Posts Tagged ‘diet goals’
“I’d rather be a failure at something I enjoy
than be a success at something I hate.”
~ George Burns
Recently, I was having lunch with Sheila, a very old friend who has successfully climbed the corporate ladder. I admired her for all that she had accomplished and, honestly, was a little jealous.
During coffee, we started discussing our lives and, to my amazement, Sheila expressed how unhappy she was. She wished she had taken the same path I did by starting her own business. I sat there staring at her and explained how I admired what she had accomplished and wished I took the same path she did. We both started to laugh!
Of course, as a coach I explained it was never too late to explore other options. I suggested that she start working with a coach. Sheila became very interested in what I had to say and requested I send her the name of a coach with whom she could work.
The important lesson I learned was that we are all human beings with our own unique stories. What a gift we receive when we share ourselves with others.
On the way home, I was thinking how fortunate I am to love what I do, even when I feel frustrated and overwhelmed. It is amazing how we can think the grass is always greener on someone else’s lawn until we take the time to become aware of what is really happening in our own backyard!
I invite you to complete the exercise below. Please answer honestly and without any judgment. You will be the only one to evaluate the results.
- Make a list of all your strengths and special gifts.
- Looking back over the years, identify one big accomplishment that changed your life.
- What new direction did your life take?
- Do you feel empowered or unfulfilled?
- If you are felling empowered, why do you feel this way?
- If you are feeling unfulfilled, journal about steps you can take to improve your situation.
- Journal about the vision you see your life taking in 2012.
After completing this exercise, evaluate your answers and journal about the golden nuggets you uncovered. What are your next steps?
Please let the Love Yourself –It Matters! Community know if you need support in any areas of your business. We are here to support each other. All you have to do is leave a comment at the bottom of this post and I will get back to you. Working together, we will be able to travel down the road of life in a very supportive environment. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Helen
Tips for Healthy Eating Eating During The Holiday Season
Do you tell yourself, “I am not going to diet this holiday season and enjoy myself?” You are into the food and as time goes on the guilt starts to fade away. Then you realize your sister’s party is in a couple of days, start trying on clothes and nothing fits. You rush to the store with tears in your eyes to buy a new outfit. Does this story sound familiar?
Let’s take a step back and see what you could do differently starting today. You still have time to change your behaviors it is only December 13, 2007 and there are 18 days before New Years Eve. Following are some steps you can take to help you feel good about yourself before the holiday season is over:
1. Plan a healthy eating menu for the rest of today and make no substitutions.
2. Plan your day’s healthy eating menu before eating breakfast. Remember no substitutions.
3. Buy yourself a new comfortable outfit that makes you feel good.
4. Everyday take time for You and do something you enjoy. Examples: quilting, putting music on and dancing around the house or just sitting in a chair and relaxing.
5. Make some childhood holiday decorations.
6. Plan something special with either your friends or family members. Examples: see a fun movie, go ice skating, take a drive around the neighborhood looking at the decorations.
7. Donate a gift to one of your local charities.
8. Buy yourself a special holiday present.
9. Make a grateful list and read it everyday.
10.Look in the mirror everyday and say, “Thank you.”
As always I would love to hear from you. Please let me know what other steps you are taking to make this holiday season different and enjoyable. I can be reached by leaving a comment on this blog or sending me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.
I received an email with a link to watch a video clip with an Interview with God. It was so beautiful and meaningful I wanted to post the link on my blog so others could enjoy the video clip. The link is www.theinterviewwithgod.com and then click on “view presentation.”
Please let me know what thoughts you had while listening to the short clip by leaving a comment on this blog or sending me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net. Enjoy!
Life is an adventure,
look for golden opportunities
as you open the shade
and look out the window.
Helen Burton, Coach
Do you ever feel alone in your struggle with food? Research has proven that in order to lose weight and keep it off you cannot do it alone. The answer to this battle is “Support.”
Support means encouragement, assistance and others being there for you. There are many different ways you can find the support you need. Some of them are as follows:
Family and Friends:
• Requesting they support you by not eating certain foods in front of you that will trigger your wanting to eat them.
• Requesting they respect your new way of taking care of yourself.
• Acknowledging each other for your accomplishments.
Professionals
• Nutritionist
• Coaches
• Therapists
• Exercise Trainers
Overeaters Anonymous
• Group setting of individuals who are sharing their experiences and strengths while recovering from compulsive overeating.
Professional Organizations
• Diet Clubs
o Support groups with a facilitator, weigh-ins, eating and exercise programs and products.
o Counseling, prepared foods, exercise programs and products
o Gyms
The most important support you can receive is from yourself. Some of the small steps you can take are as follows:
• Acknowledging yourself for the beautiful person YOU are.
• Eating one healthy meal at a time.
• Taking a mini-vacation everyday. Taking at least 10 minutes a day to do something you enjoy. Example: Making a cup of tea and listening to your favorite music while you are relaxing.
• Reaching out to others for support.
As you can see there are many different ways you can receive support while on your journey of losing weight. Please let us know the different support opportunities you have taken advantage of that are helping you live a healthy lifestyle. Also, I can help you find the perfect support opportunity that will work best for you. You can contact me by leaving a comment on this blog or sending me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.
“If you believe you can, you probably can.
If you believe you won’t, you most assuredly won’t.
Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad”.
Denis Waitley
Believing In Yourself
Do you believe you can’t lose weight? You are not alone. Until you believe you are going to lose weight you will never get started. There is hope and an easy way to ignite your belief switch.
Richard (name changed) has been trying for years to lose weight and has never succeeded. He would go on a diet and lose weight only to gain it back. Richard would tell himself and others constantly he can’t lose weight because he loves to eat.
What could Richard do differently to change his thinking and behaviors? While coaching Richard, we explored different ways he could start believing he was capable of losing weight. Changing his thinking and eating habits Richard not only lost weight he started believing he was capable of creating his own happiness.
Some of the small steps Richard took were as follows:
1. Every time he had the thought, “He could never lose weight.” Richard would smile and say, “I am willing to believe that I can lose weight.”
2. Asked his wife and children for support.
3. Focused on one healthy meal at a time.
4. Ate his meals at a table and after finishing he left the room.
5. Spend at least 10 minutes a day just relaxing by himself.
6. Started exercising at a local gym. Richard met other people who were on the same journey and they formed a support group.
7. Emailed me each day discussing his accomplishments and lessons learned.
Reading Denis Waitley’s quote above and Richard’s story what thoughts popped into your mind? Let me know what you discovered. I can be reached by leaving a comment on this blog or sending me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.
I am available to support you in strengthening your belief system which will enable you to take the action steps to lose weight and find happiness. Remember all it takes is one step to get started and that is emailing me at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.
Looking At Life In A Different Way
‘Look at life as a journey and enjoy the ride. Get the most out of the detours and realize they’re sometimes necessary.’ Donna Fargo
The above quote has a lot of meaning for me. When we see life unfolding as a beautiful gift, instead of judging what is happening in our life we allow ourselves to enjoy the ride instead of fearing it.
Let me tell you a little story about Oscar whose name has been changed. Oscar had just opened a new restaurant and was worrying constantly about making sure his customers were happy and attracting new ones. When business was good, he was on top of the world and if it slowed down he felt anxious and fearful. Oscar’s advisors told him this was normal and not to worry. Then one night a customer complained about the food in a loud voice and would not pay the bill. Oscar was distraught and was thinking about selling the business because he could not take all the pressure.
After the last customer left he sat down with his manager to discuss the incident which happened that night. His manager who had worked in the restaurant business for many, many years explained what happened was not out of the ordinary. Instead of looking at it as a horrible incident what could they learn from the situation?
After discussing the situation for awhile they both realized the customer was right, because he ordered his steak well done instead of medium. What they both learned was that the chefs had to pay more attention to what was ordered instead of just guessing. They both decided to have the waiters underline in red if a customer ordered their food in a special way.
Oscar learned that sometimes when things happen in our lives they are necessary. He started to relax, welcomed the learning experiences and enjoyed his customers. Today Oscar owns two very successful restaurants.
How would your life be different if you enjoyed the ride and learned from your not so pleasant experiences? I invite you today to take one of the small steps below, to change your perspective about life.
1. If you start to worry about something, stop for a moment and acknowledge the thought.
2. Give yourself permission to worry about it for awhile.
3. Ask yourself what can I learn from this situation?
4. Think about one thing you can do to change the situation.
5. Take action.
I would love to hear from you about your different learning experiences. Together we can support each other by contributing to this community our experiences, successes and wisdom. You are invited to leave comments on this blog or send me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.
In the midst of winter,
I finally learned there was in me
an invincible summer.
Albert Camus, French writer
Reading this quote what do you think about? When I read this quote, I thought about the times when I could not stop eating and was afraid I would continue eating forever. Then by taking small steps eventually I was able to start eating a healthy diet, exercising and enjoying my life.
Virginia (name changed) never had a problem with her weight as she was growing up until she had her second baby. During her two pregnancies she gained 50 pounds and was unable to lose the weight. Never knowing how to diet she asked her friends what should she do. Virginia then started trying every diet her friends told her about, would lose weight and gain it back when she stopped following the diet. The sad part was she became obsessed with her weight.
Virginia and I started working together and she very quickly stopped dieting, found a healthy eating plan and started pursuing her forgotten dream of becoming a yoga instructor.
Some of the small steps Virginia started taking are as follows:
1. Created a different eating plan each night and followed it the next day. Until she felt comfortable with the plan and found she was losing weight.
2. Interviewed different yoga instructors to discover if this was what she really wanted and the requirements for becoming an instructor.
3. Taking the necessary steps to becoming the yoga instructor she always dreamed about.
If you feel you are living in the midst of winter in your life what small steps can you take to find your invincible summer? I am here to support you in anyway I can. There are two ways to contact me either leave a commit on this blog or send me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.
Are you always working and don’t have time to relax? Welcome to the human race! The best part is we are able to change our behavior anytime we want.
Yesterday was one of my special days! My grandson, Dillon and I spent the day in New York City. We shopped, had an expensive lunch and saw a Broadway show, “Les Miserable.”
While on the train I was watching someone working and saw myself. When he got on the train he took out his Blackberry, laptop computer and notes. He composed a document from his notes, scheduled appointments and had conversations with various people. This all took place within 45 minutes. It was quite amazing.
While watching him, I thought about my work habits and spending a limited time relaxing and having fun. To make matters worse, while in one of the stores, I stood on a beam of light and my personality trait was, “I think too much and should eat more chocolate.” How true, I am always thinking and never relaxing.
Today is a new day and I am going to take a small step in changing my work habits. I will only work 4 hours today, enjoy myself relaxing and spending time with Dillon. By being the CEO of my life, I can always start a new behavior anytime I want.
What behavior would you like to change today? Remember all it takes is one little step to start the process of changing the habit. Have fun with the experiment and let me know about your new behavior and small step you are going to take. I am always available to support you in making these changes.
I would love to hear about the behavior you would like to change and the small step you are going to take. You can leave your new plan on this blog by hitting the commitment button at the bottom of this article or send an email to helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
