Posts Tagged ‘diet merry-go-round’
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!
“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.
Are you tired of trying almost every diet on the planet? This is how I felt most of the time. I was always trying different diets and hoping one of the diets would make me thin. Notice I said, “This one will make me thin.” It is the diet that has to do the work not me.
As usual, after a week or two I felt the diet was not for me. Then I would try another one and the worst part was, I was spending money, the books were piling up and I was feeling more of a failure with each new diet. There had to be a better way! What did I have to do?
The answer finally came when I decided to make a commitment to do the work, instead of expecting the diet to do it for me. It was a turning point for me. I found by working with clients, taking different trainings and my own experience, the only way for a diet to work is by em>making a commitment to take the steps and not expecting the diet to do the work for you.
Following is a short quiz you can take to determine if you are committed to taking the steps or want the diet to do all the work:
1. Are you willing to follow a diet plan, even though you don’t lose weight quickly, you will continue to follow?
2. Are you willing to get help from a professional who specializes in weight control?
3. Losing weight is a major concern in your life and you will take whatever steps necessary to make it happen.
4. Realizing there are no magic fixes and the solution is in your hands.
If you answer “Yes” to the above questions it seems possible that you are committed to losing weight. If you answered “No” to any of the questions it may appear you are looking for the magic fix.
If you are committed to taking any steps to make your dreams come true. Congratulations! Today is a special day for you by taking that first step and following a healthy eating plan that works for you. If you need help in creating that plan I can be reached by leaving a comment below or sending me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.
If most of your answers were “No” don’t give up hope. Even though you may expect the diet to work for you there is an easy way to change your thinking. Creating a Loving Me Plan which includes easy steps to follow will enable you to make a shift in your thinking.
I will continue writing on this topic and would appreciate any ideas you may have. Please send me your ideas either by leaving a comment or sending an email to helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.
Working together we can help each other realize our goal of living a healthy lifestyle and maintaining our weight.
Dieting, dieting and more dieting will I have to continue dieting, for the rest of my life? The answer is NO!! If you stop and think for a moment about all the things you are grateful for in your life and focus on them instead of your weight issues, miracles could happen. It has been proven when you feel good about yourself you are empowered to make changes in your life. One change you could implement is to eat healthy and exercise and eventually the extra weight could start disappearing.
I was at an International Coach Federation (ICF) conference last November and one of the keynote speakers said, “Focus on what you have instead of what you don’t have.” Hearing this comment was like a slap in the face for me and I started thinking about what I was doing. From that moment on I started focusing on the gifts in my life instead of what was not going my way. My life changed following this simple concept. To be honest with you sometimes it is very difficult to stop focusing on what I don’t have because that is life. Being kind to myself I let myself think about what I don’t have for awhile, sometimes talk about them with friends and feel sorry for myself. After awhile, I tell myself the pity party is over and write a grateful list. It usually works and I start feeling better immediately.
Following are some of the tools and techniques my clients and I put into practice when focusing on things we don’t have, instead of thinking about what we do have.
1. Take five minutes out of your day and think about how lucky you are.
2. Send yourself an email telling yourself about how exicted you were when something wonderful happened.
3. Acknowledge yourself for eating one or two healthy meals or eating healthy for the entire day.
4. Think about a dream you put on hold and maybe now you would like to pursue.
5. Make a list of accomplishments during the month of May.
As always, I would love to hear what gifts you are focusing on. Leave a comment on my blog or send an email to helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.
Quote for the day:
“Being myself
includes taking risks with myself,
taking risks on new behavior,
trying new ways of ‘being myself’
so that I can see who it is
I want to be.”
Hugh Prather, American writer
Today is a big moment in my business. I will be joining another coach in a tele-conference to speak about “How Coaches Can Make a Difference.” There are over 100 coaches signed up for the call. I am excited and a bit nervous so my thoughts turn to food; my old companion.
I once heard it said that being in recovery from my food addiction is not a graduate program. It is one step at a time. On the other hand, it gives me comfort following a food plan. There are so many unknowns and by eating healthy and exercising I know that my life will be vibrant and healthy.
Susan writes:
Dear Helen:
My life is great expect for one area, I can’t stop eating cakes, ice cream and anything I can get my hands on. Everyday I wake up and make a commitment that today will be different. Within a few hours I am back to eating large quantities of food with sugar. Do you have any suggestions?
I really need your help! Susan P.
My response:
Dear Susan:
First of all I want to congratulate you for reaching out to me. I have found that we cannot change our behavior alone. Many miracles happen by taking small steps and then before we know it our goal is reached.
By taking the following small steps will change your behavior and miracles will start to happen:
• Be kind to yourself.
• Write a grateful list everyday listing all your accomplishments.
• Take a 10 minute mini-vacation, doing something nice for yourself.
• Start slowly by eating more fruits and vegetables during your meals.
• Gradually eliminate processed sugar from your diet.
• Get support from professionals.
Please leave your questions on my blog. I will offer tools and techniques that will help you on your journey of getting off the diet merry-go-round and into a vibrant life.
If you are interested in a Complimentary Coaching Consultation please email me at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net. Remember you are the only one who can make a difference in your life by taking that first step and reaching out for support.
