Thought for the Day.....

I love this thought!!

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.  We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?  Actually, who are you not to be?  You are a child of God.  Your playing small does not serve the world.  There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.  We are all meant to shine, as children do.  We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.  It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.  And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.  As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.  --Marianne Williamson

So the big question is:

Whatcha gonna do about that???

Decide.....

credit gapingvoid

Although I don't subscribe to everything Hugh says, I think this cartoon has a lot of merit.  But in a way, it is also very incomplete. 

Decision for us is just the first part of the equation.  Deciding means saying something like "right now I am going to make a conscious decision to TASTE this bite of food".  -- and then you do it (because the bite is on your fork and half way to your mouth)  You have made a decision and acted on it.

But....if you decide that you "should really start tasting your food" ....but then you don't ...you haven't decided ....you've only wished.

Which one are you going to do today?  Right now is you chance to make a decision. And then you need to act on it!

Momentum not Speed

Photo credit to psychotic zingers

My hope for you is that you're in this for the long haul.  That means no quick fixes.  No "drop a dress size in 8 minutes".  No "I shoulda starting dieting for this wedding 3 weeks ago....now what am I going to do...???"

You're looking to string your successes together and create some steam.  Not "perfection" everyday for 3 weeks and then not again until your pants don't fit  --  that's exhausting!

Pay attention to how you're feeling.   Work on strategies for yourself.  Keep what works for you and chalk the other stuff up to your learning curve. 

You're looking for positive momentum.  That is what will keep your weight management efforts successful for a lifetime.

Craving Comfort

Just as negative addictions sneak up on us a day at a time, so do positive cravings.  --Sarah Ban Breathnach

I know a client will be successful with their mindful-eating-as-weight-management technique as soon as they tell me they crave the feeling of getting up from the table feeling light and ready to move on to the next activity.

Cravings are powerful motivators.  Cravings are what take you out of your warm bed in the middle of a winter night for the left overs in the fridge.  Cravings are what cause you to drive across town, when you don't really have time, for the perfect cup of coffee.

Cravings can be cultivated.  You can mindfully look for those positive feelings when you eat less than you normally do.  How does your body feel?  Are you sleepy or refreshed?  Do you feel like your waistband is too tight or does it just feel normal?

Understanding that you can create immediate pleasurable feedback (feelings of success or physical well being as you finish your last bite of food), can make it much easier to stop eating sooner and choose to say "not today" when asked about dessert.

Sure...fitting into a size ____ will be great.  But if you've got a while before you get there, you need something more immediate to help you get through.  Giving in to the positive cravings will be just the thing!

Thought for the Day....

The secret of happiness is freedom.  The secret of freedom is courage.  --Thucydides, ancient Greek historian and author

Freedom isn't about having everything you want (although, as indicated by our country's economy, this might be the pervading but erroneous popular definition).  Freedom is about being able to make choices. 

You can let others dictate what you should eat.  It definitely requires less brain power if you do that -- but will it make you happy long-term? (Obviously not or you would still be on that diet!)

And if the secret of freedom is courage, then wouldn't you want to be brave, enter the unexplored territory of trusting your own body to tell you how much food is enough?  Because isn't your real goal to be happier?  Happier with your weight?  Happier at work?  Happier when you participate in activities with your family and friends?

Are you doing the work required to live with freedom?

Happy 4th of July!!!

July 4th -- the day Congress signed the Declaration of Independence.  That is the tradition behind our day off today.  But is that what we're celebrating?  Sure...Old Navy has 2011 Flag t-shirts .... and Target has some great red, white, and blue streamers ... but much like the hot dogs and hamburgers we will eat today, they have very little to do with the actually holiday.

I watch clients do the same with food.  They get so caught up in the fact that "they love food" that they can't seem to make the mental leap that they could eat less -- especially eating less of the foods they don't love.  Even the Food Network Judges are presented with foods they don't enjoy -- and they have professionals cooking for them everyday!

Clients seems to get lost in the idea that without heaping amounts of food, they cannot possibly be content.  But I will counter with the idea that your Fourth of July celebration will not be lessened if you don't have the Old Navy flag shirt, the streamers from Target, a hot dog, and a hamburger.

I bet if you had one thing on that list and got to go to the fireworks, you would still be able to enjoy your Independence Day celebration.  And in the same vein, if you were at a weight you were comfortable with and you ate 1/2 the amount you do now, you would still enjoy life -- and maybe enjoy it more because you could focus on what really matters and not be distracted by your weight.

Do something Friday

The field is level...only in heaven. --Steven Pressfield

When I ask clients why they aren't doing what they "know they should", I get lots of different responses.  Everyone I have ever asked that question to can give me an answer.  It might be a partial answer or, in my opinion, it might not be the most honest answer -- but they can give me an answer.

What they can't answer is how they are going to overcome that obstacle.  Most of the answers I am given involve waiting for some external obstacle, situation, or force of nature (human or otherwise) to change -- because that's what they feel needs to happen for them to be successful.  But many times those things won't ever change -- or if they do, a new situation, crisis, or other force of nature will come to take it's place.

 And then what???

There will never be a better time to tackle your behavior changes -- fall won't be less busy, winter won't provide you with more time to practice and pay attention.  Your options are do it now -- even with everything else going on.....or wait, do it later with all of life's issues going on then. 

This weekend, make some time (notice I didn't say find some -- you're going to have to make this happen....it won't by magic...sorry) to sit down and list the top 3 things that are getting in your way.  This should be the easy part.

Then figure out how you are going to go around, go over the top of, or crush into oblivion those obstacles (this should be a medium amount of difficulty).

And then make those things happen this weekend (this is the hard part -- do it anyway!)