It's Just Food!

As many of you know, I have spent over 30 years struggling with food, weight, eating, exercise, body image and self esteem.   A few years ago, I'd had ENOUGH....and began a journey to freedom, peace and joy.  

I have since been working as a Lifestyle Strategist, with many women who have struggled as well.  

I have decided to share the 5 step formula that saved my life (from a life full of the continued shackles of dieting and the thin ideal) 

If you are interested in hearing about the webinar...read on...if not, a new blog will be us soon :) 

The low cost on-line webinar is Wed night August 15th (starts at 7PM, last approx. 1 hour including questions and answers)  AND it will be recorded. (in case you can't make the time)

You can click here to register.

The webinar is something I've put together to educate, support and empower women like you to have a better and brighter healthier future.  If you are ready to transform your relationship with food, eating, weight, mind, body and self this webinar is for you. 

During the webinar, I will be sharing a proven life-changing 5-step formula on how to be Finally, Free, Fit & Fabulous Once and For All. 

Based on my own personal experience (yes, I understand completely), my 30+ years of experience in the health, fitness and eating disorder fields, education and specialized training I wanted to give overwhelmed women a different way of looking at and addressing their relationships and behaviors around their weight, food and body image... thus I created a simple 5-step formula. 

It is my mission to share this formula with women of all sizes, shapes and weights to help them gain the confidence and courage to  LOVE WHAT IS, LIVE WITH JOY and CONNECT MORE DEEPLY WITH THEMSELVES AND OTHERS.

Once you know the formula you are able to: 

• Feel like food is your friend and not your enemy.
• Enjoy and eat food with more pleasure.
• Tune into your hunger and fullness cues (become an Intuitive Eater).
• Start to make peace with your body.
• Quiet your self-sabotaging negative inner voice and replace it with a life-changing positive self-talk simply by listening.
• Ditch the food rules and fire the food police.
• Know how to avoid fad diets and the conflicting and confusing nutrition advice
• Get off and stay off the failed Dieting Hamster Wheel/Roll Coaster once and for all.
• Gain mental clarity, confidence and courage to live to be the best version of YOU.
• Work towards and achieve your health, fitness and wellness goals even when life gets busy, hectic, is stress-filled and overwhelming. 
• Move, play and exercise with more joy
• Use easy, time efficient Self-care methods/strategies to lower stress (one of the keys to releasing fat and weight)

So, that's what the webinar is about.  A simple 5-step success formula for improving your health/well-being, living authentically and how to become the best version of you.

You'll have a chance to join me, my team and super like-minded women as we discover how to get unstuck or overcome the challenges that have been holding us back plus, you will get a roadmap (a proven simple 5-steps) to achieve your health, fitness and wellness goals and dreams. 

I'll share... 

... How to use a revolutionary mindfulness-based approach (Intuitive Eating) to nourish your body, mind and soul. 

... How to use cutting-edge 21st century technology and tools to make the change process easier, faster and sustainable so goal achievement can be obtained regardless of your everyday life situation.

... How to reduce stress and why Hoping on the Dieting Bandwagon not only doesn't work BUT causes even more stress on the body leading to an increase in the fat storage hormone cortisol. 

... How to use our practical, time-tested and client approved  2x2x2 Movement Formula to get you out of pain, keep you out of pain and release more fat while having more fun. 

... How to appreciate, honor, respect and accept your "here and now" body

The cost is $49, however through Monday August 13th I'm offering a special priced ticket for only $15 which includes an informative, beneficial 4-part education guide called Calorie Counting DEBUNKED Infographic Bundle, a $59 value).

Just click here to enroll (you will find payment information there)

How to not only survive but to Thrive with PCOS

A beautiful woman with long dark hair and a 10-month old in tow, sat in front of me asking me with tears in her eyes, to help her lose weight.  “I can’t take it anymore! My anxiety is at an all-time high and I am just getting more and more depressed every day.”  she sobbed.  So, as a health and fitness professional, that is what I tried to do.  I put together an individualized program for her and we started working.  

We tried everything, she was game for anything I asked of her.  All she wanted was to be “thin” again.  She was miserable, confused, anxious and disappointed and I was frustrated, I was running out of ideas to help her.   Month after month, we worked together, with no real results.  She was still finding it harder and harder to function.   She was sleep deprived, panicky and stressed out all the time.   I needed to find something to help her deal with her anxiety and stress.  

It was then, that I asked her to visit her doctor and get a full panel of blood tests done.  I was thinking something was going on with her thyroid.  The results revealed a lot, her hormonal markers such as… FSH (follicle stimulating hormone), TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) and androgens to name a few…were way off the normal mark… Her diagnosis? PCOS. (Poly-Cystic Ovary Syndrome)

She suffered with the following symptoms:

·     Irregular and painful menstruation

·     Weight gain 

·     Anxiety and worry

·     Increase stress and depression

·     Insulin resistance 

·     Difficulty losing weight

·     Acne

·     Increased hair growth on face and body (which included a daily ritual of plucking offensive hairs on her face and neck) 

Now, knowing that she had PCOS, I began to look for ways to help, because the only advice she was receiving from her own physician, was to limit her carbs, cut out all sugar, exercise more and LOSE WEIGHT… we had already been there and tried that!

I began to research and further my own education on PCOS, stress and anxiety, disordered eating, and body image, because I saw first-hand the amount of stress, pressure and poor self-esteem she was experiencing.  These symptoms had to do with much more than just her weight. In order to attack her diagnosis and symptoms from all angles, I became a Certified Intuitive Eating Coach, Yoga Nidra and meditation guide, self-care, self-talk and body image specialist.  I knew we had to begin this journey by lowering her stress and anxiety before anything else. 

It was from my own research, education and one on one experience that led me to develop a comprehensive program to specifically address her symptoms…A 5-part program that was not geared toward weight loss, as her physicians continued to recommend to her, but one focused on stress, balance, function and joy. This is how...

This Finally!  Free, Fit and Fabulous program works for women suffering from PCOS, as well as others struggling with weight, anxiety, stress, food or body image issues.

1.     Intuitive and Supportive Eating vs. Calorie Restriction

Diets don’t work. In 1997, Dr. Wayne Wescott wrote about how 95% of dieters regain the weight they lost…Diets, and calorie restriction is not an effective way to lose weight in the long run. Learning the process of trusting the bodies internal hunger and fullness cues and other intuitive eating principles has proven to help people land at a weight that is sustainable and healthy for their bodies.  So, this client began listening to what foods gave her energy, foods that digested easily in her system, foods that she LIKED.  Eating soon became pleasurable instead of stressful and anxiety provoking for her.

2.     Move, Play and Exercise with more JOY! Vs. Traditional Exercise Routines

Disconnecting Exercise with weight loss, calorie burning or changes in body shape is the first step to how moving the body (like we did naturally as children) actually feels.  By taking away the “Have to”, the “Should do” and the “Need to” from your exercise program, you begin to release the anxiety that comes from not doing it “right” and you can start to find more enjoyment in just moving. When you find a way to move that you connect with and enjoy, it becomes a WANT TO, which means less stress that surrounds the idea of exercise. When you want to do something, you do it without guilt, without shame, without coercing…it becomes sustainable and ENJOYABLE! Begin trying some new things...maybe Tai Chi, walking with friends or dogs and dancing.    

3.     Self-Care to Stress-Less

Implementing Self Care is essential in this journey of living with more joy and less anxiety.  There is a tendency to think that taking time for yourself is selfish.  What I would like you to consider is this: the more you think about putting others first, not being “good enough” or trying to change yourself (through diet and exercise) you increase your stress levels.  The more stress you endure both physically (diet/exercise) and emotionally (anxiety, worry, shame, guilt) the higher the levels of cortisol you release.  Cortisol signals the body to hold onto weight and it increases anxiety, irritability and depression.  Finding time for you, through self-care to lower stress will decrease your cortisol and evens out other your other hormone levels.  It is essential to find time to read, pause, journal and meet friends for coffee, and notice if your stress and anxiety begin to lower.

4.     Implementing Positive Self Talk instead of harsh self-criticism 

We all live with an inner critic.  I call mine my “mini-me” and she pops out whenever I am feeling “less than”.  Our internal thoughts and mindset effects everything we do.  The women I meet think about weight, lack of willpower, what they could and couldn’t eat, what they could or couldn’t wear and how much of a failure they feel like. (the mini-me talking).  All of this negative self-talk only increases panic attacks and heightens  anxiety levels.  Through finding a new positive inner voice (your “maxi-me”) You will begin to tell yourself that you are worthy and deserving of self-love, self-compassion and self-confidence and because of this switch, you will also find yourself taking risks and empowering others to as well.  

5.     “Body AA”. Acceptance and Appreciation of the here and now body VS. Body hatred and body shame.

Implementing appreciation and acceptance of your “today’s” body is one that takes time and patience.  It is especially important for women suffering from PCOS.  This development and growth includes practicing and strengthening your Maxi Me voice with self-compassion and self-kindness AND implementing a regular practice of recognizing and owning your individual bodies strengths and talents. YOU ARE so much more than the size and shape of your body.  As you begin to accept yourself as you are, you are able to embark on your journey of sharing you own unique gifts and passions with those around her.  

By incorporating these 5-steps, my clients (and you) will be able to accept and embrace your PCOS symptoms, so that they become much more manageable.  Not only has will you survive you will thrive.  You will find yourself happier while significantly reducing your stress and anxiety, and have the skills and tools to handle it when it shows up in your life. 

Click here to learn more about our services at Shaping Perspectives. 

Changing Perspective, A Road to Joy

Have you ever had a good mood and a good day destroyed by stepping on a scale? Do you get frustrated, disgusted, disappointed and depressed by what it says?

Are you unhappy with your body? How does it feel when you catch a glimpse of yourself as you walk by a store window, see yourself in a mirror or spend an afternoon of clothes or bathing suit shopping?

Have you gained more weight than you would have liked to through stress, pregnancy, menopause, age, injury, or other life-changing event such as divorce, loss of spouse, disease, job loss, etc.

Do you spend your days beating yourself by listening to your inner mean voice (mini-me) scolding you over your weight, poor food choices, lack of motivation, failure to achieve your weight loss or fitness goals?

You are not alone…In fact

·      75% women are unhappy with the way they look,

·       Over 67% of women ages 15-64 withdraw from life-engaging activities,

·      95% of individuals will fail at achieving their weight loss goals.

I too suffered from hating my body and the way it looked, obsessed over the number on the scale, food choices, diets and compulsive exercise.  My story includes being diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa and Exercise Bulimia.

My first diet was at age 10, I have spent the last 40 years gaining and losing 100’s of pounds. I have done it all including binging, cleanses and fasting. My time, energy and mind has been consumed with the number on the scale, fat grams, calories, what I should and shouldn’t eat, pinching my belly, criticizing my thighs and beating myself up with my inner mean girl “mini-me” because I didn’t look the way I thought I should.

After a lifetime of striving to achieve the perfect body and thin ideal, being frustrated with never being able to sustain any results, punishing my body with exercise until it was broken and needing surgery.  I was DONE.

I decided a few years ago to change my perspective and give up dieting and compulsive exercise  for good.  In addition I went back to school and earned a graduate certificate in Eating Disorders and became a certified Intuitive Eating coach.

Because of this I finally learned to accept, appreciate and respect the body that I was given, I fired the big bully (mini-me) in my head that has been beating me up over the last 40+ years, and began a peaceful, loving relationship with joyful movement, eating foods intentionally and my thighs.  It has changed my life.

In fact I created Shaping Perspectives: A Woman’s Way to Joy to support, guide, educate, encourage and empower other women to find peace, joy, and happiness. 

Women who implement the Shaping Perspectives approach to living, feel more grounded, experience higher energy and live more authentically. They develop a higher connection, awareness and acceptance of body, mind and spirit.

If you are looking to change your perspective and transform your life, I am extending to you

A Special Invitation to join me at in Hebron NH on June 8-11 for a FIND JOY! A Women’s Wellness Weekend Retreat.

Enroll Here

During this transformative weekend, YOU and other like-minded women will learn

a plethora of new tools and strategies to reduce stress and improve self care enabling you to move successfully through the next chapter(s) of your life.

·      You will experience an array of fun and functional movement and play activities

·      You will learn how to transform your “mini-me” (negative self-talk) to more empowering and “maxi-me” (positive self talk)

·      You will learn how to tap into your physiological signs of hunger, and fullness and how to Intentionally and Intuitively eat

·      You will experience a changing perspective on what your body can do for you enabling you to develop the appreciation, acceptance and respect your body deserves.

·      Learn how to support and connect to your authentic self and your best friend (YOU).

DON’T MISS OUT ON YOUR BEST LIFE by adopting the Shaping Perspectives approach to living joyfully. Feel more grounded, experience higher energy, live more authentically and develop a higher connection, awareness and acceptance of body, mind and spirit.

Please join me at the Coppertoppe Inn June 8-11 in Hebron NH.

Go here to enrolltoday

Perfectly Imperfect

I am lying in bed trying to sleep, I hear the faucet dripping...perfectly rhythmical.  I should get up and turn it off, I think. Then I let the thought pass over me, like a cloud.  The sound is soothing and calming...I drift back to sleep.

I have found myself letting my thoughts drift over me more and more.  Finally understanding that my thought is not me, I have detached.  I have the power to let it go, hurry it along if I need to. 

Stress has been pushing at me over the last few months, it is a season in my life where there is a lot to do, and a lot to be done.  When this season appears I find myself reverting back to my own 4 basic needs...not the ones we all think about: food, water, air and shelter, but my own personal ones: Exercise, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Wine and Diet Coke.

Here is a look at my first "thought"

Wow, that is really bad, I can't believe that you are eating cookies for breakfast.  How can you talk about health and eat like that...Your really bad...

I let the thought pass over me, this thought does not define me.

It is like when you really want a bag of chips.  You say to yourself(your thought) "You can't have chips, they are bad for you, they have too many calories, they will make you fat"  You listen...you go to the refrigerator and eat some carrot sticks, then some yogurt, then a piece of cheese, then an apple.   None of these things satisfy the initial craving....SO...You end up with the chips anyway.  Why not listen in the first place to our need?

I have come to realize that my 4 basic needs are far from perfect.  I do not live on only them, yet they have all been a comfort to me at some time in my life, I felt that needed them.  It was what calmed me.  My stress leads me back to these basic needs of mine.  I am not perfect.

NOW...I can realize and understand that I am ok.  I am perfectly imperfect.  Finding some calm and peace in times of stress can be like the dripping faucet.  Over the long term we would need to either have the faucet fixed, or be more aware of it and turn it off.

When I am stressed, I need to be more aware of what is happening to me, more aware of how I eat, how I move, how I act and how I rest.  I also need to reach out for help.  As the faucet needs a plumber, I may need a friend, a coach, a therapist, a family member or a doctor.  I may need a journal, my crayons, my music, a walk in nature or some silence.

And yes, sometimes I need an hour in the gym, a glass of wine a diet coke or a couple cookies and that can be just perfect.  

Letting go of my own judgements, finding peace and balance in being perfectly imperfect...