Death to Diets...once and for all!

You are Standing in line at the grocery check out.  

You have been having cravings for a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios...and as you wait, you glance to the left and see the magazines..."Lose 10 pounds in 5 days!"  one headline reads, right below it you see "Lose 4 sizes by Thanksgiving" and next to that?  "Flatten your abs in just 5 minutes a day!"

It is everywhere you turn!  You look at your stomach, reach for the magazine...and remember....after the last diet you tried, you gained back all the weight you lost, plus an extra 10 pounds...maybe this isn't the answer.  

As you pause you think about how going on a diet makes you feel...and the list starts...

 

YOU...

1. Feel Deprived
2. Feel Punished-Like you are not good enough  
3. Feel Weak, Tired, Lethargic
4. Are Overly Emotional 
5. Are Short Tempered
6. Feel Depressed
7. Look more critically at yourself in the mirror (increased body checking)
8. Are obsessive about exercise and calorie intake
9. Withdraw from hanging out, talking or just being with friends
10. Get Stressed out over being with family
11. Isolate and withdraw

Do you realize you are not alone?  95% of dieters regain the weight anyway…  Time and time again.  I have myself....more times than fingers on my hands can count.  It is exhausting...

THIS time, as you reach for the magazine and the urge comes to go on a diet…

you pause and think: 

What if I decided NEVER TO GO ON A DIET AGAIN? 

What would that look like? Feel like?  

Take a look and I will share with you my list...

You Will.... 

1. Feel Empowered!!!
2. Move and exercise how and when  you want
3. Have all the energy you need to do whatever you want to do 
4. Allow you to enjoy all foods with friends, family or alone
5. Not have to rely on comments from others
6. Understand and Empathize with the struggles of others
7. Release your own expectations of “fitting into the thin ideal”
8. Be free from mirrors, scales, calories
9. Feel free to where clothes that are comfortable 
10. Gain Confidence in yourself
11. Not stress over going to the beach, getting photographed or trying on clothes

As for me, I want to enjoy a glass of wine, an ice cream cone, and chocolate chip cookies...I want to move my body on my terms, respect and honor myself.  

YOU ARE WORTH IT.    

You deserve to feel empowered and strong and follow your own rules, your own standards and be OK with all of them…

The choice is up to you. 

Click here for more information and grab your free YOU ARE ENOUGH Finally Free Fit and Fabulous 5 step guide to peace with food, eating, weight and body image. 

You are worth it. 

20% MORE

I see the apple on the table, I hear my stomach growl, I start to calculate as the numbers tick away in my head...60+80=140+50=190+10+120= 410...no, too much, just walk away...

I walk up the stairs, thinking of what I had done...20 minutes of core work, step class, 30 minutes of legs...not enough, I should go for a run...

My thoughts continue...

The numbers of calories burned, exercise classes taught or taken, miles run or walked

Calories consumed, calories NOT consumed, points, fat and carb grams counted, Adding and Subtracting; Plotting and Planning 

How much longer do I need to stay on this stair master?  What should my workout look like tomorrow? the day after that? next week?

What will the scale say when I step on it tomorrow?  Have I worked hard enough? Eaten too much?

What will the ALL MIGHTY SCALE say about my worthiness tomorrow?

Minute after minute, day after day, year after year...from 10 years old until almost 50...Over 95% of my thoughts every day tick away thinking about how I can effect the number on the scale.

4 DECADES of my life, I have spent all of my time counting and calculating, shaming and blaming, pushing and pulling. 

I am sad, frustrated, angry and depressed as I come to this realization....Why have I wasted so much time with this non-sense?  

I sit and cry,  I walk and cry, I curl up in a ball and cry as I move through this strange GRIEVING process.  

So many should haves, why didn't I's, your so stupid's...I morn the loss of so many years of my life...until...Exhaustion sets in, I am tired and all dried up from crying.  

It is time to "fish or cut bait" as my dad would say..."shit or get off the pot" my uncle would say...

Stagnation and depression set in...until...

I think about my daughters, how much I love them, how much I want to see them grow, learn, live and love.  

FINALLY, I get it...I need more time...more time in my brain to live here in this world, to live here today...

It becomes apparent that it is time to THROW AWAY:

• The calorie counter in my brain
• The scale on the bathroom floor
• The fit-bit "rewards"
• The class schedule
• The "map my run" app

Time to gain back TIME:

• Time to read and write
• Time to share time with friends and family
• Time to reconnect with my body
• Time to think about what used to bring me joy
• Time to make a difference

This was me only 4 years ago, and every year since then, I have opened up more space in my head, 20%, 30%, 40% more time to focus on the life I am living.  Less and less time spent on obsessing and calculating.

This valentines day, give yourself the gift of TIME, time to enjoy the life you are living TODAY, in the body that you have TODAY, in the shape that you are in TODAY, at the weight your body is TODAY.  

This is my wish for you...It is SO worth it.

I am here for support and guidance.  

Your Story

To know your purpose and then find the path that leads you there is my hope.  The questions I ask myself are:  Why am I here?  Why was I born?  What am I supposed to be doing with this life I have been given?  

Our purpose is more than any of us think.  It is an understanding that we might need to stop trying so hard, stop asking the questions, being ok not knowing what it is.  Our place on this earth is to Trust...To trust that our path is out there waiting for us to get out of our own way.

I believe that if we can share our bliss...our enthusiasm, our love, our light; of which comes from our talents. It doesn’t  matter how insignificant, or irrelevant we may think these talents are-     we own them and they are OURS.  They are ours to share with others.  It could be the way you tell a joke, the way your laughter is contagious, the way you tell(or write) a story, the way you draw an elephant or flower, the way you do a jumping jack, navigate your computer, thread a needle....

Living our lives with joy, happiness, and laughter...that is the path we are to follow...

Not the path our parents wanted us to pursue, not the path your husband or wife wants you to follow, not the one our teachers, our bosses, or society want us to go after...

We have lived our lives believing that we should be successful, make a lot of money, raise a happy family, hold down a “good” job, be a wonderful friend, be fit, healthy, attractive, thin and of course happy...

All these are thoughts and beliefs that have been made into stories...stories that we have told ourselves for years, and stories that we have been bombarded with through society, and the people that surround us.

It is time to release all these stories, for they are not yours.  It is time to write your own story, pave your own path.  What does this fresh new story of your life look like?

My story includes helping others find their way out of pain, out of struggle, out of the story they live in where they don’t belong, are not enough,  or don’t believe in themselves...

It is your turn to begin to pave a path where beauty surrounds you, where your mini me is in awe of your strength, where your mind is quiet, and your body is at peace with itself.  Breath the fresh air, trust in yourself, trust in your story, trust in your life...trust the amazing and overwhelming beauty that is within you...Follow the paved path and trust...