In Part 2 I talked about being being honest with yourself. I think many people fool themselves into a false sense of honesty and this is something that we must address if we want to feel better about ourselves and also to achieve our goals. In Part 3 I just want to get you to think about exactly why you want to lose weight and what you

It is easy to make decisions in the heat of guilt (you just gave into a large slice of chocolate cake drizzled in cream and vow never to do so again!) but remorse is a poor base for decision. Emotions change like the wind and we soon forget the guilt we felt for eating what we shouldn’t and do the same thing again.

This is why deciding to go on a diet after a binge is destined to failure. Guilt can be a great motivation but it doesn’t last and it becomes a vicious circle. So what you really need to do is delve deep down inside and get your TRUE motivators for wanting to lose weight, give up chocolate etc. Knowing the real reasons for your decision and not quick guilt will help you stay on track and firmly.

The decision that you make today will affect you for years to come. To deal with compulsive eating or any craving and addiction will force you to face painful things inside your heart and they will rise up in power if they are disturbed through decision. This is why it is important to get a clear image of what you want and why exactly you want and need it.

Related Articles:

Weight Loss Mindset 1: Making The Decision To Change

Weight Loss Mindset 2: Being Honest With Yourself

Weight Loss Mindset 3: Figuring Out The Why

Weight Loss Mindset 4: Starting On The Right Foot

Weight Loss Mindset 5: Believe You Can, Stick To It & Refresh Daily

I have decided to put a little series together about the weight loss mindset and how to overcome some of the difficulties that we face including sticking to decisions and being honest with ourselves. If anything I hope that you will find these posts useful in your own pursuits in regards to weight loss or craving control.

I will be adding activities within my posts to help you think more critically about what could be holding you back or where you can start in freeing yourself from a lifetime of habits and weight issues. These activities are things I have used to help myself overcome many of my food cravings that have held me back on my path to a healthier existance and without them I don’t think I would have progressed as far as I have so far.

So here goes for the first part…

Where is that moment, that defining moment, when we rise above those outside influences and develop our own individuality – the moment of decision? When is that moment when we choose to do what we know deep down is right and best for ourselves? Do we need to reach the brink of explosion? Do we need to push ourselves over the edge in order to get there? Sometimes. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing, it can be the start of something wonderful.

There are powerful influences clamouring for that place inside of you that makes choices, whether they are your eating habits, shopping habits or even your faith. We can make decisions that are easy, that follow the norm and we can make decisions that are painful, that are downright difficult and even isolate us from the world around us, for a while (or so it can seem).

Eating is ingrained in our culture as a social thing. We celebrate birthdays, thanksgiving, Christmas with a delicious table full of different foods. We get together with friends over lunch or dinner. It is familiar to get stuck to what our society does and can be difficult to let go of when we want to change our ways and live a healthier lifestyle despite what the rest of the world wants to do and wants us to do.

Losing weight is a step towards a healthier lifestyle that can be met with pessimism from others who want you to remain in their world of obesity and cakes. It can be what breaks you and convinces you back into habits you are desperate to leave behind.

But at the end of the day, it is our decision to make.

We can either continue to follow the herd and fool ourselves into happiness or we can break free and make the changes we have always wanted to make.

Decision-making has creative power. Decisions have their own inaction that can build in momentum. Many people have dreamt of what they want to do and made it happen. The world is full of dreamers, but it is only those who act on their dreams who get to where they want.

So much of daily life ends up like this – devoid of decisions. That isn’t such a bad thing if our history had been built on good choices, but if not we must stop and dismantle the destructive decisions and any patterns that dictate unconscious behavior and create new healthy decisions. This is crucial in our weight loss endeavors but in literally every aspect of life.

This can be extremely tough at first, because we are so used to being carried along in a culture that has made nearly every decision for us – have you ever stood back and questioned whether your society’s decision making really works in favor of you?

All of us at some point have moaned about the many decisions that have been made for us or moaned about our weight or our living conditions etc. But what have we done about it?

What have you done about it?

Instead of moaning and praying that things will work out it is time to believe in yourself and the decisions you want for yourself and act.

You have all you need in order to change.

Related Articles:

Weight Loss Mindset 1: Making The Decision To Change

Weight Loss Mindset 2: Being Honest With Yourself

Weight Loss Mindset 3: Figuring Out The Why

Weight Loss Mindset 4: Starting On The Right Foot

Weight Loss Mindset 5: Believe You Can, Stick To It & Refresh Daily

When following a weight loss program or someone else’s guidance in trying to achieve our slimmer figures, we can sometimes give up too quickly and easily before we see any real results from it. We then deem it a failure on the part of the weight loss program as opposed to really evaluating the true cause of our failure. Yes it could be as a result of the program but we will never really know this because we gave up so soon.

Now giving up could be as a result of fear and insecurity. Many of us don’t go after what we truly want because we are fearful or unsure. We end up living a life that just doesn’t feel right. Most of us also aren’t fully or consciously aware of this fear. We don’t know or simply do not understand what is holding us back from what we want in life.

If you truly want to lose weight and it is something that consumes you on a daily basis – don’t give up on it.

Of course losing weight can have a number of meanings for us other than just losing weight. It can symbolize better health, reducing an illness or many other things.

Do you want to look back and regret that you never lost weight or made your life easier and more healthful because of fear and insecurity? Do you want to regret not making the right choices for yourself and being a good example for your children?

When pursuing my own goals in weight loss and health, one of my biggest motivations was my son. I wanted to be a good role model and wanted him to have a healthy start in life. I didn’t want to have a negative influence on him (or what I saw as a negative influence on him) and wanted to show him and be able to show him that with determination and perseverance you can achieve the goals you set for yourself.

It can be very difficult to find your hearts true desire – the real reason for your weight loss goals as opposed to the superficial reasons – because of social conditioning. We to some extent are bound up in society’s habits and restrictions, so knowing what we want can be hard to assess. It is important that you take some time to really get to the root reasons for wanting to lose weight so you have something more valid to work towards. Superficial goals don’t always give you the determination you need to succeed or to keep going when you doubt yourself.

Finding your true reasons for weight loss will take care of the motivation. My son was only one reason for me and wouldn’t necessarily have been a big enough reason to change without my other personal motivations. I wanted to overcome my asthma and allergies. I wanted to feel calm and more at peace. I have overcome my asthma and allergies now and do feel calmer (although this is something I am still working on). The point is if you give up too soon you will never reach your goals.

Add Emotion To Your Goals

Another reason to find your true reasons for losing weight is to add emotion. The thought of spending another second being controlled by my asthma was a good starting point for me. I was sick of it. I was sick of constantly having a runny nose, no matter what time of year. Writing down my reasons with emotion really helped me stay focused. With weight loss you are more likely to see results a LOT sooner than I did with my asthma. It took me a long while before I saw any improvement and I tried a lot of things. I think overcoming these issues really set me up with becoming more focused with my weight loss after pregnancy and so I use them to remind me of what perseverance can achieve for me.

The more reasons you can come up with to achieve your goal the better. The more fed up you will get with your current situation and the more likely you will persevere.

It will also help you to not give up due to slow progress.

Don’t Give Up If Your Progress Is Slow

If you are pursuing your true desires for weight loss, then you will find you are less likely to quit early on. When your desire and need is so strong, your progress isn’t as relevant as it would be if you had no clear direction or no real want.

Of course you may feel discouraged if you suddenly come to a halt in your progress. You may be unsure how to overcome it and feel like giving up. Writing down a plan of action will help overcome this – whether that is to read up more within nutrition or to find inspiration to keep you going.

Remember though you can’t change everything all at once and so quickly. Yes seeing some quick results is a good sign that you are on the right path but really you should be aiming for slow steady progress. This will not only make sure you keep the weight off for good but will also allow you to enjoy the progress, focus on the good and not feel panicked when there seems like no progress has been made, because most likely there has been progress you just can’t physically see it yet.

Be Flexible

Don’t let who you are now stop you from being who you want to be. Be willing to make changes to your lifestyle, learn new things if you need to, so you can reach your goal of being slimmer and healthier. If you aren’t willing to change and be flexible, then you will find that your goals will be unreachable.

If it feels quite daunting to change, make small progressive changes to help you lose weight. For example, as mentioned in Obstacle No.1, start by changing your breakfast to something healthier for a few weeks and then move on to changing other meals in your day. Also incorporate exercise in slowly too if its something you really struggle with.

This leads me to say…

Don’t Give Up Out Of Laziness!

There are no shortcuts to achieving your goals. If you want something then you have to work for it. As you work at it you will find it does become easier especially as it becomes your new habit(s).

Living a lazy lifestyle, never achieving anything will ultimately lead to dissatisfaction. Start living a productive life and you will reap the benefits. Living a satisfying life is hard work though, especially at first but that shouldn’t’ put you off achieving your goals.

Success Is Closer Than You Think

Don’t give up, even when you want to! You could be so close to achieving your goals – closer than you think! If you give up, you have to start the cycle all over again. Persevere and if you aren’t gaining quick results, at least be happy in the knowledge that you are building a great life long habit. Eating right and exercising are crucial parts to any health/weight loss program.

If you give up on your weight loss goals, how do you know you won’t give up on other goals in life just as easily? Maybe you do. I think that for me, achieving an asthma and allergy free life has been an important and crucial achievement in my life. It has made me realize ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE if I persevere. It makes achieving other goals a lot easier, because I know eventually I will get to where I want to be and as a result I am living a much more fulfilling and content life.

One Tip To Get You Going

Start visualizing what you want now. The more and more you visualize where you want to be the more focused you will be and the more likely you will persevere. Visualize yourself slim, confident and happy. Visualize yourself involved in exercise and enjoying it. Visualize how much energy you have.

Visualizing can be very powerful but the key is to be consistent with it and to keep believing in yourself.

Remember: It is possible for you to lose weight, you are able to lose weight and you deserve to lose weight. Just don’t give up too soon before you can see results.

Helpful Posts:

Weight Loss Goals Part One: Creating A Positive Weight Loss Mindset

Weight Loss Goals Part Two: The 3 Beliefs You Need For Weight Loss Success

Weight Loss Goals Part Three: Weight Loss Planning

Previous Post: Weight Loss Obstacle NO.1: Always Looking For The Shortcut

Negative thinking can prevent you from living the life you want to live and becoming the slimmer lighter you: the you, you want to be. We may not even be aware of how negative we are as individuals as it can become part and parcel of who we are and the people we are around.

As children we seek acceptance from others around us, especially our parents. So we tend to absorb those ways of thinking and being into our own patterns without question. If we have negative parents and negative friends, we can become negative ourselves. I didn’t fully realize the extent of my negativity until someone pointed it out to me – since that time I have been able to turn it around quite substantially, but sometimes all habits creep in.

When we decide to look at the world honestly we might feel truly entrenched in these negative thought processes and feelings may arise against our ideal vision of ourselves.

Becoming aware of the negativity in your thoughts, speech and writing is the first step to changing it. By becoming aware and changing the way you perceive the world and how you choose to address others and talk to others can have a dramatic effect on your health and well being.

The more often you choose to focus on the positive the more you will notice the negative and will be able to step away from it.

Always focus on what you do want, what you love, what you enjoy and what you desire rather than on anything you perceive as a problematic. This will have a huge impact on your weight loss success.

Thoughts are extremely powerful and can help you get to where you want to be but can also hinder you and prevent you from losing weight.

What do you want to experience? Do you focus on your joy and love? (The slimmer fit you) Or do you focus on how difficult it is for you to lose weight and how unlikely it is you will lose weight or be able to stop overeating?

Keep your outlook light. This doesn’t mean be unrealistic – we all have challenge in our life, but try to view your experience as a game. Choose to enjoy your time. Remember your end goal: to be slimmer.

It cannot be said enough how important it is to maintain a positive outlook during the process of overcoming cravings. I discovered when I was overcoming mine that I put those foods I adored and craved on a pedestal. It was only by seeing that food for what it was and taken it off that pedestal that I was able to move forward.

Does that food love you back the way you love it? NO!

Changing your eating habits is a CHOICE. If you are offered something that doesn’t fit in with that choice, try to avoid saying things like “I am not allowed that” or “I can’t eat that”. Instead try to express yourself in a better way that benefits you and your journey e.g. “No thank you, I am choosing not to eat that way” or “It is my choice and I love it”.

Embrace and celebrate your lifestyle choices.  Enjoy the journey and weight loss will be easier than you think!

Previous Post: Sleep & Its Importance For Health & Weight Loss

As described in a previous post, cellulite is the visibility of subcutaneous fat cells and is caused by eating too much protein – specifically cooked protein, as opposed to raw (i.e. dark green leafy vegetables). So applying creams, medication or any advertised treatments you see on TV/online or in magazines will not get rid of your cellulite.

The only treatment (apart from diet change) that can help get rid of cellulite is potentially lymph drainage – a treatment you can get at your local beauty salon. This will speed up the process of your body ridding itself of the excess protein, however if you are just going to eat more junk protein then its not going to help you much. However just as effective in getting your lymph system moving would be to exercise, or to take up rebounding (which seems to be quite popular!) – jumping on a little trampoline. Any movement will help get your lymph system working and ridding itself of toxins.

Cellulite Creams/Lotions

We can all fool ourselves into thinking we are helping the issue with creams, when really we are not. I remember when I was pregnant, hoping to stop myself getting stretch marks by slapping massage oil on my tummy everyday. Of course that wasn’t going to help me and neither would cellulite creams help me!

Creams contain exfoliating agents that have all failed to act as effective treatments for cellulite. Caffeine is usually an active ingredient in these creams, and works by tightening the blood vessels. This can create a temporary smoothing of the skin but has no effect on the cause of cellulite.

On top of this creams get absorbed into the skin and the chemicals within them attract more water. As explained in an earlier post water retention causes fat cells to protrude and thus gives you cellulite, so really by putting creams and lotions on continuously you are adding to the problem and potential appearance of cellulite as the excessive moisture stretches your connective tissue.

Drinking More Water

Although the blood and lymph systems need sufficient water to be able to get rid of the protein, drinking more water doesn’t help eliminate cellulite.

Caffeine & Tea

Using caffeine or tea to draw water out of the cells some people believe helps with the appearance of cellulite. But even so, it doesn’t prevent the cause of cellulite, so can only help on a short term basis. Instead of using something like tea to rid yourself of water, you really need to be limiting your intake of junk proteins – the cause of the water being retained in the first place.

Losing Weight

Unfortunately just losing weight will not help you lose cellulite. Even skinny people get cellulite. If you are lucky you might reduce the visibility of it (if at all) but this will only be slightly.

There are many many more “treatments” for cellulite that simply do not work and this is for the simply reason that they do not solve the cause of the problem. Eliminate the cause. Eliminate the cellulite.

So what do you need to do to eliminate cellulite?

• Eat plenty of fresh fruits – as much as you desire before every meal and more!

• Eat plenty of fresh dark leafy greens for amino acids/protein.

• Eat a low fat diet.

• Exercise and spend plenty of time outside.

• Eat as little as possible of dairy products.  Milk products roughen the skin, increase your appetite and can cause cellulite and acne as well as other things (please see my Top 5 Nutrition Lies Ebook – see top of page for details).

• Eat as little as possible of meat. Try seeing meat as a luxury item, like we used to, and have it on the odd occasion or at the weekend only. We eat far too much meat in the Western world and treat it as a staple food but it is not necessary for a healthy diet and is not necessary for protein. You can get all your protein requirements from a variety and abundance of dark leafy vegetables.

• Reduce your intake of wheat based products.

For more information about cellulite, please feel free to contact me.

The Truth About Cellulite: What Is It & What Causes It?

Previous Post: The No Salt Diet: Why You Should Cut Salt Out Completely

Now that you have set up your outcome or goal to something more you can work towards, you now need to believe in 3 things in order to be successful.

You need to believe:

1. POSSIBILITY: It is possible for you to get a slimmer body.
2. ACHIEVEMENT: You are able to lose weight or to get a slimmer body.
3. WORTHINESS: You deserve to lose weight or to get a slimmer body.

Possibility

Possibility is almost always mistaken for competence. We think that something isn’t possible, that we aren’t able to lose weight when really we don’t know how to do it – we don’t have the knowledge or resources to be able to lose weight. This is especially true in people who have tried countless diets with little or no success.

It is possible though, regardless of your situation. You can’t prove that it isn’t possible – you can only say that you haven’t achieved it yet.

Beliefs are not fact.

Beliefs are just our best guess at something and we often sell ourselves short. Do you think you have put a mental ceiling on your achievements? Do you think you have hindered your weight loss success through your beliefs about yourself?

Ability

Most of us tend to make others aware of our short comings, when we can’t do something. If you take a day out and observe people and what they say, you should notice how often people say they can’t do this or they can’t do that. We all think this is being modest, when in fact its not. Modesty is not boasting about what we can do, it isn’t boasting about what we can’t!

Once you become aware of yourself voicing your inability to lose weight, you can stop yourself voicing it. If you continue to voice your inability to lose weight, it will hold you back from achieving your weight loss goals. If you find it difficult to stop voicing your inability, a good alternative is to add the word “yet” to the end of your statements.

“I haven’t been able to lose weight…yet”

“I can’t lose weight…yet”.

It is also important not to make excuses for your weight loss failures. If you do not have the knowledge to lose weight, go out and get it. Set tasks that you need to do in order to achieve your slimmer figure.

A general belief that you should try to hold is:

You have not yet reached the limit of what you are capable of.

Keeping this in mind will help you to achieve your weight loss goals.

Worthiness

Do you deserve to lose weight? Does it make you feel uncomfortable to say you deserve to? If it does, this should help you figure out any obstacles that are in your way to achieving your goal. List them and work out how you can overcome them.

e.g. I don’t have the correct knowledge to lose weight – to overcome this I am going to do some research and find a suitable diet program or expert to help me.

For Help To Combat Cravings & Create Your Perfect Vision: CLICK HERE

Weight Loss Goals Part 1: Creating A Positive Weight Loss Mindset

Weight Loss Goals Part 3: Weight Loss Planning

Your weight loss outcomes can depend on many things but at the core of it all you need to believe in 3 things in order to successfully lose the battle with the bulge. But before I go into the 3 beliefs you need (which will be in tomorrow’s post), I would first like to address the term “losing weight”.

When saying to yourself you want to lose weight, you are setting yourself up for failure to begin with. When you say you WANT to lose weight, you won’t do so because you are concentrating on what you cannot do while still trying to do it instead of willingly doing the task i.e. I CAN lose weight. When you say you can lose weight your goal becomes focused.

However there is still a problem in the goal “to lose weight”. When you say you want to lose weight you are describing a negative outcome – to lose, when what you need to be doing is describing something positive. Not positive in the sense of being good for you or positive feelings, but positive in the sense that you want to work towards it rather than something you wish to avoid or to lose!

So instead of making the goal to get rid of excess weight or to lose it, try to change your goal into something more positive. I want to be slimmer or I want to gain muscle or I want a better physique. Making your goal positive and something to work towards is the first step in creating a successful campaign against the excess weight! It is your end result and if you keep this in mind instead of focusing on the negatives (the losing weight part) then you will have much greater success in your weight loss endeavours.

For Help To Combat Cravings & Create Your Perfect Vision: CLICK HERE

Weight Loss Goals Part 2: The 3 Beliefs You Need For Weight Loss Success

Weight Loss Goals Part 3: Weight Loss Planning

Previous Post: The Dangers of Low Carb Diets: A Quick Overview

I came across an inspiring article about a 97 year old Physician, who still works 18 hours a week, 7 days a week and loves it!

He is happy, productive and has and is contributing a vast amount to the world.  We can all learn a lot from him and others like him.

One main thing we can learn from him is to keep a positive outlook in life, whether this is in regards to our weight loss endeavours, or other aspects of our life.

“Energy comes from feeling good, not from eating well or sleeping a lot. We all remember how as children, when we were having fun, we often forgot to eat or sleep. I believe that we can keep that attitude as adults, too. It’s best not to tire the body with too many rules such as lunchtime and bedtime.”

To read the full article: http://rense.com/general85/formula.htm

I came across a great article today about mindfulness and health. Being in the present moment, having self awareness is crucial to weight loss success and also to live a harmonious balanced lifestyle. If you are forever running around, if time flies by before you know it and you don’t really acknowledge what you are doing whether it be driving to work or stuffing your face with food, then you will find it extremely difficult to move forward with your weight loss.

Step back, take a moment to access the situation and you will reveal to yourself things you may never have noticed if you hadn’t of stepped back and looked at your life. The only way I truly was able to get to a weight I was comfortable with (and to continue to this day to achieve the healthy lifestyle I had always wanted) was by stepping back and spending the day observing myself. It revealed to me so many things I really hadn’t consciously acknowledged before, one being how food was a comfort blanket for me, a LOT of the time.

Anyway the article I came across talks about mindfulness being a form of meditation in which you: “…disengage yourself from strong beliefs, thoughts, and emotions, and increasing feelings of relaxation and well being”.

Being truly present is just something most of us live without, to our detriment, and something I feel strongly about introducing back into people’s lives for good!

The article talks about 5 strategies you can use to improve your mindfulness and subsequently your health and wellness. They are:

1. Consider what’s right with you.

Everyday take a moment to give thanks to the things that you do like about yourself and the things that do function correctly e.g. I am thankful I can walk, I am thankful for breathing easily etc.

2. Love yourself unconditionally.

Whether you give in to a piece of chocolate cake or if you end up eating a whole pizza, you must love yourself unconditionally. Don’t hate yourself for giving in, just embrace and accept this as a hiccup in your journey to where you want to be and learn from it. Being down on yourself or negative about yourself will only lead to failure. You are essentially setting yourself up for it by being negative.  So remain positive and when you feel yourself slipping into negativity thinking, focus on being in the present moment – dart your attention around the room to specific objects if this helps prevent you from taking your negative thinking further.

3. Live in the present moment.

When you live in the present moment, everything seems to make so much more sense. Living in the moment gives you the ability to grow, to learn and change. If you are dwelling on a past binge or worrying about the future, you aren’t living in the moment and you won’t truly enjoy life and those moments where you can grasp pleasure from it. Living in the moment also allows you to look at your life from a clear perspective. In the midst of a craving or a stressful situation, if you step back and access how you feel, you will ultimately be able to give yourself the breather you need instead of bundling along in some other dimension!

4. When life gets tough don’t take it personally.

While it is important to accept responsibility for your actions, you shouldn’t dwell on it.  The best way to deal with it is to look at what you are doing differently now, now what you could have done better in the past.

5. Put the “being” back in human.

If you fill every moment with manic activity you never give yourself a chance to simply be.  Just sitting for a moment and contemplating is a great stress reliever and calms you.  I usually spend my mornings in this way.  I awake and lay for a few moments or more in thoughtfulness before getting out of bed.  It sets my day up nicely especially after my morning smoothie

To read the full article : http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/living-well-usn/2009/03/02/5-ways-to-be-mindful-and-achieve-optimal-health.html

Previous Post: How Much Water Should I Drink?  8 Glasses A Day?

I thought I would share this video of positive affirmations.  Waking up and watching this video is a great way to start your day and gets you in a good positive mood.  Enjoy

Health Quote of the Day