Happy New Year! With a New Perspective!

2020 is here. It’s so exciting!

Many of you, including me, are starting our low-calorie diets on January 2^nd.  So, let’s make sure we start this New Year and our journey with a positive perspective.

• Let’s focus on what we CAN have not what we can’t.
• Let’s focus on what we are losing and what we are gaining – I’ll leave the examples of these up to you.
• Let’s remember, as Coach Nadine says, I don’t have much control over many things, but I do have control over what I put in my body!
• Let your prep week really do what it’s supposed to do!  Start prepping your kitchen.  Start practicing your water. Start preparing your head. Tell yourself what you’re going to experience; how much you love yourself at whatever weight you are, and even start visualizing success on the scale, in the mirror, in your closet, and most importantly, close your eyes and imagine how you will FEEL as the weight melts off!

Do you really have a weight problem?

Please get a pen and piece of paper and write down why you gained the weight.

Was it stress? Was it your lifestyle? Was it a negative attitude or belief about what you can or cannot have or do?  Was it putting everyone else’s needs, wants, and desires in front of yours?

Okay. Now think about your weight, and how much your weight is annoying you, worrying you, depressing you…  The real question is, do you have a weight problem or do you have a stress problem?  Do you have a weight problem or do you have negative beliefs about yourself and your capabilities?  Do you have a weight problem or do you have yourself spread too thin? Do you a weight problem or are your priorities mixed up?

So, is the weight a CAUSE or an Effect?

This last year, I have had more stress than ever – even more than when my mom passed.  Are the 15 pounds I gained the problem or is my reaction to stress the problem?  I know my current weight is the effect of something else going on.  Ultimately, it is not the cause of the scale going up, clothes not fitting, health issues, or depression. It is the effect of the types of things mentioned in the previous paragraph.  None of us will get a permanent solution to the weight problem, because the weight isn’t the problem.  So, we need a new perspective on why we are doing this diet or any major life change for that matter.

How can we change our perspective?

We all intuitively know when we are using band-aids to fix a problem instead of getting to the root cause.  When we are beating ourselves into submission to get the desired result, and not dealing with the real problem, we will always get a temporary fix.  Everyone who has yo-yo dieted knows this.

In 2017, I gained 20 pounds after my mom’s death.  I took 10 pounds off and said I would work on it.  This past year, I put on 10 more.  I know that my weight issue is the effect of my response to stress this past year.  Since I understand the cause/effect reality, my mission for 2020 is to respond to stress in a bold powerful new way.  That is why I am asking you to figure out the cause of your weight problem.  When you do, you also can create a powerful bold new plan that will be motivating and permanent!

Stress manifests physically, mentally, and emotionally, and since we know this, we can look for tools and responses that will help us deal with stress in a bold new way.

To help our physical body be better equipped to handle stress, there are quite a few things that can be done.  Of course, we can eat healthily ridding our diets with processed food and sugar, drink water, go to bed on time, cut back on alcohol, add in some exercise or yoga because movement helps circulate and release stagnant energy.

Mentally, we can meditate, not because it’s the right thing to do but because you are responding to stress in a bold new way.  Meditation has been scientifically proven to release stress.  What about starting a class or signing up to volunteer or begin a new hobby?  That will definitely put a person’s mind in a different place and bring in new mental energy.

Emotionally (and spiritually), you may have to move away from toxic relationships, form new friendships, read positive, self-help, motivational books, say daily affirmations, pray, and set your daily positive intentions.

When you begin to be happy and do healthy things, aren’t you putting yourself in a position to have a happier heart and a healthier body?  Yes.

PS: The wristband and the inhaler we give to our clients are simple tools to use as reminders that the journey you are really on is one of fixing the CAUSE, not the effect (weight gain).  The diet is to help you feel and know that you have self-control and to show you that your choices do make a difference in your body.  We actually already know that, don’t we?  So far, the choices you have been making are giving you the results you see in the mirror.  But you do have the capability to positively change everything in the direction you want your life to go in,

So, go for it in 2020!