Happy New Year! You may be spending this day reflecting on 2012, and setting intentions and making resolutions for 2013. Would you consider adding something to your list? How about putting “Love Yourself” at the very top? This is the primary intention I’m setting for myself in 2013. I thought I had “loving myself” down. But as I’ve challenged myself to step up in a big way to better serve you, some of those old, negative voices have resurfaced. My business is expanding rapidly, and I’m learning how to up-level my energy to meet the new flow of clients and income. And this has been a huge gift. Because it is a vivid reminder of the pain I used to feel on a daily basis as I struggled with my weight. Feeling this old self-doubt and self-criticism has absolutely reinforced my focus and commitment to not only step up my own self-love—but to help you Love Your Way Slim. No woman deserves to feel this self-inflicted pain. Fortunately I have the tools, resources, and support to transform my inner critic so that it becomes a powerfully supportive—and loving—ally. There are a lot of misconceptions about self-love. Self-love is not about conceit or thinking you are “higher and mightier” than anyone else. In fact, when you are coming from a true place of self-love, it spills over onto everyone—and everything—else. And a huge bonus! Loving yourself generates positive physical processes that are not only good for your health, but make it easier to release weight. Loving yourself actually inspires loving action—towards yourself and others. When you recognize and acknowledge your own intrinsic value, you automatically see it in others. When you feel an abundance of love there is no need to […]
Reclaim Your Feminine Power to Get the Body You Want
When you exercise, do you love and adore your body? Are you having so much fun you wish you were doing your workout at other times during the day? Does moving your body help you tap you’re your sensuality and feminine power? In this provocative TEDx talk, Sheila Kelley shares how tapping into your feminine power can help you in every part of your life—including getting the body you want. The challenge is that all women have learned to be ashamed of your bodies. Kelley shares that every woman has a “First Offense” that brought negative attention, judgment or shame to your body. I vividly remember my “First Offense.” When I was 5 years old, my father told me I needed to learn how to suck in my stomach. Now at age 5, I wasn’t fat. But how I interpreted his comment was that he was telling me I was fat. He was telling me there was something wrong with my body. I was a tomboy who always had scabs on my knees from falls and crashes on my bike. Shortly after that conversation with my father I remember for the first time being embarrassed at how my banged up knees looked and trying to pull my knee socks up as high as they would go to cover them up. For the first time, I suffered from body shame. From that moment on, I focused almost exclusively on my flaws, and what was wrong with me. And for most of my life, I struggled with my weight. That was just the first offence. With every criticism or judgment we receive about our bodies as we grow and mature, we close ourselves off from our […]
My Wishes For You
Today I want to say, “Thank You!” Thank you for reading, commenting, and allowing me to be your partner in creating the body you want. Thank you for your friendship, support, and love. Thank you for sharing who you are, and allowing me to share who I am. I honor and appreciate each of you more than you can possibly imagine. You are at the top of my list of appreciation! No matter what holiday you celebrate or beliefs you hold, I want to wish you and yours a day filled with hope, contentment, excitement, happiness, appreciation, joy, and most importantly, love. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Much love and appreciation, Hanna Goss
How To Enjoy Holiday Treats Without Regretting it January 2nd
Temptation. It’s everywhere during the holidays. Enticing sweets and treats are brought into the office, shipped to your home, spread before you at parties, and are even ringing the produce aisle in the grocery store. Maybe you’re baking them to give away, or to create that “magic” time of year for your kids. It’s just once a year. What could be the harm in giving in? The problem is, it’s not just once a year. The majority of people begin overindulging around Halloween. Two full months of extra sugar, processed carbohydrates, and unhealthy fats takes its toll on your immune system, energy level, and waist line. And most adults don’t lose the weight they gain over the holidays. Even if you gain just 2 pounds a year, over time you will become significantly overweight. It happens so slowly, you don’t even realize what’s happening. It feels like you wake up one day and you’re overweight. “But,” you may wail, “I don’t want to give up my holiday treats and feel deprived!” Who said you had to? It’s not all or nothing people! There is an in-between. You are able to make good decisions about what, when, and how much you are eating. Be discerning! Not every sweet or treat is calorie worthy. Truly, some of the most beautiful desserts taste like cardboard. But you may eat the whole beautiful piece of cake because you really want the taste you think it should have! Be deliberate in deciding where it is worth indulging, and where you’re better off to stick with the fruit and vegetable tray. Here are some strategies for enjoying the season without feeling deprived: Plan ahead. If you have a party this weekend […]
Tap Into Your Inner Power to Get the Body You Want
How empowered do you feel right now? One thing I’ve noticed is that women who are struggling with losing and regaining the same 30 pounds over and over again are often in victim mode. This means you frequently feel that you are at the effect of outside circumstances that you believe are outside of your control. You feel powerless. This can look like: Feeling unappreciated by your boss and coming home and eating a pint of ice cream. Being overwhelmed by everything you have on your to-do list, and falling into the chocolate. Dreading the work project you are facing, and mindlessly eating an entire bag of chips. Some element of life is coming at you, and you are coping by eating a food that will trigger a temporary hormonal reaction in your body that makes you feel better. The problem is that once the physical reaction subsides, feelings of guilt, shame, and self-loathing take over, driving up negative chemical reactions in your body—and perpetuating unhealthy habits. What’s happening here is your negative thoughts are generating catabolic energy that releases the stress hormone cortisol, adrenaline, and other chemicals that literally can cannibalize your body. Over time, this catabolic energy can cause everything from painful trigger points in your shoulders, to inflammation, to heart attacks. It can even impact your metabolism and other weight-related systems making it easier to gain and harder to release weight. Feeling energized, alive, and powerful creates positive anabolic energy that releases endorphins, testosterone, and body supporting hormones that help your body heal, rebuild, and flow with physical energy. And yes, makes it easier to release excess weight. One way to tap into positive anabolic energy is to consciously shift your thoughts and feelings […]
The Three P’s of Change
Last year at this time, I was preparing to undergo a full hysterectomy. I came through the surgery beautifully, and thought I would share some of what helped make that challenge such a wonderful opportunity. I was thinking this morning about what it will take for me to rebound from my surgery next week. What it boils down to is Persistence, Practice, and Patience. These 3 P’s of Change are true regardless of whether you’re recovering from surgery or illness, working to lose weight, or making some other life change. Persistence When you’re finally ready to make a change, you may want it to happen right now. That impatience makes the process very frustrating and fraught with ups and downs. At the very least, this can make the journey unpleasant, and worse can cause you to get so discouraged that you give up on achieving your goal. Being Persistent is key. Persistence is mostly a mind thing. It’s being determined in the moment to make the decision that will move you towards your goal, rather than choosing the option that will maintain you where you are, or even set you back. After my surgery, I will need to consistently make the decision to eat healthy foods to give my body the nutrients it needs to heal and recover—and not fall into comforting myself with holiday treats. And I will need to move as much as I can. Not only does the doctor say that walking will speed my recovery, but consistently doing what I can will help keep me in the exercise habit so as I am feeling better it will be easier to motivate myself to get moving. Practice There are typically some […]
Create the Holidays You Want
I was thinking that I would blog today about getting back on track with food after the big Thanksgiving meal most of us Americans ate yesterday. But as I sat down to write, I realized that for many people, it’s their emotional wellness that is more strained today then their waistbands. There’s a lot about the holidays that can impact people’s wellness—whether it’s gaining weight, or having your emotional wellness impacted by depression, overwhelment, and stress, as well as challenging relationships. The typical things that can throw people out of balance–and have them reaching for extra helpings of their favorite comfort food–during the holidays include: Unmet expectations—you might be trying to live up to a romanticized notion of how the holidays should be, either from your memories of when you were a kid or from how the holidays are portrayed in the movies. Or you may be trying to make everything perfect—for yourself or for others. This is something Mom’s can really struggle with because they want to make things perfect for their kids. Other people’s expectations—you can be dealing with expectations of how you should act, or your perception of other people’s expectations. You may really struggle with feeling like you’re disappointing people, or feel like they have a negative perception of you that you can use as a reason to feel bad about yourself. Dwelling on negative things—you might have previous holiday-related disappointments or difficult times that haunt you this time of year. Challenging relationships—tensions often run high during the holidays and there may be family misunderstandings and conflicts, particularly if you’re spending a lot more time together than usual. Or you may be facing the holidays without a loved one, which can […]
Change Your Beliefs to Get the Body You Want
One of the first indications that that I’m feeling overwhelmed is a tired, fuzzy feeling behind my eyes. I was feeling this last Sunday at the end of an intensive VIP day with my fabulous coach, Kendra Thornbury, where we laid out my business plan for the year. When I shared with her that I was feeling overwhelmed, her response provided an “Ah-Ha” moment. “That is an old belief that this needs to be overwhelming.” And she was right! Having a plan of action could have been exciting. It could have provided a sense of relief. It could have given me hope for the future of my business. As soon as I realized I could choose a different response, I felt my energy shift and that fuzzy feeling drained away. I had a similar experience later in the middle of the night. Kendra and I had worked through a lot of fear and intense emotions that had come up for me as we put together a plan that would significantly take me out of my comfort zone. And I had a long day of travel the next day that wouldn’t get me home until the wee hours of Tuesday morning. There was a tickle in my throat and I was worrying about getting sick. Ding! I realized this was an old belief I had about the physical impact of releasing intense emotion. As soon as I realized that, again I felt the energy shift and a sense of wellness and well-being returned. These old limiting beliefs are just thoughts that I have practiced and accepted as true about myself and life. And everyone has them. Often you are so used to thinking your limiting beliefs—or they are […]
Wellness Tip of the Weekend
Wellness Tip of the Weekend: Alter your beliefs about limitations. Is getting the body you want really overwhelming, or do you just believe it should be?
More Blessed Than Many
After a late night arrival and a week away from home, I am taking the opportunity to share a fabulous blog from Gina at Professions for PEACE. Many years ago I took a course that had an instructor who advocated the concept of gratitude. He shared how he began every day and ended every evening by listing all that he had to be thankful for. He told us how as soon as he woke, he’d begin listing in his mind all the things he felt thankful for. His wife sleeping beside him. The blanket over them. The mattress underneath. The roof overhead. And on and on, his list would multiply throughout the day. He instructed that every day we write out a list of one hundred things to be thankful for. He’d enthuse, “It’s easy! That’s a short list, so let’s get going!” If a student was going through a rough time and couldn’t think of anything to be thankful for, he would always begin talking about health. He’d discuss giving thanks for our sense of sight, of hearing, of smell, taste and touch. He’d remind people to be thankful for having free mobility, and not needing a wheelchair or crutches. Then he’d talk about being pain-free and remembering to not take that for granted. He’d ask, “Do you suffer from painful indigestion? Headaches? Heartburn? Are you suffering right now…? No? Thank goodness. Then give thanks for that! Has your back ever gotten out of alignment and really hurt you? Yes? Is it hurting you now? No? Great! Write it down. Give thanks for that.” He was a passionate trainer and enjoyed getting people fired up about how much there is to be thankful for. […]
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