Before and After

From dieting and control to peace and joy

Marie Louise Fanøe Jørgensen
40 years old
Married and mother of two boys aged 12 and 16
Works part-time at Netto
Has been following Sense for a year
Lost 14 kilos

Marie Louise shares how discovering Sense shifted her focus from dieting and control to peace and joy. This change has benefited the entire family.

For several years, food and weight dominated almost everything in our family. Before we discovered Sense, we oscillated between various restrictive diets and overeating in ways that were probably not always ideal. In February 2022, I was ready to tackle my weight issues. The energy was there after I completed an exhausting job assessment process that had drained much of my energy.

I came across a free meal plan from Sense, which had previously been recommended by my husband’s colleague. This free meal plan was my introduction to the principles of Sense. I took my two boys with me to the supermarket to buy ingredients for Sense-friendly cooking for the first time. They quickly got on board with the idea of healthier habits when they heard they could have chocolate pancakes for breakfast. That dish quickly became popular, as did the subsequent recipes we tried. It was new for all four of us to realize we could eat regular, delicious food and still be healthy.

From the first moment, I felt I had found a system that worked and that I wanted to live by. I had a long list of exhausting and restrictive dieting attempts behind me, and my children had been through weight loss programs through the municipality and at Julemærkehjem – all without significant effect, but with a lot of guilt and draining focus on grams and calories. If the boys had been to a birthday party and eaten a marshmallow, it had to be deducted gram by gram and calorie by calorie from the 40 grams of Friday candy they had available each week. It was terrible to constantly monitor them like that.

A whole new freedom

Meeting Sense brought a significant change for us. The approach to food and weight was entirely different from what we had encountered before. We had to get used to it, and I started my Sense lifestyle with an intense focus on weight loss. Gradually, this changed because I listened to talks and watched videos with Suzy in the Sense club and on social media. I slowly experienced a whole new freedom and flexibility regarding food and weight loss, and not least a normal and relaxed relationship with everything from food, eating, exercise, and family fun.

There is no longer a focus on weight loss, calories, and control in our family, but instead on feeling good. We can all feel that the food we eat gives us energy and keeps us full, which means we feel much better than we have in a long time. We pay attention to portions and plate composition, and that’s enough. Initially, we talked about Sense – now we talk about regular food and hardly mention to anyone that we’ve made changes at home. Because we still eat dishes like fried pork with parsley sauce and meatballs in curry – like everyone else.

I have a much stronger connection to my sense of fullness. It was there before, but not as clear as it is now. At the same time, I’ve said goodbye to all “politeness calories.” I don’t mind leaving food on my plate – it wasn’t like that before. Food and weight occupy minimal space compared to how it was before. We all enjoy this, as it allows for peace, coziness, joy, and togetherness in a completely new and much more relaxing way. Sense has undoubtedly become a permanent part of our family life.

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