Society tells us that the way to be happy is to achieve our goals. Graduate from college. Get a good job. Find a partner. Buy a house. Get fit. Get that promotion. Raise healthy + happy kids. Go on vacation. Buy a bigger house. And a nice car. And a boat. And… It’s true that if you achieve a goal there’s a feeling of happiness associated with it. It's also true that the feeling doesn't last very long. You quickly settle back at your baseline level of happiness and start thinking about the next goal. Seeking, searching, striving, pushing, reaching, climbing. This gets to be quite exhausting – and ultimately, unfulfilling. But there’s a different way to live your life. One that is rich and meaningful and fulfilling. Imagine you’re … [Read more...] about Values Driven Weight Loss
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Is “I’m Fat” In Charge of Your Life?
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?
Top Non-Diet Weight Loss Strategies – Learning to Feel
From childhood until just a few years ago, I used food to check out of myself. Overeating, binge eating, and purging helped me escape the emptiness, self-doubt, anger and gazillion other craptastic emotions I thought I couldn't handle. Looking back, I can see that my so-called coping mechanism only perpetuated my state of pain. Bulimia in particular is a brutal and lonely addiction. At the time, the shame and emptiness I felt after binging + purging seemed more tolerable than letting my feelings rise to surface. I was wrong. So very wrong. The reason we eat when we're not hungry is to escape a feeling we don't want to feel. We use food to numb, to distract, and to cover up our scary + uncomfortable + painful emotions. For many of us, … [Read more...] about Top Non-Diet Weight Loss Strategies – Learning to Feel
Top Non-Diet Weight Loss Strategies – Make it Pretty
We all know we can banish carbs, obsessively count calories or spend hours on the treadmill and lose weight – but that’s absolutely, positively, unequivocally NO FUN. It also happens to be a shortsighted approach to weight loss. Do you really want to count every bleeping calorie or say goodbye bread for the rest of your life? Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing my favorite non-diet weight loss strategies for long-term success. Because that’s the goal, right? Lose the weight and keep it off – for GOOD. Strategy #1 - Make Your Food Look Pretty I’ve got a confession to make. Up until a few short months ago, I ate most of my meals straight out of big glass bowls, take away boxes from Whole Foods or Tupperware containers. And now … [Read more...] about Top Non-Diet Weight Loss Strategies – Make it Pretty