Lose Weight Over the Holidays? Yes I Can!

How many times have we heard (or said) that it is impossible to lose weight over the holidays?

Granted, if we look at it on the surface it would seem to be pretty darned hard. What with all the extra treats around. People are giving food, bringing it to the office, making special meals...and everything this time of year seems to be packaged with extra fat or sugar--or both.

So how does one lose weight over the holidays without coming across as the next big Grinch or feeling like we totally missed out?

The first step is to decide that it truly is possible. Yep, your attitude about it is crucial. As long as you say and believe that you cannot lose weight over the holidays, then believe me, there is no way that you will. Oh, you could starve yourself and have a slight dip but it won't last.

On the other hand, if you repeat often enough "It is possible to lose weight over the holidays" or better yet, "I can lose weight over the holidays" then you will actually begin to believe it. You will even start to see ways that make it possible and perhaps even easy!

Does this mean that you can eat gallons of ice cream covering plates of pies, platters of meats and cheeses and all the food you can possible stuff into your face? Well...I've never tried those affirmations!

What I do know is that when you start to believe that something is possible, it becomes possible. Maybe you end up eating less, while still enjoying your special holiday favorites--just in smaller quantities, or you end up moving your body more, or maybe your body processes the food more effectively...or maybe your focus is shifted off the food and put somewhere else. Don't really know the "how" at least not for everyone. For myself it seems to be a combination of all the above.

When I remind myself that it is possible to lose weight (or maintain weight) over the holidays...or at any time, for that matter...I become more aware of my health choices. I crave foods less. I move my body more. I'm certainly not dieting--they don't work anyway--I'm enjoying my favorite treats and even some that aren't my favorites. I know that when I have a positive attitude about losing weight then I am in control and life is just so much easier...and no one thinks I'm a party pooper either!

Here are some affirmations for losing weight over the holidays:

It is possible to lose weight over the holidays
My body craves foods that nourish it
I can enjoy holiday treats and still lose weight
I move my body and feel good
The holidays are a wonderful time to enjoy friends and family
I am loving and loveable and I feel great
My body sheds excess fat easily
I love this time of year because it sets me up for success for the new year
My body naturally reaches the weight that is healthy for it

I was reminded of this simple shift in thinking when I watched Louise Hay's You Can Heal Your Life again recently. You don't have to be "sick" to benefit from the film although people with a variety of illnesses have benefited from Louise's teachings. I used her affirmations and inspiration in my own 125 pound weight loss journey and so I totally recommend her book and film, but I'm partial to the film. I own and suggest the complete set that has the affirmation toolkit and extra interviews.

Happy Healthy Holidays to You!

Law of Attraction and the Biggest Loser for Weight Loss Success

Even the Biggest Loser television show is teaching us the importance of mindset and about the Law of Attraction.

In last night's show, no...I won't give anything away, just in case you are Tivo fans [fanatics?] like me...Jillian told one of the contestants who had some major fear issues this week, that if you don't work through your fers they will come back to haunt you. Not her EXACT words, but the basic gist of it.

Then she told Maria that she is bringing this all on herself.

And she continued working with Maria, telling her, you have to change your thinking...you are not weak...you are strong! You are as strong as anyone else here.

This episode brought out fears and beliefs that contestants had...not just Maria...and I was glad to see how Jillian was helping them get those feelings out.

While I'm not into the in-your-face tactics, I understand that the trainers are working with a limited time. They never know if this will be the last week they have with that person and so they want to make the big break-throughs as quickly as possible.

So I was very glad to see these sorts of conversations happening on the show and I hope they will encourage viewers to also have the conversations with themselves. That is part of the secret to permanent weight loss success--changing your beliefs, facing (and feeling!) the emotions and using your positive thoughts to change your mental habits which then allows you to much more easily change your physical habits.

The biggest challenge we face to losing weight is our mind not our mouth. When we figure out that our mind is in the power seat and that we can change our thoughts...look out! That's the minute, the second, the nano-second that you have gained control and will start to see major, positive changes in your body...and your life!

Celebrate Your Independence From Fat

Claim your independence from the chains of restrictive diets and the shackles of cravings.

Make your declaration that you can drop those extra pounds and no longer be a slave to food.

Celebrate your freedom from the bondage of fear, doubt, regret and recrimination.

It is possible for you to gain liberty and have your health!

You can drop those unwanted pounds off like tea in Boston Harbour.

Not by restriction, but by refusing to diet and instead changing your beliefs about yourself and standing up for your own truth. This is how we gain our independence and claim our sovereignty over our own bodies!

Are You Exercising Your Won't Power?

Frequently we hear that successful weight loss (or anything else for that matter) is about using "Will Power"...I'm not sure will power is the phrase I would use...but what I do know is that often when we struggle it is because we are using "Won't Power"!!!

It can be easy to slip into the negative...but if you find the only thing you are consistently exercising is your Won't Power then you will have guaranteed results--and they Won't be the ones you SAY you want.

What do I mean by Won't Power? That is when you say to yourself things like

I can't lose weight
It is easy for them, but not for me
I am a fat slob
That doesn't work
I tried it before without success

Remember, only you can change your thinking...and you can only hold one thought at a time. Do you want the thought to be negative? Or would you rather be holding onto the positive thought? The choice is entirely yours!

You have got to believe that it IS possible...that you CAN do it...that you DO deserve a healthy life. That is the true Will Power! With this attitude...practiced daily...often...you WILL succeed!

"Change your thinking and you will change your life"...Don't go back and forth...make a decision to move forward in health and do it! That doesn't mean you have to be perfect...it just means you make the steps as best you can every day and keep moving forward!

Stop exercising your Won't Power...instead put positive thoughts and actions to work for you! I know you can do it. I have faith in you. Repeat after me: I Can! I Will! I am Doing It!

Picture Yourself Thin

Most of us have had lots of practice picturing ourselves as being fat.

Whether or not these pictures were accurate when we first developed them...these images have been burned into our subconscious.

Until we destroy these images...these "negatives"...we are doomed to live up to them.

I remember, even as a young child, believing I was fat. I didn't like having my picture taken because I thought I was so fat and ugly--I recall more than once saying taking my picture would "break the camera".

Now there aren't many pictures of me...people gave up fighting me about taking my picture. But the pictures that I do find, I find something quite curious. In fact, in all objectivity, I was not fat. I was not SKINNY...but I was not fat. I was a very healthy looking person...and I was not ugly, either.

But the power of my thinking and the images I held in my mind was so strong that I grew into being an extremely fat adult...fat enough that I would be ugly to most people. And if someone found me attractive I just got fatter to, subconsciously, "prove" how ugly I really was.

One of the key steps I had to take to successfully lose weight--and keep it off--was to change those mental pictures of myself.

What are the pictures you are holding on to? Are they accurate? Do you want to keep that picture in your brain's photo album? Or would you like to create a new set of images that you can enjoy...for the rest of your life...starting today?

Claude Bristol wrote in TNT The Power Within You

The pictures you hold of yourself in mind today have only to do with your past. If you don't take charge and create new pictures of yourself, you will only repeat tomorrow what you have done today and yesterday.

He wrote this in 1954 and it was true long before then and will remain true forever.

You have the power...in fact, you are the only one who has the power...to change those pictures in your mind.

Develop a new set of prints, get rid of the old ones, and live into your new pictures!

Loving Self Start to Weight Loss

Being fat can make it seem hard to believe that we are loveable.

Through the media we are led to believe it is ugly, horrible, that we are lazy, slobs, and that we are not worthy of love from anyone...except maybe our pets.

Being fat is not a crime--and it does not preclude us from being loved and giving love.

Many of us focus on being loving to others which is giving away love--

• as a way to make us feel good about ourselves
• because we were taught that it is better to give than to receive (or some other similar message)
• in the hopes that if we love someone enough they will love us back in the way we need
• because we do not believe we are worth loving
• to create an image that we believe others will find loveable (an image, not necessarily a reality)
  

In order to achieve our health goals including, but not limited to weight, we must change this focus to being loving to ourselves first--

• as a way to feel good about ourselves
• to fill our "tank" so we are overflowing with love which we then give to others
• and thereby learn and believe that we are worthy of being loved
• to learn in what healthy ways we want to be loved
• to model for others how they should behave towards us and how they too can be authentic (real instead of image)
  

To be loved by others we must first treat ourselves lovingly. If we do not care for and about ourselves, than why should anyone else.

By loving ourselves we gain a sense of peace and possibility.

This is what helps us to move forward with our lives in the fullest possible health!

If you need assistance in this, start with affirmations...and I strongly endorse Louise Hay's movie and book "You Can Heal Your Life"...get the extended version of the movie for lots of affirmation tools!

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.

Am I Moving in the Right Direction?

How do you know if you are taking the right steps to achieve your health goals? The great teachers all tell us to tap into our feelings and they will tell us if we are moving toward or away from the goal.

So whether you get the guidance from angels as Doreen Virtue says, the Teachings of Abraham through Esther Hicks, affirmations from Louise Hay, Meditations with Wayne Dyer or Life Makeovers with Cheryl Richardson (or any of the other wonderful teachers out there) or you happen to read something that feels right and true to YOUR heart and spirit...listen and it will steer you true.

My dad always used to say, "If you take a step and it feels good, you must be headed in the right direction." What he wanted us to understand was that we needed to measure our progress against an inner compass, using our feelings, our comfort level, and our knowledge of ourselves as the ultimate guide.

I've spent most of my adult life trying to hear that inner voice above the noise around me...It says softly that happiness is as simple as having something to look forward to in the morning...It says, in a low murmur I sometimes have to strain to hear, that now is the time to have fun.

~Linda Weltner, No Place Like Home

Let me remember to listen to (and hear) that inner voice as it reminds me to follow my bliss--to look forward to my healthy body, my increased energy and all the other wonderful changes I am experiencing! It is time for FUN--I can move my body in ways that I couldn't before and I am having fun. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Social Networks and Obesity and Health

We've all heard the phrase "birds of a feather flock together"...well this is an old-fashioned way to talk about social networking. Today we call it Law of Attraction!

Social networks typically mean a group of people who gather together...who spen time in each others' company...for the purpose of having fun--socializing.

When we do this, typically we seek out people with whom we have something in common...

What does this have to do with obesity and health? All too often, we will associate with others who are of similar size and/or have similar health habits. If you love junk food, you might not have much in common with a person who is a total health food nut. Of if you don't exercise, your path might cross that of a fitness buff.

Our task is to broaden our scope of friends as we narrow our girth! Surround yourself with people who are generally happy and healthy and it will increase your chances of being happy and healthy, too.

Scientists have actually documented this phenomenon and claim that these habits are actually "contagious"...so if you don't want to "catch" unhealthy habits, minimize your time around people who participate in them and increase your time with people who have healthy habits.

If you are having trouble locating people in your area to support your healthy lifestyle, go ahead and check out some of the social networking trends online--like this blog, and places like Facebook, and forums. Finds groups of like-minded people who will support you in your goals!

Why Don't My Affirmations Work?

Dr. Linda and I are on the same wave length this week. Isn't that funny how that works. (That is called Law of Attraction in case you didn't know!)

I've been really aware of how my mental attitude and my ideas about my own health seem to directly manifest in my body. Check out her blog post and get her take on that concept.

If you find yourself saying "I can't go work out", or "My body hurts", or "I'm too fat to exercise", or "Eating right is too hard" then those things will be true for you. Immediately! Do you realize that those are all affirmations? They are just negative ones!!!

So if you have been practicing positive affirmations and you do those a couple times a day but the rest of the time you are saying (in your mind or out loud) negative affirmations you will be defeating the positive ones. This is the main reason your positive affirmations are not working!

Start to be aware of when you have a negative thought (or affirmation) and stop yourself. Louise Hay in the wonderful film "You Can Heal Your Life" says we should ask ourselves this question:

Do I want to experience that thought in my life?

If the answer is no! then you should stop right then and work out how to turn that negative thought into a positive affirmation.

You mind is an awesome tool in your toolbox for health and weight loss -- if you let it be!