Tag Archives: Process

Three Tips for Living Lean

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When a woman makes the decision to lose weight, often she wants the change effective immediately.

It’s the mindset of, “I want to be a size 4 and I want it today.”

This impatience is really being focused on the fact that you don’t have what you want, which means you are fighting the forces of the Universe and will struggle to lose weight.

What does it really matter if it takes a little time to achieve your goal? It’s the pain factor, right?

It’s looking in the mirror everyday and suffering from body shame. It’s feeling deprived as you turn down that piece of chocolate cake while everybody else digs in. It’s dreading the dressing room and trying on 50 swimsuits to find one that you might be willing to wear in public. It’s the risk of having your partner see you as unsex-worthy because of your sagging stomach.

You want to just wave a magic wand and make it all go away.

These thoughts are all symptoms of what has caused you to gain weight in the first place. At their heart is the fear of judgment and a lack of self-love. This is why so many diets and exercise programs fail. For lasting results, you have to change your core thoughts and beliefs along with eating healthy foods and moving your body.

Here are three tips to let go of the thoughts that keep you from living lean.

  • Focus on a body part you can appreciate. How often do you look in the mirror and criticize your stomach, butt, or thighs? When you catch yourself doing this, shift your attention to something you can compliment. Maybe it’s your hair, your ankles, or your fingernails. Just find something you can consistently shift your focus to and praise.
  • Make peace with the process. You didn’t gain the weight overnight, and you won’t lose it overnight. Recognize that life is meant to be lived and this includes living the experience of losing weight. Choose an eating and exercise program that you actually enjoy and that gives you some flexibility.
  • Celebrate your daily progress. Did you eat on plan today? Woo hoo! Did you choose an apple over pie? Awesome! Did you walk five minutes longer than the day before? Fabulous! Focus on all the things you are doing right and ignore the rest.

What can you do today to begin shifting from wanting immediate results to thrilling in moving towards your dream?

Together we can do it!

What Direction are You Headed?

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Whatever you’re thinking about is literally like planning a future event. When you’re worrying, you are planning. When you’re appreciating you are planning. What are you planning?

Abraham

 

I used to be a worrier. It’s not clear how I came to the conclusion that to ward off catastrophe, I needed to hold the problem close in my mind, but that’s what I truly believed. My thoughts were an endless stream of judgment and fear. I practiced worry so much that I was really good at it.

It’s exhausting just to recall it.

Moving beyond that was a process of desire and persistence. I knew that life was supposed to feel better than it was—had to feel better than that awful place—and I wanted to find the way. That desire led me on a quest to find out how. Each book that I read and teacher that I found led me closer and closer to understanding the answer.

When I “got” that my worry was literally like planning a future event and bringing me more things to worry about, I felt panic. I was so good at worry that those thoughts came easily. I didn’t want more of that! The idea that I held the responsibility for my own life and happiness was so overwhelming that I literally had to disregard it.

But you can’t unknow something completely.

Slowly and surely I began shifting my thoughts towards what I wanted, and letting go of control. It took time, persistence, and energy, just like exercising your body takes time, persistence, and energy. It is a process.

Now I am in a much better place where I love and appreciate life and I feel good much of the time. But I know that I’m far from—and will never get to—having it all figured out, and can clap my hands together and proclaim myself, “Done.”

I know this because I have been seeking long enough to watch my mentors and their teachings grow and evolve. I know this because our spirits are eternal, which means an endless opportunity to expand and grow.

No matter where you are, your understanding, love, and joy always has the potential to grow.

Which means just relax. Don’t stress about it—anything really. Slow and steady is all you need to move yourself forward. Just practice focusing more on what you want, forgive yourself when you don’t, and strive to appreciate life moment-to-moment.

 

Do that, and you will be creating the life of your dreams.

Together we can do it!

 

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