Eat for Optimum Brain Function and Weight Loss Success

When we are trying to lose weight we often count calories...not something that I do any more, and I don't suggest it as part of my Refuse To Diet program...but it is still a very common thing for folks to do.

One of the reasons I don't suggest you count calories is because losing weight is not simply a math equation! If it were, then we would definitely be able to count our calories and know we are going to lose weight.

Another reason to not focus on calories alone is because it is important that we have good food in order to function our best. If we only look at the calories, there is no guarantee we will be getting good nutrition for the calories. It can be really tempting to eat some of the pre-packaged "100 calorie" snacks...which are basically empty calories...or to eat "diet" foods which may actually be high in sugar or high in fat (depending on how they are defining "diet") or may have artificial sweeteners which can increase our carbohydrate cravings.

Not eating enough can create low energy, brain fog and actually hinder our weight loss success...not only because we don't feel good, but also because we will more than likely break our diet. In fact, it can lead to a big binge!

In order to lose weight and operate at peak efficiency it is important that we have eat enough calories. Eating enough calories keeps our bodies and brains fueled so we are less apt to go on binges, have big crashes later in the day, or suffer from the brain fog that dieters face.

Eating the CORRECT foods is also important...not just the calories.

Contrary to what a lot of dieters think, it is important to eat fat in order to lose fat. It seems illogical, but it is important to help us feel satisfied, full, get our brains and organs the fats they need...and to help our skin looking and feeling good.

Make sure you eat enough healthy fat...things like avocados, olive oil, walnuts and fish. Limit the saturated animal fats and avoid trans-fats--those hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils which are in so many packaged foods because they extend shelf life, but add absolutely no nutritional value for us. There is evidence that not only do they not provide nutritional value, they can actually be detrimental to our health.

So while I'm not big on putting foods on a "bad" list, trans fats are on the top of it!

Are You Trying To Lose More Weight?

One of my readers asked me an interesting question..."Are you trying to lose more weight or are you happy being healthy?", and as it would happen I was discussing this with a friend earlier today...isn't it grand how things work?...but that's a topic for another blog!

So here is the long answer...as I am prone to do.

I am very happy with being healthy. That was, and is, my number 1 goal. I feel better, am able to do pretty much everything I want to do, I am off all medications...hard to ask for more than that!

I am not trying to lose weight...I am just doing what it takes to be healthy. In small increments. It does not consume my life...or my day.

In response to that, my body will seek whatever is the best level for it. Which may be to stay where I am, but for now I do appear to be continuing to decrease my fat and increase my muscle at a gradual rate.

Do I want to drop even more fat? (I think is the bottom line question)...yes, maybe, sometimes, no...hunh???

Most of the time I am pretty happy where I am. I can buy clothes in "normal" stores. I can eat whatever I want, etc, etc, etc...all that good stuff.

That being said, I would be less than honest if I didn't admit that from time to time I look in the mirror and think..."hmmm, another 10 pounds would be good," "wow, that knee is looking fat today," or "geeze louise, I wish my upper arms didn't flap around in the breeze so much."

I pretty much recognize that those days it really has nothing to do with my weight...it is the old emotional baggage that was behind why I put on weight in the first place.

So on those days, I choose (usually) to be gentle with myself, nourish my body with good and healthy food, move my body around and do something that will nurture my spirit too.

What I will NOT do is panic, beat myself up, or go on a massively restrictive diet or engage in a punishing exercise routine. I know from experience that those methods do not work for me.

Do I ever fantasize about having 6 pack abs? Sure! I also dream about what it would be like to have size 6B feet or to look like Christie Brinkley. Ain't gonna happen!

While I can't actually ever have B width feet or look like a super model, I could have the abs...if I really wanted them. For me the trade off in time and energy and limitations that it would take to get 6 pack abs just isn't worth it. I have lots of other things I want to do with my life that are MUCH more important. So, I put it into perspective and ask myself, "What do I really want?" 6 pack abs doesn't even make my top 100.

So that's the question I would have you ask yourself--what do YOU really want? If you really want 6 pack abs--then go for it! Find the right coach (that would not be me!) and pursue that goal with a passion. If on the other hand, you want to be healthy and finally be a weight that allows you to live your life, have the energy to do what you want to do, feel good while you are doing it and not have to be a slave to diets or a prisoner to food any longer...then stick with me, kid and Refuse To Diet!

New and Revolutionary Diets

I got a big smile on my face today as I read the paper...I've always enjoyed the comic strip "Hagar the Horrible" and his adventures with food and drink...

Today's strip deals with him going on a new and revolutionary diet...boy, does that sound familiar! In this case it is the "Banana Cream Pie Diet"...which brings back memories of the "ice cream diet" and a few other off-the-wall diets!

Hagar's sidekick, Lucky Eddie asks, "How long do you have to be on it?"

Hagar's response, "Until I discover it doesn't work for me...just like all the other 'New and Revolutionary' diets!"

You can get the full visual by seeing the strip...to do that, click this link It will show you today's strip...from the drop down menu select Aug 27, 2009

It is a good thing to bring a little joy into our day--teasing us about our desire to lose weight while following the often ridiculous fads--while pointing out that diets are temporary and do not work for permanent health and fitness results.

Have some fun today and remember to Refuse To Diet-- the best way to achieve long-term weight loss success!

Feel Your Inner Health

To expand on the previous thought...reading on in A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle,

“Although body-identification is one of the most basic forms of ego, the good news is that it is also the one that you can most easily go beyond. This is done not by trying to convince yourself that you are not your body, but by shifting your attention from the external form of your body and from thoughts about your body—beautiful, ugly, strong, weak, too fat, too thin—to the feeling of aliveness inside it. No matter what your body’s appearance is on the outer level, beyond the outer form it is an intensely alive energy field.”

“When you are in touch with the inner body, you are not identified with your body any more, nor are you identified with your mind...you are no longer identified with form but moving away from form-identification toward formlessness, which we may alls call Being. It is your essence identity. Body awareness not only anchors you in the present moment, it is a doorway out of the prison that is the ego. It also strengthens the immune system and the body’s ability to heal itself.”

So to heal the condition of overweight we must lose the identification with that form. I thought for a long time it was important to label myself as fat, as obese. And in a sense it was...because I needed to become conscious aware of the fact and not fool myself. Now it may seem like it is obvious when we gain excess weight...but it is amazingly easy and common for us to ignore the signs. We think our clothes have shrunk. We avoid full-length mirrors and being photographed.

It can be a critical step in self-awareness to acknowledge where you are in order to enable you to change, claiming our “fatness” is not necessary...we need to let go of the label and feel our inner health, the potential inside that we have for our health...in order to achieve our health we have to feel it and accept it.

Love Your Body Don’t Identify with It

I know that some people will think that if you don’t “identify with your body” that you don’t care about or for it. That is not the point...the point is that your body just is a part of you. You are not your body any more than you are your profession or your address.

“To refrain from identifying with the body doesn’t mean that you neglect, despise, or no longer care for it...You can also improve the body’s condition through right nutrition and exercise. If you don’t equate the body with who you are, when beauty fades, vigor diminishes, or the body becomes incapacitated, this will not affect your sense of worth or identity in any way...It is not just people with good or near-perfect bodies who are likely to equate it with who they are. You can just as easily identify with a “problematic” body and make the body’s imperfection, illness or disability into your reality.”

Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose

How many of us have grown to identify ourselves as fat or obese...or as someone who doesn’t exercise...someone who cannot succeed at their health goals?

We deserve to love our inner selves enough to get past the labels, beyond the body identification.

I had to be aware that I had a fat body in order to be able to make a change...as long as I was hiding from that or making excuses about it I was stuck. Then I had to stop referring to myself as fat to stop identifying with that label in order to manifest the change.

Stuff, Stuffed and Over Stuffed

It seems to be natural for humans to want more...more stuff, better stuff.

Eckhart Tolle writes in A New Earth, Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose,

“The unchecked striving for more, for endless growth, is a dysfunction and a disease. It is the same dysfunction the cancerous cell manifest, whose only goal is to multiply itself, unaware that it is bringing about its own destruction by destroying the organism of which it is a part.”

I see this in humanity in general...our consumerism, greed, desire for more land, more poser, more control, is destroying our planet. If that is left unchecked well will destroy our planet and thereby destroy ourselves. In the end our lust for more leads to having nothing...to being nothing.

While I can’t control the global events, I can apply that to myself and to food.

By unconsciously feeding our bodies more and more, by trying to feel full, filled, “fulfilled” we add excess fat to our bodies. If that is left unchecked then that excess fat will destroy our bodies just as our global excess can destroy the world.

By focusing on our personal changes, by no longer needing to overstuff our bodies we gain health and control. I believe that this will also translate to our needing less “stuff” because a lot of the emotions behind this consumerism are the same. So in a very real sense, by focusing on our health we can positively affect the health of the entire planet!

Fat is an Illusion Not Who You Are

Don’t let illusion control your life. Become aware of who you are not and you will become more aware of who you really are.

Eckhart Tolle writes in A New Earth, Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose,

“The recognition of illusion is also its ending. Its survival depends on your mistaking it for reality. In the seeing of who you are not, the reality of who you are emerges by itself.”

When I apply this to our health, our physical bodies I realize that when we stop labeling ourselves and recognize that the fat that surrounds us is NOT US...if we realize the fat is not our true reality then we open the possibility of our true being-ness, our true self to emerge from that illusory shell.

Losing and Finding the Same 20 Pounds

Our minds have this tremendous ability to create, and recreate, things over and over. That’s why when we lose weight through dieting we tend to gain it back. Over our lifetimes we lose and gain “the same 20 pounds” over and over.

Eckhart Tolle writes in A New Earth, Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose,

“If the structures of the human mind remain unchanged, we will always end up re-creating fundamentally the same world, the same evils, the same dysfunction.”

How true is that for us? Don’t we tend to recreate the same bodies?

If we do not change our minds first, how we feel at our core then we will continue to recreate the circumstances that got us fat in the first place!

Instead of thinking of “losing” weight let’s think about gaining health. After all, when you lose something you generally want to find it again, don’t you? I’d rather drop that excess weight off the bridge never to be seen again!

Weight Loss Short Cuts Gone Bad: Hydroxycut Latest Example

The FDA has now issued a warning against using Hydroxycut...yet another "quick fix", "magic pill" or "short cut" way to lose weight turns out to be dangerous and even fatal.

So many of these "wonder drugs" or "miracle solutions" turn out to be disasters. Please, please, please stay away from them! Just because something is labeled as "natural" doesn't mean it is good for us! Hemlock is natural and a deadly poison!!! I'm not saying that Hydroxycut has hemlock in it...just making a point here!

Completely healthy people, including a 19 year old boy, have had liver damage and even died from using Hydroxycut. The US distributor has agreed to recall the products. Please note that the users suffered liver damage when using the product at the recommended dosages.

Look, I want to be slender too, but it isn't worth having to have a liver transplant or dying over!

At the risk of sounding like a broken record (again?) the best way to lose weight is to do it slowly...and the best way to do that is by starting with your mind!

Know in your mind and your heart that you CAN lose weight, that you CAN be healthy. That is the first step. As long as you believe you can't lose weight without some magic pill then you can't...and you will be putting your life at risk.

Read more: FDA press release

Sadly I Will Eat the Carrots

It isn't that I don't like carrots...I do...it is just that my favorite way to enjoy carrots is by feeding them to the horses that winter over in the pasture across the street. I buy carrots in bulk at Sam's Club. Take a few or a bag over and get some horsey-love.

Well, these long-legged buddies were trailered away to the mountains this week.

The trailer came earlier than usual...so now I have carrots left.

So I guess it is all up to me now!

I eat raw carrots from time to time...but not daily. Too many negative associations with carrots as low-calorie food to fill the belly and keep the mouth busy--from years (and years) of less than stellar dieting attempts!

These days I no longer have the need to chew or otherwise keep my mouth occupied (although people who hear me talk might beg to differ!) And I no longer adhere to diets. Nor do I count calories...so having a frig full of carrots has a really positive connection to my buddies.

So I will go into mini-mourning. Happy for them as they are in the gorgeous canyon enjoying their retirement. Missing the sight of them as they frolic in the fields nearby.

Here's a toast to the herd--with carrot juice, of course!

Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think

Author Brian Wansink is a Stanford Ph.D. food psychologist and the director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab. He has been seen on Oprah and numerous other shows discussing the ways companies and our families influence our eating patterns.

Dr. Wansink has spent a lifetime studying what we don’t notice: the hidden cues that determine how much and why people eat. Being aware of how much we really are consuming is a key facet to successfully losing weight--and keeping it off!



This book, published in 2007, helps us become aware of outside influences that sabotage our efforts and why willpower is not enough.

Some of the questions the book asks include:

• How does packaging influence how much we eat?
• Which movies make us eat faster?
• How does music or the color of the room influence how much we eat?
• How can we recognize the “hidden persuaders” used by restaurants and supermarkets to get us to mindlessly eat?
• What are the real reasons most diets are doomed to fail?
• How can we use the “mindless margin” to lose–instead of gain–ten to twenty pounds in the coming year?
• Does food with a brand name really taste better?
• Do you hate brussels sprouts because your mother did?
• Does the size of your plate determine how hungry you feel?
• How much would you eat if your soup bowl secretly refilled itself?
• What does your favorite comfort food really say about you?
• Why do you overeat so much at healthy restaurants?

Reviews
“[Mindless Eating] does more than just chastise those of us guilty of stuffing our faces. It also examines the effectiveness of such popular diets as South Beach or Atkins, and offers useful tips to consciously eat nutritiously.”—Boston Herald

"Entertaining... Isn't so much a diet book as a how-to on better facilitating the interaction between the feed-me messages of our stomachs and the controls in our heads."—Publishers Weekly

Mindless Eating will change the way you look at food, and it will give you the facts you need to easily make smarter, healthier, more mindful and enjoyable choices wherever you decide to eat--at home, school, work, a restaurant or even a vending machine!

If you want to read Dr. Wansink's blog, click here!

Celebrate Weight Loss Successes

I never really liked trying on clothes before...now I realize that was because it was hard work and uncomfortable when I weighed 100+ pounds more!

I am having fun trying on clothes that I had put away because they were too small--and now I'm finding they are too big!

Woo-hoo! Yay me!!!

Be sure to celebrate your weight loss successes! Find a supportive friend or support system and brag about what you are doing right, rather than beating yourself up for what you have done wrong. It is about changing your mindset...you will begin to notice more and more what you are doing right and that will reinforce those behaviors and you will be more apt to continue to make those good choices (and changes)!

There is SO much to celebrate in this life!

Food Addiction: Cured or In Recovery?

Hi. My name is Laurie. I'm an ice cream-aholic.

Food has always been my 'drug of choice'. Specifically ice cream. Even more specifically, chocolate ice cream...or just about any ice cream with chocolate in it.

The higher the fat content the better.

I could literally eat several quarts at a sitting.

Of course I would then wonder why I had a headache!!!

It is a wonder I'm not diabetic or have cholesterol through the roof.

That has all changed now...I actually bought a pint (one!) of ice cream on Sunday because it sounded good. Then I forgot I even had it in the house!

On Wednesday night I decided to have some. I voluntarily stopped part way through because I was done! It no longer was satisfying or tasting good, so I put it back...

If you notice I said I put it back, that means that I was eating right out of the container, I had not dished it out. That had been my method of portion control before. Dish some out. And go back for more. Again. and Again. Or not--sometimes I just ate right out of the quart container.

I am excited at the prospect that I have a normal relationship with food!

I know that it is important to keep my awareness up and not slip into bad habits--but this is a very good day...

Maybe I'll celebrate! Rocky Road, anyone (I'm joking!)

Weight Loss Success Calories NOT Key

It is not the number of calories you eat versus expend that is the most important measure of success for losing weight.

While reducing calories taken in and/or increasing the number of calories you burn is part of the equation--it is not the be-all to end-all.

This is my story--and I'm sticking to it--despite a federal study that claims otherwise.

This study followed people for 2 years (which for a dieter is an eternity) and found that whether the diet was low-fat or low-carb or high-protein did not matter...it wasn't the kind of diet that had the effect. The participants who had the greatest success, no matter what type of diet they were on reduced their caloric intake--and stuck with it.

Ah-ha! That is the key then, the sticking to it part!

Even in this study they note that the participants had trouble sticking to the plan--and weight lost was modest for most!!!

I've heard the calories in vs calories out theory since I was in high school. As a competitive athlete who worked out several hours a day and who did not eat a lot of food--and yet was still considered overweight--it just didn't make sense.

I knew in my heart there was more to it than simple math or physics!

Eating, body image and weight loss are emotional issues. And, defying all logic, it is quite possible for us to "hold on to" fat even if follow the mathematical equation.

This is why programs that include some sort of counseling or peer support have much greater results than diets that are simply following some eating rules.

With support, it is much easier to make the permanent life-style changes that are required to have permanent weight-loss results.

And to make the changes in our behavior we have to change what is going on in our heads first.

Bottom line, get your head 'in the game', decide that you are worth it, decide that you can achieve it, get some support, and every day take the action steps to get you to your health goals.

Place Emphasis on Wellness

I chuckled to myself today as I read the newspaper--there was an article titled "Focus on the Whole--Medical experts: Emphasis should be placed on wellness, not sickness"

This is NEWS???? Not to me!

This is one of the most important aspects of overall health--including losing weight. We have to pay attention to our overall health, not just a "diet"...when we do just focus on a "diet" the results will be, at best, short-term.

Only by paying attention to our entire life--our mind, body and spirit--can we have permanent, healthy results.

According to this article, good health care is preventive, predictive and personalized...this is true of how you lose weight permanently. What works for me, might not work for you...every one of us is different.

"Health is more than the absence of disease," says Dr. Ralph Snyderman--he is heading a meeting of the prestigious Institute of Medicine, which is attempting to get health-promotion on Congress' radar.

Dr. Tracy Gaudet is an OB/Gyn heading integrative medicine at Duke University, "The doctor says, 'Lose weight, exercise, see you in a year.' We know that doesn't work."

Bottom line, you have to take control of your health--it is up to you to decide that it is a priority. Consult with your health care practitioner--but as a partner...they are the supporting role, you are the star!

Thank You Academy, or And the Winner Is...

Did you enjoy the Academy Awards last night? I did...I almost didn't watch but heard that they were changing up the format and so I decided to check it out. Glad I did.

Why? Well, besides learning a bit more about the movies (I don't get to see movies much these days!) I got a couple "social ah ha" moments out of it...

What do I mean by a "social ah ha"? For me, it is the light bulb moment that is more than just a personal revelation (or ah ha), but one that gives me insight into what is going on in the world today. Or at least the USA.

This is going to be a longer than usual post...but it struck me deeply...

• Dreams--have them and use them for success.
• Be true to yourself. Be authentic.
• Be grateful for everything in your life. You never know what/who is going to inspire you to greatness.
• We are craving intimacy, closer contact.
  
• We are looking for reassurance that all is well in the world and that is reflected in our fondness for nostalgia.

All the people who were up for awards (the known and the less known) had a dream. And they stuck with that dream and acted upon it.

I even enjoyed the variety of styles of dress among the men and women--especially when it was obvious that it was a fit specifically for them. Think of Mickey Rourke and Penelope Cruz. Very different and each unique and well suited for them.

I loved when Andrew Stanton (winner for Best Animated Feature) "Creative seeds are sown in the oddest of places" as he was thanking his high school drama teacher for casting him in Hello Dolly.

The change in the stage format was a much more intimate approach than years past. It brought the audience closer to the host. It made it easier for him to communicate with the audience. And it brought the live audience closer to the television audience. And the groups of presenters for the acting awards spoke directly to the nominees. There was a deep, personal connection that struck a chord with the nominees and allowed us at home to feel like we knew both the presenter and the nominee a little bit better. Much different from showing a clip of the movie. Focus was on the person, not the movie.

The entire show was a throw-back to the 30s & 40s. From the song and dance numbers to the crystal curtain. It was nostalgic, reassuring, opulent.

What does this have to do with health, wellness and Refuse to Diet?

• Set your dream (goal) regarding your health and weight--and stick to it. Live it every day and you will achieve it.
• No one diet, exercise or fitness program works for everyone. Know yourself and choose a plan that will work for YOU, your lifestyle and your goals. And don't try to look like anyone else...instead be the best YOU that you can.
• We all have so much to be grateful for. Sometimes things that seem small or like a long time ago can be the catalyst we need for change. Sometimes things that even seem like negatives...look for the positive. And when you realize you were inspired by someone--let them know it!
• Make an effort to connect with at least one other human being--directly. That real connection can make all the difference in how you feel. Focus on people--not food.
  
• In times of uncertainty we look for things that give us comfort. That can be food--which might sabotage our health goals. What other ways can you give yourself a sense of security? Remember to celebrate your wins, recognize and reward your achievements
  

Oh--and the maybe obvious point is about the change in format in general--sometimes we have to change things up. Variety. Spice. Keeping things interesting and continuing success.

So be open to new ideas. Try some new things out. Change up your exercise routine...especially if you are getting bored. Boredom is a motivation killer!

15 Minutes to Health

Take 15 minutes every day to take care of yourself by getting a little exercise.

Yup. I said 15 minutes.

You don't have to dedicate hours every day. Hey, if you have the time, energy and desire to spend hours exercising every day that's great. I sure don't.

Will I have six-pack abs or "buns of steel" by exercising 15 minutes a day? No.

But will my health be better? Definitely yes!

I'm not a doctor or a nutritionist or a exercise coach...but I can tell you what has worked for me--someone who struggled for YEARS...who exercised for hours...who starved herself...and who had NO success with that route!

Now I typically spend about 30 minutes--including a warm up stretch and cool down. Not bad.

I started with 15 minutes. And I was in so much, um, "discomfort" that I did a lot of that sitting down! It was by taking this small step that I have been able to achieve dramatic results! 120lbs dropped to date. Improved energy. Better moods. It is all good!

So whatever condition you are in--start there--but START!

Listen, if your health isn't worth 15 minutes a day then you aren't serious about improving your life...go ahead and wait for the magic pill...and while you wait you'll be getting older and probably heavier, too.

Remember: the only one who can move your body is YOU.

Lose Weight by Law of Attraction

I have now shed 120 pounds--and it all started with the Law of Attraction.

Huh? Shed through attraction...that doesn't make sense, does it?

Actually it does. This is my story.

A few short years ago I was over 120 pounds heavier than I am today.

I made a conscious decision to change my life by changing my mind--by changing my thinking.

I didn't focus on foods to eat or not, exercises to do or not. I focused on my attitude about myself, about food, about my body, about my ability to be healthy. This is what made the difference.

I began to attract teachers and tools that helped me to facilitate my weight loss. From learning to listen to my own body, to affirmations that help me accept and appreciate what I had, to being open to the possibility that I actually could become a healthy weight.

I learned that it was more about my mind than the foods going into my mouth.

For years I had followed diet and exercise plans without success. It wasn't until I actually mentally and emotionally let go of the fat that I had attracted in the first place that I was able to drop the pounds.

I accepted responsibility for my physical condition. I acknowledged that on many levels my weight had protected me. I also let myself know that while I was grateful for that protection, I no longer needed it--I now had other, better, more healthy ways to protect myself and so it was free to leave me. I would be be safe.

That's my story (and I'm sticking to it!) So don't tell me the Law of Attraction doesn't work.

Listen to Your Body

Yesterday I said it is important to love ourselves and to listen to our bodies in order to achieve our ideal weight and health.

There is a lot of documentation that supports the concept that left to our own choices, as young children we will choose the foods that give us the nutrition we need to grow and thrive in the world.

I am not suggesting that you not provide your child with guidance on making nutritional choices and expanding the food vocabulary. I am suggesting that we have an inner wisdom, we are "programmed" if you will, to know what is good and not so good for us.

The challenge comes in that most of us who have weight issues have used food for emotional support rather than nutritional support. Food is the most popular "drug of choice" to help us get through the day. It is relatively inexpensive, easy to get, and legal.

By abusing food, either mildly or massively, we have reprogrammed our brains. We have flooded our brains and bodies with chemicals and hormones that do not encourage our thriving. Caffeine and sugar are the easiest for us to understand, but they are not the only elements that are polluting our bodies and preventing the natural progression of health.

In order to be able to trust the messages you are getting from your body, you must first be sure that it is not the sugar, caffeine or other "bad apples" talking.

One way to do that is to be conscious about what you eat. Decide today that you will eat only when you are 100% aware. Ask yourself why you want to eat and what you want to eat. Then ask yourself if the thing you think you want to eat will support you in your health goals.

Another question that works wonders for me--is the desire to eat (or drink) this coming from LOVE? If I can honestly say YES to this question, then I give that item a green light!

Affirmation:

I choose to eat foods that support the health of my mind, body and spirit.

We'll talk more about LOVE and food tomorrow.

Weight Loss is Not a Simple Math Equation

Thank goodness! Math is not my strong suit! LOL!

There are lots of "experts" who maintain that losing weight is simply a matter of expending more calories than you ingest. That's a fancy way of saying eating less than you burn!

It is possible that it is that "simple" on a short-term, basic, theory kind of level.

However, personal experience (mine and that of millions of other folks around the world) proves that this math equation is not the long-term, real solution.

Yes, to have our optimum health we must make choices in what we eat that support our health. Our bodies need certain vitamins and minerals and nutrients in order to survive--and to thrive. (I vote for thriving!)

Yes, to have our optimum health we must move our bodies. By challenging our muscles and our bones we improve our strength, our flexibility, our circulation. All these challenges give us improved health for our entire lives...not just from a losing weight stand point.

Sometimes, even when we are doing these things we do not lose weight. I think that may be one of the great mysteries on earth! Each of our bodies is unique. That means what is the right balance for me might not work for you and vice versa. The right number and type of calories to be eaten for my body type and temperament to achieve ideal weight and health might lead to another person being overweight or underweight.

That is why we have to start by loving ourselves and listening to our own bodies.

Tomorrow we'll talk more about listening...