Tag Archives: Support group

Take Care of You to Take Care of Others

Posted on by
7

15837s3rsga1hfaYesterday’s events in Connecticut may have left you reeling emotionally.

While it may feel selfish, now more than ever you need to focus on your own self-care.

This includes gently moving your body, getting enough rest, reaching for some highly nutritious foods, and taking some quiet time for meditation, prayer, or reflection.

And the number one thing you can do for your own wellness?

Ask for the support you need.

  • You may want to go it alone.
  • You may not feel comfortable asking for help.
  • You may be embarrassed by your emotions.

Much of holiday stress is feeling like you are in this alone.

And that’s a really tough, and painful road.

This is not the time to tough it out by yourself.

Study after study shows that having at least one person support you in meeting your wellness goals will dramatically increase your chances of success.

Having support helps you:

  • Normalize what you’re going through—You realize that everyone gets emotionally stressed, overwhelmed, overeats, and has moments of weakness. You are not a failure or a freak.
  • Notice and honor what you are doing for your self-care—Having someone to share the positive steps you are taking helps keep you motivated to take more steps.
  • Problem solve— You’ve got someone on your side who can see your situation more objectively and can help you brainstorm ways around any obstacles.
  • Re-find your inner peace—going it alone makes it easier to get caught in the negative thought spiral going on in your head. Having support helps break the inner patterns enabling you to refocus on the present and the blessings you have in your life.

Where can you find help?

  • Ask a friend or family member—Choose someone who is consistently positive, good at problem solving, and will be uplifting and inspiring.
  • Join a group—There are a number of on-line and in-person support groups. One such site is transformation.com. This incredible free community recognizes that emotions play a big role in wellness.
  • Hire a coach—Consider working one-on-one with a certified professional health or wellness coach who can help you stay focused on your self-care.
  • Go to a counselor–If your fear and grief are so intense that you are having trouble functioning, seek out the help of a professional counselor or therapist.

Taking care of yourself no matter what enables you to take care of others.

And if you have the inner resources to give, reach out to someone and offer unconditional support and encouragement—even love. The result is you both feel better—body, mind and spirit.

What can you do this weekend to reach out for—or give—support?

Having at least one person helping to cheer you on, boost morale, and problem solve will make it easier to take care of you, even in the face of really difficult circumstances.

Together we can do it!

banner4

My blog is moving to my new website LoveYourWaySlim.com. For the next month, I will post both here and there. To keep following my posts after January 15, you will need to follow my new blog. I look forward to continuing the journey with you!

Love Your Way Through the Holidays—Part 3

Posted on by
4

While I’m in New York City, I’m sharing a four-part series on going from Halloween to New Year’s with balance, grace, and fulfillment.

In yesterday’s blog, you looked at the things you are going to do to help you create the holidays you want, and developed a plan for how to achieve your goals.

Today we’re going to look at how to keep yourself motivated to follow your play from Halloween to New Year’s.

The number 1 thing you can do to help meet your healthy holiday goals is to seek support.

Study after study shows that having at least one person support you in meeting your wellness goals will dramatically increase your chances of success.

Having a wellness partner or joining a support group helps:

  • Normalize what you’re going through—You realize that everyone has cravings, gets frustrated by the numbers on the scale, and has moments of weakness. You are not a failure or a freak.
  • Cheer you on—Noticing and celebrating every sign of progress builds momentum towards successfully meeting your goals. Having someone to share these with helps keep you motivated.
  • Problem solve—When you are focused on the problem, it can be almost impossible to see even obvious solutions. Having someone on your side who can see the situation more objectively can help you brainstorm ways around any obstacles.
  • Make the journey more fun—going it alone makes it easier to get caught in the negative thought spiral going on in your head. Having a partner helps break the inner patterns so that achieving your wellness goals is more enjoyable.

But where can you find help?

  • Ask a friend or family member—Choose someone who is consistently positive, good at problem solving, and will be uplifting and inspiring.
  • Join a group—There are a number of on-line and in-person support groups. A few places to look include: transformation.com, beachbody.com, Weight Watchers, your local hospital, or a community group. Pick a group that does more than just air problems. Look for a focus on celebrating successes, problem solving, and offering encouragement.
  • Hire a coach—Consider working one-on-one with a certified professional health or wellness coach who is goal and success focused, and that will come up with an individualized plan to help you break through any thoughts, beliefs, or patterns that are literally weighing you down.

A second tip for maintaining your motivation is to celebrate each tiny thing that you do that moves you towards your goals.

Do this by asking yourself what, how, and when you’ll celebrate—and then do it! Suggestions include:

  • Acknowledge and praise yourself each time you meditate and workout. Even if you only get in 5 to 10 minutes, consider it a win.
  • Give yourself praise each time you face a temptation and choose to stick to your food plan.
  • Honor down time. When you schedule time for rest and relaxation, honor it! Make a point to do something that is truly relaxing.
  • Pat yourself on the back for releasing expectations. Each time you successfully release an expectation or respond in a more positive way than you would have in the past, acknowledge and celebrate it!
  • Write kudos to yourself in your journal. You deserve them!

And if you don’t respond as you planned, what do you need to do to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and still move forward towards the person you want to be come January 2nd?

In tomorrow’s blog, I’ll share my answers to the questions I’ve posed to you over the past three days.

I would love to hear your goals for creating the holidays you want and your plans for achieving them. Also, keep me posted on your progress. I’d love to help cheer you on to success!

Together we can do it!

 

Who’s Helping You Reach Your Goals?

Posted on by
4

You may want to go it alone.

You may not feel comfortable asking for help.

You may be embarrassed that you aren’t perfect.

But study after study shows that having at least one person support you in meeting your wellness goals will dramatically increase your chances of success.

Having a wellness partner or joining a support group helps:

  • Normalize what you’re going through—You realize that everyone has cravings, gets frustrated by the numbers on the scale, and has moments of weakness. You are not a failure or a freak.
  • Cheer you on—Noticing and celebrating every sign of progress builds momentum towards successfully meeting your goals. Having someone to share these with helps keep you motivated.
  • Boost morale—Having someone to turn to when you are fighting a craving or to help you get back up if you do stumble is powerful. The only failure is not picking yourself back up and keep going.
  • Problem solve—When you are focused on the problem, it can be almost impossible to see even obvious solutions. Having someone on your side who can see the situation more objectively can help you brainstorm ways around any obstacles.
  • Make the journey more fun—going it alone makes it easier to get caught in the negative thought spiral going on in your head. Having a partner helps break the inner patterns so that achieving your wellness goals is more enjoyable.

But where can you find help?

  • Ask a friend or family member—Choose someone who is consistently positive, good at problem solving, and will be uplifting and inspiring.
  • Join a group—There are a number of on-line and in-person support groups. A few places to look include: transformation.com, beachbody.com, Weight Watchers, your local hospital, or a community group. Pick a group that does more than just air problems. Look for a focus on celebrating successes, problem solving, and offering encouragement.
  • Hire a coach—Consider working one-on-one with a certified professional health or wellness coach who is goal and success focused, and that will come up with an individualized plan to help you break through any thoughts, beliefs, or patterns that are literally weighing you down.

What can you do today to reach out for support? How will having at least one person helping to cheer you on, boost morale, and problem solve make it easier to meet your goals?

Together we can do it!