Tag Archives: Weight

Love Your Workout?

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I just had the most fun workout!

Does having the words “fun” and “workout” in the same sentence seem like a contradiction to you?

That’s one of those limiting beliefs that is resulting in your holding onto the weight!

Who said working out had to be a drag? Or worse?

And don’t think that just because my workout was fun that it means it was easy.

An hour later and my face is still beat red and my metabolism revved. I definitely pushed it. And I loved every minute of it!

While I will share what I was doing, the most important thing is to do is find the workout that you enjoy. That you find fun. That you kind-of-wish you were doing at other points in the day.

The key to moving your body consistently is to enjoy it.

And consistency is key to long-term success.

A stumbling block for many women I work with is that they think they have to take up a form of exercise that they hate.

Depending on what your goals are, there are many ways to achieve the results you’re looking for.

For instance, I know women who are in great shape who have achieved their goals by doing everything from walking, to yoga, to tai chi. Others have done Pilates, dancing, boxing, jump-roping, and even hula-hooping. And there are many more options.

Experiment until you find the workout you enjoy.

So what was the workout I did this morning?

If you follow my blog regularly, you know I love dance walking. But heading out in the dark and cold—not so much fun.

A couple of months ago a fabulous reader and fellow blogger introduced me to dance cardio on the treadmill. Now I had spontaneously burst into dance-walking on the treadmill before—and promptly fallen off. But she pointed me to some demonstration videos and I was up and, well, dancing!

And it is intense! And fun! And I’m getting better at it as I do it!

Picking something that you actually enjoy doing significantly increases your chances of releasing the weight–once and for all.

Think of it this way. If you are starting a workout program that you hate, are dreading and despise every moment while you are doing it, how long are you likely to sustain that program?

This is another example of how harnessing your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs and aligning them with your actions is like adding a rocket booster to your ability to achieve your goals.

Find the way that moving your body feels good! 

Together we can do it!

Here are my inspirations.

Ben Aaron taking dance walking public

Dance Aerobics on Treadmill at Palheiro Spa, Madeira

Tracy Anderson Treadmill Routine with Molly Sims Part B 

I’m excited to announce that I have 3 coaching spaces open to help you love your way slim. If you are serious about transforming your mind and body, secure your spot now by emailing me at hannagoss@goss-coaching.com by November 11 to schedule your complimentary breakthrough session. These powerful sessions are available on a limited basis. Don’t wait till Jan 2 to take inspired action. Start creating the body—and life—you want today.

Tip the Scale with Appreciation

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If all you did was just look for things to appreciate you would live a joyous, spectacular life. If there was nothing else that you ever came to understand other than just look for things to appreciate, it’s the only tool you would ever need to predominantly hook you up with who you really are. That’s all you’d need.

–Abraham-Hicks

Do you often feel deprived or guilty about the food you eat?

Do you stand in front of the closet and distress about what to wear?

Do you look in the mirror and criticize, or feel body shame?

These negative thoughts and emotions are generating catabolic energy that is actually sabotaging your ability to lose—and maintain—your weight.

Your negative thoughts—about yourself, your clothes, your food, about everything—trigger the stress response, releasing cortisol, adrenaline, and other chemicals that literally cannibalize your body at the cellar level.

Examining problems and experiencing the resulting negative thoughts is fine occasionally, but for most people this is a chronic state of being. Everything begins to look like a problem or crisis.

This chronic emotional and physical stress response is breaking down your immune system, straining your heart, and impacting your muscles. Over time, this catabolic energy can cause everything from painful trigger points in your shoulders, to inflammation, to heart attacks.

And it significantly impacts your metabolism and other weight-related systems making it easier to gain and harder to release weight.

This cumulative impact is the reason why it gets harder to release weight as you age.

Lose the chronic negative thoughts and responses and you more easily lose the weight—and regain your wellness and well-being.

But, if you have a long-time habit of focusing on the negative and feeling bad about it—particularly when it comes to your body—how can you begin to change to more positive, anabolic energy that rebuilds and supports your body?

What if all that you had to do was practice appreciation?

The good news is that in the powerful moment of now you can’t feel appreciation and guilt at the same time. Sometimes they can be so close together that you think you are experiencing them all at once, but vibrationally they are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

What’s really happening is that you are almost instantly bouncing from one emotional extreme to the other, which is one of the reasons it’s so exhausting.

The trick is to begin to string more thoughts of appreciation together so that you start to train your vibration more often in the positive direction. And focusing on things you appreciate is a powerful way to do that.

Here are 5 tips for practicing appreciation:

  • Start with something simple. If you have been practicing hating your body, it’s going to take you a while before you can begin thinking loving thoughts and not feel like a big fat liar. So choose a different place to start. How about the pillow your sleep on, or your pet? Start with something that’s pretty easy to build up some momentum of appreciation about before you take on the topic of your body.
  • Pick quiet times. Some of the best times to practice appreciation are just before you go to sleep and just after you wake up. This is a great way to set the energy for the day.
  • Make lists. One of the best ways to begin practicing appreciation is to literally write lists of things you appreciate. This can be once a day, or throughout the day. It can be one list that you continually read and add to, or multiple lists.
  • Use downtime. Anytime you’re waiting is a great time to practice appreciation. For instance, practice appreciation while standing in line at the grocery store, waiting for your dentist appointment or cable repairman, taking a shower, or waiting for a flight.
  • Make it a game. What could you possibly appreciate sitting in traffic? Make it fun to try. It could be that you have a heater on cold days, the opportunity to listen to your favorite music, that it’s a good time to people watch. Who knows what you might find to appreciate if you look for it in odd places.

As you practice, look for changes in your life. Are you less stressed? Do you have more energy? Did you make your workout a priority? Did you choose an apple instead of a cookie?

What can you do today to reflect on the good things that happen and all that you appreciate? How can you begin to make this something you regularly practice? What difference does this make in creating the body—and life—you want?

Together we can do it!

How Much Power are You Giving to the Scale?

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Does having your gas gauge in your car read “empty” ruin your whole day? Do you post about it on your blog and tell all your friends what a failure it makes you?

Do you measure the air in your tires, and sit down on the curb and cry because it doesn’t show the number you wanted?

When you figure out the average number of miles you drive on a gallon of gas and it hasn’t’ changed from the day or week before, do you berate yourself with what an awful person you are—and go find comfort in a donut?

Then why are you doing that after you step on the bathroom scale?

Most women that I work with give way too much of their personal power to the scale. In their minds, not only does it measure how well they’ve done sticking to their exercise and eating plans, but it also measures their self-worth.

In truth, neither of these is the case.

The scale is just a tool—and a faulty one at that—that can be used to help you release weight. Using it consistently gives you a general idea of where you are your journey.

It typically does not accurately measure body fat—which is what you really want to know—and because weight is impacted by things like hormones, salt, sleep, etc., etc., it can go up and down for what feels like no reason.

When it becomes the deciding factor in the quality of your day and crashes your self-esteem, it is actually doing you harm. You might as well throw it away. It is holding you back, keeping you stuck, and making the weight stick to you like glue.

This is because the negative emotions you feel after stepping on the scale are generating catabolic energy that releases the stress hormone cortisol, adrenaline, and other chemicals that literally cannibalize your body. They break down your immune system, stress your heart, and impact your muscles. They also impact your metabolism and other weight-related systems making it easier to gain and harder to release weight.

By giving the scale the power to measure your value you are robbing yourself of the immense power you actually do have to get the body you want.

You can reclaim some of that power right now by deciding that you will no longer allow an inanimate object that at best is an inaccurate tool from dictating how you feel.

Until you can step on the scale and feel good about yourself—regardless of what number it reads—you are better off using a measuring tape, fat-measuring calipers, or even how well your jeans fit as your gauge to determine your progress.

Your value as a person is far greater than the number on the scale. And when you align your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs with your actions, you will be amazed at the progress you make.

How can you measure your progress in a way that will help move your towards your goals, rather than hold you back?

Together we can do it!

 

 

How to Change Your Luck

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A friend of mine who struggles with her weight recently commented on how lean I was looking and said with a heavy sigh, “You are so lucky.”

I didn’t say anything in the moment, but I thought this was interesting since this friend knew me three years ago when I was at my heaviest weight ever and has witnessed me not only getting the weight off, but keeping it off for the first time in my life.

Truly, luck has had nothing to do with it.

Wellness is something that I focus on and strive to achieve. I’m not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I am committed to regularly moving my body and eating healthy food most of the time. But more importantly, I have changed my relationship with my body—and with myself.

I love and appreciate myself more, and as a result, I do more to take care of me. This “selfishness” of making my self-care a priority has actually enabled me to do more for others because I feel better mind, body, and spirit. Not only do I have more physical energy, but I have more mental and emotional energy. I am happier, healthier, and more in love with life as a result. My being happier has an impact on everyone I encounter.

We often assume that everyone else has it easier than we do and that we are alone in our struggles. We think weight loss, relationships, and life are just easier for everyone else.

Even when we witness other people’s struggles we forget. My friend doesn’t remember that in the middle of my initial effort to lose weight that my husband suffered a life-changing wellness-challenge that made it hard for him to get out of bed. While he’s much better now, there were some tough times that would have been easy to use as an excuse for giving up.

Everyone has had their share of struggle and challenge that they have overcome—including you. What you have overcome in your life is amazing. How much more powerful—and empowering—is it to compare you with you?

As my friend, mentor, and coach, Jennifer Barley recently blogged, luck is about “having intentions, aligning your actions, sending out the right kind of energy, leading with your heart, and being in the now.” The only thing I would add is it’s also letting go of comparing your success to anyone else’s.

Begin to reframe your journey. Look at and celebrate how far you have come. And if you’re not where you want to be, what is one small step you can take to begin moving in the direction you want to go? How does that begin to change your luck?

Together we can do it!

Photo from www.freedigitalphotos.net

Eleven Reasons to Exercise Today

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What does optimal wellness mean to you?

To me, optimal wellness is feeling good—mind, body, and spirit. It’s being at the right body weight for me. It’s moving with ease, and being fit, strong, and lean. It’s allowing every cell in my body to thrive, and having a super-charged immune system and metabolism. It’s having every system in my body functioning properly. It’s nurturing my body’s own wellness abilities. It’s treating myself—and others—with love and respect. It’s experiencing habitual feelings of appreciation, eagerness, and joy. It’s a lasting state of well-being, and a confidence in Who I am and what I am capable of.

How important is eating healthy foods and moving your body to achieving optimal wellness? As I wrote in my blog yesterday, it’s pretty darn important to me.

But beyond my personal experience that I feel physically better and have increased physical energy when I regularly move my body, according research cited by Bill Phillips in his book Transformation, the health benefits of consistent exercise are staggering.

For instance, consistent exercise can:

  • Double survival rates of breast cancer patients, and can significantly reduce the chance of developing breast cancer in the first place.
  • Strengthen the body’s immune system.
  • Help relieve the symptoms of depression and anxiety.
  • Boost blood flow to the brain, which increases the energy of brain waves that are responsible for quick thinking, focus, creativity, and problem solving.
  • Prevent and treat osteoporosis.
  • Help manage diabetes.
  • Reduce the risk of addiction and relapse.
  • Slow premature aging of the skin.
  • Promote healthier digestion.
  • Reduce aches and pains.
  • Contribute to optimism and a positive mindset.

Study after study shows that exercise plays an important role in promoting sound physical and mental health and emotional well-being. If the benefits of exercise could be put in a pill, everyone would be taking it.

And what you eat is just as important. When you eat nutrient rich foods, your:

  • Mind becomes more alive, and you’re happier
  • Immune system is stronger
  • Body feels younger and healthier

No matter what your goal is, if you’re trying to create the life of your dreams, exercise and eating healthy foods might need to be a part of it. And if they’re not, why not?

Together we can do it!

Photo by Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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

 

Guest Blog–It’s An Inside Job….

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I invited my coach and mentor, Jennifer Barley, to guest blog while I’m away at coach training.

So often we look to the outer things in life to fix our issues. If we have financial challenges, we look to change jobs to make more money. If we have weight issues, we join a gym. If we have relationship woes, we want to change the other person. All of these efforts are about searching outside of ourselves for the solution under the guise of being happy.

Happiness is an inside job. No amount of money, no number on the scale, and no other person will bring you true happiness. Sure, those things can make life more comfortable, they could help us reduce the negative self talk, and they can bring a sense of familiarity. However if one is truly happy then they experience things that come from the inside–peace, love, and clarity–regardless of how much money is in the bank, how our pants fit and who is in our life. If we always do what we’ve always done, we will always get what we’ve always gotten. This is not about doing — it is about our being.

In order to find happiness, we have to be willing to start exploring our thoughts, feelings and actions around our challenges. That begins with our core of “Who” we are. We all have beliefs, values, core thoughts, assumptions, and interpretations that play into our view of the world. Those beliefs can enhance our world, or detract from our world.

How do your beliefs serve you? Do they keep you safe and small? Do they protect you from disappointment? Do they protect you from vulnerability? Do they allow you to play big and share your gifts with the world? Do your core thoughts allow you to share love without limits.

Which of your beliefs keep you from moving forward?

Then the big zowie of a question comes in to play….

If you were to let go of your belief, what are you really afraid might happen?

What is the worst thing that could happen? What is the best thing that could happen? Are you willing to risk it?

How willing are you to redefine your “Who”?

The world is waiting for you–your redefined Who–to show up from the inside out.

Jennifer Barley is a Professional Certified Life Coach, public speaker, Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) instructor, author and former award-winning Weight Loss Leader.

It is Jennifer’s strong belief that every person can create whatever life they choose and she partners with her clients to make it happen. She has a strong talent for motivating, inspiring and adding humor to every situation.

Jennifer works with clients one-on-one, in workshop environments, and through online tele-classes. As the KickStart Coach™ Jennifer is committed to providing the support, encouragement, accountability, and motivation that her clients need to get inspired and get in the game.

You can learn more about her at www.jenniferbarley.com and read her blog at http://blog.jenniferbarley.com

Does This Blog Make Me Look Thin?

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While off celebrating my 20th anniversary, I’m sharing a few of my favorite blogs that you might have missed.

Have you ever lost weight, but after you met your goal you still felt fat? When you looked in the mirror, all you saw were the flaws?

How quickly did you gain back the weight?

Our thoughts and feelings are much more powerful than most people understand. When you take into account the Foundation Principle that “Energy Attracts Like Energy,” also known as the Law of Attraction, you begin to understand that how you see yourself and where you put your focus can make a difference in how well you maintain your weight loss.

To truly be a lean, strong, and fit person, it’s incredibly helpful to see yourself as a lean, strong, and fit person—at least most of the time.

One of the reasons is that when you feel thin you begin to take on the behavioral characteristics of someone who is thin.

For instance, how much easier is it to resist those chocolate chip cookies if you are feeling confident and excited about being lean, strong, and fit versus seeing yourself as fat with no hope of ever having a beautiful body?

Most people see themselves through filters of self-criticism, limiting beliefs, assumptions about past experiences repeating themselves, and self-created interpretations about their lives.

Diet and exercise alone doesn’t alter those self-perceptions. Those changes have to come from the inside out.

Removing those negative, catabolic filters and shifting your self-perception so you can truly see yourself living the life you want takes time, energy, and practice, just as creating a healthy lifestyle takes time, energy, and practice.

When you practice both the internal and external changes you begin consciously creating the life of your dreams.

How can you practice feeling thin, along with healthy eating and moving your body? How much more effective is that at helping you lose weight–and keep it off?

Together we can do it!

Photo by Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Love Yourself to Health

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While I’m away at coach training for a few days, I’m running a few 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!

 

Photo by Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

Time for Self-Respect

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While I’m away at coach training for a few days, I’m running a few of my favorite blogs that you may have missed.

An old boss of mine had a sign on his door that read, “The floggings will continue until morale improves.”

It was a joke, of course. But how often do we try to motivate ourselves with the whip of internal insults, slurs, and condemnations?

Does telling yourself that you’re “ugly, fat, stupid, and lazy,” really make you want to get up and do your workout, or forgo the potato chips?

If spoken aloud, many people’s internal dialogues might be deemed verbal abuse. Sometimes this abuse can go on practically nonstop, every day. What do you think this does to that person’s self-esteem and belief that they can achieve their goals?

Pushing through this line of thinking to create action takes incredible energy and strength, much like rolling a boulder up a hill. And while progress can be made, without changing our underlying thoughts, emotions, and beliefs, one moment of mental fatigue or flagging self-discipline may result in our watching that boulder roll back down the hill, and our not only regaining all the weight we lost, but then some.

Changing our thoughts, emotions, and beliefs about ourselves, what we want, and our ability to achieve it helps break us out of this cycle of self-punishment. It creates a boost of momentum that makes our push towards wellness a lot more fun and sustainable.

A general rule of thumb is, “If you wouldn’t say it to a friend, it’s not appropriate to say to yourself.”

Begin treating yourself with the respect you deserve. Focus on all the reasons you do want to move your body and eat healthy foods. Focus on all the things you are doing to move yourself forward. Speak to yourself with kindness and encouragement, and celebrate each small sign of progress.

By doing the internal work along with the external work, you can achieve the life of your dreams.

Together we can do it!

Photo by Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net