Robyn Spurr

Personal Health and Weight Loss Coaching For Women

Awareness

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Training Your Brain to Focus on the Good

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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 why are we so resistant to practicing mindfulness? Perhaps we think it means chanting OM while sitting cross-legged on a cushion in a monastery.

Truth is – mindfulness is quite accessible and can be easily integrated into our daily lives.

Stay with me.

Our brains are hardwired to pay more attention to negative events. 

Psychologist and brain researcher, Dr. Rick Hanson explains this concept beautifully.

He says…

Our negative experiences stick to us like velcro, while our positive experiences slide right off like teflon.

Researchers have found it takes numerous positive experiences to overcome a single negative one.

Think about it. What do you tend to stew over at the end of the day?

  • The friendly interaction with your coworker?
  • The kind woman who held the door for you?
  • The sweet text from your love?
  • Or the rude checkout clerk at the grocery store?

You can train your brain to focus on the good. This is especially important if you tend to stew over the negative stuff – and then eat as a way to cope.

Here’s how (without having to sit for one single second in meditation).

At the end of every day (or anytime you like), take a moment to think about at least one good thing that happened that day. Write it down. That’s it.

This Cherokee parable sums it up brilliantly…

“One evening a Cherokee elder told his grandson about the battle that goes on inside of people.

He said, ‘My son, the battle is between the two ‘wolves’ that live inside us all. One is Unhappiness. It is fear, worry, anger, jealousy, sorrow, self-pity, resentment, and inferiority. The other is Happiness. It is joy, love, hope, serenity, kindness, generosity, truth, and compassion.’

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, ‘Which wolf wins?’

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

Which wolf are you feeding?

XO ~Robyn

I work with fun + smart + courageous women who want a healthier body AND a more delicious life! No calorie counting required. Simply click here to schedule a free Discovery Session or email me directly at robyn@chickadeeweightloss.com.

Robyn Spurr is a Once Obese Chick, Eating Disorder Survivor, Certified Weight Loss Coach, Personal Trainer and founder of Chickadee Weight Loss. 

She help​​s women learn to manage their emotions without food and reach their healthy, natural weight without all the diet craziness.

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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 you put the next bite in your mouth, ask yourself the following question.

Is there still food in my mouth?

If the answer is NO – eat another bite.

If the answer is YES – finish what you’re eating.

If you’re using a fork or spoon, putting it down between bites helps.

That’s it.

The next time you eat something, give it a go. You’ll probably screw it up. So what. Keep trying.

I promise you – this simple practice will radically transform how you eat. ​

XO ~Robyn

Robyn Spurr is a Once Obese Chick, Eating Disorder Survivor, Certified Weight Loss Coach, Personal Trainer and founder of Chickadee Weight Loss. 

She helps women learn to manage their emotions without food and reach their healthy, natural weight without all the diet craziness.

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Top Non-Diet Weight Loss Strategies – The Self Compassion “Diet”

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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 hungry + stop when you’re satisfied
  • Stop telling yourself you’re supposed to feel happy all the time
  • Honor ALL of your emotions
  • Celebrate the small wins
  • When you mess up, forgive and move on.

If there is one I’ve learned via my own weight loss journey and by coaching other women, it’s that beating ourselves up never leads to a positive result. Healthy is a place you get to with love.

​Here’s an excerpt from a recent Scientific American article (Why Diets Don’t Work and What Does).

“In a 2014 study, women with eating disorders, including some who binged or who were overweight, received compassion-focused therapy—an approach aimed at reducing feelings of shame and improving self-esteem. Over the 12-week treatment, women who exhibited greater improvements in self-compassion and reductions in body shame were also more likely to develop better eating habits.​”

Now you might be wondering, where do I start? How do I begin to practice self-compassion?

One of the simplest ways is to start tracking daily evidence for success. Write down one thing you do well each day. One way you took care of YOU. One action that is moving you closer to your goals for yourself. Nothing is too small.

Even if you screwed up 357 other things, write down that one small victory.

Train your mind to look for the good.

Another pathway to self-compassion is knowing that you’re not alone.

Look, we’re all kind of messed up and stumbling through this thing called life. If someone tells you they have it all figured out, they’re lying! Liar liar pants on fire!

A client of mine sent me this TED Talk last week (Glennon Doyle Melton: Lessons From the Mental Hospital).

It blew my mind. Raw + powerful + brilliant! I am currently soaking up everysinglething Glennon has written. You might say I’m obsessed. Guilty as charged.

After you watch the TED Talk, check out her blog.

Then go and get her book. Read it once, then read it again – then give it to a good friend. Seriously, it’s THAT good…

“Here’s my hunch: nobody’s secure, and nobody feels like she completely belongs. Those insecurities are just job hazards of being human. But some people dance anyway, and those people have more fun.” ​~ Glennon Doyle Melton, Carry On, Warrior: Thoughts on Life Unarmed

​Dance on Chickadees!

XO ~Robyn

PS: I’ve got openings for private Weight Loss Coaching coming up in EARLY September. Just around the corner. If you’re ready to lose the weight for good + create a more delicious life + practice self-compassion, then let’s chat Chickadee! 

 Click here to schedule a Discovery Session or email me directly at robyn@chickadeeweightloss.com.

 I’d love to work with you. Let’s make it happen.

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Top Non-Diet Weight Loss Strategies – Simple + Fun Food Journaling

simple + creative food journals

Guess what? You don’t have to keep a detailed journal full of calories counts and a 1/2 cup of this and 7 grams of that to get results. YOU get to choose the way you journal. And keeping a food journal can be simple or a creative outlet or dare I say – fun.

I see you rolling your eyes. Yes, you. Stay with me.

Research has consistently shown that self-monitoring is one of the most important components of successful weight loss and weight maintenance programs.

It helps to find a way of tracking that makes sense for + appeals to you. You don’t have to count every calorie or gram of protein (unless you really want to).

Pressed for time? You can opt for something super simple. Just write down the time + what you ate. That’s it. Remember the key to success is awareness.

Or – you can embrace your inner artist or photographer or writer.

If you’re into taking pictures of pretty food (like me), check out twogrand. I’ve been using it since February of this year and I’m completely smitten.

Other ideas…

Create a Facebook page to document your food journey.

Instagram.

Creating a Pinterest board for your journals.

Start a blog.

Make your journal pretty + colorful. Use colored pencils. Sketch a bit.

Write about your favorite meal of the day each night.

The possibilities are endless.

Find a way that appeals to you and make journaling part of your daily routine – just like brushing your teeth.

XO ~Robyn

PS: Looking for a fun + creative non-food nurturer to turn to instead of food? Click here.

PSS: You say you want it, but how hard are you trying? Need a kick in the pants? Click here.

Robyn Spurr is a Once Obese Chick, Certified Weight Loss Coach, Personal Trainer and founder of Chickadee Weight Loss. 

She helps women learn to manage their emotions without food and reach their healthy, natural weight without all the diet craziness.