieting and the way we eat, as Tim has shown?
This is very interesting Otto. I have noticed the same thing with my weight. It can fluctuate considerably in a day. How does one explain that if one’s diet has not changed?
We have a lot of information and knowledge around food and yet the basics of why, what, when and how we eat what we eat there is still so much for us globally to explore. And as it goes to show by your sharing Tim is that these questions can open up to greater levels of health and well-being that in society we have yet to reach.
Interesting how you did not even question, why, when, what of how you ate your food until you were presented with the opportunity to do so at a Universal Medicine event. Shows how so many just eat what they feel without even questioning whether the impulse to do so was true or not.
A great example of what can be gained from a loss. It is the way we deal with an issue rather than being driven by a goal.
Today I saw on the back of a bus an advertisement for a slimming company and it said something along the lines of eat all your favourites and still lose weight, this type of advertising is really irresponsible as it sets you up fail. The only true way is the way you have done it Tim and that was learn to listen truly to the body and eat from a place of connection to yourself.
This is such a great before and after blog, not only are you visually showing the benefits of your lived choices, but your transformation on how you are with yourself just jumps off the page. There is so much to celebrate here, the fact that you have a love for your body that you didn’t ever think possible.
Even without reading your article Tim, you can see and feel the transformation in more than just your body by just looking at your photos…. and I have a sense your partner is also on the living, loving way.
This deserves to be a case study as it sheds a true light on the whole dieting, weight loss and obesity problems. There is more ‘going on’ that is on the plate. What are we ingesting other than the food we eat and what are we not letting go of or expressing?
Tim you look and feel so joyful and alive now, it is truly inspiring
What stands out when you look at before and afters from Reality TV shows or magazines using dieting and extreme exercising alone is yes they have lost weight but their is a hardness and tension in their face and body from pushing themselves. Many then go back to their previous behaviours and choices because it wasn’t done in the quality of love or by the impulse of their body. Looking at your after photos Tim yes there is a substantial weight lose but really you’ve lost so much of what has not been you and have only replaced it with love for yourself.
The photos you have included in this blog show that you have shed much more than excess body weight, you have shed burdens as well, and there is a joy and lightness in you that speaks volumes for both yourself and Universal Medicine.
It is inspiring to read how the weight dropped off without trying, and it makes sense that if we express more of our feelings and do not hold onto what we want to say, then there would be less need to fill up with food to numb ourselves.
This huge revelation could put a whole lot of people out of business within the diet and exercise business, and to think how many billions a year are spent on diets in all it’s many forms.
I had a similar experience after a life time of failed dieting and feeling a failure because of it, I lost about 20kg with Universal Medicine to reach and sustain a very healthy weight and way of living which has remained stable for over 10 years now. The big difference was that my food choices naturally changed due to my increased awareness and loving choices – there was no dieting or imposition involved. Previously my dieting had all been coming from self-criticism, attempts at control, imposition etc and not love.
Another thing that made a huge difference was as I learnt to deepen my connection to myself and my body such that I was able to observe situations and gain understanding rather than react (this is still a work in progress) and absorb. I discovered a large part of my weight was not even food related, but bloating due to taking on emotions and reactions of others.
Tim this blog is an inspiration for all to read, obesity is rife and all around us. I have work colleagues who have gone to extreme gastric surgery so they can lose that excessive weight but internally they are no different. Seldom have I seen them make any choices to support them in how they have reached that weight in the first place.
I was always on a diet and as you already mentioned they were goal orientated and the celebration period often led me back to my old ways – I didn’t have much to lose either, probably half a stone! So why did I need to be on a diet then?
But if we explored why we made these choices to overeat then people would save so much money on the perfect diet that’s going to reverse it all. What if people really explored deep within what you have presented and gained a better understanding of ‘how and why’? They would save a lot of time, space and energy on the trying, hoping and praying that the number on the scale fulfills the image you want instead of what is natural for you.
Quite the transformation, I would love to read more about the relationship between expressing how we feel and losing weight. Not holding a burden seems like a science we give short shrift to, but is there more to understand than meets the eye. Like so much of life that we look in a straight line at, it would seem almost certain that there is a link between sharing feelings and managing weight, by the very fact of emotional eating this would seem to be true, but that surely only scratches the surface of how sharing our innermost voice affects our weight.
“So when I am now asked how I lost weight, I can express that I feel diets do not work, and that only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss.” So true Tim. Diets usually are about yo-yo dieting and people tend to put back more then when they started out on weight loss programmes. A calorie is not just a calorie. There is far more to it than that.
‘I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it’ – How incredible Tim. THIS is what they should be presenting at weight loss or diet programs, that there is so much more to our weight than the food. I think a lot of people would feel so much more empowered to address the patterns causing their excess weight, because for some it really is little to do with the quantity of what they eat.
Tim, your transformation is amazing, also the fact that you have sustained it shows this was no fad diet. Going directly to the cause, dealing with underlying emotions and changing the way you live you show just what powerful change can occur.
Making changes gradually and consistently, as you say making it a way of how you live, is the key to anything where we feel and know change is necessary. With anything else we are just fooling ourselves as we want a change but do not want to give up our behaviours that cause the problem we want to change.
I really love what you are saying here Tim about how diets do not work. So many people have shown that to be the case. Learning to live true to ourselves and from there listening to our body so that we know what to eat is a much healthier and wiser thing to do.
Expressing how we feel being a testimonial as part of your losing weight, this is a truth that has to be widely shared. As in truth our physical bodies have a very close relationship with our expression, and how to sustain this to be a truly supportive relationship, also is our relationship with the Divine.
Such a beautiful story Tim of taking responsibility for your health and well-being and for making wise and self loving choice. Thank you, very inspirational.
It’s like we all know diets don’t work. They simply don’t, or t least they give you the illusion they do for a very short period of time, yet we are still hooked by them, because we simply do not want to responsibility of knowing that weight gain is not just about the type of food we eat or the level of exercise we participate in. Not holding back who we are is a MASSIVE piece of the puzzle, and deny that is just plain and simply, ignorant.
Thanks Tim…. It must be a living way that effects permanent change … otherwise it is just another band-aid that must eventually come off, or in this case , go back on !
Inspiring Tim, the ‘love’ diet is certainly working. You look great.
I love the message here that it the way we live that holds the answers to the situations we find ourselves in and this is where we can find true answers.
This is all great advice for those who have an issue with their weight, whether that’s too much or too little. “Diets don’t work” seems to be the very clear message and has been my experience too. Focussing on being more loving with yourself does ‘work’ beautifully as not only may your body shape change, but you will feel good about yourself. This is worth way more than meeting any desirable body image.
Stories like yours should be on TV Tim. If more people heard about what you did and have learnt through the process, both about yourself and life in general, there would be far more truth out there about how weight loss truly works. So much better than those shows about who can lose the most weight or who can cook the healthiest food?
It’s awesome how you turn the concept of dieting on its head Tim and have made it not just about what you are taking into your body but also about what you are letting out in your expression. For me what stands out in this story is how everything is connected and it was only when you were willing to look at not just how you were abusing your body with all the foods that you were loading it down with but also how damaging it was to not openly express what you were feeling that you have been able to support yourself and your body and the weight loss/adjustment has continued and been sustained. You feel so solid and joyful and are an enormous inspiration for all as the choices you have made are open to everyone.
Goes to show that we hold far more emotionally in our bodies than we hold just from eating poorly alone. We can go on a healthy diet and still be overweight simply because of the unhealed emotions we live with.
There are many reasons people eat, it can be for reward, it can be to numb ourselves it can be to dull ourselves so we don’t shine so brightly, we can eat to avoid what is really going on.
What you have done Tim is groundbreaking in you didn’t concentrate on “dieting” you just committed to getting to the real issue. When we are brave enough to go for the real issue we get real results.
I agree Sarah, it’s just about shedding the surrounding layers that obscure the constant light that shines brilliantly within,
What a transformation Tim, also what a credit to you and your livingness. How your choices you’ve made in life have truly made such a difference, not just in your weight, but your overall health and wellbeing, good for you.
Looking at your before and then after photos, what I saw so clearly was the bright light shining in you in the after. Now I know that the light is always within us but we can bury it at times and not let it shine. By letting go of the stuff, we can allow the light to shine brightly – as you show us here.
Tim you are an inspiration in so many ways, not just with how you have regained your natural weight, but how always you have such a big heart and a huge love for people that shines out constantly. All who you meet are truly blessed.
There is a very honest part of this blog when you talk about not being willing to let go of certain foods. This honesty is what brings the reality of what we can actually do to support ourselves and live with genuine health. It is a giant step towards self-love.
What is great about what you shared is that it was not goal orientated, it was about coming back to your natural self not trying to get yourself somewhere- this is huge.
Yes true, when we are ‘motivated’ out of lack or from a feeling of being less our choices will never sustain us. What is inspiring here are there are no quick fixes, rather a loving consistency in the way of being and living that has made the lasting changes.
“So when I am now asked how I lost weight, I can express that I feel diets do not work, and that only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss.” You are so inspiring Tim. Great to re-read your blog.
When we take responsibility and make it about honouring our body and how it is feeling all else is taken care of.
Your photos speak a thousand words Tim… the lightness and joy that shines from your recent photos is a joy to behold!
Tim this is an inspiring sharing on weight loss without dieting but as a way of life. When diets want to work towards a goal there is a great push and frequently disregard to ourselves because the goal is the only focus, and yet this way of losing weight does not consider the body as a whole. If we look at our body as parts, achieving what we want in a certain part, other parts would be compromised and the whole can only also be impacted as well. When seen this way, what you have shared Tim is a way that has care in every step of the way, being patient as well as understanding to ourselves, this care back towards ourselves bring a quality of love that is much more sustaining in choices that then truly support our overall health and well-being.
Tim I love how you share that wanting to loose weight is not the key when it comes to the weight we carry in our bodies. That choosing to care for ourselves and making this a dedicated way of living is what brings lasting change to not only our bodies, but to our lives as well.
‘Trying to control my weight loss or sustain it wasn’t even a consideration at this point, it was more a choice to start to love and support myself in a way I had never contemplated before.’ Tim I too lost weight simply by focussing on nurturing myself more deeply. REmoving gluten & dairy from diet led to a gradual weight loss, but more significantly, a change in shape and a greater awareness of how different foods affected me. A more rapid weight loss occurred when I also started expressing myself more openly.
I watch women all the time on this diet then another and now just before Christmas they are dieting so they can then eat whatever they want over the festive time. This doesn’t make sense to me why we would abuse ourselves in this way. What it does show, however, is the value in the questions you asked yourself around food. Thanks Tim for an insightful read.
My goodness Tim you are so handsome and to think you were previously hiding behind all that weight.
I am now at a healthy weight, I feel more me in my skin, and people ask me how I did it, or assume I have always been ‘healthy’, this is not the case. The true change came as you said, through making it a way of life. Caring for myself became more of a joy, a stillness and steadiness in true care become more normal. Diets do not work, they superficially deal with something, but true change makes sustainable change.
Whether it is understanding how stress and anxiousness run our lives, or realizing how we weigh our selves down with our choices, literally, the presentations of Universal Medicine continue to shine the light of wisdom into our lives so that we can make life-sustaining choices.
I love the four questions you asked yourself before you ate Tim, that is the key to returning to your natural weight, when you consider lovingly the body first, and ask what it feels like. That is self love and self care that are the foundations of supporting a body to be in its natural glory.
Tim this is a great blog, it will help so many people, as we can be so goal orientated and live by rules, as in can’t have this or that to eat, instead of feeling what and why we are eating it, thinking about or drawn to eat it in the first place. I have never considered I am eating foods I know don’t support me and make me racy because I am not expressing how I truly feel. It may not be that I need to express it to that person, or people, but express it to myself.
I have seen very few if any diets work, they may initially and act as a spring board to keep going but at the end of the day to sustain the loss we have to address other aspects of ourselves and change our way of eating and life. Thank you Tim for a super inspiring read.
It is a common cry ‘diets don’t work’. As you so clearly share Tim it is when we understand why we have certain behaviours and the effect of different foods on our body that we can make choices that change how we feel about ourselves and our body responds by returning to its natural shape.
So so true Tim diets don’t work, they never have and never will. I am shocked that the diet industry is still around considering in truth it has been a huge failure right from the start.
A truly incredible story that absolutely needed to be shared. Many who have chosen to live the wisdom presented by Universal Medicine, have experienced extraordinary transformations in their body and well being and you are indeed a great example of that.
A world that is obsessed with diets need to read this blog and in particular this line –” only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss”. We cannot just take one thing and try and fix that in isolation from the rest of our life, which of course is why diets don’t work. Separation does not bring wholeness.
Yes, simply removing certain foods using will power will never sustain longer term. To truly make changes requires honestly and and looking at what lies beneath our addictive behaviours.
That’s an amazing transformation Tim, I have seen hundreds of people over the years attempt to diet and lost weight and not only have I only ever seen a small handful do so with any longer term success, but none have ever looked so joyful and well all round the same.
Living the True ‘you’, will naturally result in our body reaching a state of harmony and this being reflected outwardly. Consistently is key – the gradual return to who we are and the shedding of all that we are not.
Weight loss as a way of life is actually not a weight loss regime at all – that factor does not exist when we learn to truly care for and love ourselves as we develop a more loving relationship with ourselves Tim. This is a beautiful example of jus this. Amazing and inspirational not from a weight loss story perspective but from a discovery of the true YOU!
I must add too that there is so much more to your story than just the weight loss – the pictures alone capture you with your joy and love of life that is so radiating it cannot be missed!
Tim, I love how you have shared that the loss of weight was more than just about cutting out certain foods – when you talk about the fact that you were sharing more and talking more about how you were feeling, and that this contributed to weight loss – you are showing that there is so much of weight and the body that we can use as protection from the world. And so when we open up and lose the protection then the weight drops off. This is amazing! Thank you for sharing this so beautifully as it is something people need to be aware of.
Being able to loose weight, not by trying to, but by creating a life that is focused on health and wellbeing, is where it is at. Not to follow the diet industry that it is all about what you eat, sure that is a component, but it is so much more, which you are a testament to.
Tim seeing not only your size, shape but also the change in vitality and spark in your photos is incredible. Whats more it was not some dictated diet that you followed but loving choices about looking after yourself and what you ate. this is the true diet, the personal diet that is unique to you but one that everyone can discover for themselves worldwide. It’s a diet with purpose and responsibility combined with love and care.
Tim you need to be presenting at all the weight watchers groups world wide…you are a living miracle of how to loose weight with out trying.
You have given us 2 very important keys on to how to lose weight and keep it off without trying to loose weight…absolute gold. You said ‘it was more a choice to start to love and support myself in a way I had never contemplated before.’ And ‘started to express more and say how I truly felt thus losing even more weight. I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it.’
Weight loss is such a huge issue for so many but what you share Tim could help everyone in this situation. I feel the point about expression will get missed or overlooked but it makes sense if we see overeating as linked to our feelings. If we have an anxiety from not saying how we feel and it creates tension then it stands to reason that food is a quick fire way to dull these unwanted senses. Therefore to express what is in our body must affect our relationship with food, as our issue is never with the food but with the feelings we crave from the food to dull what we would rather not face. An amazing subject with a powerful personal experience sharing a perspective that is worth full consideration. It clearly has worked for Tim as he has transformed his body and looks incredibly healthy.
Interesting point made in regard to expression and weight loss, I would never have believed it had it not been for my own personal experience of such also.
I love the step by step approach in which you allowed yourself to make more loving choices. Simple and very effective as you show.
Wow Tim you are a living miracle – to lose this amount of weight and keep it off is proof that dieting doesn’t work, what works is living a simple life and making loving choices daily that truly support us.
The why we are eating and what are we not wanting to feel is the honesty our bodies need to make real and true lasting change.
Tim what an inspiration you are!! I love following the realisation you had: “What was also a big revelation for me was the fact that because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight.” Wow that is really something worth sharing as it is a wonderful inspiration and also an invitation to feel. That honesty, and not holding back is the best “medicine” ever.
By making similar changes as you Tim I am now back to the same weight that I was when I was playing rugby at school more than thirty years ago. The responsibility I have now with what I put into my body is at an all time high even though there is always room for improvement.
I was told last week in some training I took part in that 30 % of under 13’s are either obese or over weight in the UK, these figures to me are shocking and say very loud and clear how we have got it very wrong, greater understanding like which is in this blog is desperately needed.
This quote alone is worthy of a double take by the dieting world: ‘because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight. I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it.’ This presents a whole new proposition on weight gain – the idea that we hold onto food by putting on weight because we are unable to express emotions. It’s as though we carry those emotions around with us as physical excess baggage. Truly thought provoking.
Great blog to come back to Tim, I was a lot heavier before I came across Universal Medicine and cut out gluten, dairy and alcohol from what I consume. I threw away all my fat cloths and bought new ones but then put weight back on as I wasn’t refining my diet and had to resort to wearing jogging pants until the weight came back off again. I would hate to see the size I would be now if I still consumed what I used to back then.
The photos at the top of this blog show the transformation of a man who looks to have had very low self esteem in to a man who is strong and confident in who he is. But his stance is not one of pride or bravado, there is a humbleness there too, a personal knowing that comes across, not from the loss of weight, but from a connection to who he is and the strength that comes from there.
Not only have you been losing weight but also you sparkle and shine as you are you, all what you have tried to protect with putting on layers is just there for all to see, no diet but a way of life, expressing who you are to the best of your abilities. And this is what life is about sharing and reflecting the love that we are, a joyful way of living.
Love to come back and read this Tim, you are a walking miracle and just to see the amazing photos of you and your wife and how you both look now is amazing.
People trying to lose weight are commonly caught up in a struggle with feeling deprived when they can’t have their favourite foods. As you have shown Tim, there is a whole other side to losing weight that isn’t usually talked about. A willingness to understand that our eating habits are a reflection of how much we are holding onto stuff that doesn’t belong in our bodies is asking for not just a different relationship with food but also with ourselves. Your blog shows just what’s possible through a steady commitment to building your awareness and in letting go of the comfort food can bring. Awesome Tim!
Wow! Tim those pictures tell an amazing story – you can just feel the joy emanating. What you share also is the fact unlike conventional dieting you ‘gently’ applied bridging techniques to gradually introduce new ways/regimes/routines/food types into your life. In the past I was forever being told to eat off a smaller plate but I just got crafty and learnt skills of skyscraper proportions. The ‘bridging’ foods certainly help enormously so that once we find our own pattern of eating, preparing foods that suit our body’s requirements the weight does come off naturally. Thanks Tim for sharing and inspiring us all with your journey.
This is just huge. At 1.88m in height this is a reduction in BMI from 49.5 to 28.0. A BMI from 25-30 is considered overweight, from 30-40 obese and from 40+ what is called morbidly obese. Insurance companies charge extra for clients with a BMI above 32-34 so what Tim has done is huge.
Tim, your pictures say it all – there is so much joy emanating from your ‘after’ photo’s. Relationship between living with honesty within the body and making choices that reflect that honesty and love is powerful. You are amazing and your commitment to self is a commitment to all. Thank you Tim.
Makes perfect sense Tim, so obvious but until you have said it not so clear, “What was also a big revelation for me was the fact that because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight. I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it.” Best weight loss program I have seen.
This is quite amazing when you realise that is not only eating with more love and respect for the body that brings the weight change but our words and actions as well.
Hello Tim and it’s great that when there is actually physically less of you we in fact see more of you. It’s great to have photos to document such a remarkable change in your life, just in your face alone is remarkable. Great story Tim, thank you and it’s good to see more but less of you.
“It wasn’t easy at first as I had to undo over 30 years of neglect and abuse” I love your honesty Tim, I wonder if this is why so many people give up on trying to loose weight and change their life, there is so much momentum to get past before it begins to get easier . This is what makes your journey so inspiring and a joy to read, you lost weight without consciously dieting, but by starting to love yourself in a way that you had never considered before.
An inspiring account of reconnecting and of living in a way that turns around a condition that for most people feels impossible… And this is the doorway that has been opened with this writing
This blog and Tim really are incredible on so many counts – the weight loss, the JOY, the inspiration for others, all of the wisdom that can be shared. So many people struggle with losing weight even often giving up on the possibility, but Tim has lost nearly 1/2 of what he weighed before – THIS IS HUGE. He definitely has a lot to share.
Tim I love coming back to this blog, this is the sort of thing that needs to go viral as there is a rapidly increasing number of people becoming overweight with seemingly no way out. I know personally how easy it is to put on weight and how hard it is to lose once you have. This really does show there is light at the end of the tunnel for those with that predicament.
Just like you Kevin – I like to come back to this blog and totally agree this sort of thing needs to go viral. Just commuting on the London trains I see so many people very uncomfortable carrying so much excess weight and what Tim is showing us that it is possible and it is NOT a diet. Simply lifestyle choices and no set goal, agenda or target weight.
I think the biggest thing is the no sagging skin. This is living proof that there is a natural way to let go of the stuff and what causes the saggy skin is the rapid weight loss and that is because people want drastic change fast. They want an end to the awful feelings that excess weight brings and of course our body is not designed to deal with it that way.
Obesity is a huge problem worldwide and this blog certainly has the answers.
This part also stood out to me Bina – the no sagging skin. I have heard people complain about this aspect of weight loss and here we have one man who has lost 12 stone and possibly more who has no sagging skin. This blog and Tim certainly do hold the answer.
“My only form of exercise was walking at a normal pace for a minimum of 15 minutes and occasionally”. It s interesting how powerful walking is and how a gentle exercise it can be. I find when I am connected to my body and walking in conscious presences, I find a 10mins walk is more powerful than an half hour exercise at he gym. I find I am able to deeply connect to my body allowing me to feel more, supporting me to make more loving choices.
Hello Amita and I don’t think we see how truly ground breaking this is. With everything out there from magic diets, to pills to powders to potions to extreme exercise, all in the name of loosing weight and feeling better here we have a simple approach to the whole thing and cheap. This allows you to see what the whole weight loss and exercise industry are built on and it’s not about truly supporting people. There are many, many more like Tim but 12 stone is huge, it’s a whole other person.
Thankyou for sharing Tim. As I read your blog I could not but help think of the story of the hare and the tortoise and how your slow and steady commitment to changing how you eat and lived and the subsequent weight loss that occurred as a direct result of your choices was a process that did not happen overnight. In a world where we are addicted to instant results and instant gratification this is an important reminder for us all. Well done, for the way you have cared for yourself is such an inspiration.
The photos are remarkable you look so much younger as you have gotten older (ha, ha) Thanks for writing about this. I feel what we are seeing with more people losing weight without self-love is leading to body dysmorphic condtions which is something that seems to be around in endemic proportions.
Yes the world does need to know, Kevin. As you say understanding why we eat what we do and not just accepting that it is a normal food is the key, but to be willing to look at that you have to be open in the first place. I remember I was so attached to diary and I thought it was just a New Age fad that people gave it up. When I first heard Serge Benhayon talk about the comfort that dairy provides us with because of the lack of true love in ourselves and our lives I felt the truth of that in my body and it cracked through all my justification. Giving up diary then was not too hard although I had to feel a lot of inner emptiness for a few weeks but boy, my body and particularly my digestion loved being without dairy and that lovely inner feeling is irresistible you simply want more of it. In my case that means no diary.
Dealing with our inner emptiness can feel quite hard at the times, but so well worth the effort. Once we look at the root cause as to why we over eat or eat the wrong foods we then have a foundation to go forward.
The world needs to know how easy it is to lose weight. I used to drink too much alcohol, fast foods and loved cheese pasties, snickers bars and coke. When you find out why you put these things into your body the battle is half won. Most of these foods are comfort foods and we either eat them to fill an emptiness or to numb ourselves to how we are feeling. I weighed 13kgs more than I do now and the weight just seemed to vanish over nightly just stopping gluten and dairy. After I stopped alcohol I didn’t lose that much more so it just proved to me how much my body could not get rid of or cope with dairy and gluten.
Great point Kevin McHardy “when you find out why you put these things in your body the battle is half won.” Any substance be it alcohol, nicotine, dairy, gluten, sugar etc I have choosen to let go of has happened with some ease, no struggle becasue when I have been honest about why I eat or drink them, it has been clear that I have been doing it for emotional reasons. The Esoteric Healing I have had, has healed the issues that where prompting the eating and drinking, letting go and nominating what is hurting has resulted in the cravings and numbing through food and drink begin to melt away.
Losing weight without adding self-love to the mix is like trying to shovel smoke with a pitchfork in the wind. When you learn what foods are loving or not and feeling what they do to the body it then just becomes very easy . I remember having stopped all the things you mentioned like alcohol, gluten and dairy etc including cigarettes for quite some time and I was having a bad day through one reason and another. I was hungry so I went to the supermarket and somehow my gaze settled on some jam donuts that were 4 for£1, something snapped and before I knew it I had bought and scoffed all four of them. As you could probably guess they didn’t make me feel very good so it was just back on the horse and the mistake was learnt.
Superbly said Kevin… “Losing weight without adding self-love to the mix is like trying to shovel smoke with a pitchfork in the wind.”… Love this analogy, as its so true.
Been it done it and felt it – just like you Kevin. Having an off day and somehow my gaze went to something in the supermarket and scoffed it and felt crap immediately after. It was like a frenzy and I call it a monster inside me that was not the real me as I would never ever even contemplate harming my body. Crazy thoughts and it comes down to choice. Now that was years ago and these days I am sensible and will eat something I may not think is great but then I feel it and say sorry to my body if it hurts. For some reason I have to feel it and not listen to what others say or suggest or recommend as it does not work for me. I have to do my own experiments as I have found that giving things up because you heard someone else is doing it maybe true but may not be true for you at that time and point in your own evolution. I hope you get what I am saying here.
Being able to actually let go of what we have held on to for eons is one of the wonderful aspects of what uNiversal Presents, and it is just the start of our healing.
I agree Chris, Universal Medicine supports us to let go of what we have been holding onto and identifying with for eons. It is still amazing to me what I have been able to let go which I never was able to before coming to Universal Medincine presentations – the power of true healing.
Thank you Tim, this is amazing, you look great and years younger than your old photos, I love how you were gentle with your self through out these changes. What a testament to living and expressing what is true for you with love.
Being gentle and loving with ourselves as we make such changes is a must, when we criticise, judge and condemn ourselves we just invite more of what we don’t want in.
I just came across a staggering figure: The dieting industry generates around £22 billion a year. That’s 22 billion pounds that should never need to be spent because when I read a transformational story like yours Tim, I know it’s possible; to care for ourselves in a way that makes weight-loss simply something that happens from a way of life, and that way of life also building the self-worth – the lack of self-worth that often lays at the root when buying many of these dieting products.
Awesome sharing Tim as I once again return to this amazing inspirational blog. I’ve noted that those who go on extreme dieting regimes (to loose several stones in weight) often get lots of excess skin of which, you had none. This to me emphasises the gentleness by the ways in which you lost all your weight. Gently bringing in the bridging foods into your food choices first which, then gave the green light in helping you to let go of the old patterns of drinking/eating which were so deeply ingrained. The joy and energy just sparkles from your pictures now. Amazing.
Good work Tim, a point that you made about expression and how that has assisted you in losing weight is very revealing as I along with changing my diet can also credit expression as a factor in my weight loss.
You look so much younger with so much light around your face and joy in your body. It must feel amazing to be you!
Oh my God Tim you look amazing! I didn’t even recognise you. It is so gorgeous to read your story and see how the awareness and understanding you brought to food and your choices, has supported you to make changes to the relationship you had with it and lose weight without even trying. Extraordinary.
This is such a beautifully supportive blog Tim. It is so true that often we feel and recognise what is needed to make changes in our lives be it foods or behaviours but we often find it hard to sustain these changes. What is inspiring about your story is that you were honest about where you are at and chose to take small steps, building a foundation of love through honoring you, and so building confidence to continue. That you did not pressure yourself to reach a goal but rather made choices that came from wanting to care for yourself. ‘Trying to control my weight loss or sustain it wasn’t even a consideration at this point, it was more a choice to start to love and support myself in a way I had never contemplated before. Naturally, as a by-product of this new change the weight started to fall off.’ – what you have shared here (and though your photos – you now look amazing!) is a testament that there is another way and through self-love and caring for our bodies this is possible for everyone.
Tim. your story is an inspiration and would benefit so many out there that are trying to lose weight. What you have shared is so simple and true. In a society that are so overweight and unhealthy, the diet industry is a huge business, and many get caught in that the diet company can tell them what to eat, thereby having no self responsibility and not listening to our own bodies.
For each individual to allow themselves to really feel, to be honest, to acknowledge the deep hurt of disconnection is the start of being able to turn around this tidal wave of obesity that is threatening humanity right now, and this is the inspiration of this great blog by Tim.
There is so much that is amazing about you Tim. That you weren’t trying to lose weight is so interesting. There are no goals so no failure. The fact that you found a way to lovingly support yourself with your diet and way of life is so important. There are always things we can do to go deeper with our self care. You are an inspiration.
Thank you Tim for sharing your extraordinary story. By the very fact that your weight loss was never a goal for you, yet making changes that truly supported you speak volumes and is so very inspiring.
I love your story Tim blows all the ideals and beliefs about weight loss and exercise out of the water.
Your picture says it all. Well done Tim. It is not just the weight loss it is everything about you that has dramatically changed. A true inspiration for all people struggling with weight. Just losing the weight won’t do when the reason why we eat remains.
Thanks Tim, what an awesome expression and transformation.
“it was more a choice to start to love and support myself in a way I had never contemplated before.”
I love what you have written here; self-love and self-responsibility, you are very inspirational Tim.
This is truly awesome Tim, thank you for sharing you weight loss story. These day, weight loss is marketed like as a quick fix solution… but you have showed that it is a consistent working going on, all the while, understanding the motivations behind the hand (of food) to mouth. The way you have lost weight is addressing habits and patterns and this is life changing, Great commitment towards yourself Time, inspiring!
An inspiring article Tim. When we bully ourselves to stick to a diet we resent the fact that we are depriving ourselves of foods we enjoy so they are bound to fail as being on a diet is no fun. When we make a choice to care for ourselves and nurture our body this changes our relationship with what we put into our body and as you feel more vitality and lighter then it becomes a diet of self love.
Tim, your personal development is very inspiring – thanks for sharing. I loved reading how you turned your life around. Food is such a big topic and how easily we can abuse food in the hope we feel better afterwards. Once we start to get honest about our choices, we can expose all the beliefs and ideas about food.
Now this is revolutionary..”What was also a big revelation for me was the fact that because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight.” Who would have thought that expressing more of our feelings was related to losing weight, but it makes perfect sense.
Thanks for sharing your story and debunking the whole concept of diets. Diets never made sense to me as they were short term and like you say, when you reach your goal weight … Whoo hoo .. Time to celebrate!! What I sense here for you Tim is that life has become a consistent celebration, a joy that comes from your very being and that you live on a daily basis. I also love how you share that when you express yourself in full there is nothing for you to hang onto and store in your body.
Wow -thanks Tim.
What an awesome effect this has had on your life. The decisions you have made have obviously payed off!
One thing I love is how you present that it was not just about the food you ate – but the how, why, where, when questions you asked with the help of Universal Medicine. Have had a similar thing in my life where for many years I was about 30 KG over weight. Taking time to reflect deeply, I feel that I am worth taking care of to find out what is really going on, and being prepared to investigate WHY I eat the way I do, what are the emotions I am experiencing around food, WHEN I choose to eat food that I KNOW is BAD for me – this is where Universal Medicine offers the greatest support and insight. Thanks for sharing what you have here. In a world where so many of us are overweight and dangerously ill because of it – you’re a shining example that needs to be shared for others to see that they can do it too.
This account of sustained, lasting weight loss is truly a revelation that deserves to be front page of every newspaper, magazine, and health website for a week at least. There could be an examination of what it means to let go of weight, from letting go of issues and beliefs held in the body. It makes so much sense, even just for the fact that people eat because of emotional turmoil and wanting to comfort themselves.
Reading your blog Tim always makes me smile, such living proof of how a few lifestyle changes can make such a difference to our health and wellbeing. I too was over weight for a while and somehow didn’t even realise the extent of it as I lived on a boat without mirrors except for a shaving mirror. I had to go and get measured for a suit for a wedding I was going too and the tailor said my waist was 42 inches, the last time I had it measured it was 32. Then I got to lay eyes on myself in a full length mirror which was quite a shock. I was now aware of my weight and a little bit conscious of it as well and tried to lose a bit but no joy. After meeting Serge Benhayon and attending a few courses I gradually cut out dairy and gluten and the weight literally just fell off. I went from 16st to 14 very quickly and then after a while I stopped consuming alcohol and lost a further half stone. Thats about the weight I have stayed I went down to 13 stone at one stage but 13and a half seems to be my natural weight at this stage.
Tim i loved reading and re-reading this blog.
I have seen such a change in you over the years and you have always been a gentle and tender man and a pleasure to be around. Your journey is an inspirational one and one that should be out there for all of us who jump on the diet bandwagon and yo-yo with fad diets. Not only is the wait fallen away but also all that you were holding onto which has revealed the amazing man that you are today and will be tomorrow.
Thank you for sharing, this revelation is so needed.
Yes weight loss comes about by making it a way of life not a quick fix solution to an issue. Its great that you say it was not based on strenuous exercise or mad dieting, just simply being more you made it possible to gently let go of the comfort you felt you needed in life.
Tim I love your story of transformation. You have a blue print that is inspiration-ally to be made mainstream. I feel like I want you to expand more about your weight loss journey. From your photos the vitality and quality of well being, weight loss seems a bi- product of your change, not the emphases. There is so much more to your story. Thank you Tim.
Tim your story is beautiful and inspiring, you share how you can make it simple and not complicated to loose weight. Many people get caught up in making it a goal to loose a certain amount of weight. Rather than looking at the whole why have I put on weight, what am I eating, what choices am I making, are they loving or unloving. Am I indulging in foods and emotions, the list goes on. When we take responsibility of our lives, we are able to make clear choices of what foods we eat that support our body and avoid indulging in emotions. This automatically gives the body a support to heal and loose weight gently.
Thank you Tim for sharing such an inspiring blog , your photos of your self and Bina are true testament of the journey you have traveled and the light and love you are and have for each other is undeniable.
Tim this is an absolutely inspirational and educational account of how to loose weight and keep it off. It blows weight watchers and all diet regimes right out the window.
A lovely article to re-read this morning Tim – and so inspiring. I’ve always felt having been a constant dieter in the past myself – Just the mention of the words ‘going on a diet’ it would immediately leave a feeling of ‘going without’. As you share “Making it a way of life” is so different it brings it back to choices – choosing what feels right for you and your body. The results are amazing and so obvious in your pictures the joy and vitality is there for all to see and feel thank you Tim.
Only a deep understanding of the fact that we use food to manage our hurts in a way that makes sure that we do not feel them, a real predisposition to work on our hurts, an opening to the possibility that some foods may not be good for us, and a real willingness to discover and to appreciate the beauty feeling lighter in the body are key in a journey back to what our body’s natural weight. It is an easy journey.
Thank you for the reminder Eduardo…it is an easy journey back if we choose it to be.
This is a testimony Tim of the power that is there behind listening to our bodies and not overriding the messages it gives us.
This truly is a remarkable story Tim, it shows there is more to weight loss than meets the eye and that all the dieting in the world is not sustainable without addressing the real reasons we are overweight. What you have said about expressing and losing weight is so very interesting and is an incentive to express even more.
“it was more a choice to start to love and support myself in a way I had never contemplated before”, I think I could safely say that the vast majority would agree with this statement.
Totally awesome story Tim, thank you for sharing it with us. I can only imagine what a difference you have made to your sense of self, your relationships, your joy for life and health and everything else that is changed when we start to love ourselves in this way. Well done.
Thank you Lisa, and yes, the differences it has made have been huge and I would say that the biggest change for me is the self-confidence it has given me. Its not only the weight loss itself but more importantly the fact that I am able to express how I truly feel on a much more regular basis.
Seeing your picture Tim, I am marvelled at how much weight you have lost and how handsome you look.
The love that is shinning through your eyes is a blessing for me and all. Your transformation not only with your weight lose but also in your attitude to self and life is an absolute inspiration.
Tim a truly remarkable journey. All I can say is congratulations!
What Serge Benhayon has shared about the stomach and acceptance seems so important for weight loss. Accepting who we are, so we can feel free to express all we are and not hold it in our bodies. Acceptance is such a huge and evolving awareness.
What a revolutionary statement … “because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight. I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it.”
Imagine this going in all the weekly and monthly magazines… at the head of weight loss businesses letters, a constant reminder not to hold onto stuff!
Just wonderful.
Yes Chis this is what the world of weight loss has been waiting for – the truth to dieting. How many billions and billions of pounds are spent in this industry and yet this blog has the answers.
That’s the key here Katie…understanding. With that understanding we have more knowledge and with that knowledge we can make more informed choices, choices which then give us the opportunity to make changes that are more sustainable.
Good point Simon, the bigger our bodies become the smaller our lives are. I know exactly how that felt. The more I would eat, the less I wanted to do. Before I started to put on the excess weight I was very physically active, practically every night I was playing some form of sports, from martial arts, squash, five a side football, snooker, badminton. I started to eat more and drink more and one by one all the activities went by the wayside, except the snooker. Eventually all I was doing was working, eating and sleeping. I went from living large and eating small to eating large and living small.
Thank you Tim, such an inspiring story to share – cracking through so many of the ideas around diets that hold people to ransom, keeping them locked in a way of being that really isn’t them. I love how you shared ‘…the fact that because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight.’ – the weight of unexpressed feelings is so rarely considered when one jumps on the scales!
“the weight of unexpressed feelings”. I love that phrase Hannah. I still have more weight to lose so I feel its a constant choice to express at all times and of course feeling what my body wants to eat.
This is a great slogan Tim: “eating large and living small”. It sums up the overeating habit in very few but meaningful words. We don’t have to be overweight either, every extra bite holds down the amazingness I am and instead could be feeling and expressing to the world. It’s just that if you are overweight you can’t hide it, whereas if you are thin it is not so obvious.
So important what you state Tim about how losing weight started without the focus on weight loss but by exploring how to truly love and support yourself, in all aspects of your life. This message is in particular for all those using diets to try to lose weight, when actually, they still want to hold onto the comfort and security that excess weight supports. That comfort and security is about lifestyle that does not address how much love we hold inside and how there is a deep yearning to express all of ourselves. The irony of channelling that expression into eating rich foods and too much food – making food the focus instead of ourselves – is that we become large, yet live small.
Hello Tim and what a great story of your weight loss. It is quite remarkable to lose that much weight without a strict diet and an intense exercise routine. If you can do what you have clearly done and everything else is out there saying you need to ‘do this and that’ then why isn’t everyone knocking on your door or at least getting on your bus. I have found a similar thing, my life use to be a constant up and down with my weight. To lose weight I would cut out foods for a while and exercise daily but eventually it would come back and so I just would repeat the same steps over and over. Until Universal Medicine and that changed the way I looked at things and looked at my weight. By merely not eating gluten, 5kg gone and a bloated stomach gone and the list goes on. What I found was a strong link to how I was feeling emotionally and foods I would eat. I set about looking at the emotional feelings, in other words how I was living and the rest took care of itself. I don’t watch what I eat, I stay with how I feel and then eat from there and my weight has been steady for the past 4 years. When I say steady I mean I have sat at the same weight within 400 grams for over 4 years, pretty exceptional. Thanks Tim.
Hello Raymond
I agree with you that how we feel emotionally does have an affect on what foods we choose to eat. When I am focussed on working and it has meaning and purpose then I tend to eat light and very little. When I am hooked out because I am in reaction to something someone has said, I will eat, feel awful and then deal with the buried emotion that could easily have been sorted before eating the wrong foods.
The big blessing is – thanks to the work of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine eating in front of the TV or munching for the sake of it is long gone and with that the weight loss.
I am so inspired by Tim’s mammoth weight loss that I tell anyone and everyone and they all love it – no one rejects it and I realised that the world really does want to hear about true stories like this one.
Responsibility is the key word here Conor. I had spent several years putting on the excess weight so it is only right that it would be my responsibility to get it off. That responsibility only started with the presentations of Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon and for that I am extremely appreciative as I dread to think where I would be now.
I agreee Toni, all diets, especially the new trendy fad diets, are designed to lose the weight initially but are never sustainable, so understanding how food affects us and making a lifestyle change is really the only way forward because, in truth, people can’t or, more precisely, don’t want to stay on a diet forever.
Great blog Tim and an inspiration to all of us. I love the story of how you weaned yourself off caffeine, milk and chocolate with substitutes. A great way of becoming aware of what those products do to our bodies. The raciness that caffeine and chocolate cause in the body and the heaviness that is felt with dairy, to then further questioning the substitutes and whether you really need them.
This is a gorgeous post Tim, I really enjoyed reading this and can feel your joy come straight through in the photos. What was so revealing to me, and yes it makes complete sense too relating it to not just myself but with other people I meet or know as well, was your reference to weight being about expression. I remember as a child there was a brief period where I overate on a type of food having it very regularly like clock work, and reflect now of this being the very case and using food as a substitute.
Never having been overweight myself, what I got from this post was that our weight and relationship with food – is more to do with our ability to self-express (or not). Your blog has exposed for me that – how we are eating, is how we are expressing. And how we are expressing is how we are eating. GOLD Tim and in your own words ” What was also a big revelation for me was the fact that because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight. I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it”.
Thanks Zofia. I love this line, “how we are eating, is how we are expressing. And how we are expressing is how we are eating.” This would make a great tagline.
What I found really interesting was that you find expressing how you feel as a part in you loosing weight. That is more than revolutionary. That means that not only are we affected by what we put into our mouth but we are also affected by things we don’t express. It stays in the body as a weight.
Yes I agree Matts, that is revelatory indeed. Being overweight is physically of course a result of eating too much, eating the ‘wrong’ foods or having a non-functional digestive system but the cause of this physical outplay may lay well underneath the physical and more in the choices we are making in our life. And why we are making those choices…
I agree also powerful revelation about weight loss and the need to express what you are truly feeling.
Hi Tim,
Your blog shares with us truth. Diets don’t work because at the end of the diet having reached the goal nothing has truly changed – you may be thinner but the issue which caused the weight gain is still very much part of you. So changing you, letting go, allowed the natural weight loss to occur. It brings me to ponder on other ways of being I for example was the opposite and if I put on any weight would eat less to lose it as it might lead to me being seen! So this shows me there are so many hidden reasons to manipulate our weight and getting to the core of those reasons is key to becoming a healthy weight which will depend on what our own body requires.
Tim. Decided to return and re-read your blog again about weight lose, and supporting a better way of healthy living.
I have kept my weight down and really feel so much better, not carrying around excess weight.
Hi Tim, Having known you when you were huge and seeing the transformation that has occurred to the handsome slim man you are today is absolutely mind blowing. The ease with how the weight dropped off and as you say no baggy skin is miraculous. You need to getting out there and talk at all the weight watcher groups in Europe. Your story needs to be heard universally so as to inspire the millions of obese people in the world that they can lose weight if they come at it from a true angle.
A top comment Mary-Louise and I could not agree more. Tim really needs to get out there with this story as there are so many in this world desperate for weight loss and will go to extreme lengths to get what they want but as we all know the effects do not last. As you say coming from a true angle, as Tim has ensures that the weight will not return and I agree with you – no baggy skin is miraculous.
I tell anyone and everyone about this story and I am amazed how interested people are when they realise how much 12 stone actually is..
I go to the large person in the park, in the supermarket, bus, train, wherever. What surprised me is how responsive they are and my intention was to share and nothing more. I leave feeling like I said something and did not hold back when the opportunity was presented.
I would describe this as being a steadiness in the approach Tim adopted that is rarely seen in the process of attempting to lose weight. That Tim did not attempt to lose the weight but instead addressed how he was feeling was clearly a most effective strategy. If we are willing to look more closely at the why then we give ourselves the chance to address the whole of the issue and, like Tim, we may then naturally drop to the weight that supports a healthy way of living.
Tim you give new meaning to finding your real self. You have lost what I weigh now. You have in essence and fact lost a whole person that was not you. You have not lost half of what you are, you are now the whole person that has been hiding by carrying a whole other person that was never part of your true real self.
I love what you are saying here Steve. Its funny but true – Tim has lost a whole person. His weight loss so far is that of an average adult man and it was a man that Tim is not now. So in effect that huge weight Tim was carrying was not him and the real Tim is beaming out there stronger than ever driving his bus and shining his light.
On a personal note, I chose to blot out the fact the weight was in the way of everything in our life and of course I had my own weight issues. To be free of all this stuff is very liberating and empowering to say the least.
Tim I have just reread the title and for some reason had never clocked how much weight you had really lost, 12 stone is a person! Wow that is incredible and what is worth shouting from the roof tops and plaster over billboards is that you kept it off. I remember reading in a unimedliving.com article that about 90% of people put the weight back on, and in the weight loss industry this is a major plus. It simply about really caring and loving yourself more and more and more.
Tim, I was fortunate to spend time with you today and to share a meal with you and I promised myself that I would look up your blog. It is just so beautiful to see where you have come from and the way that you have lived since 2007. So true it is that if you give up something you give up giving up because the craving is still there. You have turned this on its head and it’s just an amazing story of true living. Inspirational.
A diet void of self responsibility is ill fated- if we look to a goal and ignore the issues that drive our everyday choices then there will be no lasting change. Tim your dedication and commitment will inspire the world.
Tim I love that you claim that weight loss is about a way of life, not diets. This has been true for me too, as I have never taken to diets – they become all consuming and I think about food all the time and therefore inevitably set myself up to fail. However by making a lifestyle change I simply learn to discern what is true for my body, and the next step naturally unfolds. Expression has also been a big part of my story – I found that after an initial steady (but substantial) loss of weight I plateaued for a long time. This changed very quickly once I verbalised a very deep and negative belief I’d held about my self – amazingly my weight dropped another 5 kg in a short period, bringing me to my ‘natural weight’.
Thats a good point Anne. On some level we already know that diets are going to fail because we know we can stop a diet and go back to our old ways at anytime. Making it a way of life, on the other hand, brings in a deeper level of commitment and makes it easier to sustain.
It’s great Tim how you demonstrate that weight loss happens naturally when we make self-loving choices and I see that an important part of that included expressing how you ‘truly felt’. As you said, ‘I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it’ which helped you to lose ‘even more weight’.
What I love about this article is that Tim brings our bodily health and well being back in to the realm of genuine personal responsibility, which is a responsibility that does not focus on what you do but how you are in relationship with yourself.
Good point Shami. I guess everything comes down to how we are with ourselves. With food, the more content we are in ourselves, the less we are likely to want to eat the wrong foods to push down those emotions that want to surface.
Your realisation that the more you express how you feel the more weight you lost is one I can relate to. Lately I have been noticing on days when I really express my, share my feelings and let people see more of me I feel full and contented and the snacking and overeating don’t exist. Whereas when I shut down my expression and ignore my feelings, I instantly feel more dull or empty and want to eat to make it go away. This has huge implications for those having trouble losing weight.
Very inspiring blog Tim. Your line about it not being a goal to reach really stood out for me. I found too that when I make it about a goal it does not work. I then feel like I am saying to myself that I can not really live untill I reached the goal and most of the time there is another goal ready so no time to really live then! So I found that it is about how I live in every moment that matters most and this is also a lot more real and fun.
Very true Lieke. I realised recently that I have been goal orientated for a lot of my life, often seeking recognition for what I was doing also. What I can feel for me which is what you are also saying is that when I was goal orientated there had to be another goal after that. There was such a feeling of not being enough if I wasn’t reaching for a goal. That space in between goals was the point that I needed to look at – for that is where the truth of what was happening in my life was to be found, rather than making a B Line for the next goal.
You are right Lieke, when we make anything about reaching a goal we put an unnecessary pressure on ourselves to reach that goal and when we fail we go into all kinds of emotional turmoil. As you rightly say, living and being with ourselves in the moment of any situation is what matters and the outcome we get may not always be the outcome we expect.
‘What was also a big revelation for me was the fact that because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight. I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it’. A big revelation indeed Tim, but makes a lot of sense.
It’s interesting Natasha in what you are say. If diets don’t work, then why are we persisting with them? What I love in this blog is that Tim clearly presents this and shows that the way to return to the shape that is naturally us is through a series of loving choices that support our whole wellbeing, without any push or goal for our bodies to look a certain way.
Yes Tim diets don’t work as they are not a quick fix but a way of life. Choosing a way of living that supports you to feel great in the body can’t be contained in the body. Your blog has inspired many people to see there is another way.
The before and after photo at the top of the page always makes me smile, I love the joy you are now able to hold due to the amazing commitment you have to self. You truly are a great inspiration Tim.
I love these words today, Tim, “it was more a choice to start to love and support myself in a way I had never contemplated before”. Yes, the choice to start to love and support ourselves is absolutely radical, so simple but life-changing. And it takes a true commitment and dedication to make that step and it feels so beautiful to actually hold oneself in that love and not look for it outside. The beginning of the answer and end of solutions as you have shown.
I was not aware that there was Overeating Anonymous – OA, like AA and NA has the same type of principles as AA which everyone knows is Alcoholics Anonymous.
Tim would be great in shaking up and ruffling a few feathers by presenting his ‘real life’ story of how he has dealt with his overeating and bring some fresh air to these places where people go as there is nothing out there bringing about real change. The diet industry which is booming would disappear overnight if we all start to take Responsibility for our choices and the way we live everyday as Tim has shown us. The beautiful thing here is it really is never too late. Tim is now 52 and looking the best he ever has and he feels content – you can see it in his face.
I agree Bina, the diet and exercise industry is worth billions but does not seem to be making any real, long standing difference to the health and well-being of those who participate. I can relate first hand to being a yoyo dieter and exercise fanatic for many years – I tried every exercise fad and diet that came on the market. Initially they seemed to work and I would lose weight only to find that it all came back faster and I would get heavier. Then I would be on the pursuit of another diet – from one extreme to the other in an endless exhausting circle to be thinner and healthier.
Tim and yourself are the living proof that diets don’t work and that there is no need to get into the cycle of obsessing about being thinner and the latest diet craze and that it all comes down to making self loving choices and listening to our bodies.
I love your story Tim as it shows that following a diet isn’t necessary, and in fact, is more likely to set you up to fail. Diets always seem to be based on what you can and can’t eat, rather than focussing on changing the approach to food and addressing the deeper questions of why we eat what we do, why we eat at certain times, are we eating to comfort our emotions, etc. Addressing these questions is a complete game changer…
Tim when I have listened to people talk about weight loss through dieting there has been a shakiness to the subject; but you feel absolutely rock solid in your weight loss and wonderfully joyful as well.
Lifestyle changes to support who you are, as opposed to lifestyle changes to support who you want to be. Very clear difference and clearly shown in the above blog.
“Trying to control my weight loss or sustain it wasn’t even a consideration at this point, it was more a choice to start to love and support myself in a way I had never contemplated before” I think you cracked it Tim, this is the answer for anyone wishing to lose weight, we no longer need diets any more – this sentence says it all.
I find food is a distraction from truly connecting to what the body is saying. Foods can creep in just to distract us from truly feeling what’s going on. I find it’s really important to keep on top of foods that creep in and just to be aware of why the change and how have I been in my day.
Love this Blog Tim. This story could make you millions. Food and weight issues is an epidemic. Are you saying by simple expressing more of how you truly feel and making this a way of life, this changes how you feel and your choices for food change also to match this feeling? Wow! So simple, who needs a diet when we have Tim Bowyer’s story to tell !!
It is definitely a worthwhile journey to explore the effects of food on our bodies even if you don’t have a weight issue. For me it has been about not wanting to feel something or not allowing myself to just be with me without having to eat something. It is a great story Tim one that so many would benefit from, thank you for sharing.
I love how you didn’t go cold turkey Tim, but found a way to bridge it to slowly change your eating patterns over time. This feels very loving and supportive for yourself, and proves that it is a change of lifestyle that works, not dieting.
I agree Rebecca…going cold turkey is like torture particularly with sugar which we now know is highly addictive, and has recently been reported to be eight times more addictive than cocaine…
Tim this is a truly amazing account you have shared, going against the trend of every other weight loss and diet program on the mainstream market. Sustaining a natural healthy weight is unheard of in my understanding of the diet industry with mostly a yo-yo relationship filled with drive, guilt, shame, binge, purge, guilt etc. etc. yet if, as you have presented, there is a consistent commitment to being loving with oneself, the body naturally takes care of the rest. The diet and weight loss industry would be turned on its head.
Absolutely David, ‘yet if, as you have presented, there is a consistent commitment to being loving with oneself, the body naturally takes care of the rest.’ This is what I have found from my own experience, in the past I tried some different diets and weight loss plans but they always felt hard and never worked long term, and since I have been taking care of and being loving with myself my body has naturally lost weight and it feels like I am now at my natural weight without even trying and thinking about it – so much more simple.
Great point you make David that the body naturally takes care of the rest if we commit and are consistent to being loving with ourself. It is simple, makes sense and YES the diet and weight loss industry would be turned on its head.
The amount of money people are willing to spend to get the quick fix weight loss is ridiculous.
I remember being wrapped up in stuff and left to bake in foil as part of an “inch loss” program. I signed up and you get measured before and after paying heaps of money. Yes I lost an inch in one session but it was water and the bloated big belly me was back within hours. Crazy behaviour and with zero awareness about taking Responsibility and what that actually meant, I remained at the mercy of all these fads. Not once did it cross my mind that how I was living was contributing to this excess weight I was carrying.
It is so great to read how non-judging you are Tim, of yourself and of anyone really who also wishes to lose excess weight. Body image is huge in our relationships with ourselves, and you have taken this relationship to a deeper level of acceptance and love.
An amazing achievement Tim, the before and after shots say it all
Thank you for a great blog Tim and this smile in the photo!
What was striking for me is your comment “I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it”. I don’t have a weigh problem but my digestive system had always been very troublesome. Practitioners had explained to me that I don’t let go of issues, and these accumulate in the body and impedes its healthy functioning. So making loving choices and letting go of resentment have worked miracles for my health.
Patricia such a great understanding you are offering here. Letting go of resentment is a big step towards the true you.
Tim, I love how you highlighted the point that the choices of food you were making were not with the focus to lose weight but rather to love and support this love for yourself. This is such an important message to share and you are a shining living testament of what is possible when we choose self-love over chasing an image of self and how expressing the truth of how we feel frees us up to truly be ourselves. That everyday living in this way is worth celebrating. A true inspiration you are – thank you for all that you have shared.
Love it Tim… Your experience and the wisdom gained would turn the weight-loss industry on its head.
Tim this is an awesome blog. I love the way you have described the gradual process of regaining your natural body weight as being not about dieting, but developing an ongoing and more loving your relationship with yourself and choosing to eat only foods that support your body.
Tim, your before and after photos themselves tell the story of an amazing transformation back into the light, open, expressive man you are. So inspiring.
I agree Doug, let the world know ‘Diets don’t work” the changes in Tim and Bina over the years has been miraculous and they have simply achieved this by being deeply honest with themselves, listening and honnouring to what their bodies where truly telling them.
Tim your expression of your truth is beautiful example of how miracles occur and what seems impossible can be a very simple loving process. Expression is everything and everything is expression so when you express love and truth with truth and love the body will remodel itself to be the ‘picture’ of a ‘body of love’.
Well said Andrew – expression really is everything and I have come to understand how the size we are is much more than just food and exercise – it is everything about how we are living. Tim has shown how looking at all of this has been the way he has seen weight-loss as a by-product of how he now lives. That is amazing!
Tim. You are an inspiration to me. Even though I am not over-weight, there is much gold in what you have written for me as I too have (and still do) made un-loving choices of what to eat. Sure, they may not have made me overweight, but that is not the sole way by which food can affect our bodies. You nail an aspect of this in a later comment when you say that the more you express the lighter you feel. Another angle on this is that the more you eat, the less expressive you feel. The wrong food or the wrong amount of food or (very definitely at play with me) the wrong way of eating food (even if the food is top drawer) can all have detrimental effects on us…deadening our bodies, our expressions, who we naturally are. The very ALIVE relationship that you have with food is an inspiration to me – irrespective of the fact that I have zero need for a weight-losing diet. Thank you lots and lots.
Wow, Tim…how amazing and inspiring are you!!!
Tim, I love the way you chart your journey through photographs. We see changes in your body weight from 16 year old Tim in your army uniform to you in your late thirties and now reclaimed in your fifties. This sentence says so much: “I wasn’t willing to let go of the foods, like bread, pasta, chocolate, alcohol, cakes etc, that I knew to be the cause of my weight gain”. This ‘unwillingness’ to let go of something we know to be harmful to ourselves will be recognised by many, including myself. Yours is a truly inspirational story and one that I’ve shared with others I know. Thank you.
Thank you Kehinde. Yes, the unwillingness to let go of certain foods plays a big part of why I feel dieting doesn’t work. We can abstain from foods for a short while but will always come back to them. It was only when I had the understanding of how these foods truly affected me did I start to let them go.
I agree with you Tim that we can abstain from foods but only for a short while. Like you I have had similar issues with food and having an understanding about what these foods are doing to my body inside and how this affecting me makes it easier to let go.
I recently studied Diet and Nutrition and it would be great if schools could educate our youth about the harmful affects of food – for example yeast which is in so many foods these days is what they call the “21st century killer”. Very few of us know the real harm that yeast is doing to our digestive system and how it effects our brain.
Tim, reading your blog again, I am astounded by how much weight you have lost. It is an incredible story and one that will inspire many as I can feel how easily the weight disappeared as you started to make more loving choices. I have never needed to diet but I have had many friends who have and the diet always felt like a burden and a struggle not something as simple as what you are describing.
Tim you are a living example to true weight loss – the joy you now walk with is undeniable.
How can diets ever work if they do not encompass the whole you?
Lets wake up and see that excess weight is not simply the result of the food you ingest but equally so the unexpressed feelings we hold onto.
I have untold appreciation for all the commitment you have shown towards yourself and now the gleaming inspiration you are to others.
Well said Lucinda – “Lets wake up and see that excess weight is not simply the result of the food you ingest but equally so the unexpressed feelings we hold onto”.
I can now see it in overweight people, how they seem to hold back from expressing their feelings and this is a huge part of weight loss that needs to be addressed. I am bored with the reality TV programs for drastic, dramatic weight loss on these bootcamp shows, that has proved over and over again that it cannot be sustained.
As Tim has said it took years to pile on that weight and so it will take a few years to get it off. The ‘quick fix, want it now, not take any true responsibility’ way is NOT working and never will.
Tim is leading the way in weight loss and above all the no skin sagging confirms to me that our body can get back if a true way is used to lose weight.
Well said Lucinda and Bina. As you say Bina, the bootcamp shows on TV focus on severe weight loss over a relatively short timeframe without truly addressing why the weight went on in the first place. What Tim is showing us is that by taking the time to address the issues that put the weight on, the weight can then fall off over time. and his body is returning to shape and size that is natural for him.
We all know that there is more to food than just eating.. so why haven’t we looked at the whole truth or why we eat what we do and only focused on the diet part? Diets are set up to fail if we do it like this!
Even more than the weight loss which is amazing, is the joy you emanate Tim. Beautiful to see. And what a lesson for all that it is not only the food and how and why we eat, but all the stuff we hold on to. Great clearing.
What a truly inspirational story! Where you say you felt like you were losing weight just by expressing yourself and not taking stuff on and in – it was at this point I could tell you had changed your life – not just your body shape – AMAZING – thank you for sharing.
An inspiring and amazing story. The power of what you share when you say ” So when I am now asked how I lost weight, I can express that I feel diets do not work, and that only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss ”
You are sharing how much we as people need to have a steady and reliable way of life to truly support our being and body. It gives us routine and rhythm to be able to have a flow that then supports how we are within every moment within every day!
Why we choose to eat food is often the unexplored part of dieting and weight loss, yet if we address the why, our chances of success are much greater, as we get closer to the root cause of why we might overeat or choose unhealthy options – be this for comfort or relief or to bury our feelings in food to avoid what is going on.
Undoing 30 years of neglect and abuse is no mean feat. I have been sitting in front of my computer pondering on what this actually means and it takes in so many aspects of our lives from physical (which is obvious Tim), emotional, social, financial and spiritual in the sense of honouring the ‘more’ of you! (In this case though it is physically less!) Your sharing is appreciated Tim, it has made me stop appreciate you and the inspiration that you are.
Every overweight person should read your blog- awesome!
This is such a joy to read Tim and I have witnessed this amazing change in you since the first time I met you, from the loss of the weight to the true you starting to shine through, till now and you beaming, full of being the true you.
You should start a diet and weight loss program Tim called ‘just love your self’.
Madeleine what a great title for a best seller on weight loss.
There is something so special about that photo, 7 years after Universal Medicine, where you are in a garden alone and with Bina Pattel. It is in the eyes, they just singing out appreciation and self acceptance. Yes it is great to loss weight if it is necessary, but wow, those eyes say so much about the bigger picture and what learning to look after yourself and learn to listen to what your body has to say, can mean to the quality of life that you live. This blog feels so great to read, it is accessible and open to all – thank you.
Tim. Like you, I did not diet, just looked at what I was eating and how much. I have now dropped a considerable amount of weight. Feel so much better and healthier. In fact you and I back to back would make a wonderful pair of slim line book ends.
These pictures speak a thousand words. There is the obvious weight loss, which is obviously super cool, but what blows me away is the aliveness in your expression now. Inspiring. Thank you, Tim.
A great story Tim and I can feel the love that you have for yourself and the integrity that you feel in your body for allowing it to have a say in what foods you eat, why you eat them, when you eat them and how much you eat.
Tim, you can be my bus driver any time! Next time I am in Oxford Street I will look out for you – it must be lovely for your passengers to be greeted by such a joyful face. The light radiating out from you is striking and a real testament to your amazing journey.
I will second this Josephine, I recently asked Tim which route he was on so I could look out for him as I felt the journey would be such a joyful experience. The photographs speak volumes.
Tim everyone I see you your shining even more and looking fantastic.. Something is working!
“The more I express, the lighter I feel”. This is so simple and so true possibly for everyone. Thank you Tim for a great sharing in the blog and in the comments.
This is a profound statement Tim it seems to me you have nailed what the weight loss industry have been trying to find for eons….. “because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight. I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it.” Remarkable- thank you for sharing.
“How food truly affects my body,
Why I choose to eat these foods,
Why I choose to eat the quantity of food that I was eating,
When I choose to eat these foods.”
“I had never been presented with this knowledge before and so with this understanding I was able to start making changes that truly supported me.”
It’s true Tim when people try to loose weight it comes form a place of wanting to be slimmer but does not ask the questions that you are asking here, to look at why, how and what we eat. That is why Diets don’t work and you are living proof of this, you did not set out to loose weight but by being honest and looking at areas in your life that you had not touched on before, you began to naturally loose weight. Bina is right your story does need to be told.
I read on the Public Health England website that by 2050 obesity is predicted to affect 60% of adult men, 50% of adult women and 25% of children (Foresight 2007). That is such a huge proportion of people in the Uk alone. And here you are Tim, a walking, talking, bus driving golden key and true case study for the world. Hundreds of billions of dollars are being spent each year around the globe trying to stop this snowballing epidemic of obesity, and Tim you are now simply living the understanding of how this could truly change without the colossal expenses and massive struggle so many people are experiencing everyday. Loosing weight naturally through self-expression and self care and making this your everyday living way of life, without the battle, boot camps, and diets. Amazing. So appreciative you have shared your story Tim, such inspiration and support you offer.
You are right Emilia – Tim is a brilliant case study for our obesity epidemic.
‘A walking, talking, bus driving golden key…’ You have just inherited a new middle name, Tim. Thank you Emilia.
This is an absolutely brilliant blog Tim – I love this: “diets do not work, and that only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss”.
With the NHS stating that 1 in 4 people are clinically classified as being obese, it would be amazing to get stories like yours Tim out to the doctors surgeries and weight clinics far and wide. These simple changes can clearly make huge differences.
Has anyone clocked the photo on the left of Tim Bowyer aged 39.
That shoulder – look at the length. For the record it is from a shop called “High and Mighty”.
Tim could not get clothes from normal shops and if you take a second look you may see that it is a 5XL shirt size.
In big man language that means FIVE times bigger than an Extra Large.
Hello. HELLO
Today mr Tim has gone from a size 54 inch waist to size 36.
That is incredible and completely blows out of the water all this diet stuff.
I reckon this story needs to get out there so more people with weight issues can feel there is another way.
I could not agree more Bina. This man is not just telling a story of weight lost. He has regained himself. It can be seen in his eyes, in his smile. I love that “after” photo of both of together, looking hot as, and younger than in the photo taken 10? years before.
The 36 inch waist is amazing enough, but no value can assigned to your smiles.
You are both living, breathing testaments to Universal Medicine.
This truly is a great story Tim, its almost unbelievable the amount of weight you have lost. I can’t ever remember you being that big. This is a true testament of how making a few loving choices and a bit of commitment to self can bring about such dramatic change.
Yes it is such an inspiring read. Pictures say a thousand words and the changes in Tim have been incredible. What an awesome turn around.
An inspiring story Tim. Great that you got off the treadmill, the cycle of diet and lose weight to celebrate and put it all back on again. Great that you were willing to feel what foods were not ‘right’ for your body and allow them to be released from your diet. Great that you were willing to take responsibility for what you were putting in your mouth and what you were holding on to that didn’t serve your body.
I loved reading your story Tim, it is very inspirational.
You look so much healthier, vital and gorgeous in the later photos
It is amazing what true education can do in shifting old patterns and behaviours
Thank you for your expression
What comes to mind for me is that it’s not always what you eat, but rather why you eat that comes first. Once the why is sorted out, then what follows is the what, i.e. the types of foods eaten that you choose to either support or possibly sabotage the body. I’ve chosen many foods that sabotage, and for me, it is always asking myself why I picked that to eat, while even knowing it wasn’t going to keep me feeling beautiful. And then all those times where I chose supportive things to eat, I feel like I go from strength to strength.
Tim your lived testimony on weight loss is super inspiration! It defeats all our beliefs that weight loss is about dieting and controlling ourselves, and instead it has much to do with expressing ourselves and returning to understanding and caring for our bodies–simply a way of life rather than rules and regimens. And it works!
Tim your testimony on self love and losing weight is a huge inspiration. It defeats all our beliefs that weight loss is about dieting and controlling ourselves, and instead it has much to do with expressing ourselves and returning to understanding and caring for our bodies, simply a way of life rather than rules and regimens that we set for ourselves.
Wow Tim, what a great story… and I can attest that what you say is so true, dieting to lose weight does not work in the long term. As a practitioner I have always observed this and knew it was not the answer, but didn’t know what was either. Since coming to Universal Medicine presentations and workshops I too have come to understand so much more about our relationship with food and when I share some of these insights where relevant for clients, have watched them make very similar adjustments with the same sort of result.
This is an awesome story to share Tim, as the information you were given about food and food choices is so very important for people to understand. There are always going to be the latest fads and magic diets, but the truth is actually learning how to listen to the body and honour it in a way that offers true nourishment and not as you say any goal oriented diet. Well done, you look great physically, but there is also the shine of loving yourself present in your ‘after’ photos.
I agree Monica – refining our diets by ‘degrees’ is both much more sustainable and effective, as evidenced by Tim and his blog!
What an incredible transformation (or rather return to being you) Tim! I find fascinating your realisation that as you expressed more and was not holding onto stuff as much you could feel your body was able let go of stuff and the weight coming off. It totally makes sense that it is “only by making it a ‘way of life’ that you can truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss.”
I like this term of ‘bridging’ that you used to help yourself ease off certain foods. Very supportive. And “because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight. I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it.” BOOM. This is great Tim.
What is so key for us all and what you have presented here, Tim, is that when we set ourself targets with timelines based on an outcome, we are setting ourselves up to fail. With such understanding, tenderness and care you let your relationship with yourself unfold and that brought weight loss benefits that were a sideline to your deepening relationship with you and life.
Wow – what an amazing change you have made. Millions of people struggle daily with their weight and treat their bodies in horrible ways to try and lose weight, this is such a beautiful example of looking a bit deeper and honouring yourself and the results speak for themselves – you look amazing. This should be front page news!
Tim I have re read this and have to say I love the way you write, it is so down to earth and written in such a way that we all get it, diets don’t work, being honest with what our bodies truly want is the only way. Thank you once again for this great article, this should be shared world wide.
This article is absolutely the answer to what so many people are looking for in relation to weight lost. A way that deals with the route course that allows the weight to naturally come off. I agree Samantha, ‘Weightwatchers’ the world over need to read this.
“What was also a big revelation for me was the fact that because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight. I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it.” What a HUGE revelation.
Your are so right Jonathan – it is a HUGE revelation what Tim is saying about losing even more weight when he started to express more. In fact, many many people would benefit from knowing this as changing your food helps to a point and so does exercise BUT the continued weight loss came AFTER Tim started saying what he feels and expressing without holding back.
What I have come to realise is how important photos are now. At the time of our heaviest weight, both me and Tim got rid of the photos as we were so ashamed of how we looked.
The photos in this blog do not show the real extent of our weight but nevertheless, the blog delivers and you get to feel the hugeness of us, pun intended.
I agree with you Jonathan. This was the point that resonated with me in Tim’s article. When we start to express and let go of all the ‘stuff’ that is weighing us down we become and feel lighter in every way.
Hello Tim, thanks for writing your blog. You know Tim I feel I am at the other end of the spectrum regarding weight. I am a person who can easily loose weight and in fact can become quite thin. This for me is when my self-worth is at its lowest. I too have to be very aware of what and how I am eating, so that my body receives the nourishment required to for daily life.
I love how patient and considered you were Tim with the changes to your diet, there is such intelligence in how you approached what is a massive part of all our lives, the food we eat and the impact it has on us.
Tim, this sharing is so awesome in what it is presenting as a way forward and a huge inspiration for so many others in what you have managed to turn around and move forward from. Who would have thought our own self love and care would be this amazing and gorgeous end result.
Tim so many people are looking for something that will make then younger, what the photos you’ve shared show us is that with a deep level of care, love and great choices you’ve found the answer. Not only do you look so much more healthy in the photos but you also look so much more alive and like you are enjoying life. What a great story to share, especially as the large majority of the western world is becoming obese and most are not sure what to do about it.
What an inspiring and for me, most of all, supportive blog you wrote Tim. So the body never lies and your body confirms the loving choices you are still making as a way of life. So beautiful.
I love looking at these photos. Seeing the now photo it is hard to believe that you were 27 stone and have lost the equivalent to a grown adult – 12 stone, all without dieting. This is definitely an example of what can happen if you make more self loving choices.
Tim – it was totally delightful to read your blog and see the amazing change in the ‘before and after’ pictures. Your joy and vitality in the after pictures is absolutely inspiring.
I agree Richard – we cannot argue with the fact that this is a real true life story coming from Tim’s “lived experience”. As James Nicholson said in an earlier comment this needs to be studied as there is much to learn for so many who are now suffering with obesity and blindly searching for answers out there.
Theory has its place but we cannot negate us, the actual human being who is a living science and our world would greatly benefit if we started applying what others are living and experiencing. Imagine how many people like the old Tim are out there uncomfortable and embarrassed about their weight and unaware of the real health implications.
True Bina, not only uncomfortable about their weight and how they feel but also unaware that they have within them the power to change as Tim has. This is the key that was reflected to Tim by Serge Benhayon and also what we can all reflect to others once we know and embody our own power!
Absolutely Bina, Tim is the living science and the living evidence that the choices we make can completely change our bodies as well as our lives. This definitely needs to be studied, it is the missing link to what we as humanity so desperately need – true health.
That is what I was looking at too Richard, Tim’s expression and the whole way his body is speaking, his face his stance everything, it is like two different people. His smile is not forced you can see that he is enjoying life and looks so much more gentle and approachable. Amazing Tim a true change from within you shining out.
Diets don’t work, but self care and nurturing certainly do; I love the way you did not go cold turkey (except for the alcohol), but gradually weaned yourself off certain food items whilst increasing your self love.
Through self care I have watched so many foods naturally fall away and what I notice is when I look back at what I once ate, I am stunned that I do not miss the very foods that I thought I could not live without.
A man growing ‘younger’ every day…really inspiring pictures and story, Tim, thank you.
You shine out of those photos Tim, such an amazing example of being willing to see what you were doing before and change around and make more loving choices for yourself. As you say, so simple, and now so joyful!
Tim you look amazing, and it is not just the weight it is also your eyes. They are so alive and shining! You can really see how listening to what your body truly wanted has allowed you to live with so much vitality, it is literally bursting out of you!
What I love more than the change in your weight is how vital you are and the look in your eyes. It is obvious that the quality of life you are experiencing is radically different to the earlier photos. Your story provides a great insight about not only the fact that diets don’t work and we need to make it a way of to take care of ourself, but also the fact that living like that has an amazing impact on all areas of our life.
Not holding on to stuff also a factor in being able to lose weight is something I have never really thought too much about. As someone who was also overweight I know how hard it is to lose . For me just cutting dairy and gluten from what I ate was enough to lose the extra weight I was carrying, I didn’t initially eat any less at all or stop alcohol straight away that came a bit later. No wonder you have such a great smile on your dial in the photo, you look great!
On that note Kevin about “not holding onto stuff is also a factor in being able to lose weight” – I feel to share that it cannot be a co-incidence that when were at our heaviest, we also had an enormous amount of clutter in our home. We had to keep finding larger homes so that the garage space could be bigger to take all our “stuff”.
Tim’s dramatic weight loss came during the last 2 years in our current home where we have gone from a triple garage to No garage. We let go and let go and realised the “holding onto stuff” somehow mirrored our body. It is like our home is our body and as we let go, we have more space and there is no desire whatsoever to fill it up again with ‘stuff’ that does not truly support us.
I agree Katie – the understanding that Tim notes at the start of the blog would make such a difference as he goes about a methodical re-assessment of his relationship with food
Some amazing before and after photos – and I got alot from your blog about the way you have bridged the changes you have made… not using the cold turkey approach that is so common but a step by step building of a different way of living. Its obviously been very successful with food, and I am sure would be just as successful with other areas of life.
Thank you Tim for sharing your experience with the world. I’ve never had a big weight issue although when I worked in a new job in regional Queensland I did start to put on a little extra weight. I was toying with gluten free foods back then but was limited by availability and my own poor understanding. I was already avoiding (some times) certain dairy products as I knew the pain I’d suffer if I ate them. Since returning to Brisbane and being able to fully adopt gluten free and diary free foods that bit of extra weight fell away in no time, and with no extra effort or exercise.
The photos say it all in the changes that you have made Tim. It is inspiring to see how you have become the beautiful and tender man you are today which of course was always hiding behind the extra weight. It is incredible the way we are not taught from an early age what food is really about and the affect it has on the body when it is the fuel we need daily. When we get a new car knowing what fuel type it takes is essential otherwise it goes wrong and i see the human body in the same way. Thank you Tim you have shown and live what happens when consistent self care is a natural part of life.
This is so awesome Tim. You look younger now than you did at 40! And what I love most about your story is that weight loss was not the goal, just the happy by-product of choosing to take care of yourself. Shows how the body will go to the shape that it is most supported by if we just choose to focus on how it feels and follow that feeling.
Wow Tim – just your before and after photos show a man who is not afraid to hide any more, a man who is loving because he has learnt to love himself, and a man with such an infectious joy!
Beautiful to see.
Awesome Tim! It’s so unbelievable how simple being healthy can be. When we break it down, it all comes down to making loving choices that will support our bodies, and from there the body will do it’s thing. We make it so hard for ourselves to accept that the body knows what to do, it knows what it wants. Instead we get bossy and controlling and let our heads make all the decisions. You’ve shared such a true experience of the difference it makes when you consider your body to be something that needs to be looked after, truly.
What a beautiful and inspiring life story Tim. I hope your experiences will inspire loads of other people to let go off their weight with the same amount of love and commitment as you did.
Great blog Tim, I can’t help wondering just how many people there are in the world who would be in a similar position and who yo yo diet as they get to the weight they set a goal for and then celebrate with foods that increase the weight. Learning to be more conscious of what your body needs and making it a new way of living has shown it clearly works.
This blog is incredible, so accessible and straight forward and honest, proof is in the photos ! Your stunning and a joy to share in your journey through reading this blog.
Thank you Tim for your sharing so simple, a choice to love and support your self to make the changes that ultimately gave you back you.
I’m a large man and have struggled with my weight my whole life,i started putting on weight at 8 years and haven’t been able to loose it. In the last couple of years i have lost a little weight, also without dieting, and also through starting to love myself. Once again Tim thank you for your Blog.
Thanks Angelo. It’s great that you have started to lose weight. The more choices you make that truly nurture and support you, the more the weight will come off gradually and naturally.
Tim I keep going back to your blog, and looking at the before and after pictures. It has made me aware of the stuff I was indulging in, eg chocolate, cream cakes and biscuits, plus other foods not essential for the body.
By doing so I have lost 11kgs and feel so much better for it.
My recommendation is everyone puts your before and after photo on their fridge, it may stop the temptation, for harmful foods.
Transformative physiological changes brought about by living a quality of relationship with yourself that is always building. So no slippery slide back, or white knuckle riding as we push ourselves through another diet regime. Your article is inspiring, Tim, thank you.
Thank you Matilda. As always your words are very eloquent. No ‘white knuckle riding’ for me anymore.
Wow Tim, this is really amazing, loved reading your story and how you have chosen loving ways to be in your life, to foster a healthy lifestyle. NOT to diet and loose weight. The vitality in your eyes and pictures speak for themselves.
This is an amazing story Tim and one worthy of sharing far and wide as for so many people there’s a daily or yearly issue with weight gain and weight loss. What you’re sharing is absolute gold to anyone that would like to bring a balanced and health full approach into their lives.
Tim, this is an amazing story where the photo’s say it all.
Diets feel like a way to force your body into a certain way, shape or weight, it just makes so much sense to gradually change the way you eat to support your body and feels much more natural and sustainable. Love reading your story Tim, its great seeing people making real changes on every level.
Thank You Tim, you talked about how bridging foods helped you, well I feel that such a bridging article is priceless, as it offers a reflection for people caught in this global epidemic of obesity and a connection with an ‘ordinary bloke’ who has done, and is living, something extraordinary.
My husband has also lost a substantial amount of weight too. He has turned his life around and is truly living life now and not just existing. Thanks to Esoteric practioners Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine. Which we both so appreciate.
Thank you Tim, so wonderful to read your true story about your weight loss, the photos just say it all, thank you.
What I love about your experience is that it was in the way you made gradual, loving changes to a thirty year habit, that was the recipe for long-term sustainability in your ongoing weight loss. Making self-loving choices about food requires a deep commitment, a way of life and your pictures say it all.
It is awesome to read of someone who has not focussed on a goal of losing weight but instead of loving himself more through what he eats and how he lives. Perhaps this is the model we all need to sustain our healthiest weight. Although I have never had a problem with being overweight it has still been tremendously supportive to me to understand more about why I would choose foods that I know are not right for my body, what foods make me tired and give me less energy than I should rightly have. That is where the presentations by Serge Benhayon have been so helpful and given me a great understanding of why I might choose to eat what I do.
So true, when you see it as a diet, it becomes goal oriented again, but by saying I am going to support and love myself, that is a different ball game. Then it is about loving choices each day, actually every moment. And that goes gradually. I have experienced the same with food. I started to drop things with a lightness and playfulness. So i.e. just for three weeks no coffee, but commit to that. After three weeks my body was not asking for it anymore. Step by step, as with you, our bodies can become healthy, vital and loving again from the inside and outside.
Thank you Tim for sharing your amazing story. You have embraced self-love and your life is living proof of what you have unfolded for yourself. Your wife Bina and yourself are glowing in the photograph 🙂 This is a very inspirational blog and the tenderness you showed yourself by ‘bridging’ feels very loving and supportive, awesome!
It’s interesting as I read through the comments, one thing that is coming up constantly is that we know that diets don’t work. Yet why is it that we are hooked by the promise of a new diet? and the multimillion dollar industry that has been created around that hook? We have to ask who has this industry been created for when people end up being on a round a bout of diets for years?
Yay you Tim!
I erroneously used to think that when I stopped smoking/drinking/drug taking/lost weight I would then be able to love myself.
Through Esoteric work and with the support of Serge Benhayon, Universal Medicine and many of it’s practitioners, I came to understand that as I take responsibility for the choices I make and build love for myself from this understanding, it’s a natural unfolding to support my body and not abuse it.
When asked by a friend that I hadn’t seen for a while what I’d been doing to lose weight, I replied “loving me!”
Thanks Tim for highlighting this for all.
I love your response to your friend Julie, “loving me”. Its as simple as that really. When we start to take true responsibility for ourselves, the natural outcome is that we start to love ourselves. Thats what I call a win-win.
Thank you Tim for sharing with us how there is so much more to do with losing weight than diets and shedding pound/kilograms. How we live and express ourselves either supports us or keeps us disconnected from it truly happening for us ~ usually the areas we don’t want to look at! You share that taking responsibility was the key. I appreciate what you have shared Tim.
Simply expressed, with an absolute knowing of what works and what does not. I loved every word.
Love what you have exposed here Tim “… diets do not work, and that only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss”….but I doubt the dieting industry would love it as much as I do!
Tim, this is a great blog looking at the power of choices – the choice you made to really be honest with yourself and make changes from there. Very inspirational.
Thank you for writing this blog, it can be such a great inspiration for many people. But it takes the willingness to be honest and face your ” demons”.
Tim this was a beautiful blog to read. I love the way you share with others how you lost weight – that it’s about the way you live – it’s not about dieting. How inspiring for others struggling with their weight to hear how you have truly succeeded not only losing the 12 stone but in keeping it off – what a miracle!
Love this Tim, what an amazing man you are! this is so helpful and inspiring to all those out there struggling with there weight, you have shown us there is away to do it that is honouring of the body and produces long term profound results.
“So when I am now asked how I lost weight, I can express that I feel diets do not work, and that only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss.” Thank you Tim, this statement should be shown all over the world to anyone wishing to lose weight and especially those who are attempted to try yet another form of diet.
I love this blog, it is so interesting what you shared, especially about how as you started to express more and you bottled things up less the weight started to come off even more. Its such a different approach to the common linear view that it is all about counting calories and exercising for a certain amount of time. Thank you
Amazing Blog. I really enjoyed reading it! The loving changes that you made and the committment to yourself and feeling more love for yourself has payed off and you are now an inspiration that everyone can see.
Amazing Tim how your starting to express seems to be linked to the excess weight just dropping off. Perhaps its no wonder that the ‘diets’ we see do not work – if they do not address the deeper reason we carry the weight. I loved the way you ‘bridged’ the transition from coffee to cold turkey. Felt so self-loving to read. How beautiful it is for people on the buses on Oxford Street to see your face. You shine so bright.
Thanks Joseph. You are so right, diets are always geared up for what people see on the outside and doesn’t deal with whats going on in the inside. So, putting on excess weight or with any issue we have in our lives, there is always a deeper reason for why we have these issues and just dealing with the top layer will never bring any lasting results.
The way you describe using ‘bridging’ as a method that supported you while you have been changing the way you live and the food you eat is really supportive. People often wonder how this kind of weight lose is achieved. Of course there are other parts to this transformation but I feel this is a very practical and useful tool. I also having altered the way I eat and the way that I live and this has been progressive over the last 10 years or so, it has come from within and learning to listen to my body. By the way, you look amazing and in away it is not about the weight loss, that is almost a side issue concerning your transformation, your recent photos show a man who is shining, joyful and self aware – you look amazing. I get a real sense of the self care and self love that has developed alongside this weight loss. Thank you for sharing.
This statement is an important reminder for us all – “What was also a big revelation for me was the fact that because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight. I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it.» I am forever learning to express what I feel and it makes such a huge difference in my body if I don’t, it could be anything from bloating to sluggishness to physical pain. Thanks for writing this blog Tim, I have to say you look younger and more joyful everytime I see you – you are such an inspiration.
I agree Eva, this is a huge statement in itself. Expressing and saying what is there to be said and how we feel is like letting it out rather than keeping it buried in the body.
This is an amazing story!
Everyone needs to read this blog. I read a blog about a woman with sagging skin from rapid weightloss the other day – and she spoke of bed sores and infections and all kinds of problems that happen from that. What you have shared here Tim is a miracle and one that is very real.
Hi Tim
I’ve never had a weight problem is what I would have told you a few years ago. What I’m now realising is that I do have a problem with why I eat and how much and when. And to be honest, I have had a few years where I did have a few kilos too many. But no one said anything about it as it was well within the accepted range of body shapes.
What I’ve learned myself with the help of Universal Medicine practitioners is that my body only needs so much food to do what it does in a day, that the way I do what I do greatly affects on how much my body needs to eat and mainly that when I , for example, feel sad eating is such an easy way not to feel this. But what happens when I eat away certain feelings: they just come back.. So now I aim to just feel what I’m feeling and as a result don’t feel like eating certain foods anymore.
I’m not perfect, what I am is a student of myself and I’m learning to care more for myself in lots of ways and food is one of them.
Joost
Joost, I recognise the eating to suppress or numb what I am feeling, although weight has never been a problem for me. It’s learning between honouring what my body needs and the craving for something because I am feeling an emotion that I want to bury.
Spot on. Nice one Joost. I feel what you are saying is very true. Food is just one way of caring and loving ourselves and it is very easy to get lost in what we should or should not eat. The best way, as you describe, is to let our bodies feel what it needs and be guided by that.
Tim I agree, if it had become a goal to get to a certain weight it would be far harder for you to loose weight and keep it off…how often have we heard “diets don’t work” and I think you may have found the key Tim, a gradual process with steady refinements as you go. Love the before and after shots!
This is so inspirational Tim. The questions you asked yourself about how certain foods affected you and why and when you chose to eat them are so pertinent to understanding one’s relationship with food and thus making a lasting choice to eat foods that support and nourish rather than comfort and numb feelings.
Thank you Tim for sharing your amazing experience.
The effect our diet has on us is so huge. There is so much to uncover and to look at. Once one is willing to really look at the why and how you eat certain foods, a beautiful process will start. I never would have guessed how much better my life could get by “just” changing my diet and my relationship with food.
There is a lot of wisdom when you say that diets don’t work because they are goal oriented with the added danger that once a goal is reached, the desire for a reward surfaces – and in the form of food, of course. So back to square one!
That’s right Gabriele, it’s a cycle that continuously perpetuates itself. You go on a diet, you lose weight and then go back and celebrate with the foods you abstained from and then repeat the process a few months later.
Hi Tim, I so enjoyed reading your blog – what a remarkable transformation, not only from the physical flesh point of view but one can actually see the joy of living in your eyes and about your person from your photograph. I too spent most of my earlier life trying every diet on the market, some more than once with the result being not that great until I learned from attending the presentations of Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon why it was that I was choosing to eat the way I was at that time, and subsequently learning there is indeed another way, learning to heal those issues held in the body and as you say, I too found it is not a diet that helped all that extra weight melt, but learning to love myself more and listening to the body.
Tim,
An inviting story. On reflection I have realised that the many ‘diets’ I followed over the years only resulted in me losing myself by following someone else’s regime and the tension of having to stick to something that did not feel right for me. Sure, there was some temporary weight loss but it was only since I listened to my body and eliminated gluten and dairy and truly listened that my weight has adjusted itself to what naturally feels right. Great to have the perspective of a man on this subject also.
So once we come to lovingly accept that many of our habits and behaviours are simply symptoms of something underlying, whether that is exhaustion, anxiousness, fear, sadness or anger for example, we then have the real opportunity to understand, heal and move on. Letting this be an unfolding and consistent process makes it sustainable, long lasting and life changing. Tim’s article and photographs are evidence of this. Thank you.
Wow Tim your pictures tell the whole story and it absolutely wonderful to have seen you on this journey. One that is full of Love and Inspiration – thanks or Sharing and being All of YOU – you Rock!
Thank you Tim for sharing your story, and photos that show the Joy that shines out form your face after you started to love and care for yourself.
You approach of putting yourself on a programme of self love and care and expressing what was there to be said, makes so much more sense than a rigorous diet that can’t be sustained.
Very inspiring Tim and your joy of being in life shines through. Two things stood out for me as I read your story. One being that when we are dealing with any issue, be it weight or something else that we may be trying to change in our lives, it is so important to ask the deeper questions of “Why?” and “How?”. You shared that by asking these sorts of questions around your food choices you were able to start making different choices and this is very powerful.
Secondly, you introduce a simple fact and one that I’ve also come to know – making the choice to love and care for oneself deeply is the best weight loss program in the world.
It is amazing to think you lost more than I weigh Tim! What I have found recently is that what I thought was hunger in the past, was only feeling the emptiness within me, so eating was all about not feeling. When I allow myself to feel if I am hungry or not, most of the time I am simply not hungry, a drink of water does the trick. How much I need to eat is surprisingly small, allowing myself to feel takes care of the what and when to eat as well. Thanks Tim, what you share here could transform the epidemic that has become a ‘normal’ way of being.
I agree Richard, when we feel hungry, it is not always the case that our bodies are asking for food. It could be something as simple as being a bit de-hydrated or being over tired or, the big one I found, not expressing what I was feeling.
This is just awesome Tim, as you rightly state it is no secret that diets don’t work yet there is very little else on offer – what you have presented here is truly transformational, who knew expression had anything to do with weight gain or inability to lose weight, as you write “What was also a big revelation for me was the fact that because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight. I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it.” This explains why we don’t lose weight even when we do everything “right” which only proves there must be more going on. I often hear people say “my weight does not match what I eat” you just may have provided an answer.
Wow Tim what an amazing story – really a story about you connecting back to the amazingness you are, which has restored you back to you. Letting go of the foods that were holding you back has made such a transformation. The steadiness I feel in your words also gives away the fact that this was not a goal driven weight loss program but a program based on true love and deep care of oneself – such choices take commitment and dedication. Bravo.
I agree Lee, it’s no coincidence that the quality and care Tim shows in this story are there in the way he says his words too. Tim is super lovely.
Imagine weight loss programs set up on love and learning to express what it is you have inside to say. Then the rest will take care of itself and if not someone will tell you or say something as everyone will be expressing more.
I so agree Lee, the photos alone speak for themselves, but what an amazing transformation, someone taking such responsibility for themselves, their life, and how they want to live it. True commitment, dedication and I agree deep love and care for oneself.
Although I have never dieted, they have always been something that confused me, as I could only imagine the struggle losing and keep weight off must be – your way Tim, sounds so much easier and more natural for you, your health and your body.
Thanks for sharing this Tim, I could read a hundred more stories like this and Not feel bored! So simple, yet soo profound!
How amazing you feel now Tim. Awesome and inspirational. It is amazing how effortless it is when our choices come from a place of simply to choose love and care for ourselves over the glamour and abuse that is considered so normal, yet keeping people very sick. People often say to me, “oh but your’re so disciplined”, but it is not about discipline, it’s about the choice to get honest about what it is our body really wants.
Well done, as you say, it is not always easy or comfortable when we begin to make changes, but if they are made from and in love, then they are sustainable. Our body finds it’s own true harmony and healing takes place.
You look fabulous and younger now at age 51 than you did back then. What a transformation. I like the way you did things gradually and dropped certain foods one by one. I know diets don’t work and I have had a similar experience with weight loss where it actually happened as a by product of me choosing to focus on how I feel, more than how I looked. The bonus is you end up looking great as a result anyway.
Not only is 76 kg absolutely astonishing Tim, the light in your eyes, freedom in your body and overall vitality that is so clear to see in the photos of you today is super inspiring. It makes sense to me that diets don’t work, because they don’t deal with the underlying reason of why we are choosing to eat foods that don’t support our body in the first place. The way that you have gone about bringing this level of care and love into your life needs to be studied, as you are an amazing example of what is possible for us all.
Yes Jonathan I agree that identifying and understanding the underlying reason of why we are choosing to eat foods that don’t support our body in the first place is really key to making any lasting change.
Yes well said Jonathan, and so truly inspiring Tim – that you show up what does not work and then sharing a way to live where all can see how beautiful it works when connected to ones’ self and feeling the love within. And absolutely right – totally possible for all of us.
I was struck by what you said Tim about diets not working, and if you were goal orientated then you would return to the foods you left to celebrate. There is clearly a close link between our emotional state and our need to reach for certain foods. Bringing this understanding to diet is for me a huge factor in how we create a healthy relationship between food and body weight.
Such a simple and inspiring story Tim. It is interesting how expressing has supported your body. It makes sense if you hold on to things it is still with you in your body. If you express what you feel it moves out of your body and therefor impacts on your weight. Amazing!
Awesome to hear how you have found that instead of aiming for a goal or aiming to lose weight, but instead just making more loving choices, the weight came and stayed off, and not only that but left you feeling amazing.
Tim, London is blessed to have you as one of their bus drivers going through the streets with such light and joy! Your story is immensely inspiring showing to the world that dieting doesn’t work because they focus on food. What works is understanding self-love and putting a stop to the self-abuse of overeating and eating food that harm us.
Thanks Maryline. You are right, the key word here is understanding. When we have an understanding we then have the opportunity to make a choice. That choice will be to carry on with what put the weight on in the first place or start to make healthy, self-loving choices that will truly support our bodies.
Hi Tim, thank you for sharing your story. To see the vitality and joy that is evident in your photos is a testament that diets don’t work. I too did the diet yo yo for most of my life, but even when I did loose a little weight I never felt joyful about it, only more pressure to stay at the weight I had reached. Great point when you now tell people that diets don’t work. Presenting to all that only through self love and choosing to honour what we feel in our bodies does true change happen.
Amazing. I loved reading this, and this part is gold and well worth sharing “What was also a big revelation for me was the fact that because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight. I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it.” That weight gain can be an accumulation of what we don’t express!
Tim, your story just blows away all the ideals and beliefs around losing wait being hard or an annoying thing to do. It is a way of living as you shared so beautifully. In this way it is not a struggle but a constant development of love and care for yourself which is reflected in how your body looks today and I love the lightness in your face and eyes as well. Awesome.
Thank you Lieke. I agree, as I didn’t want to deprive myself, when I tried diets in the past I would sometimes be put off from starting because I felt it was too hard. Making the choices to love and care for myself certainly wasn’t a struggle and the fact that I had started to work on my self-worth issues made it easy and natural.
This is a phenomenal weight loss Tim and your way of life and the choices you made meant you didn’t even have to diet! Just focusing on one element alone in your article…Every weight-watching group would enjoy such success by widening their perspective to all choices that are made in the day, rather than simply focusing on food choices. Brilliant sharing, thank you.
What you have to share here Tim is inspirational and needs to be shared with the many thousands of people who still struggle so much with diets and dieting as a way of living. As you say, it is through self awareness and consistently loving choices that we reach our true weight, and not through any diet or quick fix.
Tim – you really have inspired me with your story. I’ve really struggled with dieting and how it can have a hold over me. But as you say here – looking at my food choices as a way to support me has been a game changer and something society does not hear often enough
I agree Tony – Tim really does rock and its not just the weight loss as this at one point stayed stuck until he got that piece of information from Serge Benhayon which was about expressing what he was feeling. Then it really started to fall off fast.
Tim is really funny and one thing that comes to mind is food and eating it up. He realised peanut butter was not good for him and his body but to give it up was to eat through the stock of 4 jars in the cupboard and that is what he done.
He tends to do that with all food that he is stopping but once he commits there is an absoluteness that is unwavering.
Me – I would give it up and may go back until I hate the feeling in my body and then say No forever.
Hello Tim. How lovely to read your story……a story of one man’s choice to be more self-loving. And look at the changes it has brought!! You’ve presented a very powerful concept – that being that when we are no longer hanging on to stuff, we lose the weight / the burden of carrying around unnecessary ideals, beliefs, emotions. Thank you for sharing your journey through Everyday Livingness.
You look amazing Tim, and not just because you have lost weight. It is your smile and the lightness in your being (not just on the scales) that is so striking.
I just scrolled back to the first photographs. What I see there is a sad man on the left, and a man with joie de vivrè on the right – a man with a sense of humour who brings sparkle to life and Oxford Street.
The part that I loved was your explanation of “bridging”. Same process for me too. I would have been a complete puddle on the floor if I had gone cold turkey on coffee and chocolate. Step by gentle step I used other things, like decaf coffee and dried cranberries to ease myself away from those two. Now I have reached a point that the coffee and chocolate addict that was has been delightedly free of both for years…and the decaf and the cranberries too.
If you had said to me eight years ago that one day I would have neither coffee or chocolate in my life I would have given you an Elaine (from Seinfeld) “Get out of here” with the big shove!
What I love Tim is that there are so many of us now who are living testimonies to the fact that Universal Medicine and Everyday Livingness works. We are ordinary and extraordinary, and the proof that when you love yourself no food can hold you under its spell.
I agree Rachel Tim’s explanation of “bridging” makes sense and is one of the reasons diets don’t work. They ask you to go cold turkey on certain foods until you have achieved your desired weight and then go back to eating them again and the weight piles back on.
My WORD, you and Bina look Gorgeous!
Thank you Christoph and just for the record those photos are a year old and we look even more hot smoking gorgeous today and slimmer as we are both choosing to be more real by honouring what we feel and shining our bright lights in oxford street and wherever our day takes us.
Another example that true commitment to oneself makes all the difference in the world. And the importance of expressing how we truly feel, so we can discard all the layers of protection.
I would say with obesity on the rise, this is a story worth a headline or two! It could truly inspire a lot of people that struggle with overweight. What a handsome role model you make!
So true Judith. What an amazing role model Tim makes for both men and women. His story needs to be the front cover of every lifestyle magazine.
Tim, thank you for this awesome sharing. So important for people to know that doing it gradually is the real key to being able to achieve what you have done. And obviously, you were very connected to yourself in what you were endeavouring to do, feeling your way. Really interesting that you had no sagging skin as you say. I have lost some weight over time, not a huge amount, but that has also been something that stood out for me. I never set out to lose weight, but to eat more healthily and what my body truly needed. At no time did I have that gaunt look about me and the sagging skin that I found happened when many years ago I followed the Pritikin programme thinking I was trying to be more healthy. I looked awful and of course, the weight loss did not last.
Love your photos Tim, especially the one with Bina.
Well done Tim, You look fantastic.
Well done Tim! You have triumphed where many have stumbled and fallen by the wayside! Great photos absolutely say it all! The statistic that I’m struggling with is the 12 stone weight loss. That is slightly more than I weigh in total and so therefore you have shed the equivalent of me in your slimming campaign. It’s a really super story and a shining example for many!
Goal setting! Thank you…. that is what has undone me in the past. Thank you for identifying that weight loss is all about livingnesss. Choices made consistently everyday to support your body where it is up to. You look and feel marvellous!
I just have to say it again Tim – awesome journey! And beautifully shared, thank you.
I love your blog and the beautiful photos Tim, as Joan says ‘you are so at home in yourself’. You have made your life about freedom, no rules how to eat or how you should be, just by being honest and making self loving choices you lost all the weight you were carrying.
Beautiful Tim, so simply and naturally expressed I can really feel the self love you have developed, thank you.
Observing the then and now photo of you Tim, I can feel the joy and lightness in the whole of your being, and that it is not just the loss of weight but the way you chose to take charge and master yourself through making more loving choices that means you are now so at home in yourself. Whereas in the older photo of the younger you, you are distinctly miserable, burdened by all sorts of choices you are making, and very uncomfortable. You carry more than a lot if weight! This is a brilliant picture of the proof that it is the energy first that must change.
i love this Tim.. “I had started to express more and say how I truly felt’… The possibility that weight loss have more to do with what comes out of your mouth rather than what goes into it is a revelation….
A revelation indeed Joel. I have never realised this one Tim, thank you. I should start to see the kilos dropping (haha) as I am finally expressing more of me. My life has been a yoyo in regards to weight so interesting to look back at what was really going on for me in those ups and downs.
This is a gorgeous sharing Tim- thank you. You have not ‘just’ lost weight, you have shifted so much more than meets the eye.
The real you is more evident than ever before, a true testimony to your choices and loving way of living.
I agree, Kylie – what a celebration of Tim being more himself than ever before, and that twinkle in his eye gets bigger every time I see him.
I am a qualified Diet and Nutrition advisor and I know that diets simply do not work.
What is interesting is this is such a fast growing industry and yet there is nothing for the advisor to do for themselves as a prerequisite. By this I mean you can advise your client to eat healthy, remove caffeine from their diet but continue to do it yourself. For me that feels a bit dis-honest.
Imagine telling someone that they need to remove caffeine and alcohol but you live on the stuff yourself. The client feels the incongruence as a disturbance in their body even if they are not fully aware why at the time. They start off with great intentions but long term no real change.
Could it be possible it has something to do with the advisor who does not live what they are recommending.
The same goes for a GP coughing and saying “don’t smoke” but haven’t quite given up the ciggies themselves.
This is worth exploring as in my case, I no longer listen to people who speak words but I can’t feel them living what they are saying. It just doesn’t hold for me.
The way that you have done it is so much simpler than the fight of will power vs craving. By getting to understand how food affects the body and the psychological reasons why a certain food is consumed can lead to letting go instead of prohibition. The latter only drives us to seek out other foods to get some relief. I know because I have done both and although I am now much more aware and caring about my relationship with food, I am by no means perfect.
These stories of personal transformation are always great to read. It is not just the weight loss but the noticeable difference in vitality that speaks volumes. As you have shown there is another way other than the hard, bound to fail, diets. When you change your way of living it is a simple part of your livingness that breathes forth into many areas.
This is incredible Tim – you look amazing! What I find most striking is the way you seem to jump out of your picture in your recent one, all skippity skip with eyes a twinkle and embracing life. What a contrast to your earlier appearance… You are a brilliant advertisement for living in love instead of protection. Who needs a fancy diet when you carry that gem inside? Well done – true inspiration.
He looks amazing, and so different both in weight, and in sparkle!
I keep reading your amazing story, Tim, and looking at your pictures. It looks like two totally different men! What a transformation! Even though you always felt super gentle and lovely-weight or no weight-but now we can see more of you-even in a physical reality it is less. Another one of nature miracles.
Well done Tim on your weight loss
I can recall my family saying nothing when I would tell them Tim had lost weight. I guess they just saw him as big and losing a few stones hardly got noticed, let alone celebrated. Today they are all blown away not just by his weight loss but because he has so much confidence, vitality and has no issue saying what he feels without holding back.
Both me and Tim became very self conscious about our weight and appearance but nothing changed until we came to Universal Medicine. What was missing was why did we overeat, indulge and crave foods that we both knew were not supporting our body. We finally got the answers and then chose to commit to life and actually take action.
Applying the principles in a simple and practical way has been life changing and today we inspire many many people and cannot imagine ever going back to the old fat life.
As you say Bina, it’s the new-found confidence and vitality that people really notice, more than the reduction in girth.
What a fantastic result!
Tim what an amzing sharing and very inspiring to those who are on lots of diets and struggling to loose wait. It really is about being true to the self, expressing and not holding on, taking it slowing and using bridging foods to allow the bidy to adjust naturally.
I can’t help but smile a huge big smile every time I see these photos, you look and feel amazing Tim – so much joy and absolutely shining!
Thank you Gyl, I have never liked looking at any of my photos before but now, even I feel joy at seeing the difference in these ones.
Great sharing Tim, what a transformation. Loving self care is the only true medicine and you are living proof!
A truly open and honest sharing, thanks Tim.
Tim it’s great to read and be reminded of the transformation that has taken place, seeing you over the years it appeared natural yet the stark difference before and after is marked. It is very inspiring as I know a number of people who try to loose weight but have yet been unable. What you share with the gradual and consistent process is a loving way to return to your natural weight without all the drama.
Thank you so much Tim for this sharing – I can feel through your words how life transforming this journey has been for you thus far and your pictures show this very clearly too. Taking the word diet out of our expression and replacing it with self loving choices feels so much better. Such an inspiration to so many Tim.
The Tim-Bowyer-Story invites every man on earth to stand still for a moment and express humble thanks. Tim, may I add: also thanks to your galactic wife Bina and to your love for each other that you share with us.
Congratulations Tim! What really struck me in what you have written is ‘… because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight. I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it.’ Such a different message to what the diet industry wants us to believe but so much more sustainable and vital. Thank you.
I agree Helen, this article just demonstrates how the Diet ‘Industry’ has got it so completely wrong!
Hey Tim, I really like the way you express so clearly and directly, that when you really lost weight is when you were not trying to, you did not even consider losing weight but more like self loving and supporting yourself in many ways. And expressing! how cool is that! Great blog, soo many of my friends and family would benefit so much from reading this, I will actually send it to them. Thanks.
A beautiful and inspiring story Tim. The self love you have moved into is evident not only in your weight loss but in the sparkle and shine that comes through in the photos. You inner beauty isn’t hiding anymore.
Tim your transformation through the realisation of what you were eating and why is remarkable, and your approach feels simple, although I appreciate it would have taken commitment and honesty along the way.
Dieting in my experience doesn’t work because it doesn’t address why we eat certain foods and when, which is why people often put the weight back on they have lost because they eventually return to their old ways of eating. Dieting always felt like a struggle to me and I used to find myself on a yo-yo of dieting and bingeing and feeling awful and like a failure for not sticking to it, or I would use every ounce of will power to lose weight but feel malnourished and very empty.
I agree Sandra, dieting is really a double negative. When I tried to go on a diet I felt very deprived and then when I gave up that diet I felt like a failure. You are right, it does take commitment and honesty but the results are worth it.
Tim what an amazing transformation. It is so true that weight loss is definitely from choosing a way of life that is supportive and loving towards ones self. I too lost a considerable amount of weight gradually from making more loving choices towards food and by also letting go of a lot of issues I had been holding onto in my body. A big thank you also goes to Universal Medicine and the many practioners who have and continue to support my unfolding journey.
I recently experienced a cold winter and found myself eating sugary cakes, something I hadn’t eaten for a while, the craving for sweet things showed me just how exhausted I was trying to keep warm. I experimented by changing my food intake to include more carbohydrates, giving me a much slower and more consistent release of sugar, and within 24 hours I felt ‘normal’ again. Sugary foods taste nice but have little or no nutritional value, and once I started, it was hard to stop, as sugar is addictive. I love your take on ‘bridging foods’, replacing things slowly and when we are ready. I am learning to eat what my body tells me it needs, not what my mouth craves. I have yet to learn about taking rest or going to bed early when I’m tired, because eating sugary foods masks the tiredness. Your article has inspired me to take another look at how I am living and expressing, thank you.
I love your honesty here Carmel – Thank You.
I have studied Diet and Nutrition and what is needed is more education about what foods like sugar actually do to our bodies. You are so right – Sugar has no nutritional value and it is addictive. So much of our modern diet contains some form of sugar.
Like you I am also ‘experimenting” changing my food and I have started to eat some carbohydrates and felt “normal’ again. Whilst I don’t need it everyday, what I have realised is I had given up a lot of foods because I heard it was not good for me instead of checking with my body and asking what it felt. My body has its own mind and it is quick to tell me what it wants and what it most certainly doesn’t want.
I reckon food requires a constant refining and reviewing and each of us need to make our own choices and not really follow anyone else.
This blog confirms to me loud and clear that diets do not work.
Thank you Carmel. There are so many things that influence what we eat and keeping warm is one of them. Over the last couple of months I have started to eat a bit more white rice, something that I haven’t had for a long time and my body appreciated it. If and when the time comes to stop eating rice again, I know my body will give me the message.
I enjoy the precision you express here Tim, not getting caught up in any ideals and beliefs around food – what you can and can’t have but simply listening to your body and trusting that when it is right your body will tell you when to eat something and then when it’s time to stop eating it. Really indicates the power and beauty of tuning in to your body and its needs.
Thank you, Tim for your words, ‘What was also a big revelation for me was the fact that because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight. I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it.’
It’s not just about what we eat, but how we are in our whole lives, every moment of the day and night. Holding back from expression is something we all do but don’t realise the harm it does – letting go of the anxiousness and tension we hold in our bodies helps us to feel and express more freely.
It is inspiring to see you claiming your vitality by choosing what supports your body against the norms of today’s society. As you claimed yourself, the things that did not belong faded away. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Tim, I also lost a lot of weight to get to my healthy weight since coming across Universal Medicine. Once upon a time I was 35 kg heavier. Like you the biggest thing for me was that I didn’t do it as a goal, it was a natural occurrence and came out of self love. I chose to stop eating food that were harming me because I didn’t want to hurt myself anymore.
There is such a difference between going on a diet with set goals, to eating food that is loving and supporting for the body. Tim has shown the miracles that occur when we do.
Awesome Tim, thanks for sharing how you lost the weight by simply looking after and caring for yourself more and being aware of how you were treating your body. I haven’t seen you for over a year now and you certainly look even more amazing and more happy in your photo than ever before!
Hi Tim, gobsmacking to read your story (in the best way) and so delighted also … Thank you for your inspiration!
Wow Tim what a story, this could turn the diet industry upside down, we have heard so many stories of how people lose weight only to put it on again once they have reached their goal. You make a great point here and maybe is the reason why diets don’t work, “Trying to control my weight loss or sustain it wasn’t even a consideration at this point, it was more a choice to start to love and support myself in a way I had never contemplated before.”
I feel Tim can be the speaker person for all diet industries, I would say: diet industries, hold you horses (diet products….) because here is Tim, with truth and love.
This is so true Alison, ‘this could turn the diet industry upside down’, I have heard of many people dieting trying to loose weight but never heard of them being successful, I have only ever heard of the diets being hard work and short lived, your story of loosing weight is so simple and is a wonderful example for people on how to loose weight naturally, you are a great role model Tim.
This could definately turn the diet industry upside down – I so agree with you Alison.
I recently studied Diet and Nutrition and what Tim is saying and showing us by living example is another way.
Loads of people would be out of a job in the diet industry, which is huge and growing fast as more people indulge in eating what they know is slowly killing them and then they want a quick fix to take it all away.
Instead of reality TV watching the super quick weight loss, how about a documentary on mr Tim – a true life story and the photos say a million words.
The thing with our world today is we want it fast and we want our ugly choices to go away so there is no responsibility, accountability and no true learning. No wonder diets never last long term as they simply are not sustainable unless we change our approach. Tim is a living science and needs to be studied as the medical systems would benefit big time.
Tim what I loved about your story was how you really took note of the Why do I eat these foods, and When do I eat them, getting to the underlying cause. It is obvious from the photos that your loving choices have resulted in you ageing backwards.
Yes Bernadette, once we open up for seeing the underlying cause, true changes can be made. Universal Medicine has supported me in opening up and seeing that my seemingly perfect life was in fact a perfectly constructed cover, to mask and numb the disregard, frustration and lack of self-love. Making more and more loving choices has brought amazing changes and just currently I discovered my playfulness, and really feeling how wonderful I am, in the boxes into which I had put them. They are a little dusty still, but seem to be of an amazing quality :o)
This is a great revelation- that you have started to express more and say how you truly feel- and you lose weight. I can really feel that it is and has been a process and that has established a way that has an affect on all areas of life. Very beautiful to see and a grand motivation for others.
Great sharing, Tim.It is very empowering to read how you managed to lose weight simply by making more self loving choices. It is gorgeous to see you and your wife so vital and healthy in the photos..
This is such a great read, thank you Tim. What I especially love is how you have really taken your time to go through the whole process. No quick fixes or extreme proceeders. And the result is not only something which you feel is sustainable but also a deeper more caring relationship with yourself.
You just wouldn’t believe that the two photos at the top of the page were the same guy. Weight watches will be shaking in their boots if this story gets out.
So true Kev. Completely turns the weight loss industry on its head
Wow Tim, you not only look amazing but younger as well. I too got off the diet wheel and from making more loving choices in my life through the inspiration of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, have lost excess weight. This is a beautiful blog, thank you for sharing.
Wow!- Definitely worth celebrating and appreciating what you have achieved in weight loss without dieting and rigorous exercise. Your living proof that by taking a self loving approach with food and regular gentle exercise like walking and some weight work in the gym , weight loss is achievable and sustainable. Very inspiring – great article to be published in dieting magazines or the like.
“So when I am now asked how I lost weight, I can express that I feel diets do not work, and that only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss.”
I completely agree with this statement, it’s truly a game changer from what is advertised on tv, the diets, fancy exercises etc. They work for a while but often are thrown away as the results don’t stick. It’s really a way of life that creates a more loving and supportive change that sticks.
This is a great story and of course it makes complete sense. If we want to return to our ‘natural’ weight, we need to live ‘naturally’. And our ‘natural’ way of living is to deeply care about ourself. As you rightly say, there is no other way to sustain it.
Golnaz, that’s so true if we want to be our natural weight we need to change to a natural way of living, very simply put.
What a transformation Tim – the difference between your ‘before’ and your ‘after’ photo is astounding. I too have found that through loving self care my weight has returned to what feels right for me by a combination of changes to how I care for myself and the how, when, why and what I eat, all inspired by Serge Benhayon.
Absolutely INCREDIBLE Tim. I’ve known you for many years, and have found it inspiring to watch how you’ve continuously transformed and refined you’re lifestyle so that it supports your body in full. There has never been an ‘end point’, you have said no to a comfortable life and yes to evolvement.
What a truly inspiring story Tim. “Since 2007, I have lost over 12 stone (76 kg) without dieting” – now that should make front page news. Your recent pictures reflect the health and joy that you now emanate by making self-loving choices.
A beautiful description of how the choices we make influence our lives. Choosing to be more loving and caring with one’s self gives permission for changes to occur. Quite different to trying to make them happen.
This is so true Brian, ‘Choosing to be more loving and caring with one’s self gives permission for changes to occur. Quite different to trying to make them happen.’ In the past I tried various diets and I did it in a very hard way, it always felt like a struggle and hard work, never very gentle or loving, but now I naturally feel what to eat and I do this in a much more gentle, nurturing way and I have naturally lost weight without even trying.
It is very beautiful how you can share trough lived experience that dieting does’nt work and how being loving with ourselves does.
Tim, thank your for your real and practical sharing. I so agree with you the importance of:
How food truly affects my body,
Why I choose to eat these foods,
Why I choose to eat the quantity of food that I was eating,
When I choose to eat these foods.
Without the answers to these questions I used food/diet as a solution for something that was going on in my live. With awareness on the issue(s) underneath my food craving (in my case sugar) I have been able to also make different choices.
It is love that works, very inspirational.
I was never as big as you Tim, but I was overweight as well and it all just magically disappeared without any real effort, pretty much for me by cutting out gluten and dairy. Like you the rest came over a number of years. I still eat things my body reacts to from time to time and I really notice if I eat too much as my body is very quick to let me know.
I know what you mean Kev, I still eat things I know I shouldn’t but tell myself its OK this once, but of course, my body lets me know in no uncertain terms that its not Ok.
You look gorgeous Tim. You look and feel so young. Who would have thought expressing more and saying what we truly feel was a key ingredient in maintaining a healthy weight.
Wow, Tim that is amazing, how you now feel and look. What an inspiration you are. I agree diets do not work, it is as you say changing why and how you eat, so you eat in a truly more loving and nurturing way.
Thank you Tim for an inspiring story – your self-love shines through. It is awesome when we suddenly find that there is a different way to live life, one that supports and allows us to find our own true path. When I attended a Universal Medicine Sacred Esoteric Healing course dealing with childhood issues, I was amazed to find that during the course my body shaped change from being pear shaped to a more balanced shape. All my life I had wanted a different shape body and tried different diets, but I always ended up with the same basic shape. It felt as though something deeper had shifted this time – not just the weight.
Tim, you are an inspiration.
I also love how you highlighted the fact that expressing what you feel is a factor that also supported your weight loss – very interesting indeed.
Dear Tim what an inspiration and a learning – thank you.
Your story is so encouraging Tim, thank you for sharing it so publicly. It just goes to show that losing weight is easy when we have no goal, but to put self-love and self-care first.
Tim, You are amazing!
I agree Elena!
What a brilliant approach to take concerning weight loss … in this blog, you unveil that it cannot be a goal or an outcome, and that weight loss is part of learning to care for yourself daily on a deeper level, it is a fantastic nugget of wisdom to share with the world. Thank you.
Beautiful truth you present here Tim. It makes so much sense and obviously works.
What strikes me is that this way is so different than many typical dieting approaches in that it is about understanding compassionately WHY we want/need certain foods (that are not good for us)… instead of putting a horrible picture of ourselves on the fridge to remind us what we don’t want every time we go there for comfort (so unloving!) or counting calories or pounds we have lost or gained… This way is so gentle and attainable with a focus on honouring the body instead of a “goal” to change it without dealing with what got us there; just a deepening commitment and respect for the body and making more self supportive choices to move toward health.
Tim what an amazing transformation of your relationship to food and the two end of spectrum consequences – before and after! As you so clearly laid out, your understanding of that relationship was crucial
“How food truly affects my body,
Why I choose to eat these foods,
Why I choose to eat the quantity of food that I was eating,
When I choose to eat these foods”
Awesome sharing Tim, thank you.
Tim, what an amazing story. Thank you for sharing as so many people nowadays are struggling with weight and try to find the ‘quick fix’. That simply does not work. As you said it´s about being more loving with yourself and realizing WHY you eat certain foods/ big amounts. Most times we eat because we don´t want to feel what is there to be felt (in ourselves and/ or others) or because we are exhausted but want to keep our body going. When we are ready to be HONEST and AWARE it´s easy to let go of foods that don´t support our wellbeing.
You know that old saying you’ll fade into nothing, well how wrong is that, all I see is a man that adores and really celebrates a way of living without pulling any punches, with a willingness to take it all the way in his time.
You see more of Tim then ever before.
Wow- super amazing Tim. I really loved hearing about how you ‘bridged’ some things instead of going cold turkey…that makes it a much easier option and ways to make it a lasting change.
I love how you’ve pointed out weight loss via diets becomes a goal you want to achieve, but once we get there we may so easily go back to the old ways and old comfort foods. Nothing inside us has really changed. We still at that point haven’t connected to whats loving for us or not, or worked out all the “why’s” as to our weight gain or eating. What you have shared makes a lot of sense, especially about the way of living and connecting to self being the true way to healthy weight. I’m sure there is also a correlation to low self worth and poor food choices, just as your story highlights self love and its connection to eating and weight.
This is an awesome story you share Tim and one that will inspire all those who are struggling with their weight. The 4 questions you raised are golden and will lead anyone to discover where they are lacking self love and care in their lives. The other major point in your story is the fact that you did not put yourself on a diet but actually started to build a loving relationship with yourself that was the bases for new choices. Truly awesome Tim !
Very inspiring Tim ans so true, nothing does it like making a loving way of being with yourself a whole way of life.
Beautiful transformation.
Awesome sharing Tim – what a journey and so beautifully and clearly expressed here. It’s so good to hear and see that the way of life you have chosen has had such great effect on you, what a commitment. The pictures truly speak for themselves.
Tim what an incredible journey. I too have lost 28 kg in the last 3 years without going on a diet or taking up an extreme exercise. Like you it was simply beginning to live in a way that honoured me and let go the things that I once it thought were true about me that I discovered were false. I think we have the answer to sustainable and long lasting natural weight that does not involve scales or BMI’s!
Nice job on the weight loss Sharon. I feel the answer is there too. No dieting, no excessive exercise routines. Just feeling and honouring what is true for us individually.
I agree Tim. I was consumed by weighing scales and what number I had to be to fit the perfect size 10. Now I have felt the importance of feeling and honouring the body rather than overriding.
Such a loving and supportive way to lose weight, I love how you expressed that “So when I am now asked how I lost weight, I can express that I feel diets do not work, and that only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss.” This makes such sense and supports all of you!
So true, and that is really the only ‘formula’ – “Diets do not work, and that only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss.”
Truly inspiring Tim, how you did not make it about losing weight by following rules and a formula, but from building a more honest relationship with what you were eating.
Absolutely Monica, what is so vital in Tim’s story was the letting go by degrees and the lack of rules or formula other than being himself more, truly inspiring.
The photos show the truth, a great before and after Tim.
Your sharing this will enable many more people who struggle with yo yo dieting to make it their “way of life” too.
Tim you have found the answer and that’s inspiring. This ‘quick fix’ world is not kind to people with weight problems so it can be difficult to learn what you learned – that loving and expressing, and doing things gradually, are much more likely to lead to success. Lookin’ great there, man!
Thanks Diane, and yes, I agree, it can be difficult to learn. The key for me was having the understanding of how foods affected me. From there I had the choice to say, nah, this isn’t for me or, ok, let me try this. Fortunately, I made the latter choice and the more I realised that this was actually working the easier it became.
You seem very relaxed about loosing weight, and I really get what you are saying about not having goals. It is so amazing how the easiest way to get somewhere is not to focus on getting there, but simply to be yourself more fully and honour your inner truth. That way we ‘get there’ without the ‘hard work’. Thanks Tim, you’re a great writer, with a lot to share, simply so.
Wow Tim this is incredible. What an amazing before and after. This indeed turns the diet and weight loss industry on its head. Your consistency and commitment to love and care for your body has been the true catalyst for change. Step by step lovingly feeling how foods affected you. I love that you share that once you started sharing and expressing your feeling that this also supported your weight loss. Inspiring Tim. Thank you.
I agree, Ariana. These questions lovingly get underneath our patterns of behaviour in relation to food, rather than trying to ‘fix the problem’ of being overweight by dieting, which is often accompanied by self judgement.
Beautiful Tim, simply amazing .Thank you for sharing a real inspiration into how changing how you live and the enormous benefits to your life and weight ongoing. It is so lovely to see the ever growing wider and deeper smile on your face and beauty in your eyes.
You better put a trade mark on your quote Tim ‘only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss’ because let me tell you that is just pure gold.
Truly awesome, Tim! You are a living inspiration for all to see and feel.
Wow Tim, you are a shining example of how, by making more loving choices for yourself you have turned your life around, dramatically! I can so relate to your story, my weight as always been up and down and I dieted on and off for years, but it never worked as the weight went back on, and more. I have also had a period in my life when I was in anxiousness and not expressing when the weight piled on quicker, it was not so much about what I ate, although there was a little comfort eating going on, it was as much about my emotional state at the time, like you say, holding on to things. It happened for me to, since I have made changes to my diet by cutting out foods that are not good for me, for the first time in my life my weight has stabilised without trying. Thank you Tim for your inspiring words, and thank you Universal Medicine for presenting to me that there is another way to live, and that way is all about self care, and making self loving choices for my body in what we eat and the way we eat it.
Hi Tim, what stood out for me in the blog is when you said ‘when I expressed more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight’ – how many people are there who hold on to what they have to say and eat instead – I know I have.
Thank you for this inspiring blog.
This is such a great article Tim, what an amazing change. It has also been my experience that ‘I feel diets do not work, and that only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss.’ I tried some diets and found them really hard, I could never sustain them and would be left feeling like I had failed. Now I don’t have to try, my focus isn’t weight loss its simply caring for and nurturing myself and I actually don’t want to eat foods that make me feel unwell and as a result I have naturally lost weight without trying.
Inspiring and fascinating story Tim. I am particularly intrigued by how you lost the weight slowly and gradually and that it was a real lifestyle and attitude change based on taking care of yourself more, not just a temporary program or diet or detox and as a result it seems more permanent (and less saggy skin!).
You look fantastic Tim. Indeed, “making it a way of life” is the key! Thank you for writing this.
Awesome blog Tim… you (and Bina) look amazing… a truly inspiring sharing about making loving choices for yourself. Thank you!
What a great story Tim. It’s amazing what simple slow changes we do to our life style and the choices we make allows us the return to our natural weight… what ever that is. Diets have always claimed to allow you loose x amount weight in x amount of days. We spent years putting on the weigh, why do we believe we can lose it in a short period.
You are so right Steve, putting on excess weight doesn’t happen overnight. The fact that it takes several years to put the weight on, its then logical that the way to lose the weight is to lose it gradually. Nutritionists say “weight loss should be gradual so that the ‘anti-starvation trigger’ is not set in motion.It makes sense to me then, that after years of eating whatever I wanted, to then restricting my food intake, my body goes into ‘defence mode’ because it thinks it is being starved and consequently instead of letting go of any fat, it actually holds onto it.
A great story Tim. It is so true, dieting does not work. When I have put myself on a diet it was like bullying and depriving myself of what I thought were the pleasures of life but when, like you, I started to be aware of how different foods affect my body and how I feel what, when and how much I eat, everything started to change. I wasn’t on a ‘diet’ but my diet changed and I lost weight without any trying. I feel so much more alive and in tune with my body.
Your blog is inspirational for me not because of the amount of weight and change you have made in your life Tim, rather because of the level of commitment I can feel you hold for being loving and honouring of yourself and your body. This for me is the most important change. And a change well worth embracing.
So true Joshua. The physical changes are only a reflection of the way he chose to commit to making loving choices. It is very inspiring. Knowing Tim for a few years I have seen the gradual change. He has always been a delight to be with but his company is an even greater blessing these days, because the love he chooses is the love he is.
Amazing transformation Tim. Your photos show such a lightness and glow about you now. Whats more you can feel that your transformation has come from deep within you – from self-care and loving choices. That weight will never come back now that you have found you. You are a true testament that diet’s are not necessary.
Thanks Aimee. I agree with what you say about the focus on the ‘quick fix’. I used to be the same, always looking for what I thought was the easy option. As it turned out the easy option was to make the choices that actually supported my body rather than the choices that pushed and deprived my body.
Thanks Marcia. I feel what you say is so true about the weight not coming back on. Having ‘found me’, I know that I will never make the choices that helped me put the weight on in the first place.
Tim, that’s so awesome! Your experience offers so much in support to others who have tried to loose weight and have not been able to sustain it for the long term. I love seeing your before and after photos.
This is such a different view of weight lose and so refreshing, in a world that has so much focus on diets and quick fixes to loose weight. I love the way you ‘bridged’ letting go of certain foods for your body, and not being hard on yourself. How I approached diets before meeting Universal Medicine, was with a strict and controlling attitude and a need to stick to it, or else I would feel I had failed… eventually this way of control lead me to bulimia.
I can so relate to how dieting or loosing weight does not come into it once I started making choices to care and love my body. Awesome sharing thanks Tim and amazing photos!
Thanks Aimee. I agree with what you say about the focus on the ‘quick fix’. I used to be the same, always looking for what I thought was the easy option. As it turned out the easy option was to make the choices that actually supported my body rather than the choices that pushed and deprived my body.
Tim, you are amazing and such an inspiration, you just shine in your photos. I love what you present with such simple truth, there are so many amazing points in here that can support people to truly loose weight. You have busted so many consciousnesses and myths around diets, for example the big one, diet’s don’t actually work and the fact you don’t need to have a crazy and vigorous exercise regime to loose weight. You choose to love yourself and your body, there can be no better proof that this works. I also love what you have shared about expressing yourself and saying how you truly felt that you lost more weight as you weren’t holding on to it in your body – this is huge and I can feel it’s absolutely true.
What was also a big revelation for me was the fact that because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight. I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it.
Hi Tim. Thank you for sharing your story. Food is a real crutch for many of us. We eat for many reasons other than feeding our bodies what they truly need: Eating food because we think or we have been told they are good for us, to be social, to join the crowd, to stand out – it masks a whole lot of things that are going on for us, so we don’t have to address these things. I am learning this intimately.
I love how you have included that your weight loss has been more of a byproduct of the choices you are making. expressing more, caring for and respecting your body rather than it being a goal to attain and something to work hard towards.
You look amazing too Tim. It’s in your face, the joy in your eyes and the openness in your face and body. Something to celebrate.
A very honest and simply told story without any ‘rar rar’ in means of sensationlism.
Lovely to read and supportive for all who may have similar weight problems. The pictures speak for themselves. Amazing.
What a great story Tim. I have found it amazing that going down the ‘Livingness’ path that you described so well, the weight just seems to fall off and stay off and no saggy folds of stretched skin, just the beautiful glow that shows in your after pictures.
Now that’s a life story worth celebrating!
What a journey Tim, thank you for sharing it.
Weight loss is a subject with so much conflicting advice that it seems overwhelming at times. What you brought is simplicity to your way of eating and daily choices. Very inspiring.
A totally remarkable transformation Tim, shown so clearly in pictures and super important to share and celebrate. Away from the yoyo-ing of failure and success with diets, you have turned yourself around from being another statistic in our deteriorating health figures to being an inspiration. Thank you.
Truly inspirational Tim. Your story is amazing and what I love about what you have shared is it is indeed the way you live your life that allowed this enormous weight to be lifted off you. I too have found that as I express more of what I am feeling my body feels lighter. Thank you for what you have offered us all here by way of example.
Tim, you are an inspiration by showing that diets do not work. Being aware, and listening to your body. Your body telling you, maintenance is needed to sustain it running smoothly again. Thhank you for sharing, and the photo,s of what was, and the new man today.
Wow Tim, this is such a different story about losing weight than I used to read, thank you for sharing and it is worth celebrating. It is beautiful to read that you actually have not been dieting but have chosen to work on your overall wellbeing that eventually is bringing you to the weight that your body needs. What strikes me in how you described your journey is that you have developed a deep understanding how to stop eating certain foods, that you have to take them out with a pace that supports your body to adjust to the other way of nurturing yourself and to not stop them ‘cold turkey’.
Tim you are an awesome open and tender man. Thank you so much for sharing your story about your weight lost. For me it is very inspirational because this is the first time that I have read a man describing this fact so easily and naturally. It is so wunderbar that you gave us all this living insight that dieting does not work but “that only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss.”
Wow! Tim, the photos say it all. What a change in you, both physically but also in your being – can feel the light and joy coming out of you and your wife. Your story is absolutely inspiring and I can relate to a lot of what you’ve shared. Its just awesome to see real lived transformation and the simplicity in which they are done with love as opposed to the push or working hard manner in which we hear about generally. I too was a bit overweight and had tried diets, exercise but nothing really had seemed to truly help and left me ping ponging. For me attending Universal Medicine workshops and learning how to truly support me in terms of food choices and questioning why I ate what I did helped make the shift. My exercise is really 15-20 min gentle walk and maybe very light weights occasionally after my walk. Just that in a matter of 2 years along with letting go of things and learning to truly express rather than react has been what has supported me in where I am today. Definitely true, diets don’t work but making something way of your life does. Thank you.
Truly inspirational story… thank you for sharing it out to everyone. This story needs to be on the news and magazines all over the world. The true way for your body to take its natural shape.
Tim your story is outstanding and a true blessing for all of us, and pure gold for anyone who would like to loose weight.
The fact is you have nailed how we are with food, why we eat it and how it affects us. When you have this understanding it is so much easier to know and feel how the choices we make with our food and drink will affect us.
And I love how you explain the way you lost weight naturally, coming off foods gradually so that it became a part of your lifestyle and how you lived rather than a regimented controlled diet.
And how you love how you now feel and how much you enjoy your new choices with food.
Wow, Tim, what an amazing achievement. But it wasn’t goal oriented, just gradually changing the way you chose to eat, and of course your whole way of life. As you say, diets don’t work, the weight usually goes back on, they are just too hard. You had an overall purpose and commitment to improve your whole life.
Wonderful inspiration to others.
Tim, your photographs of before and after are totally mind blowing! You look and feel so different in your recent photos- not only in physical appearance – also your eyes are positively glowing with the deeper connection with yourself and there is a sense of true inner confidence shining out from you .
I can totally agree with you that diets don’t work and since attending presentations by Serge Benhayon 6+ years ago, and understanding the effects of food energetically – 7 stone in weight has also melted away from my own body from making different choices around food. I still find that when any emotional clearing goes on, so to does my body re-configure itself all over again.
An inspiring blog Tim, thank you for sharing you!
Wow, Tim. This is amazing. “Diets do not work, and that only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss” – such a powerful statement coming from a man who made that commitment. Simply beautiful.
Thank you Tim for sharing a story so many of us can relate to, myself included. I used to yo-yo all over the place with my weight (and diets) too. I eventually developed a reasonable awareness of food and how it impacts us prior to attending Universal Medicine presentations but there, my understanding of the dynamics behind food consumption increased several-fold, resulting in even more positive changes. Now I can say my weight is consistent.
I agree Victoria. In the years of attending Universal Medicine presentations, I’ve become more aware of how certain foods affect me, and the more I take notice, the more I get to see and feel. I had a fairly good awareness prior, but like you, that has developed much, much deeper over the past several years. Now my weight is consistent and at 50 and post-menopausal, I’m as slim as I was as a teenager without any effort or gruelling exercise. And it feels great!
Me too Victoria, I used to battle with my weight and never really got anywhere with dieting. Universal Medicine really opened my eyes to the real effects of food and the real ‘why’ behind consuming it. It enabled me to get underneath my food issues and see how my emotions were driving the show. Feel and heal the emotions, food issues dies a death, body feels much better!
This is great Tim and an inspiring example for those who are finding it difficult to discard ingrained eating habits. The words that shine for me are: “it was more a choice to start to love and support myself in a way I had never contemplated before. Naturally, as a by-product of this new change the weight started to fall off.”
A while back someone asked me how we became gluten free and dairy free. My answer was: “gradually”.
Thanks Rod. Thats the key word here…”Gradually”. The weight went on gradually so its only logical that it should come off gradually.
That is amazing Tim, not only the weight loss and now not the ‘yo-yo’ affect that many diets can have, but how you have managed to do so without all the regular methods of strict diet control or super workouts. I have found that with what and how Universal Medicine present about life, it makes more sense and with those understandings there is less resistance to change. If I understand why I do something I am more willing to possibly change rather than changing without knowing why that change is needed. Being willing to understand in itself is a great step as when we do start to be open to those possibilities, it then opens up to more gradually so – like you say with those bridging steps from full coffee, decaf, soya to none at all.
How gorgeous and refreshing it is to feel the quantum shift in what is presented here from what we are sold – turns the whole ‘diet to loose weight’ paradigm on its head.
Yes Kate I could feel that too….what Tim has so inspirationally shared is so so so different to what we are sold. And I can relate to it as well after years of dieting/hard exercise regime, to loose almost 20 kilos pretty effortlessly and without solid exercise, by simply choosing to really looking at what was going on for me and my relationship with food…it is pretty cool!
“How gorgeous and refreshing it is to feel the quantum shift in what is presented here from what we are sold – turns the whole ‘diet to loose weight’ paradigm on its head.”…… Totally agree Kate. It certainly does make you question what we are repeatedly sold regarding diets and weight loss and what in truth actually provides loving support for life long changes.
The power of putting ourselves in our own driving seats rather than being puppets of ideals and rules (in this case how to diet) is evidenced in Tim’s photo story. Amazing.
Yes Matilida, I love how you express this, we really are just puppets when we live from ideals and beliefs that are imposed on us by the outside. This article cuts the strings and shows us the true way to gain more energy and lose unneeded weight.
Wow Tim, I am just sitting here with my mouth open going -how much did you lose! Wow, that is so incredible and like you say, sustained weight loss is the proof of the pudding (ha ha) but seriously, like you I lost 3 stone and that was 8 years ago. Like you also, it was a gradual process and I never felt deprived of those foods or drinks that I let go of once it was true for me to not eat/ drink them anymore. There are still foods I eat that I know do not support my body in feeling steady but that is ok, I know that I will let them go when its right for me and it will be for good.
I am the same Vanessa in that I still eat some foods that I probably shouldn’t and like you, I know I will let them go when I am ready. Giving up foods in reaction to what someone has said has never worked for me as it was very easy to go back to them when I felt low or emotional. I know my body will give me the signs when the time is right.
So many diets start severely restricted from the first day and have a plan which feels abusive to the body and comes from rigid thinking, and often causes a lot of guilt if the diet isn’t strictly abided by. What you reveal here, Tim, is the very gentle way you were with yourself as you slowly started to feel how and why you were eating certain foods and very gradually cut out those you felt were doing you harm. You have made it very clear how diets don’t work, there is always a conflict going on, but that making your eating, (how, why and when) a way of life, does. The living proof that you are of this fact needs to be shared with the medical profession, the dieting industry, and those who are stuck in the continual round of trying different diets.
Tim your blog is very inspiring and what I loved about it is how you shared that you used food that bridged you rather than “going cold turkey”. That in itself is a loving choice to take things one step at a time rather than be caught up in the extreme measures people go to loose weight in a hurry.
So well said Tim. Your story is very inspiring. You are a living example of how diets don’t work and how making different choices gradually over a period of time does work. The truth is in the pictures!
Totally Rebecca – the by product of living a loving life.
So well said Tim, making it a way of life I feel that’s the part that many people want to avoid because it means they will not want to eat all their junk foods etc. You are clearly demonstrating how much better you feel, and to write a blog like this you would be in such a clearer space, more vitality and energy to share with us all; so it definitely is shown here that the commitment to yourself is worth it!
Gosh Tim, aside from looking 10 years younger and very handsome, what an incredible transformation to achieve, by NOT dieting. You are living proof that by taking the time and care to gently reduce or substitute foods that clearly were not agreeing with you, but that gave you a lot of pleasure, the body can also gently let go of the excess fat and hey presto, ever so steadily you end up a lot thinner, healthier and more gorgeous than you could have imagined. Nowhere else have I ever come across the information you received from Universal Medicine and it makes absolute sense. When we stop to consider why, how and when we eat and feel the effects of it, then it supports us to address the root causes that drive our food addictions, which in turn makes it easier to find alternatives and then relinquish our addictions altogether. Thank you for sharing your experience so honestly and being a fantastic role model for others who struggle to loose weight.
What a great story Tim. Like you I followed a similar lifestyle change and have lost 5.5 stone (35 kg). The understanding of foods, why I was eating them and my relationship with them presented by Universal Medicine just seemed common sense once it was presented to me. So I decided to choose different foods and the use of ‘bridging foods’ made it much easier. I was not attempting to loose weight, it was just a ‘side-effect’.
I agree Jonathan, what Universal medicine presents is just common sense. The only thing we need to bring to the table (ha ha) is our commitment make those self-loving choices.
A great story, such is making any true change, a way of life. By committing completely to ourselves, it’s incredible the change that occurs. Looking good Tim!
Wow Tim, so lovely to see you now. I just love the clear sparkle in your eyes in your recent photos – you look young and cheeky and fun. The before pictures look like a completely different person. Which makes sense, as it was the true beauty of you hiding under the weight. I can feel how you now enjoy living who you really are; thank you for sharing your experience for all to be inspired by. I love the fact that you did not go on any crash diets, because that’s all they do – they make you crash and give up even more, making it look like it’s all too hard. Listening to your body and having fun experimenting lovingly is the way to go.
Thank you Esther. Yes I was definitely hiding behind my weight, and you are right, I love who I am now. Its not just the weight loss. Its given me confidence, self worth and most importantly, contentment in just being me.
Wow Tim, you are glowing. I loved reading the living testimony you have become. A testimony of self-love and proof that loving who you are and not what you are on the outside has proved to be a major key to coming back to your true bodies shape and weight. The power of loving choices….
Well said Kim…he is glowing. Look at these photos …Wow…what a difference. We can all see how his whole face lights up in the after photo….complete joy.
Wow Tim and Bina you both look fantastic. This is a great testimonial of how diets don’t work but by choosing to make loving choices for yourselves and by honouring and supporting your body how the weight can just naturally fall off –
Just to add a bit more to the pot Deidre, me and Tim had a “hobby” and it was eating and eating. We were members of a wine club and chocolate club so it got delivered to your door like a gift. That was in addition to all the farm shops and bakeries we would discover as that was part of our life. If you saw our shopping trolley you would think it was for a family of 6. We were quite content watching weight loss TV programs whilst indulging in cakes and biscuits.
The amazing thing is today we do not crave any of that stuff and that really is a miracle.
Verry funny image of you Bina and Tim stuffing yourselves on the sofa while watching dieting TV programmes! Fantastic story.
Have you heard of the program ‘Chocowokkadoodah’ Jonathan?
It is the opposite to our diet TV watching and what is interesting is that we saw it last year and it had absolutely no pull or desire in either of us to want or need chocolate.
I was a chocoholic and as a child I used to steal chocolate as my mother would hide it.
On another note, I was at a large bookstore recently and the diet books just get more and more glossy and colourful but if they worked why are there so many more new diet books out and why are diet books the number one best sellers at the beginning of every January?
AND the million dollar question where are all the old diet books that people claimed were the answer Not on those shelves anymore? Hello?
In fact I was surprised how small the shelf was for diet and nutrition considering this was a bookshop on 4 floors in central London.
Tim thank you, it’s an incredible feat to lose that amount of weight under any circumstances! It feels so beautiful that you have taken a loving and holistic approach to making different choices and that they were based on self love not self loathing. Who would have thought that being more open with expression would have an effect on weight loss? Awesome!
Very inspirational, TIm. Thank your for sharing this. Having had parents that were heavily overweight and still having 2 sisters who either ignore totally their overweight or the other one being on and off extreme diets which never work, my body never tended to hold a lot of weight. Maybe because I always lived a very active life physically.But eating too much is very familiar to me.
Since attending Universal Medicine presentations and, besides many other matters, learning about effects and energies of food, I feel more now what is good for my body to eat and what is not. But I am still eating too much. Which does not make me gain weight but feeling heavy, tired, dull or even numb. I overeat to fill a hole, an emptiness, to numb myself when I don’t want to feel something. Or more often now I overeat to not feel my greatness, my amazingness, as if it is too much being and feeling so glorious. Writing this I remember that that was always my issue as a child – being too much for the adult world. So I learned to hold back to not bear the consequences of ‘being too much’.
Wow, thank you again, Tim. This opened up a greater understanding of my overeating.
Yes Ingrid, I can relate with still eating too much at times, and that eating is not always to nurture myself, but can be for the various reasons you share above. As you say Tim, it is about building love, support and care for ourselves, and then the old patterns and behaviours have less power.
Thank you Ingrid. I can so relate to eating to fill the emptiness. When I used to live at home with my mum, I used to have dinner there but because I was so empty I would then go to a friends house for dinner there as well. I just can’t understand how I put on weight!!
On that over eating note Ingrid, I have found myself eating for no reason after an amazing day at work.
I would find anything so that the train journey was me munching and what I came to realise is that I could not just sit and be with me in Appreciation. That was what was missing.
Yes I overeat to fill a void and emptiness but if I remain me and stay connected during my day I have no desire to overeat or even eat foods that don’t support my body.
I get it right every time I stop and pause and almost ask my body “hello what do you fancy eating now”. Not once has it got it wrong if I listen and feel. In fact its way ahead of my thinking. I sometimes take food to work and think why did I pack this but it ends up being exactly what I needed and my body knew that in advance.
It goes belly up if I override or go into comfort mode which is not cooking and lets go out for dinner. That has become rare now as I have become more aware of this behaviour.
The other thing is I will throw things out but not eat it just because it is there and needs to be used. What I do is have a chat with myself out loud and say – “come on, what is this about? how were you when you done the shopping”.
I am a fast learner but with food there is always more to learn as I keep reviewing and refining what I eat almost everyday now.
I can relate to what you say Bina. I overeat for comfort or to fill a void and at times when I am struggling with life the self-loathing creeps in and I compensate by eating. It all comes back to that loving connection I have with myself which I am building the loving choices that support me. And in time as Tim has shown those old behaviours and patterns will have less power over me.
Wow, Tim. what an amazing story – so untypical of the usual weight loss stories. There is none of the usual ‘it was so hard but I was disciplined & determined’, or ‘I set myself goals & lived & breathed them 24/7’, or ‘I did it for my children / partner etc’. I love how you share that you made more loving choices for yourself, expressed more & the weight fell off – what an inspiration for so many people battling with weight issues.
Thanks Carmin. I love the reasons you cite why people would push themselves to lose the weight. Maybe that could be a blog for you, although, I feel it would be quite a long one!!
Carmin- that is so true. How refreshing to read a weight loss story like this, it is also untypical for weight loss stories where large amounts of weight is lost to occur over seven years, usually the quicker the weight loss the more hype there is around it. Tim is not offering a quick fix, he offers the wisdom of at least his last seven years of steady and sustained weight loss, an end to yo-yo dieting and crash diets. What an awesome story- Tim is sparkling in his recent photos.
Awesome blog Tim, and great to see you shining and looking so healthy! You are a true inspiration. No diets needed, just a way of life that loves and supports your body.
Hi Tim, I love how you have articulated that along with changing what you actually eat, you have made the conscious decision to express where you are at, and note that in this act alone allows the body to let go of what it holds onto. You look terrific. Thank-you for sharing your story.
Tim, this is such a common problem for people so it is wonderful that you have shared this. I also tried diets and ‘bashed’ myself for not being able to stick to them. I always found I was more hungry when I knew I was on a diet as I felt I was missing out on all the ‘treats’ I wanted to eat. When I started to care for and enjoy me, I didn’t feel I was missing out (as I had me). I also found that making the choice to just take more care of myself and being patient with myself in the process (with no goal to lose weight), my excess weight naturally fell away.
I was the same Fiona, when I was on a diet I really missed the foods that I usually ate and felt hungry all of the time and consequently didn’t last very long on the diet. With this new way of living, I still missed the usual foods that I was eating but because I was getting a better understanding of why I wanted the foods, it was a lot easier to maintain not having them.
What an inspiring story of weight loss. My weight has fluctuated up and down ever since I was a teenager and the only way I could ‘control’ it was through extreme exercise as I was not willing to give up the foods I liked or the quantity I wanted to eat. I too learnt via attending Universal Medicine events that I was using food as a medication – a pick me up or comfort when I felt down, as a stimulant when I felt tired and as a reward when I felt I deserved more in life. I started to experiment with foods and paid more attention to what I was eating and why – soon I was able to drop certain foods and my weight. I now feel like I have a much healthier relationship with food and my body image.
I can definitely relate to that Rachel – although I’ve never been into ‘extreme’ exercise, in the past I’ve seen exercising as the solution to losing weight. In my mind I could eat all the same foods, but by exercising somehow I would lose loads of weight – I can tell you now that it didn’t work as well as I had hoped haha.
Congratulations Tim on your weight loss. “..the fact that because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight.” The loving, supportive choices that you were making had a big influence on your weight loss. Well done.
Tim, I love your story which is a great example of true change that comes from loving & supporting yourself with a lifestyle that you can sustain long-term. As you say diets don’t work long-term, but choosing a lifestyle that supports you does. And I love the fact that you didn’t ‘thrash n bash’ your body with exercise.
Universal Medicine present common sense principles of self-care that when applied like you have, have had remarkable life changing results…and like you say often the goal is not weight loss, but this naturally happens as the body comes back to harmony. So glad you shared your story as so many can be inspired.
Very true Michelle, we are still human so making mistakes with our food will happen. If we beat ourselves up about it there is more of a chance that we will give up, feeling that it is too hard to sustain. Having that understanding why we make certain choices is the key and as you say, it makes the next choice easier.
Tim the present photo of you and Bina is so lovely. You are both shining lights. Your story is a wonderful testimony that being hard on our self and denying our self with diets just doesn’t work but to make choices based on self-love and caring makes all the difference in the world.
Well said Irene, the difference between the before and after photo of Tim and Bina together is incredible, it obviously shows that changing the way they live and care for themselves has brought a huge transformation. They both look so much more vibrant and young, living testament to the power of self care and self love.
Wow Tim — the first thing that struck me was the glow in your eyes in your more recent photo, literally like you are beaming out of the photo. Thank you for sharing your story and in such a way that is sure to support so many people who struggle with dieting and weight loss, obesity is a big deal in our communities at the moment and as people are searching for the answers, you have given them a living and loving example of how true and lasting change can really be made. Thank you.
Hi Tim. What an awesome sharing. I too have come from a heavier weight and had tried lots of diets and even diets with lots of gym workouts but the end result was always the same. The weight came back. After meeting Serge Benhayon I had begun to understand the mess my life had become and that I had only tried to fix my weight from the outside in. Weight-loss wasn’t something I was trying to do but like you I came to understand how and why food was affecting me. As a natural course of events my food changed and so did my weight. I always saw weight-loss as a temporary thing, a quick fix to my situation but like you said its about making it a “way of life”, the way of my livingness.
It brings a smile to my face to read this story, for years I have felt that diets don’t work and here is living proof, everything about the way you have approached weight loss makes perfect sense, addressing the whole of the issue of why and how you were overweight and not looking for a quick fix but instead taking your time to make the changes last. Fantastic to read your story Tim!
This turns the diet and weight loss world on it’s head! This is a revelation Tim – “only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss” Awesome…and well done!
I agree Sara – Tims story does turn the diet and weight loss world on its head.
Tim is showing us by a living example that diets really and truly do not work simply because we cannot sustain it as it is goal driven. As a serial yo yo dieter of the past I never got anywhere and to be honest I found dieting really boring as I was fixated on food. Now I see food as something that can support me to do what I need to and listen to my body and rest instead of going for the sugar stuff as I did in the past.
What powerfull words “only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss”
Everyone with a weight issue would benefit from reading this. It really is incredible to lose that amount of weight without dieting.
What a lesson in taking care of oneself. Yes food, when viewed as supporting our precious body, has the real power to heal us. Thank you also for your beautiful smiles Tim and Bina.
I agree Bina, anyone with a weight issue would most definitely benefit from reading Tim’s story. As the obesity rates soar Tim’s story is so needed to inspire others.
I agree with you Elizabeth Dolan – Tim’s story is needed to inspire others and above all it helps society in the long term.
This is huge story about a huge amount of weight loss with no diet. Obesity is off the scale and now a global problem. The health issues related to obesity is escalating and increasing the burden on our health systems.
I know loads of people and not one has said their diet worked simply because our bodies are not designed to have someone out there telling us what we should eat and how to exercise.
I have lost more weight just walking everyday and cutting out foods like gluten, dairy, sugar and yeast. Above all my body weight is no longer an issue and I feel amazing and finally treat my body with the respect it deserves. Not rocket science, just simple principles I learnt from a man called Serge Benhayon who knows what he is talking about.
It certainly does make you question the ideals & beliefs out there about diet and weight loss. And I so agree that it is about committing to a way of living that is sustainable…this has worked for me and is so much more enjoyable.
I totally agree – this turns all the millions of pounds people spend on weight loss, weight watchers and special diets upside down, and makes this global problem incredibly simple.
Tim your transformation is absolutely sensational, the thing that strikes me is the look of joy in your face and the fact that it looks like you have always been a healthy weight. It was very confirming for me to read about the way you gave up certain foods as I have followed the exact same process, nobody told me to do this, I just listened to my body as you did. I did not lose weight (I was already a healthy weight) but I did heal my severe acne and a host of other health issues.
I feel that many often nominate the fact that food has such an enormous impact on the body but do not wish do delve deeper and begin to deal with the reasons behind these choices. I love the way you have explained that dealing with the emotional patterns behind your choices was key.
It is an absolute joy to see you living as you are Tim. An imputation to many.
I agree, many people often nominate for themselves that food is having a considerable negative impact on their body, but the current way of thinking is that the only way to deal with weight loss is to make far fetched changes to diet and way of life, changes that come from a program. What Tim presents here is beautiful, that it is actually no harder than making changes based on what your body wants
You make a great point here Oliver about people generally thinking that the only way to deal with weight loss is diet and “far fetched changes” to their way of life and it comes from a “Program”.
That is exactly why it doesn’t work and never will. That “program” came from someone and not from you and at no point did that “program” consider your past choices, your lifestyle, your feelings or anything about you as a real person. No wonder diets cannot be sustained and as Tim said we go back to our old way once we achieve that target weight/goal.
What I find incredible about this blog and Tim’s mammoth weight loss is no diet and no sagging skin. No quick fix, no goal and no expectations or investment in an outcome. To top it all no diet books, no visiting the diet and nutrition advisor and no indulging in any foods. Tim really has busted the ideals, beliefs and myths around weight loss and sustaining it without any effort. That is incredible.
Love this Bina! A diet program comes from someone/thing outside you that cannot possibly meet the needs of the whole you and everything about you and therefore it can never possibly work. Inside out is the way to go but why don’t we commonly see this? Because we’re all set up to be outside in. Amazing really.
Amazing Tim, thank you for sharing your weight loss experience. The before and after photos of you say it all…in the before you look older than your years, sad and tired. The photo of you now is glowing with youth, health and vitality and you look so much more settled with who you are. This is a very inspiring account of how dieting does not work and how through the building of self-love, making true food choices and allowing honesty and expression of how you truly feel your body will naturally discard the excess weight it is holding.
Absolutely Bianca; the recent photos of Tim make him look 10 years younger! Just goes to show what self care and commitment can do.
Thanks Tim for sharing your story and what an great story it is. While I did not have a large amount weight to lose any excess weight I did have has also gone due to making choices for myself about what food truly supports me. What has changed a lot however is my body shape. As I learnt to make more loving choices for myself, not just with food but in other areas such as expressing what I feel as you mentioned, I noticed that my body began to change shape. My body now reflects the truth of who I am and how I live and I have never been healthier or more vital.
Thank you Penny. I have noticed the same with my body changing shape. Obviously it has changed shape with the weight loss and the exercise but it is also more of a inner change and the more I express the lighter I feel.
Tim, I loved reading your story and the very loving way you gradually changed your diet, honouring your body and what you felt without a harsh discipline or self-criticism. I feel your blog says a lot with many layers. For example I have never had a weight issue but I experience the same as you, “the more I express the lighter I feel”.
Expression is definitely a huge factor in how we feel, even without weight loss I can feel the difference in my body when I express how I feel and when I bottle it up, it makes perfect sense to me that this expression would also create weight loss if that is what our body needs.
Great point Stephen G, I have been deeply appreciating recently how amazing I feel through expressing myself rather than attempting to ‘bottle it up’, I feel through expressing I heal myself and I seek less the habits, foods etc that I used to use to numb the sadness I felt from not expressing. Remarkable is the powerful of expressing ourselves.
This is so true for me Tim, if I hold something back I want to express and don’t say the full truth I will soon find myself wanting to overeat – it is like by not expressing and feeling the fullness in me I need something external to fill me up. It is then that I know that I am not eating for nutrition but I am eating to numb out uncomfortable emotions. It is so much more beneficial to express in full first then only eat what my body needs, this is a constant work in progress and is so much better since learning to express myself more.
Tim, what an inspiration you are ~ your photos say it all. I love what you said at the end… “So when I am now asked how I lost weight, I can express that I feel diets do not work, and that only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss.” So very true, thank you.
Wow Tim thats an awesome and very inspiring and joyful story of weight loss. No struggle or discipline just loving support and understanding. I never had weight problems but choosing a more nurturing diet brought me massive vitality I had never experienced before. It’s very beautiful to read how by letting go of the attachments your weight loss became a joyful journey.
Great point Rachel, no struggle or discipline required, just the decision to stop, feel and choose love. Tim is living proof that loosing weight by choosing to lovingly care for himeself is a truly joyful journey. Further more it is a journey that has supported his body to adjust gradually and re-claim its natural vitality, health and shape.
Thats a good point Rachel and Rowena. Diets are usually associated with deprivation, hunger and misery but making it about choices that love and nurture ourselves makes the journey much more joyful.
Yes and long lasting. If we are not depriving ourselves then there is no temptation to go back to the old way of eating and treating our bodies. When we make decisions based on how our food makes us feel and we begin to cut out the foods that negatively affect us in some way, the overall feeling of wellness becomes the incentive to keep going. Our bodies are allowed to find their own balance again and we end feeling and in your case, looking amazing.
What an inspiring story, and the pictures are testament to both the success of your weight-loss, the increased confidence and feeling of joy that is obvious in the later shots. Adopting a whole-istic approach to food and eating – perhaps its the ‘why’ factor – instead of only focussing on the weight-gain itself has obviously provided sustained improvements for you.
This is a beautiful read Tim and to see and feel the change in you, not just from a weight loss perspective is huge! I love what you share here, ‘trying to control my weight loss or sustain it wasn’t even a consideration at this point, it was more a choice to start to love and support myself in a way I had never contemplated before.’ This is gorgeous. There is so much grace and love for you in what you write here. It is deeply inspiring to read what naturally happened to you through your own awareness of your choices, without any imposed agenda. ‘What was also a big revelation for me was the fact that because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight. I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it.’ What a great revelation to me too that makes total sense and all of this coming from the tenderness of a man on a subject that is not generally discussed publicly. How amazing. Hats off to you and perhaps even a few more lbs in the future! Thank you for sharing your story.
Thank you Candida. Yes, the weight loss is ongoing and I assume my weight will balance out when I get to my natural weight. Until then I will continue to feel what my body needs and the most important thing….Expression.
Everything we are is a work in progress, constantly evolving and refining day by day. Staying connected to our bodies, as you say Tim, is most important.
Thank you Tim for sharing so beautifully how you have transformed your body and life by taking gentle steps, commiting to self and making different choices in the foods you ate. What stays with me are these words ‘ big revelation for me was the fact that because I had started to express more and say how I truly felt I was losing even more weight. I wasn’t holding onto stuff as much so therefore my body could let go of it.’ You show here how weight loss is much more than just the food we eat.
Thank you for sharing this, Tim. If there was ever a blog that proved beyond doubt, that taking responsibility for the choices you make on every level can totally change your life, this is it! You are a gorgeous example of the ongoing benefits of self care and developing an honest relationship with yourself.
You are so right Janet that this blog proves beyond doubt that taking responsibility for your choices can totally change your life and Tim is a living example.
Most of us at some point in our life have attempted a diet or two and we all know deep down they don’t work because they are not sustainable. You get the goal and go back to your old ways. What Tim has done and shared with us is that it is a lifestyle change and so the cravings are not there, the sagging skin is not there and the fact that he looks younger and more alive in his current photo says it all.
It makes me wonder Bina about dieting being like a drug that we use, designed to keep us away from feeling who we are, by focusing on that we are not enough.
That’s a really good point Jen and one I can relate to as I reflect on all the different methods I’d used in the past to lose weight; calorie counting; rigorous health regimes; meal replacement shakes; will power – all failed attempts. And all based on ‘not being good enough’ and trying to ‘fix a problem’. The constant focus on weight and body image was like an addiction. There was a momentary feeling elation on losing a kilo or two, but this was always followed by a deep despair every time ‘I fell off the wagon’ so to speak. Absolutely none of it supported me to have a relationship with my body or to feel into what was going on for me in any way. I love how Tim shares that he started to express more and say how he truly felt, and by not holding on to emotions his body could let go of more and more weight. This has been my experience as well, albeit visually less dramatic as I wasn’t carrying as much weight as Tim, but equally healing and liberating.
Thank you Tim for sharing your story! There are many people who struggle with dieting and being overweight. And you are a living example that it is possible to loose weight naturally without dieting or doing a lot of sport, simply by starting to self care and self love.
I love what you share about that you express more and that you tell how you are feeling and the impact this has on your body and weight. It is so inspiring how you share about your journey and that it is not about diets or having a goal, but about how you live, express and how you take care of yourself. I love the photo’s, and both of you just look gorgeous. It’s not just the weight that is different, but the way you shine in the photo is the biggest change. Thank you Tim for your sharing.
Tim, you are truly amazing and your story is such a gorgeous example about how the choices we make from our innermost can significantly impact on our lives. It is not about rigid guidelines or practices but truly feeling from our bodies.
Very true Anne, when we make it about what we ‘should’ or ‘have’ to do we are already putting demands on ourselves and become demotivated when things don’t go to plan, whereas listening to our bodies and feeling what is right for us makes it more sustainable.
That’s right Tim, I have found for myself that it is not about ticking boxes or following others’ notions of what is good or not good for me, it’s about listening to myself. Everybody’s body is unique and only we can feel what is going on in our body, no one can do it for us.
The ‘should’s and the ‘have to’s are trap that is so easy to fall into. I’ve thought countless times ‘I shouldn’t eat that,’ and then I feel SO bad after, not only because I have eaten something that’s not good for my body, but also because of breaking my self-made rule of what is right and wrong!
Yes Meg, those self-made rules of what is right and wrong are absolute killers – something we have created and can choose to be attached to, to stop ourselves feeling what is true about ourselves.
What a truly inspirational story Tim. Diets are doomed to fail from the minute they are begun, as it’s all about an outcome and not about understanding; why the weight was gained in the first place; why you eat; how you eat; and what you eat. As you most wisely say; “ only by making it a way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss”; and in my experience, with that loss comes so much gain.
That is it Ingrid and Tim, unless you look at and heal why you are eating and what you are eating then it will remain the same. We have be brought up to find the quickest and fastest solution which is all results drivin. As we can see when we look around the world that this is working.
Thank you Tim for sharing your story. Understanding why you eat what you eat and understanding that loosing weight is not just about the food you eat but also about other choices like expressing your truth and expressing how you feel, truly is a revelation
I agree Katinka, I find it fascinating that if we don’t look at why we are choosing something everything else is a solution and it’s like putting on a band aid hoping it will get better over time.
This is absolutely gold, thank you for sharing Tim. I love how you have allowed yourself with certain things to gradually let go of them. I have had the same experience with coffee. I first changed it to decaf and added soy milk instead of cow’s milk, as I loved it frothy cappuccino style, and at some point I simply didn’t need it anymore and could let go of it for good.
What you say Esther is so true. Often we impose on ourselves the idea that we have to give something up because we know it is bad for us and then force ourselves to stop having it. This all comes from a harshness towards ourselves and really doesn’t work. Instead the way you suggest by treating ourselves lovingly, finding healthier substitutes and then waiting until we feel don’t need it any more (having lost our attachment to it) we can let go of it for good. I have been amazed at what I and my partner no longer need, often things that at sometime I felt I could not live without, a cup of English Breakfast tea for example (a life long addiction I thought) but now I never think about it. This way is effortless and easy.
Thanks Tim, what an awesome account of how you lost weight… “it was more a choice to start to love and support myself in a way I had never contemplated before.”
Choosing to self care and self love is indeed true medicine!
Yes, very true Johanne. The way I was heading was on the express road to many illnesses and diseases, so the choice to self love and self care has been the best medicine I could ever have taken and has certainly saved the NHS a £ or two.
Practical as ever. Just to consider the financial implications of your choices, Tim, on the NHS is amazing. You were heading towards being a burdensome statistic and are now an inspiration for many for taking responsibility for our own health.
I agree Matilda, Tims story is amazing and deserves to be celebrated and studied – the implications it has are huge. Thank you for sharing Tim and showing us all the glorious man that you are.
I agree, studied and celebrated….not even the cost to the NHS of operations to remove excess skin!
Paradoxically as there has become less of you physically, we all get to see more of the beautiful gentle-man you are.
I agree James the transformation is incredible but the choices you have made to support the health system shows your level of respect and commitment to living with vitality and responsibility to the community.
Well said Tim. Saving the health system money and at the same time caring about your role in the community to be reflecting responsibility in living a vital and health life.
And we can be so aware of our own bodies! On the weekend passed – I attended a Universal Medicine course where I was able to feel my organs (liver, pancreas, gall bladder, spleen) It was amazing – I could feel each one and have a deeper understanding of how my system was working.
There is massive potential in understanding ourselves and taking responsibility. Universal Medicine has blown me away with this fact.
I agree Hannah..and this course was not some high level anatomy and physiology course only open to a select intellectual few….we can all re-learn to feel, should we so choose, how brilliant is that?
Yes you are so right, it always amazes me what gets presented to us through Serge Benhayon. Thanks to Serge for his ongoing support and unshakable Love he hold us in.
Raising the factor of how the NHS saves money through your lifestyle changes is a great point Tim, it shows the worth there is investing in self care to really change how we feel about ourselves. This has such an all round, all encompassing affect on so many aspects of our health. For you the weight dropped of but you also got the overall health benefits from the lifestyle you now live, its just seems such a simple win win, the question is why it isn’t more widely adopted. Here’s to the teaching and philosophy of Universal Medicine which is a perfect antidote to our crazy modern lifestyles.
Ha, you could say that losing your few pounds has saved the NHS a few £’s.
Looking at the before and after photos of you and Bina, I can see the joy and vitality in your faces, what an amazing turn around, and shows that choosing to take Life as the Best Medicine works, and it’s free!
That is the power that we are capabile of in every choice we make as you say Tim. You certainly have saved the NHS many many £ that they don’t have.
Joanne, it really is true medicine, choosing to self care and self love. If this was taught in the NHS and schools, we would have less people suffering from critical illness, they would have a choice to choose more loving options for themselves, just like we have.
An awesome sharing Tim offering a huge support to any potential dieters out there.
“So when I am now asked how I lost weight, I can express that I feel diets do not work, and that only by making it a ‘way of life’ can you truly succeed in controlling and sustaining weight loss.”
So true and this has been my experience too after years of diets that did not work to now eating in a way that truly supports my body and this is where the change took place. No more watching my weight, I just observed as it found its true way.
Love the way you observed as your body found its true way. So many health practitioners tell us what is a good target weight for us, and many on diets struggle to lose that last couple of pounds. Tim’s example of making it a way of life, gives the natural size and shape that supports us.
Yes, it is amazing – once we know why we eat something, over time you will have a choice. If you don’t know why, it is extremely difficult. So simple.
Beverley thank you for your honest comment. I feel that it is very much needed that what you and Tim found out has to be shared e.g. at the weight watchers or at other institutes who are offering diets. It is such a big change in how you look at your body and diets now and also so much inspiring – wunderbar.
Tim, your story is absolutely amazing. Most of all, to see the JOY radiating from you now (in addition to the weight loss) – wow. Both yourself and your wife Bina are absolutely glowing, radiant…
Clearly you were not only presented with the understandings presented by Serge Benhayon, but you yourself actively chose to bring such awarenesses to your own life – making the choices that felt right for you step by step along the way.
I can absolutely relate to the ‘bridging’ steps you took, and letting yourself feel what was underlying the choice to have certain foods, etc. This is such a sensible and real approach to our own health – one where we take responsibility in full for ourselves, and need not follow some outer ‘regime’ in weight loss that for the most part is not sustainable and does little or nought to address why we may have habits that are harmful to our bodies in the first place.
Yes, we’ll spotted. It is not just the weight loss there is definitely a feeling of joy, openess and I would say commitment to life, as in the photo on the left Tim looks completely given up on life. That is a pretty big and powerful transformation and really inspiring.
I agree there is more commitment to life as before there was a given up on life feeling. Well done Tim for turning it around.
Paradoxically as Tim’s weight falls and his body is physically smaller, he is growing as a person – how beautiful is that for all of us who get to meet him and be greeted by him.
I love it Kathie, so true.
I agree Vicky really powerful and inspiring… This is such a big one and how others have shared it can be hard to put weight on. Either way it is about making a commitment to a deeper connection with your self and listening to what is telling you and what has also been shared being honest about how you feel.
Thank you for sharing your experience Tim. I have experienced similar issues in the past, tried Macrobiotic diet which only worked temporarily. I am so glad to have found Universal Medicine which was real eye opening and found out that dieting doesn’t work. It is about making self loving choices on a daily basis and not looking at the final stage or as you said you end up celebrating with food again which causes the weight gain at the first place. TRULY AMAZING.
I too had this experience, trying different diets and all with varying degrees of success in terms of weight loss. What I observe when I look back, is that even when on one particular diet where I was very successful in losing weight, I still felt the same inside (the happiness I thought I’d find as a result of losing weight wasn’t there and I was petrified of putting the weight back on). In other words, there was a constant pressure to maintain the diet and weight loss, and invariably, the weight always crept back on. It was only when I was introduced to Universal Medicine and began to connect back to self-care that I experienced natural weight loss, and without specifically trying to do so, so for me too it’s definitely about “making self loving choices on a daily basis”.
I agree with this – diets are quite crazy making – I grew up with a diet addicted mother and it was really distressing to watch the desperate futility and suffering she went through – for fifty years and also my siblings ! I chose to be “healthy” and weight was not a big problem for me – then later on after hearing the wisdom of choosing to be “self-loving ” any excess weight fell off me and I returned to the size I was at 17 years of age when I felt awesome in my body and always considered this age marker to be my “correct” body size.
I never had much time for diets either, Angela. Over the years the weight crept up, but I was tall enough to carry it well and at size 14 people still saw me as slim. Then I began to eat lovingly, didn’t want gluten and dairy in my body and without any intention to diet, got back to my 17 year old natural skinny shape. And gosh, it feels good.
I remember my great aunty at 70+ holding her stomach and saying she needed to diet, I could’t believe she would be worried about it, but it just shows how you feel about yourself does not change as you get older. The change has to come from within and how much you love and care for yourself. As I have recently put on weight for various reasons mainly to do with not wanting to feel, I don’t address it from what I am eating but whats going on underneath and making the self loving steps to support my body again. All the while loving the body I am in whatever the size.
Yes Vanessa, and we are seeing that at the other end of the scale as well with very young children disliking their bodies, how tragic that is that we allow that much self consciousness to take over at that age, whereby it doesn’t allow the child to just grow up loving themselves whatever shape they take.
Very true vanessamchardy, from the cradle to the grave, we are told that the outside is more important so age has no boundaries when it comes to our self-judgment. Making self-loving choices that support the body and knowing that we are worth those choices is the antidote to that self-judgment.
This is very respectful, giving yourself and your body the time to find its own size with a loving approach. Diets can never work because they are focussed onto getting somewhere but ignoring the body and its signs.
Your experience so match’s my own Angela. Dieting on and off over the years and always putting the weight back on and thinking that the slimmer I was the more I would find happiness I would be more content with my body shape but no different on the inside, and the pressure of putting it all back again was always there. Through Universal Medicine I have made changes too, changes in my diet and the way I live. They say that “prevention is better than cure” and Universal Medicine presents a true way to heal our bodies through self-care and making self loving choices.
So true Ariana. ‘I’m this when I get that’ was always a constant hurdle for me – but really it is a game we play to take us very far away from self love. Because we are enough already if we choose to see that
I love that comment Ariana ‘we are the same us’ whatever we get. That only changes when we make those self loving choices – from the inside.
Absolutely Ariana, we are worth so much more than a piece of chocolate cake or even a whole one and we are so much more super delicious too with a divine tender sweetness within.
This is parallel to what I went through Angela, only I had it the other way round, trying to put weight on, and when I did, I was in constant anxiousness of dropping it, I was continuously empty. Although this is the opposite to loosing weight it is still comes from the same hurt, a feeling of not being good enough until you are a certain weight, but even then realising you don’t value yourself. I too have found from the teachings of Universal Medicine that when connecting to my body and caring for it in the ways it needs, it naturally finds it’s shape.
Thats a good point Oliver, we can lose or put on as much weight as we want but if we don’t value ourselves, if we have self-worth issues, it is never going to be enough. Having the commitment to make those consistent self-loving choices to truly nurture and nourish our bodies is the first step in appreciating ourselves for who we are.
This is so true as I have felt the same. The self worth factor is a big one when it comes to our own sense of who we are and what we have to offer. No amount of dieting and weight loss can change the inside.
This will be the start of a revolution that weight loss is about “making self loving choices on a daily basis” and many will learn from Tim’s story and the many others who are losing weight through self love.
100% agree Ariana – we are worth more than a shop-full of chocolate cakes! Nothing we can eat, buy, get or become is more than the loveliness that has always been within.
Such an illusion as you say Ariana and I know I have totally fallen for this one. To be free of such shackels means I can simply stop relying on things outside of me to ‘make me’ who I am and to truly start to accept that I am and have everything I possible need already. Quite the opposite and it feels amazing.
Ah ha, but chocolate cake is so yummy…. I was a total chocoholic and I loved my puddings, but since I have given up dairy, gluten and refined sugars and started to make loving choices for myself, a piece of chocolate cake is nothing compared to the Joy I feel in my heart. Apart from the fact that my weight has stabilised for the first time in my life, without trying.
I love seeing these words in print. Dieting doesn’t work.
We keep berating ourselves, thinking we are hopeless and weak-willed and yet it is a set-up for us to fail and keep going round in circles. How great to have found a way with food that really works and isn’t hard at all.
What an amazing story. I have known you since 2005. I have seen your beautiful transformation and you are proof that living a life with True Integrity and making Loving choices daily can make a difference. You are an inspiration.
Thank you QA.
Wow Tim! Amazing transformation. I found this article as I googled you and Bina to try and get back in touch. Would’ve great to see you.
Yes you are Tim, an inspiration and a shining example of your Livingness. And as the song says “things can only get better” – watch out world for here he comes!!
Completely agree Tim you are a great inspiration, keeping it simple with loving choices.
A great point you make Amina about the “pressures of diets”.
I was a serial yo-yo dieter and the latest diet lasted a few days. I always felt a failure and dieting confirmed that to me over and over again.
Is it any surprise that the number one best sellers in January are diet books.
Being sensible and having a natural approach to losing weight is what Tim is clearly showing us and just imagine if more people had access to this blog. Tim was morbidly obese and living with him now feels like I have a totally new husband – it is not just the weight loss but his whole way of living and expressing has been turned around.
And this has all happened because he choose to make loving choices for himself and started to eat what was good for his body. I was a yo-yo dieter too, and I agree, they never worked, and every time I lost weight I could sustain it for a while and then I would put more back on than I had lost! Making loving choices and keeping it simple is truly the answer, and then your body will come back to its natural weight.
This is beautiful to read and highlights how obesity is not just about excess weight but how it can also affect all other areas of a person’s life – people’s relationships, home life and how they feel about themselves – are just three examples.