Tag Archives: thoughts and feelings

Tap Into Your Inner Power to Get the Body You Want

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Dumb Bells Working OutHow empowered do you feel right now?

One thing I’ve noticed is that women who are struggling with losing and regaining the same 30 pounds over and over again are often in victim mode.

This means you frequently feel that you are at the effect of outside circumstances that you believe are outside of your control. You feel powerless.

This can look like:

  • Feeling unappreciated by your boss and coming home and eating a pint of ice cream.
  • Being overwhelmed by everything you have on your to-do list, and falling into the chocolate.
  • Dreading the work project you are facing, and mindlessly eating an entire bag of chips.

Some element of life is coming at you, and you are coping by eating a food that will trigger a temporary hormonal reaction in your body that makes you feel better.

The problem is that once the physical reaction subsides, feelings of guilt, shame, and self-loathing take over, driving up negative chemical reactions in your body—and perpetuating unhealthy habits.

What’s happening here is your negative thoughts are generating catabolic energy that releases the stress hormone cortisol, adrenaline, and other chemicals that literally can cannibalize your body. Over time, this catabolic energy can cause everything from painful trigger points in your shoulders, to inflammation, to heart attacks.

It can even impact your metabolism and other weight-related systems making it easier to gain and harder to release weight.

Feeling energized, alive, and powerful creates positive anabolic energy that releases endorphins, testosterone, and body supporting hormones that help your body heal, rebuild, and flow with physical energy.

And yes, makes it easier to release excess weight.

One way to tap into positive anabolic energy is to consciously shift your thoughts and feelings about who you are, what you are capable of, and what you deserve.

Another way to feel more empowered is to move your body.

And it can be as simple as changing your posture for as little as two minutes!

In this fabulous TED talk, social psychologist Amy Cuddy shares that body language can affect not only how others see you, but also can change how you see yourself.

She says that “power posing”—standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don’t feel confident—for just two minutes can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain improving your chances for success.

What this means is that our bodies can change our minds.

So if standing in a power pose for two minutes can have a profound impact on your body chemistry, imagine what happens when you lift weights for 30 minutes? Or run, or dance?

Everyone who has ever worked out consistently knows how awesome you feel afterwards. It is often that empowered feeling that keeps exercisers coming back for more.

You can tap into that feeling of empowerment before, during, and after your workout.

You can do that right now by thinking about how it feels after your workout, actually feeling empowered, or even power posing for two minutes.

How will this benefit you?

Cuddy shares that the minds of powerful people have common characteristics. She says that powerful and effective leaders are more assertive, confident, optimistic, win at games of chance, are better at thinking abstractly, and take more risks.

They also have more testosterone and less of the stress hormone cortisol.

In other words they have a lot of positive anabolic energy.

Our thoughts and feelings—and body movement—literally impact our wellness at the cellular level.

Before your workout, begin thinking about how energized, alive, and powerful you feel afterwards. And then use your thoughts, feelings—and body—to tap into that feeling of empowerment throughout the day.

Not only will this make doing your workout tomorrow easier, but it improves your success in all areas of your life.

Together we can do it!

Love or Hate Your Workout? That’s Impacting Your Results

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Why is it that one person can follow a diet and exercise program and have great results and another use the exact same regimen and not see the same progress?

It has less to do with your metabolism, genes, luck, etc., etc., than you might think.

An often overlooked but critical factor are your thoughts and feelings while you are doing the diet or exercise program.

This is truly one of the missing links that causes so many diet and exercise programs to fail.

Think of it this way. How much are you going to give your exercise program your all if the entire time you’re thinking thoughts like:

“I hate exercise.”

“How soon till this is over?”

“I hate to sweat.”

“Just get me through this torture.”

With thoughts like that—and the resulting sluggish results—how likely are you going to sustain your exercise program?

Chances are not good!

Instead, what if during your workout you are choosing to think about:

  • All the reasons Why you want optimal wellness.
  • Affirmations reinforcing that doing the work will get you the results you want.
  • How good you feel after the workout.

And what if you actually chose a physical activity that you enjoy to begin with?

Wouldn’t you start to look forward to your workouts?

Wouldn’t you start to pay attention to and celebrate signs of progress—even if they were slow and steady?

Every time you had a jolt of unexpected energy during your day, wouldn’t you feel good about having gotten your workout in?

And wouldn’t all those positive thoughts and feelings make you more likely to want to get up and do your workout again tomorrow?

But, you might say, “I hate exercise. I have always hated exercise. That’s just how I feel.”

Believe it or not, you can change long-held thoughts and beliefs—if you want to.

You can learn to love exercise by practicing new thoughts and beliefs.

Now I’m not saying you are going to make this shift overnight, but if your wellness is enough of a priority that you will practice consistently, you will be amazed by the results.

Here are some 3 simple ways to practice changing your thoughts.

Figure out a compelling reason Why you want wellness. Certainly use wanting to look good in a swimsuit or for your reunion, but look deeper. What is your true, heart-felt reason that is so strong it inspires you to get up from that nice warm bed to get in your workout?

Write out, read, and feel positive affirmations. Create affirmations that shift your thinking just a little bit so they are believable. Practice reading them—and feeling them—each day when you are not working out and bring them to mind while you are exercising. Soon you won’t have to remind yourself to think those thoughts. They will come naturally.

Focus on your progress. Mentally look for and celebrate each tiny sign of success. Note how good you feel after your workout, how much easier your pants button, your increased stamina after walking up a flight of stairs. Each celebration builds your positive momentum, making it easier to sustain action.

These suggestions may be simple, but they are powerful. Practice them consistently and before you know it, you will be one of those people who loves moving their bodies!

Together we can do it!

Dress for (Weight Loss) Success

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Since I work at home, it would be easy to spend the day in my pajamas.

And I won’t lie. There have certainly been days that being at my desk was a higher priority than putting on my street clothes.

But that is the exception rather than the rule.

Here’s why.

It impacts how I feel about myself.

Every time I walk by the bathroom mirror, my energy level takes a negative hit.

It’s not accurately projecting Who I am and Who I want to be.

And that matters.

This makes sense when you think about the Foundation Principle that “Energy Attracts Like Energy,” also known as the Law of Attraction.

As Albert Einstein so eloquently said with E=MC2, EVERYTHING is energy—including your thoughts and feelings.

This means you get what you project. If you are thinking negative thoughts about yourself, you will get more opportunities to think negative thoughts. If you are feeling bad about yourself, you will get more opportunities to feel bad.

Even what you are wearing sends out an energetic vibration. Do holey pajamas project success, abundance, a joyful and fulfilling life? Or does it project lack and lethargy?

If I feel like I need to hide out when the UPS guy rings the bell, that’s not a good sign.

A lot of women that I work with unknowingly perpetuate the cycle of losing and regaining the same 30 pounds by wearing sloppy clothes, or clothes that don’t fit well because they don’t want to “give in” to their weight gain. But this actually perpetuates the weight rebound cycle because it impacts how they feel and think about themselves.

Now this doesn’t mean I put on a business suit every day. I dress appropriately for working at home. But my clothes are clean, in good repair, and fit well.

When I walk by the bathroom mirror, I feel good about what I see—and each time that gives me a small energy boost. Then having the UPS guy bring me a box feels more like Christmas and I’m happy to see a fellow human.

Feeling good about myself in turn boosts my energy and desire to make consistent decisions that move me towards my wellness goals. For instance, I want to do my workout and to stick to my meal plan for the day.

And the more energy I put towards what I want, the more of that energy I attract. So the snowball effect begins to work in my favor.

What do you want more of? Who do you want to be?

Does what you are thinking, feeling, doing, and even wearing project that? Or are you getting more of the old you?

This doesn’t mean you have to transform your thoughts and feelings—or wardrobe—overnight. All you have to do is slowly and steadily focus more on Who you want to be—and begin making the decisions and choices that person would make.

An easy place to start is with what you are wearing. Does it fit well? Is it in good repair? How do you feel when you are wearing it?

Consciously decide to get more of Who and what you are projecting.

Together we can do it!

How to Be Fit, Strong, and Slim

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“You must become a Vibrational Match to the qualities you seek, because what comes to you always matches you.”

-Abraham-Hicks

Stop trying and Be.

This is the message I have been receiving.

Stop trying to be fit, strong, and slim, and Be fit, strong, and slim. Stop trying in all areas of my life, and Be who I want to be.

What does this look like?

To Be fit, strong, and slim then you must consistently make the decisions that someone who is fit, strong, and slim would make. You must think like a slim person, react like a slim person, embody a slim person.

How do you do this when you have never been fit, strong, and slim, or didn’t pay attention when you were?

You have to tap into the power of your imagination.

Imagine. . .

Being at your optimal weight

Appreciating, and feeling comfortable and confident in your body

Waking up every morning energized and eager to start your day

Thriving—body, mind, and spirit

Maximizing your self-care so that you have the energy and time to care for others

Feeling attractive

Having fun in the process of achieving your goals

Having control over hunger, cravings, and emotions

Enjoying sharing your love physically with your partner

Creating a body—and life—that you love

Imagine how that would feel, and feel that way right now.

You have just harnessed the vibrational energy of your thoughts and emotions, which will make taking action that much easier. Practice these thoughts and feelings daily and you’ll pave the way for easier and more effective action.

Ah, the ever-important action.

Yes, the action of making healthy decisions is important, but the reason so many diet and exercise programs fail in the long-term is that they only focus on the external.

Action alone only has so much energetic power. When you tie it to the energy of your thoughts and emotions, you’ve just added a rocket booster to the action.

To take the action to Be fit, strong, and slim, find a healthy diet and exercise program that feels like something that you could make a life-style, and then consistently follow it. And when you are faced with a choice think about and decide how the fit, strong, and slim You would react, and then react that way.

Stop trying and Be.

Every moment of every day you are creating your life. Each decision will either hold you in place or move you towards the person you want to become.

What decisions are you going to make today that will help you Be that person?

Together we can do it!

Love Yourself Lean

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Here’s one of my favorite blogs that you may have missed.

 

 

Do you love your body? Do you love the food that you eat? Do you love the exercise that you’re doing, and the feeling of moving your body? Do you love to sweat?

What emotions did you feel when you read those questions? Did they bring up strong positive or negative reactions? Since our bodies and our lives are a reflection of our predominate thoughts, feelings, and beliefs, does your emotional reaction match the experience that you’re having with your body right now?

I used to hate my body and spent much of my time feeling horrible about how I looked. I hated exercise. I was a picky eater and I never appreciated or truly enjoyed what I was eating in the moment. Is it any wonder that I struggled with a weight problem my entire life and was a sickly kid? My body was emotionally and physically abused—by me!

It wasn’t until I truly understood that we are what we think, feel, and believe that I began to change my thoughts about my body. I started with gratitude, finally appreciating how hard my body was working for me despite how I fed it poor-quality food, didn’t move much, and was incredibly harsh in my criticism. It really was a miracle that my body was as healthy as it was.

I began to focus on consciously appreciating and enjoying the food I ate. I focused more on why I wanted to eat right and exercise than on all the reasons I didn’t. Over time, eating healthy food and exercising began to be something I enjoyed.

The more I began shifting my thoughts and feelings to what I wanted, the easier it became to do those things that would move me to towards who I wanted to be and the life I wanted to live.

Today, I love and appreciate my body. I love being strong, fit, and lean. I love being active. I love eating mostly healthy foods and how good I feel as a result. And I love to really get after a workout and sweat.

Pay attention to how you feel about your body, diet, exercise—really, your life. How much are you loving or hating it? How can you shift your thoughts and emotions towards feeling just a little bit better?

Do that, and it won’t be long until you are exactly where you want to be.

Together we can do it!

 

Did you fill out my rebranding survey? To show my appreciation to those of you who filled out the survey by Friday, May 25, 2012, I am giving away a $10 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble. Either comment in the original post or message me to let me know you completed the survey and I’ll put your name in the drawing!

 

Keeping Yourself on Track When You Have Been Less Than Perfect

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My eating has been less than perfect this week. It hasn’t been horrible, but it hasn’t been spot on, either.

What I love reflecting on is that in the fairly recent past, not being perfect would have meant giving up altogether. My thinking would have been along the lines of, “I’ve blown it,” followed by a lot of really harsh self-criticism that would have resulted in regaining the weight I had just lost.

That old negative, catabolic assault on my mind, body, and spirit felt terrible! It truly was verbal abuse inflicted on myself. I’m so glad I don’t do that anymore!

But this morning, I became aware of a slight undercurrent of catabolic thoughts and feelings (guilt) resulting from a few higher calorie food choices.

Since I am aware of it, I’m going to address it right here and right now.

The main thing I want to remind myself is that optimal wellness is about taking care of me for the long-run.

While I have set some goals for an 18-week transformation challenge, my wellness goals will not end there. I do not have to be perfect to meet my short and long-term goals. What matters most is that I am making progress, and I am definitely doing that.

Yesterday is done. Forget about it. Focus on the choices I am making today. Yes, this weekend will be challenging being with my folks, traveling, and it being my husband’s birthday, but I have the skills and determination to make the best possible choices—and still allow myself to have a good time and truly appreciate what I am eating. As Tony Horton says, “I will do my best and forget the rest.”

And I am doing a great job of getting my workouts in, and my slight splurges have not been nutritionally out there. It’s important to give myself credit where credit is due.

I definitely have the ability to make good decisions about what, when, and how much I am eating—and can follow through with those decisions. One thing I know for sure is that consistently making those small decisions to eat healthy foods and move my body pays off so much. There is not much I love more than physically feeling good and being in alignment mind, body, and spirit.

After this little talk, I feel a huge surge of anabolic energy that I can use to help stay on track this weekend. If I am less than perfect, what’s important is to be aware of and minimize the catabolic self-talk.

Paying attention to my thoughts impacts my feelings, which absolutely results in actions that are either taking me towards my goals or away from them.

Has this example of my internal dialogue been helpful for you? What are the things you do to get yourself back on track when you have been less than perfect? How does that help you reach your goals?

Together we can do it!

 

 

Photo by Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net