Losing weight is not necessarily easy. Nor is maintaining that weight loss. To do both, I found it necessary to work from the outside in, as well as the inside out.The outside in has included stepping up my exercise (I do yoga, walk, and lift weights). It also included learning portion control – I found Weight Watchers invaluable for teaching me what a reasonable portion is, and I continue to use their guidelines to keep me on track. I also keep a food log, which helps me accurately know just how much food I’m eating.The outside in is crucial. But so is working from the inside out. This included examining my history with food, learning to sit with hunger and not freak out, realizing that my yoga practice didn’t end when I stepped off the mat –but continued on into my daily life.Just like yoga is a practice, eating is a practice. When you do a practice, you are committing your time and attention, your diligence and patience, to whatever it is you are practicing. Like yoga, or writing, or your relationship to food.The mechanics of losing weight are utterly necessary. They are though, only part of the story. Ultimately, it’s an inside job. And the relationship you have with the food on your plate is only a mirror for the one you have with yourself.