I work at home, so it would be easy to spend the day in my pajamas. And I won’t lie. There have certainly been days that being at my desk was a higher priority than putting on my street clothes. And yesterday was a Pajama Day–one of those days of such rest and relaxation that I never even get out of my P.J.s. But that is the exception rather than the rule. Here’s why. It impacts how I feel about myself. Every time I walk by the bathroom mirror, my energy level takes a negative hit. It’s not accurately projecting Who I am and Who I want to be. And that matters. This makes sense when you think about the Foundation Principle that “Energy Attracts Like Energy,” also known as the Law of Attraction. This means you get what you project. If you are thinking negative thoughts about yourself, you will get more opportunities to think negative thoughts. If you are feeling bad about yourself, you will get more opportunities to feel bad. Even what you are wearing sends out an energetic vibration. Do pajamas project success, abundance, a joyful and fulfilling life? Or does it project lack and lethargy? If I feel like I need to hide out when the UPS guy rings the bell, that’s not a good sign. A lot of women that I work with unknowingly perpetuate the cycle of losing and regaining the same 30 pounds by wearing loose fitting or sloppy clothes, or clothes that don’t fit well because they don’t want to “give in” to their weight gain. But this actually perpetuates the weight rebound cycle because it impacts how they feel and think about themselves. Now […]
The Secret to Turbo-Charging Your Weight-Loss Results
What’s been the number 1 factor in my losing the weight—and finally being able to keep it off? I get this question a lot. The answer may surprise you. The most important factor in my maintaining my weight loss has been getting support. Not only support for meeting my weight loss goals, but support and acceptance of Who I am—including the shadow side that many of us want to keep hidden—and encouragement to be the best possible version of me. This is also true for my clients. The fact that support is the key factor is not surprising because research backs that up. When doctors and researchers from the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health set out to discover the best diet, they found that all the plans worked about the same. As long as people lowered their calorie intake, they lost weight and improved their health. What did make a difference was attending support group sessions. Study participants in the support group lost an average of 20 pounds over two years and the people who didn’t have the support lost only 9 pounds over the course of the project. That’s a 225 percent difference! Sometimes, all you need to do to get support is ask! (It’s surprising how many people don’t think to do this.) Tell your partner, family, and friends what you are doing and why, and what you want help with. People are often willing to help you meet your goals. But sometimes, even when you ask, your family or friends—for whatever reason—are not encouraging, or are actually opposed to the changes you want to make. In these circumstances, it’s even more important that you seek out the […]
Who’s Helping You Reach Your Goals?
You may want to go it alone. You may not feel comfortable asking for help. You may be embarrassed that you aren’t perfect. But study after study shows that having at least one person support you in meeting your wellness goals will dramatically increase your chances of success. Having a wellness partner or joining a support group helps: Normalize what you’re going through—You realize that everyone has cravings, gets frustrated by the numbers on the scale, and has moments of weakness. You are not a failure or a freak. Cheer you on—Noticing and celebrating every sign of progress builds momentum towards successfully meeting your goals. Having someone to share these with helps keep you motivated. Boost morale—Having someone to turn to when you are fighting a craving or to help you get back up if you do stumble is powerful. The only failure is not picking yourself back up and keep going. Problem solve—When you are focused on the problem, it can be almost impossible to see even obvious solutions. Having someone on your side who can see the situation more objectively can help you brainstorm ways around any obstacles. Make the journey more fun—going it alone makes it easier to get caught in the negative thought spiral going on in your head. Having a partner helps break the inner patterns so that achieving your wellness goals is more enjoyable. But where can you find help? Ask a friend or family member—Choose someone who is consistently positive, good at problem solving, and will be uplifting and inspiring. Join a group—There are a number of on-line and in-person support groups. A few places to look include: transformation.com, beachbody.com, Weight Watchers, your local hospital, or a community group. Pick […]
How Focused Are You?
What if you knew that your goal of getting slim was supported by the power of the entire Universe? That All-That-Is was aware of the body you are going for, and wanted you to have it? That your Higher Coach was providing you with everything you need to make your fit, strong, and slim body a reality? Would you let go of doubt? Would you let go of fear? Would you give it your all knowing that what you put energy into is guaranteed to succeed? Would you see the opportunities in obstacles instead of giving up? What if all that’s keeping you from creating the body—and life—of your dreams is doubt and fear that results in you subtly holding yourself back and giving up too soon? If you knew your success was guaranteed, would you be willing to give it your all? If you knew the entire Universe was on your side, would you pick yourself up and keep going when things got hard? If you knew you were worthy of receiving everything you want, would you expect to see it? That’s how close you are to the healthy, slim, and sexy body of your dreams. All it takes is spending more time focused on what you want, what you want to do and why you want to do it, and how you want to feel. And then putting that energy behind your actions. You are responsible for the “reality” of your life. Focus on what you want, do the work, and allow All-That-Is (God, The Universe, Source Energy, Higher Coach—whatever works for you) to support you, answer your prayers, bring forth the life of your dreams. How much fun you have along the […]
Create A “No Regrets” Policy
I haven’t been perfect this weekend. While I got all my workouts in, my eating has been a little on the high-calorie side, as is apt to happen when family gathers and we celebrate a birthday—in this instance, my husband’s. In the past, a splurge like I experienced this weekend would have been enough to derail me. I used to suffer from a severe case of perfectionitis where if I didn’t do my diet and exercise perfectly, I would be so hard on myself that I would give up. Fortunately, I now have a personal “No Regrets” policy. This gives me the ability to start each day with a fresh opportunity to do the very best I can, and to celebrate those actions that are moving me towards my goal. Being more tolerant and supportive of myself has helped me lift the “all or nothing” requirement that I used to have for success. This feeling that you have to do your diet and exercise program perfectly or you’ve “blown it” is very common amongst dieters and is one of the primary reasons that people fail to meet their weight-loss goals. The good news is that you don’t have to be perfect. If you eat a cookie or two, it’s not the end of your diet. But if you give up then and down a pint of ice cream on top of it—well that’s going to be much harder to recover from and your progress for the week will likely be stymied. Too many weeks with no progress and the motivation to continue seeps away and dies. If you slip, it’s much better to pick back up right where you are. One way to do this […]
What An Opportunity!
One of the empowerment principles I love is, “There are no problems. There are no challenges. There are only opportunities.” As you begin practicing this, it’s easy to see how true it is. While it can be challenging at first, when you stop yourself from negatively reacting to something and shift your mental focus from the problem to how you can use the situation to learn and grow, your mind shifts in the direction you are pointing it and provides the things you seek. To make the shift, you may have to let go of all the things that “could” go wrong and ask yourself how the situation might actually be helpful—for you and others—how you might be able to see things differently, and how you can trust that things are unfolding just as they should. In other words, you rationalize your way out of fear or anger. It’s a fabulous tool for shifting from negative, catabolic energy where you are at the effect of people, situations, thoughts, emotions, and events, to begin looking for and seeing the solutions and potential. As you practice releasing the catabolic energy by moving away from your well-rehearsed and automatic reactions, you connect with higher levels of positive anabolic energy that truly help you see not only the opportunities in every situation, but how the solutions can benefit each person involved. It is the Yin/Yang of the Universe—for every problem there is an equal and proportionate solution. The opportunity and solution are always there, but you must first raise your gaze from the memorizing specter of the train-wreck that is the problem, and look for the opportunities. As you practice making this mental shift you begin creating new reactions […]
What’s There to Celebrate?
It was almost exactly a year ago that I decided to become a Certified Professional Coach (CPC) and began exploring what that commitment would look like. I selected the most rigorous and challenging program I could find (a minimum of 9 months and 350 hours) and set out to achieve that goal. Yesterday I received notice from the Institute for Profession Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) that I had passed my oral exam and am now a CPC. As I look back, it has been an incredible year of personal and professional development that was more challenging and rewarding than I could have imagined. The release and satisfaction that I feel at having successfully achieved this goal is awesome! So while I still have a week’s worth of intense work to complete my second certification as an Energy Leadership Assessment Index-Master Practitioner, I am giving myself permission this weekend to relax and enjoy my success. And I encourage you to do the same. Give yourself permission to relax, smile, laugh, and enjoy this weekend—and your life. Celebrate your success, whatever that may be. Pay attention to the connection between lightening up emotionally and physically. Together we can do it!
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