Posts Tagged ‘Over eating’
‘If you are distressed by anything external,
the pain is not due to the thing itself but to
your own estimate of it; and this you have
the power to revoke at anytime.’
Marcus Aurelius
When I read the quote above by Marcus Aurelius, I thought what is he talking about. I don’t have control over everything happening in my life. Thinking about the quote I realized either we can feel like we have no control over the situation or think about what lesson there is to be learned and how to live in the solution.
Here’s my invitation to you: Experiment by taking any of the following small steps:
1. Next time your food craving pops its ugly head instead of running for something to eat, think about a time when you were with a friend and laughing. By changing your thinking you will stop thinking about the food.
2. Something happens and you feel angry, think about the hidden message you are receiving. An example: You can’t find your keys. The hidden message is to have a special place where you always leave your keys.
3. Angry at yourself for something you did. Start to laugh at yourself and see what happens.
Have fun with the experiment and let me know what happens. I can be reached by leaving a comment on this blog or sending me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.
Are you struggling with food and feeling frustrated with your life? You are not alone!! I am finding, from working with clients, talking to my friends and my own personal experiences that our attitude determines whether an experience is good or bad. Let me explain.
Let’s take an example. You start the day off eating a healthy breakfast and an hour later you start eating pretzels. After the third pretzel some miracle happens and you decide to stop eating. At that point you can either determine that you are having a bad day and feel sorry for yourself or just say you had a slip and continue eating healthy for the rest of the day. Just thinking you had a slip and what lesson you learned will create a good experience. On the other hand, when you dwell on what happened and feel sorry for yourself you automatically think it was a bad experience. Therefore, our attitude determines if we had a bad or good experience.
I invite you to try a little experiment. Today be aware when something happens whether you consider the situation to be a learning experience or you start to feel sorry for yourself. The first step is awareness of what is happening and then you can make changes in your behavior and thinking.
As always, I would love to hear from you about your experiences while on your life’s journey. Please feel free to contact me with your discoveries from today’s experiment, by leaving a comment on this blog or sending me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net
What are you grateful for today? It is time to start focusing on what you are grateful for instead of what is not going right in your life. By acknowledging yourself for your successes it will change your outlook on life and miracles will start to happen.
I always remember the story, when your car won’t start a person with a positive outlook will call AAA and the negative thinker will go back to bed and feel sorry for themselves. By calling AAA the car can be fixed and you go on with your life. This story can also be applied to us. Whenever you eat something not on your eating plan you can either keep eating or acknowledge what you did, stop eating and start eating healthy food at your next meal. We have a choice!
I have a client, Cindy (name changed) who has been working with me for a short period of time. During our coaching sessions we briefly discussed her challenges with food and mostly focused on other issues in her life. This past week we were discussing what has been going on in her life and she was telling me how taking care of herself, was making life easier. I asked her if taking care of herself was helping with the food challenges.
She felt she was more aware of what she was eating and was still struggling. We brainstormed what was holding her back from succeeding. While we were having this discussion, Cindy realized she was not giving herself permission to eat healthy food and wanted to continue to feel sorry for herself. What a great realization!
Her next step was to devise a Loving You Plan, which included a healthy eating plan, exercise program and 10 minute mini-vacation. A mini-vacation is taking at least 10 minutes a day to do something nice for yourself. I requested she email me everyday with her successes and lessons learned. By emailing me she was learning to become accountable.
I have been receiving emails from her, she is so excited about her Loving You Plan and has been eating healthy food, exercising and taking her 10 minute mini-vacation. She feels very successful and fulfilled.
Your Loving You Plan would include the following:
1. What you are going to eat today.
2. What tools are you going to use if you want to eat something not on your plan? (Example: Brush my teeth and take a ride in the car or a walk.)
3. Get support. (Example: call a friend or leave a comment on Helen’s Blog)
4. Take a 10-minute mini-vacation. (Example: read a James Patterson novel for 10 minutes.)
As always, I would love to hear what you are experiencing on your life’s journey. Please feel free to contact me with your stories, comments, and ideas. Write to me by leaving your comments at the bottom of this article or send an email to helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.
Today’s Affirmation: I am not my negative thoughts and am succeeding.
Do you ever think, “Wouldn’t it be great to sit down with a large bag of pretzels, ice cream and a large bottle of soda with sugar and caffeine?” Join the group!!! I then ask you the question, “Will doing this really make you feel better?” At first the answer would be ‘YES’ and then thinking about it, your rational thoughts would say, “NO.”
I was watching the movie “The Holiday” last night, which is about two women in dead-end relationships who decided to swap homes. In one of the scenes Los Angeles resident Amanda (Cameon Diaz) tells her employees that she is taking a week off to get away and eat as many carbs as she wants. After arriving in England, she goes to the food store and buys all the carbs she can find. While paying for her food the person asks, “Are you having a party tonight?” I have been there and done that. It is so embarrassing I wanted to hide.
Going back to the house, eating everything, feeling sick she realizes that the food will not make her feel better. I thought, welcome to reality; food will never make you feel better!
When you are lonely here are some steps you can take to put a smile on your face:
1. Write yourself a love letter and mail it to yourself.
2. Write a list of things that make you happy and try one of them.
3. Call a friend.
4. Go to a local coffee shop or bookstore, buy a cup of coffee or tea or a bottle of water and look at the books.
5. Play a game with your children.
6. Call your grandchildren or nieces and nephews. Calling my grandchildren always make me feel better.
As always, I would love to hear what you are experiencing on your life’s journey. Please feel free to contact me with your stories, comments, and ideas. Write to me by leaving your comments at the bottom of this article or send an email to helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net.
Are you tired of feeling that life is a struggle? Guess what you have a choice, either keep doing and thinking the same way or start making small changes. You are the CEO of your own life and it is up to you to create the type of life you want. When reading this statement you might think what is she talking about? I have tried everything and nothing works.
I remember many years ago I was at a Self-Development Training and the instructor was talking about taking responsibility for your own life. While he was talking I was thinking, if he only knew what happened in my life and all the things I had no control over. My guess there were many other people in the seminar thinking the same thing. When my thoughts stopped I heard him say, “It is true situations happen in our lives and we can either continue blaming others or see what you can do to change the situation.” This thought stayed with me the rest of my life.
I was working with a client, let’s call her Martha, who was telling me how everytime her children would not listen, she got very angry and grabbed something to eat. We started discussing the situation and how her children made her eat. I asked her, “Who was putting the food in your mouth?” She started to laugh and realized that she was the one putting the food in her own mouth not her children. We both had a good laugh. The next step was to create a plan where she was the CEO of her own eating destiny. Following are some of the steps in Martha’s plan:
1. Whenever she felt angry, take a deep breath and picture herself sitting under a big tree enjoying the breeze and beauty around her.
2. Say the following affirmations during the day:
Everyone loves me.
Everyone listens to me.
3. Whenever she wanted to eat, tell herself, “Food is not an option right now.”
By taking responsibility for our own lives and not blaming others, we have more control over our actions, thoughts and feelings. Try a little experiment today and everytime you feel that someone is making your life hard. STOP and take a deep breath and tell yourself, “I am loved and what can I do to make things better.”
You are the CEO of your own life and the only one who can make a choice of either blaming others for what is happening or taking responsibility for your own life. Let me support you in living your new lifestyle.
I would love for you to join me in writing “Getting Off the Diet Merry-Go-Round Blog, by sharing your special gifts with the world. All it takes is one little step, leave a comment expressing your ideas and experiences.
A special note to anyone who is struggling with food, please leave a comment and I will address you concerns in my blog. Together we will create a plan that will enable you to live a vibrant life.
What are you doing nice for yourself today?
Helen
Does this situation sound familiar? You are invited to a party and will be seeing many friends you have not seen in over a year. The first thought that comes to your mind, “I wish I was 10 lbs lighter and what am I going to wear that will make me look good?”
These thoughts are very common among people who are struggling with food. Does this sound true, the last diet only worked for the first couple of weeks and then either you did not continue to lose weight or started to eat again? I hate to say this is a natural occurrence in our lives.
Let’s look at this situation in another way. Be kind to yourself! Go to your closet and pick out the outfit you feel comfortable wearing and put on a pretty necklace or earnings. When the thought comes up, “I don’t want to go” – STOP – and take a deep breath and thank your thought. Then immediately think about a friend you have not seen in awhile who will be at the party. By stopping the negative thought and thinking about something else changes your attitude. Another tool I use is to put a smile on my face and tell my cat “I look beautiful.”
I have been working with a client who has been on a new journey of eating healthy, exercising and losing weight. She was going to a Woman’s Networking Event and telling me if only she lost another 20lbs she would want to go to the event. We started to discuss the situation and she realized going to gatherings made her feeling uncomfortable. Then we discussed new tools she could use in changing her attitude. Some of the tools are as follows:
• Acknowledge her thought.
• Choice an outfit which made her feel comfortable.
• Think about her friends that were attending the event.
• Determine which marketing materials she would bring.
• Practice on her introduction speech.
• Before leaving for the event, read the following affirmation, put it on a piece of paper in her pocket and everytime a scary thought appears touch the affirmation:
“I am fabulous just the way I am and am having a great time.”
In a matter of minutes her attitude changed and she was looking forward to going. I got an email from her the other day saying, “Had a great time and only touched the affirmation 3 times.”
Is this the time in your life when you are tired of struggling with food and want to get into a vibrant life? As your coach I help you identify and connect with what in your life is more important than food. Support you in reconnecting with your forgotten dream or discovering what will truly make you happy and give you joy.
Please send me an email at helen@loveyourselfcoaching.net and we can explore together ways of getting off the diet merry-go-round and into a vibrant life. How vibrant do you want your life to be?
This morning as I watch my friends the birds and squirrels, I realized how lucky I am to have such a beautiful view from my office window. The sun is shinning and the leaves and backs of the squirrels are shimmering from the sun light.
Thinking about the beauty surrounding me, I started to think of all the miracles in my life. Some of the miracles I have in my life are as follows:
• Today I am in recovery from my food addiction.
• Great friends who support me.
• Alfie, my cat, is sitting next to me as I work on the computer.
• Exercised this morning.
• Beautiful day planned with many unsuspected golden moments.
As I read my miracles, I realized that being in recovery from my food addiction enables me to live a vibrant life. Thinking back over eight years ago, weighing close to 200 lbs. the only thing on my mind was how am I going to lose the weight. If I was thin everything would be different and I could start enjoying my life.
One day I made a decision that I was going to stop taking diet supplements, reading all diet books and get the support I needed. I found a nutritionist, therapist that specialized in addictions and went to an OA meeting. These first steps on my new journey supported me in designing and living a new healthy lifestyle free from food obsession. Eight years later I am still on the same journey and weighing 70 lbs. less. Some of the small steps I take are as follows:
• Eating Healthy using quantity control.
• Exercising
• Receiving and giving support to my friends
• Working with a coach so that I continue living a vibrant life.
If your deepest desire is to get off the diet merry-go-round and into a vibrant life, I am here to support you. How vibrant do you want your life to be?
Last Friday night I went to an Overeaters Retreat for the weekend and getting there was a nightmare. My friend and I left around 6:30pm and planned to arrive at our destination in about 45 minutes.
I have a GPS System; we put in the address and entered all the required information. The final step had a different address and neither one of us thought there would be a problem. So off we went following the directions. The GPS lead us onto a dirt road that had the same Street name we were looking for. We were commenting how easy it was to find the Camp. After riding for quite awhile in a wooded area at night in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey; we realized we were on the wrong road. All of a sudden the GPS System announced we arrived at our destination on the left. As we looked to the left we saw a tree. I never felt such panic!
We called 911, told the police our location, how scared we were and to please help us find the Camp. The Policewoman told us not to worry; she stayed on the phone with us and led us to our destination. If ever I thought there was someone watching over us it was that night. Now as I am thinking and writing about our journey, I can laugh.
What I learned from this experience:
• Never use the GPS System if it does not give you the right address.
• Have back-up directions.
• It is OK to ask for help.
• Trust that things will work out.
Once we arrived at our destination and listened to the keynote speaker, I felt relaxed. Then I got into bed and my fears went wild. I could not stop thinking about what could have happened instead of being grateful for the miracle of arriving safely. The next day I started journaling and speaking to many people about my fear based thinking. Nothing made a difference.
I made a decision, if I wanted to enjoy the retreat I would have to start thinking positively. A miracle happened, I was asked to lead a workshop on “Fears and How They Stop Us.” It was a great opportunity for me to explore my fears and learn what other tools people use to feel safe.
Some of the tools that were suggested are as follows:
• When having a fearful thought give yourself a big hug and say, “I am safe.”
• Journal or discuss your fears with another person.
• Remember that FEAR is “False Evidence Appearing Real.”
What tools do you use when you feel fearful, I would love to know.
According to the Encarta Dictionary the word “Commitment” means, “Loyalty, devotion or dedication, for example, to a cause, person or relationship.”
What I have heard over and over again and found for myself, is that having a COMMITMENT to living a healthier lifestyle is the key for success. By focusing on that commitment you will do anything in your power to succeed.
Every morning for years I would wake up and say “today would be different.” My plan was to eat three healthy meals a day and exercise. I would eat a plain bagel or a small muffin with regular coffee for breakfast. An hour latter I was still hungry and have another small muffin with coffee and before I knew it the day took off and I was eating all the time. Around 5:30pm I would start exercising to get rid of all the calories I had consumed. Then I would eat a healthy dinner and get into bed so I would not continue eating. This process continued day after day.
Then one day I went to a 12 Step Recovery Meeting and heard everyone telling my story. The next day I called someone in the program and made a COMMITMENT to change my eating habits for one day. That was over eight years ago.
What I found that by making that commitment to change my eating habits was the key to my recovery. Even though I am following a healthy eating plan that works for me, my strong Commitment to not eat anything outside my plan is the only thing that maintains my recovery from compulsive overeating.
Some of the tools I use to maintain my commitment everyday are as follows:
Each morning before I get out of bed give myself a big hug and ask my Higher Power for the willingness to stay on my eating plan just for today.
Call a friend and share with them what is going on in my life.
At the end of each day acknowledge myself for my accomplishments and lessons learned.
Would love to learn what tools you have learned to help you stay on your journey of healthy eating.
I know together we can fight this obesity problem. Please let me know if you are interested in joining a group whose commitment is to educate people about what steps they can take to stop focusing on the food all day and start living a healthier lifestyle.
New Year’s Resolutions??????
I was on the treadmill Monday morning (January 1, 2007) and listening to the News. I heard them say the number one resolution this year was “wanting to lose weight.” They also said, “Approximately 70% of the men and 56% of women do not keep their resolutions.”
When I heard these statistics, I was wondering if there was a solution for changing the resolution and these numbers in future years. Wouldn’t it be a miracle if the number one resolution would be maintaining our healthy lifestyle by eating healthy and exercising and the statistics for keeping this resolution would be around 75% (let’s not be to optimistic.)
It is the New Year and on the computer, television, radio and newspapers all you hear and read about are diets. As far back as I can remember I was always trying new diets. The sad part was that I would lose the weight and then when I went off the diet I would always gain the weight back plus more pounds. This continued for many, many years until I lost 50 lbs. and then was afraid to eat.
This cycle continued for a few years until one day I went to a Recovery meeting and heard other people tell my story. That was 8 years ago and today I eat healthy, exercise and work on maintaining loving and supportive relationships.
As they say I have walked the talk and as a Recovery Coach, I have been helping people for the last five years find or create eating plans that work for them instead of dieting and thinking about food all the time.
Let’s work together to eradicate the dieting mentality and what a miracle it would be if people started following a healthy eating plan instead of wanting to just loose weight.
I would love to hear your ideas, feedback and comments. Please let me know if you are interested in working together to eradicate the diet mentality and have people start thinking about healthy eating exercising plans .
