Declare Your Independence. . .

. . . from fear by moving toward love.

. . . from self-doubt by moving toward self-love.

. . . from paralysis by moving toward action.

. . . from invisibility by embracing the beauty that is you.

. . . from busy-ness by moving toward ease.

. . . from depression by moving toward belief.

. . . from dependent thinking by taking responsibility for all that is you.

. . . from boredom by moving toward creativity.

. . . from negativity by recognizing truth.

. . . from deceit by moving toward clarity.

. . . from inactivity by moving your body.

. . . from mindlessness by moving toward mindfulness.

. . . from pain by moving toward pleasure.

Up Next:  Change Your Thoughts and Change Your Body

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

 

How to Treat Your Body as the Precious Gift It Is

Over the past few years, I’ve become interested in Tibet, Buddhism, and the Dalai Lama.  I’m not sure I’d officially label myself a “Buddhist,” but I am attracted to Buddhist philosophy.  And one of the tenets of Buddhism is that our human bodies are supremely precious, not unlike the Christian philosophy of viewing our bodies as “temples.”

“If both of these traditions say similar things about the value of our physical bodies,” I started thinking a few years back, “maybe viewing my body as precious might prove beneficial.”

And so, while my body weight was still technically considered “obese,” I began to purposely and intentionally see my overweight body as precious.

What do we do with something or someone we view as precious, highly valued, and loved dearly?  How do we treat someone we admire intensely and love passionately?  How do we cherish the bodies we are presented with, regardless of their size or shape or the number on the scale?

Here are a few thoughts.

First, lighten up.  And I don’t mean lighten up in terms of food or losing weight.  What I mean is, “Give yourself a break.”  Don’t punish yourself with negative words when you look in the mirror.  Begin a daily practice of smiling at yourself in the miror, of winking at yourself.  Fitness authority Dr. Joanne Owens-Nauslar says, “You should wake up every morning and say, ‘Good morning, sexy!  I hope you never die!’”

Second, take pleasure in your body as it is.  Become highly aware of the physical pleasures you can experience, right now, regardless of your size, shape, or weight.  Enjoy the sounds you hear.  Enjoy the scents you smell.  Milk each day for all its worth in terms of delighting your five glorious senses.

Third, cultivate curiosity.  As I was transforming my perspective from self-loathing to self-love, I began to be curious.  I began to be curious about foods--”How would I feel if I ate a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables?”  and “I wonder what would happen if I took a walk during my lunch break?”  And the more curious I became, the more the results of my curiosity manifested--in terms of weight release, in terms of a higher level of energy, and in terms seeing myself in a new and different light.

What can you do today to treat your body as the precious gift is is?  What can you do to “lighten up” your thoughts?  What can you do to delight your senses?  And what can you do to cultivate your own sense of curiosity?

Up Next:  Declaring Our Independence

 

Celebrate Every Little Thing

 

No matter how small it is, celebrate it!

No matter how insignificant you think it may be, celebrate it!

No matter what else in your life may be going on at the time, celebrate everything that moves you in the direction of your desires.

If you ate half an ice cream sundae when you would normally eat the whole thing, celebrate your brilliance!

If you only ate a few almonds when normally you might choose to eat the whole can, celebrate your wisdom!

If you took a walk around the block when you might otherwise sit on the couch and watch TV, celebrate the walk!

If you chose to eat an apple rather than a candy bar, celebrate that you made a choice that aligns you with what your body really wants!

If you sat down and really paid attention to what you were eating, celebrate that you have five senses that allow you to experience food fully!

If you noticed something that made you smile, celebrate laughter, joy, and fun!

If you are alive, celebrate your precious humanness!

Sometimes we think we have to wait for a big event to have a party.  Sometimes we think we have to wait to achieve a significant milestone to celebrate.  Sometimes we think we have to wait for a holiday, or birthday, or graduation, or anniversary, or promotion to celebrate our lives.  But I say, “Don’t wait! Celebrate now!”

What can you celebrate right now?

Up Next:  How to Treat Your Body as the Precious Gift It Is

Visit me at www.fallinlovewithyourbody.com

Gratitude for Cellulite

 

As we learn to love our bodies, we learn to embrace and accept and be grateful for every aspect of our physical presence.  And cellulite is certainly one aspect of our bodies that many women find difficult to appreciate.  I’d like to share a slightly different perspective.

Here are ten reasons to be celebrate cellulite.

1. 1.Cellulite is truth.  It exists, whether you like it or not.
   

2. 2.Cellulite gives us information.  It gives us great feedback about what we’ve been eating, and how much we’ve been moving.  
   

3. 3.Cellulite is objective.  It doesn’t judge us.  It doesn’t complain.  It simply is what it is.  Nothing more, nothing less.
   

4. 4.Cellulite is an efficient manifestation of body fat.  Body fat is stored energy.  And that’s a good thing, because it means that, if need be, we could survive a famine.  
   

5. 5.Cellulite is a great teacher.  It gives us the amazing opportunity to learn to embrace all of ourselves.  If we can accept even parts of our bodies that are not traditionally considered beautiful, then we can move in the direction of complete and total self-acceptance.   And the more we can love and respect our bodies, the more we can allow that love and respect to inform our choices about food and activity.
   

6. 6.Cellulite is a reminder of our mortality.  According to the website www.bodyandfitness.com, a correlation exists between between aging and cellulite.  And as we are reminded that we, in fact, will not live forever, we can take pleasure and appreciate and be grateful for the life we have right now.  
   

7. 7.Cellulite cushions and protects our bodies.  Who doesn’t appreciate the comfort of a cushion?
   

8. 8.Cellulite gives us shape and enhances our luscious,  feminine curves.   
   

9. 9.Cellulite (and body fat) helps regulate our body’s temperature.
   

10. 10. Cellulite gives us permission to not be perfect.  
    

Up Next:  Celebrate Every Little Thing

Only two days left before my FREE offer expires: www.fallinlovewithyourbody.com.

"But What Did You Do?"

 

A few days ago, I found myself in a conversation about my weight release of 45 pounds. 

“What did you do?” someone asked.

“I worked on my thinking,” I responded.

“But what did you do?” she repeated.  She wanted something more concrete than just “thinking.”

“Well, I’ve been running. . .”

“So that’s what you did.  You started running,” she said.  

And yes, I started running.  Yes, I started eating well.  Yes, I started writing everything down that went in my mouth. Yes, I started celebrating each thing I did that moved me toward the body I wanted.

But in reality, in addition to running and eating well, the biggest thing I did was that I worked on my thinking. I worked on my view of myself.  I worked on my view of my body.  And I believe the process of changing our thinking, our view of our bodies, our view of ourselves and our lives, is fundamental.  

Sure, if you want to lose weight, you need to eat less and move more.  But the biggest, most important, most profound transformation was the one that went on inside my head many months before my body ever started to change.  My internal view of myself changed way before I released the weight. 

How did I change my view of myself?

I began to really pay attention to my thoughts about myself and my body and my life.  “My butt is so huge” became “My body’s so curvy.”

I began to look for things about my body to celebrate and enjoy and appreciate and love.  “I have the thighs of an elephant” became “I love how strong my muscles are.”

I began to find beauty where previously all I saw was ugliness.  “I have bad hair” became “Look at how much hair I have!”

And this was a continual effort.  Some of the things I did are silly.  Some of the things I said to myself would seem absurd to most of the world.  And some of the thoughts I created initially felt like lies.  “I’m so fat” felt more real than “I’m pretty darn cute.”  But the more I saw my body as “strong” or “cute” or “curvy,” the stronger, cuter, and curvier I became.

Margaret Sanger said, “No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her own body.”  I say, “No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her thoughts about her own body.”

If you are thinking about transforming your relationship with your body, begin today to pay exquisite attention to your thoughts.  And lavish your body with verbal praise, acknowledgements, and love.  It will love you back.

Up Next:  Gratitude for Cellulite

Only a few days left!  Check out my limited time offer!  Free weight loss coaching at http://www.fallinlovewithyourbody.com.

"Do You Ever Binge?"

 

“Do you ever still binge?” a friend asked me recently.  

After some thought, I answered, “No.”

Please keep in mind that I have 45 years of experience in the binge department.  If you have any doubt, just take a little peak at my “Before” picture.  Rest assured that, indeed, I know a great deal about bingeing.

It’s not that I don’t ever have the urge to eat everything in sight.  It’s not that I never feel frustrated, angry, bored, or stressed.  It’s not that I never want to medicate myself with food.  It’s not that I never feel so empty inside that I could devour a whole pizza, a family-size bag of potato chips, and a gallon of rocky road ice cream.  

I’m human.  

I have bad days.

But in the past two years, I’ve learned some strategies to help me deal with the urge to eat everything in sight.  

Strategy One:  Eat small meals frequently throughout the day.  I have learned, and continue to learn, to listen to my body.  I don’t allow her to go hours and hours on end with no fuel.  I rarely allow her to become famished, for I know that when I become really, really, really hungry, I may end up eating everything in sight.  And when you add emotional stress and physical exhaustion to hunger, you’ve got yourself a recipe for a high-quality binge.

Strategy Two:  I love to run.  And this running thing I’ve got going on is a big motivator to eat small, frequent meals.  If I know I have a long run scheduled for Saturday morning, I’m probably going to pay attention to how I fuel myself on Friday night.

Strategy Three:  This brings us to the issue of food being fuel.  Food can’t hug me.  Food can’t laugh with me.  Food can’t listen to me.  Food can’t cry with me.  Food is fuel, not love.  People are love, not fuel.

It’s not that I never have a bad day and want to eat.  But during those bad days, I ask, “What will bring me the most pleasure?”  And in many cases, food is not the answer to that question.  

I also ask myself, “What do I really, really, really, really want?”  

For me, I really, really, really, really want to maintain my current weight.  

I really, really, really, really want to continue to run long distances.  

I really, really, really, really want to sleep well at night.  

And I really, really, really, really want to continue to be in a super-loving, super-supportive relationship with my body.

What do you really, really, really, really want?

Up Next:  “But What Did You Do?”

Time's running out on my FREE OFFER at http://www.fallinlovewithyourbody.com.

The Scale Goes Up! You Want It to Go Down!

 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in this situation.  It would seem that this would be the story of my entire adult life.  I would work at my weight, work at eating the right foods, work at getting enough exercise, work at watching my portions, work at everything about weight loss.  And I wouldn’t lose anything.  Instead, I’d gain.

And then I’d feel frustrated.  The scale would definitely not reflect my efforts.  No matter how hard I tried, it wouldn’t budge.  Or worse, it would go up.

And this was a drag.  If the scale didn’t mirror back to me the results of my effort, what would I want to do?  You have one guess.

I’d eat.  A lot.  I’d feel frustrated at this road block.  I’d feel angry at myself.  I’d feel disappointed.  I’d feel upset that no matter how hard I would work at it, the weight wouldn’t come off.  And this went on for years.

And then instead of working at losing weight, I began to work at changing my thinking, and I began to work at changing my view of myself.  

As I consciously and intentionally shifted my thoughts about my body and my effort, my behavior changed, and I released weight. If you’re anything like me, here are a few suggestions that might help you as you begin to learn how to love the body you have and release weight in the process.

1. 1. Pay attention to what you say to yourself in the mirror.  It’s easy to find our flaws, and not always easy to find our beauty.  Look for it.  It’s there.  It wants you to recognize it.  If you have 5 pounds to release or 105 pounds to release, look for and recognize and embrace your physical beauty.  It’s there.  And when when recognize it, you’ll be recognize the truth about who you are.
   

2. 2.As you’re paying attention to your beauty, acknowledge it verbally.  “I really like the way my eyes look today,” or “My hair looks awesome,” or “Look at how shapely my calves are!”  Say these things out loud to yourself as you look in the mirror.  Enjoy the way you look, and heighten that enjoyment by complementing yourself out loud.
   

3. 3.Celebrate everything.  Not just the big things.  Every step you take that is in the direction of your desires for your body, or that is in the direction of loving and appreciating your body--celebrate it!  Some of my favorite ways to celebrate are with things that aren’t food--like luxury lotions, gorgeous writing utensils, exquisite notecards and paper, books, and inspirational DVDs.  This is important, because as you celebrate everything you do that moves you in the direction you want to go, you’ll be more likely to keep moving in the direction you want to go.
   

But the bottom line, when the scale goes up and you want it to go down, is to really pay attention to what you say to yourself in that moment.  And be kind and gentle with yourself.   Compassion begins at home.

Up Next:  “Do You Ever Binge?”

Visit me at http://www.fallinlovewithyourbody.com.  Time's running out on my FREE OFFER!