Bestselling author Trisha Lewis of Trisha’s Transformation on the importance of wellbeing and healthy mind-set
By Cathriona Murphy
In the month of January, it is near on impossible to walk past a book shop without seeing a self-help or diet book in the window. People, often laden with Christmas indulgence guilt, snap up the latest offering, purchase gym membership and walk into the nearest weight loss group. So why is this almost a regular cycle and why do we constantly beat ourselves up about it? During a recent Q&A on her Instagram page, Trisha Lewis was sent the following
“I have an eight-month old baby and my 40th coming up. I haven’t lost the weight I wanted and feel so lost because of it”
Trisha’s response really struck me deep personally, she replied
“But aren’t you lucky to have that 8-month old baby and a 40th to be celebrating?” I was amazed at how she flipped someone’s utter sadness into joy with the use of perspective. I reached out to Trisha and we sat for a chat!
When we talk about weight loss there are countless feelings, emotions and struggles that come in to play. You talk a lot about perspective and mind-set, how important do you feel it is to achieving goals for a healthier life?
I think its hugely important, it’s very confusing out there at the moment with a very anti-diet culture. People saying no you shouldn’t be on a diet you should learn to love yourself instead but then you’re on the side that I’m at where I need to lose weight for my health. So I’m thinking oh god what way do I go? So the way I look at it is the perspective from my eyes. I suppose I can’t look at my life and say I would be happier if I lose weight because my weight is only a small fraction of who I am. If you take a step back and start looking at what you have instead of maybe what you desire things do change. Often I would think I wish I could be this size or that size, but aren’t I lucky that I have Parents and a happy, healthy family? It’s all about pulling it back a small bit as a woman and going what do I do for myself every day? Sometimes you have to give yourself that pat on the back and say that I have all of this, but I’d love to change that, but I can’t do it all right now, but I will get there! You know I think the pressure we put on ourselves as a society to be thinner to be more accepted is really, really hard because when I do my weight loss journey, I do it for health. You know, the size on the label does not matter. It’s the size of my sadness, that’s what matters to me, once I’m reducing that, then I know I’m on the right track.
When we consider a holistic approach, treating the person from the inside out from brain to body as opposed to quick fixes popular on social media what are your feelings on that?
I’m by no means an expert at all but I know if I look at it that all the experts are telling me it’s a calorie deficit, measure what goes in etc. and I get all of that, it is proven by science and I’m not arguing that. But I think that maybe it runs a little bit deeper in the sense that I often think of my weight gain as a symptom, it isn’t a cause but a symptom and I look inside thinking what is that symptom? What is causing it, am I not looking after myself or am I not dealing with trauma and more or less kicking the bucket down the road and eating the food to bury some sort of pain? I think you could do the holistic approach but I also think you need to put all of it together. If you had told me years ago I was going to write a weight loss book Id have sat there and waited for the weight to go, but I have to get up and get it done. But seriously I think there has to be a huge amount of compassion, empathy, forgiveness and understanding of yourself. If I gave you a diet plan and said there you go, that’s what I do every day, I get up in the morning Cathriona and I drink my water and I do this, I do that. If you went to copy that it would never work for you because the two of us are totally different and I think the way I look at it is you need to look at yourself and ask questions like “What happened you when you were seven years of age, did someone mock you in the playground and did you internalize that and therefor eating away your feelings?” I don’t think anybody wants to eat away their feelings and physically eat themselves into a state where they are finding it difficult to move, that’s caused by something else. I think the holistic approach and to look inside yourself to see what can you fix yourself? Whether that is with therapy, engaging in CBT, walking or ringing a friend and having a big old cry. You need to know what works for you and it is most definitely an all-rounder, but you still have to put in the work. What I always say is “You won’t get the ass you want by sitting on the ass you have!”
You recently became a brand ambassador for Lifestyle Sports, how important was it to you to become one of their first plus size representatives?
It was insane, it was really insane. I have always been on the plus size as far as I can remember so I would have always seen models and athletes on billboards who would be the typical size of what is deemed “normal” so for me to even get that email I thought it was class! But I do think brands are moving towards being more inclusive so that everybody matters. When I first started on this journey nearly four years ago I wore pyjamas to the gym, a black pyjama pants because I couldn’t find a pair of trousers that would go up over my stomach whereas now I know that brands are slowly getting it and I know it takes time because you could very easily produce a size 26 pants but if that’s modelled off a size 8 body it’s not going to work. It won’t work because the weight of my stomach will push it down so I think there is a lot of work going in to it, it isn’t there yet but I do think it will get there. What people need to realise is that everybody deserves to be happy, no matter what shape you are or what size you are. You deserve to be able to put something on to be comfortable and to be happy. A lot of people say sure it doesn’t matter what you’re wearing but it really does. It’s very hard to be happy or comfortable when the clothes don’t fit right or the pants keep falling down. It’s bad enough going into a gym when you are riddled with anxiety anyway but at least if the clothes are right you feel that little bit better. But I do think people are slowly changing, it takes all different shapes and sizes to make up the world and that’s what makes it beautiful.
Is that something you might consider doing in the future, designing a range of clothing with those ideas in mind?
No absolutely not and I’ll tell you why! I can barely dress myself in the morning and people always say it to me would you not do it? Definitely not I can barely throw a dress on myself and honestly I don’t think I have the passion enough for it? Obviously in the dream I would love to do it but I just don’t think I have the passion for it. I like something if its black, I can throw it on and it stays then I’m happy out. But I do think there are a lot of Irish brands at the moment who are going towards that and I think they will smash it.
Finally, Trisha, us Irish have an awful habit of putting ourselves down, little or no self-belief. What would you say to our readers here in Connect about being kinder to themselves and more self-compassion?
I think we honestly need to go easier on ourselves, I have eight sisters so I’ve always been surrounded by very powerful women. I think the common denominator is that you have to be your own cheerleader. You have to change how you talk to yourself, change your mind-set, what you focus on will expand. If you say to yourself “Ah sure it’s only this?” Well then that’s all its going to be, but if you tell yourself “I am so proud, a year ago I would have done anything to be in the position I’m in today, I am so grateful”. I think sometimes, as women, we need to put down the stick that we flog ourselves with and say we are wonderful, we are perfect, we are coming from a place where we have to deal with things left right and centre like hormones and what not. Instead, sometimes we need to take a step back and think that my god aren’t we so bloody powerful? The work we do on ourselves we do on our own, but what we say to ourselves we say to our kids. So make sure it comes from a place of positivity, empowerment and be in absolute awe of your own strength. Keep lifting yourself up because we are here for a very short time and I for one don’t want to look back in 60 years’ time and think do you know what? I did that for other people’s opinions, I am going to look back and say I did it for Trish, I did it for 33-year-old Trish when she was unhappy and you picked her up. I didn’t do it because somebody down the road didn’t think I was small enough? So drown out the haters, whether they are internal or external tell them shut up for a minute and listen to yourself.
“Trisha’s 21 Day Reset” and “Trisha’s Transformation”
by Trisha Lewis are available to purchase online and in store in all good book stores.
