Thoughts swirl around in our minds all day long. And not all of them are rose colored. I started keeping track of my non-rosy thoughts this morning (knowing that I would be writing this post)… My hair is a mess. I should have worded that email differently. She’s so much fitter than I am. I should get up earlier. …and it’s only 10:00. It's normal to have a wide variety of thoughts. What a relief, right? The key to creating desirable outcomes has nothing to do with eliminating all of our negative thoughts + feelings. That's im-fricken-possible! It’s about being able to step back and witness our unproductive thoughts + emotions without letting them run the show. When you can see the thought + not judge it + not buy into it, then you … [Read more...] about Is “I’m Fat” In Charge of Your Life?
Awareness
Training Your Brain to Focus on the Good
My beautiful and wise friend Cindy sent me an email a few weeks ago. She registered for a 31-day mindfulness summit and thought I might be interested. It was free - as long as you watched each video the day it was posted. I’ve been experimenting with mindfulness practices lately – particularly mindful eating, so I signed up. We met for breakfast a few days ago - and I had to admit I didn’t watch a single video. It was day 15 of the summit. Sigh. That night, I bought the all access pass and watched the first video. The benefits of mindfulness and meditation are innumerable. If drug companies could turn mindfulness or meditation into a pill and make a profit, we’d see adds for it splashed everywhere. And the side effects – nada! Then … [Read more...] about Training Your Brain to Focus on the Good
Transform How You Eat With One Simple Question
Today I want to share a simple tip you can implement right away that will radically change the way you eat. WHAT we eat isn't the biggest problem - which is why diets don't work long term. In order to transform our relationship with food, we need to investigate the WHY behind our overeating and HOW we eat. A little less nom nom nom and a little more OM. I'm totally making up this number, but my guess is that 90 something % of Americans are completely checked out when eating. We're working + driving + surfing the intertubes + reading emails + watching TV. We start eating and POOF - our oatmeal or sandwich or bowl of popcorn is gone. We didn't even taste it. We never got a chance to enjoy it. Today I'm offering a simple strategy. Before … [Read more...] about Transform How You Eat With One Simple Question
Top Non-Diet Weight Loss Strategies – The Self Compassion “Diet”
See if this resonates with you… Go on a diet - feel a crappy feeling - overeat to numb/distract/escape feeling - beat self up for overeating and for feeling “bad” - feel worse - give up on diet (screw it!) - eat mindlessly - gain weight - beat self up for gaining weight - go on another restrictive/punishing diet... You guys, I see this ALL THE TIME. The more we beat ourselves up, the more we want to check out and give up so we can escape the beatings + self-criticism. Then, one day we start right back up where we left off - with another restrictive + self-punishing diet. The way to reach your goals is through self-compassion and forgiveness (not, I repeat NOT self-criticism). Try these instead… Listen to your body Eat when you’re … [Read more...] about Top Non-Diet Weight Loss Strategies – The Self Compassion “Diet”