The Joy of the Long Run

 

“If all my patients exercised, I wouldn’t have a practice,” a local psychiatrist said to a friend of mine years ago.

While I am not a psychiatrist, I do know that running--especially long runs--make me feel great!

Here’s how:

1. 1. About three or four miles in, I begin to relax into a fantastic rhythm--a gorgeous, synchronous blending of my heartbeat and stride.
   

2. 2.Long runs give me amazing solitude--a great chance to unwind, de-stress, problem solve, and think.
   

3. 3.Long runs give me a sense of pride and accomplishment.
   

4. 4.Long runs help me feel confident that I’m doing something really great for my body, and I know that my body thanks me.
   

5. 5.As I’m breathing rhythmically and deeply, I feel like I’m getting in touch with the life force of the universe.
   

6. 6.By mile four or so, I relax into a clear, calm, focused meditative state.
   

7. 7.Long runs give me the chance to see areas of my beautiful town I normally experience only in a car.
   

8. 8.The grainy, salty residue left on my skin after a long run is physical evidence that I’ve done something hard.
   

9. 9. My body responds to what I ask it to do, if I’m gentle with it and give it time to adapt.
   

10. 10. It makes me happy!
    

What makes you happy?  

Up Next:  What Does Pleasure Have to Do Weight Loss?

And take advantage of my FREE OFFER at available only at www.fallinlovewithyourbody.com

Attitude

Attitude isn’t the most important thing.  It’s the only thing.

It’s easy to have a fantastic attitude when you’re have a fantastic day.  But what about when your day is less-than-fantastic?  How do you keep that great attitude when your boss is short with you and your spouse is grouchy and the dog had an accident on the carpet?  How to you focus on your desires for your body when your biggest desire seems to be for a family-size bag of Ruffles?

Here are a couple of suggestions.  First, pay attention to your feelings.  Acknowledge them, own them, and let yourself feel them before you put food in your mouth.  And secondly, remember what you really, really want.  Always keep your thoughts focused on the outcome you’re seeking.  Owning all of your feelings and being clear about your deepest desires can go a long way in helping maintain a great attitude under less-than-great circumstances.

Up Next:  The Joy of the Long Run

And check out the FREE OFFER at my website: http://fallinlovewithyourbody.com

Think and Grow Thin

 

“Yeah, right,” I can hear my skeptics say.  “There’s more to losing weight than just thinking about it.”  

I agree.

I also know that releasing weight in a pleasurable way has more to do with how you think about yourself than what you eat and how much exercise you get.  Releasing weight is integrally tied with how you view yourself, how deserving you feel yourself to be, and what you say to yourself every time you pass by a mirror.

Sure, you have to burn more calories than you take in.  But on another level, when you start viewing your body as beautiful, stunning, attractive, healthy, fit, and sexy, then your behavior will change as well.  

“But all I see are rolls of fat and flab,” you say.

“How can I view myself as attractive when all my big nose is too big and my hair is gray and my thighs are gargantuan?”

Again, we’re back to gratitude.  

How often do you think about being grateful for your body?

How often do you consider how those “gargantuan” thighs have helped you move from point A to point B?

How often do you consider the beauty in that gray hair and everything that that the gray represents?

How often to you acknowledge that your “big” nose gives you pleasure by letting you smell lilacs?

How often do you look at your abdomen and and consider everything it has done, and continues to do, for you?

How often do you celebrate your body?

When we change the thoughts we think about our body, our bodies respond and change as well.  

Up Next:  Attitudes

And visit me at my website:  http://www.fallinlovewithyourbody.com

 

Stress Eating

I am a stress eater.

I always have been.

I learned at an early age to manage feelings by putting food in my mouth.

Food made feel better.

But the food I was eating also made me fat.

As I was learning to change my thoughts about my body, and learning to feel my feelings without resorting to food, somebody asked me, “What can you do besides eat?”

At first, I couldn’t think of anything.  Seriously.  Eating was the one and only way I could manage my stress.  Eating was what I lived for, especially at 6 pm on a Friday night, when I’d had a long week at work.  I would walk directly to the refrigerator, open the door, pull out a container of whatever, stand in front of the refrigerator, with the door still open, and eat.

But I eventually found some answers to that question, and here are a few things I do now instead of eating under stress.

1  Call a friend.  Loving support makes all the difference.

2  Write.  Put pen to paper and let it rip.

3  Go for a walk.  Enjoy the beauty of the natural world.

4  Clean something you love.  It can be a creative act.

5  Take a bubble bath.  Essential oils, anyone?

6  Go for a bike ride.  Enjoy your neighborhood.

7  Read.  Fill yourself with inspiration.

8  Meditate.  Be still.  Be quiet.  And breathe.

9  Listen to music.  A powerful mood shifter, right?

10 Go for a run.  I always feel better after a run.

What can you do besides eat?

Let me know!

Up Next:  Think and Grow Thin

Check out the FREE stuff at my website:  http://www.fallinlovewithyourbody.com

The Scale: Agony or Ecstasy?

I’ve had a love/hate relationship with the scale for most of my life.

For years, the scale wielded enormous power over me. The scale controlled whether I had a good day or a bad day. The scale dictated whether I was happy or sad. The scale determined my level my self-esteem and self-worth and self-confidence. If the number on the scale was a number I liked, I was happy. If the number on the scale was a number that I didn’t like, I was sad, or depressed, or frustrated, or hopeless, or angry.

That scale was my sovereign. I was its servant.

And the scale determined whether I was winning or losing the battle of the bulge. Usually, I lost.

As I began to transform my thoughts about my body, I began to transform my thoughts about the scale as well, and I found other ways to measure my progress.

I knew I was doing well when I began. . .

. . . to measure my success by considering how I felt rather the number of pounds I weighed.

. . . to feel like I was brimming over with energy and vitality.

. . . to eat when I was hungry and stop when I was satisfied.

. . . to move a little bit more than I had been moving.

. . . to feel my clothes getting a little looser.

. . . to take pride in the number of fruits and vegetables I was eating each day.

. . . to look forward to my daily walks (which morphed into daily runs).

. . . to receive complements from my friends on how I looked.

. . . to tie my esteem to my inherent spiritual core rather than an external physical measuring device.

. . . to feel good about myself because I was alive!

Up Next: Stress Eating

And be sure to check out my amazing FREE OFFER at my at my website: http://www.fallinlovewithyourbody.com

Lose Weight On Your Vacation!

 

If you’re headed away for jaunt by the lake or some time in the mountains this summer, here are a few tips to keep you focused on your weight-release desires!

Tip One:  Ask yourself what you really, really want?  What will bring you the most pleasure?  Do you want to return from your vacation having maintained your weight?  Would you be happy if the scale reflected a gain of a couple of pounds or so?  Or do you want the scale to continue to show a decline?  Only you can answer those questions, but before you head out on the road, think about what you want.

Tip Two:  Enjoy yourself--and your food!  If you’re traveling to a different part of the country, or maybe an entirely new country, use this as a chance to escape from your regular food routine, and try new, yummy, and unusual food.  Try things that you wouldn’t normally try. Experiment, and have fun! 

Tip Three:  Maybe you’re going on a road trip?  If so, consider declaring your vehicle a fast food free zone and instead, pack a cooler with fresh fruit, lots of veggies, bottles of water, yogurt, granola bars--delicious, healthful food that will help you achieve what you really, really want.

Tip Four:  Pay close attention to what your body is telling you.  Listen to your body’s hunger signals.  Avoid becoming famished.  And avoid becoming stuffed.  And use all five senses to enjoy what you’re eating.   Enjoy the way your food looks on your plate.  Enjoy the way it feels in your mouth.  Enjoy its aroma.  Enjoy all the flavors it delights you with:  sweet?  salty?  bitter?  sour?  And enjoy any sounds it makes--does it crunch?  does it crackle?  does it sizzle?  

Tip Five: Our bodies are designed to move, so enjoy moving your body in a different physical space!  Use all five senses to take pleasure in whatever space you’re in, whether it’s a fun hike in the mountains or stretching out on the beach.  Have fun moving your body!

Up Next:  The Agony and the Ecstasy of the Scale

And check out the FREE stuff at http://www.fallinlovewithyourbody.com

The Power of Desire

Desire. . .

. . . one of the most powerful forces in the universe. . .

. . . that urge, hunger, thirst, or yearning that moves you in the direction of your dreams. .  .

. . . a driving, creative, and passionate force at the core of your being. . . 

. . .the food that nourishes your soul. . .

How can we get in touch with our deepest, most-heart felt desires?  What does desire have to do with releasing weight?  How can we channel the power of our desires? 

Within days of my 45th birthday, I experienced my first mammogram.  This mammogram resulted in an ultra-sound examination.  And this ultra-sound examination resulted in a biopsy of my right breast.  

In the days and weeks surrounding the biopsy, I gave serious contemplation as to what I wanted for my life.  At that time,  I was 45 years old, and by my best guess, I was about halfway done.  The thought that my body might be manifesting cancer at this, the halfway point in my life, propelled me into deep consideration as to how I was living, what I was doing, and most importantly what I was thinking.

During this time, I discovered that I had not been living my life the way I really wanted to live it.  Consequently, during the next year or so, I put a lot of attention on my thoughts--my thoughts about my body, my thoughts about what I was eating, my thoughts about being physically active, and my thoughts about my impact in this world.

As as I was considering my thoughts, I also began to consider my deepest desires--and I began a practice of writing them down, in great detail and enormous depth.  This process of taking pen to paper, and writing down what I really, really wanted was one of the most powerful tools in my being able to release weight in a pleasurable and fun way.  Writing down my desires for my body my life was clarifying and gave focus and direction to my weight-release process.  

“We move toward what we picture in our mind,” someone said.  

That is one of the guiding principals of my life.  

What are some of the guiding principals of your life?  Please leave me a comment below!

Up Next:  Losing Weight on Your Vacation

Visit me at my website:  www.fallinlovewithyourbody.com