Guilt, fear, worry, self-doubt, anger, frustration, blame. How do you deal with these negative catabolic emotions, which are at the heart of your rebound weight-gain cycle? Just like the old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” I’m going to share my APPLE principle, which can be used anywhere you want change in your life. The result will be improved mental and emotional wellness, which are key facets of optimal physical wellness.  The APPLE principle is a 5 step transformational process. It includes Awareness, Possibility, Pattern, Learn, and Engage. Awareness—What is really going on? Are you even aware that you are experiencing a negative emotion? Often you just feel bad. This should be like an alarm bell waking you up so you can look at what is really going on. Ask yourself, “What is the root emotion of this struggle?” Often it’s fear. Somehow your love, security or self-esteem (or all three) are being threatened. The fear—real or imagined—creates the undesired outcome which just enhances the fear and the spiral gets worse. Take a step back from the situation and look at what the emotion you are feeling actually is and what feels threatened. Possibility—What is a realistic outcome? When you are focused on the problem, you literally cannot see the solutions. Shift your focus by asking yourself, “What’s the best possible outcome that you can expect?” For instance, if you are feeling self-criticism about your pants not fitting, a realistic outcome is that you could buy some well-fitting attractive clothes right now, which will actually boost how you feel about yourself. That shift to positive anabolic energy will help you release the weight. So the possibility in this situation is that you can stop beating yourself up and and treat yourself to a new outfit that makes you […]