Feeling that you deserve to have a “forbidden food” after a bad day is an example of how your thinking can be a roadblock to your success. Before I talk more about this, let’s just backtrack a bit first.

How did we ever get to the place where when something bad happens to us, we actually do further damage by taking an action that moves us further away from our goals, ultimately leaving us feeling even worse? And somehow we’ve convinced ourselves that doing this is treating ourselves well? It’s all mixed up.

I completely agree that after a bad day you deserve something, but I think that something should be something that helps to undo the effects of the day. A bad day might mean you deserve an apology, a massage, or even a good deal on auto-repair (for a really bad day, LOL). Unless you let it, a bad day does not give you permission to throw all that you’ve worked towards (with your weight) out the window. And that is exactly what’s happening when you decide you deserve to eat the cookies/french fries/entire pizza etc.

“Deserve” can denote either reward or punishment. “The athlete deserved the medal” versus “The murderer deserved the life sentence”. So ask yourself this: Why, when the universe has delivered a bad day to you, do you feel the need to punish yourself for it? And punish yourself is exactly what you are doing when you decide to go off track. And then later when you come to your senses, the punishment continues when you start to berate yourself for falling off the wagon. Instead, why not reward yourself for getting through such a bad day with something that truly does take the sting out and leaves you feeling good hours later.

One thing you truly do deserve everyday, is to live life at your ideal weight in the healthiest body possible. So beginning today, change your thinking about the word deserve and just watch your weight begin to change!

I bet there are all kinds of things you love! People, food, places, ideas,
music, sleeping, pets, books, movies, nature, architecture, poetry,
sports….the list is endless. And while none of us loves all things, we
all have things we do love.

Now here’s a question for you. Do you love yourself?

What was your first thought when you read the last sentence about loving
yourself?

Was it something about loving yourself being wrong? Wrong because to love
yourself would be conceited? Wrong because what would others think? Wrong
because you don’t think of yourself as a loveable person? Wrong because no
one else loves you? Wrong because people shouldn’t just walk around loving
themselves? Wrong because…….?

No matter what reason there is that you may believe that loving yourself
is wrong, that reason is wrong!

You are a magnificent being! You are worthy of being loved, no matter what
anyone else may have ever told you. And the first step to being loved is
to really love and accept yourself. Fully embracing yourself, all of
yourself.

Self-love is really the basis for self-esteem. And our level of
self-esteem determines what we will and won’t accept from life. Our level
of self-esteem determines what we think we are worth, from all
perspectives. What we think we can earn, the type of people we associate
with, the quality of our clothes, our cars, our houses, and what we weigh,
are all tied into our self-esteem.

It just makes sense that if you hold yourself in high-esteem, that you
will treat yourself with respect and care. Conversely, if your self-esteem
is low, your self-respect will be low too. And low self-respect doesn’t
translate into treating yourself well. And treating yourself well does not
include habits that lead to an unhealthy body. And an overweight body is
an unhealthy body.

Do you know that you are a marvellous creation? A truly remarkable human
being? That there is no one else on this planet that has the exact same
make up as you? You are as unique as a snowflake! And did you also know
that you have unique gifts to offer? Whether you are a great singer,
dancer, crossword-doer, baker, parent, friend, artist, writer,
sunset-watcher, gardener, decorator, cook, sports person, story-teller or
anything else, you have within you the capacity for greatness! You have
some unique talent(s) that others admire in you. Think about what this is.
If you aren’t sure what it is, or if you can’t even begin to believe this,
ask your nicest, closest friends for some insight. Your friends will be
able to tell you what they see you being good at. We are going to use this
information in just a minute.

We are going to use a technique we called Affirmations. An affirmation is
a statement you repeat over and over and over again to yourself, until you
actually start to believe it because it is programmed into your
subconscious. An affirmation is always done in the present tense, even
though sometimes this can seem like quite a stretch of the truth. So, to
make it easier for you to get going, we are going to start with your
personal area of strength that you know is true. This way we can “shore
up” your belief, and give you a good solid foundation.

A great way to start an affirmation is with the words “I am so happy and
grateful now that I ___________________________” and then fill in the
blank with your strength. So you might say “I am so happy and grateful now
that I am a great gardener, with a beautiful garden of gorgeous flowers”
or “I am so happy and grateful now that I am a great parent of a wonderful
child’ or “I am so happy and grateful now that I am a great
singer/artist/seamstress/bowler/salesperson etc etc”

Right now, I want to you to formulate your affirmation, and then memorize
it. You are going to repeat this statement to yourself many, many times
every day. You may want to put post-it notes all around to remind yourself
to do this! I personally have post-it notes on my bathroom mirror, in my
bedroom, and sometimes even in the kitchen! You can’t over do this, and
the more you do it, the faster your thinking will shift. Aim to say your
affirmation (out loud, or silently, depending on where you are at the
time) at least 100 times per day!

Again, don’t be concerned if it feels like you are really exagerating or
even lying to yourself. Just keep repeating it over and over and over each
day, and it will begin to feel like the truth, as it becomes the truth!

Remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it is going to take some
time for you really cement this new of way of thinking about yourself.
You will know this technique working when you find yourself thinking
kinder, gentler thoughts about yourself. You may also notice that you
start feeling more optimistic about your life and the situations and
people in it. You will also notice that the way people respond to you
changes for the better too.

The reason everything in your life changes for the better when you
increase your self-esteem and self-respect is because your self-esteem
determines the “lens” through which you look at the world. Each of us sees
the outside world relative to our inside world. All our points of
reference are internal. By changing internally, you are also changing your
filters. So it is not really that the outside world is changed, it’s just
that you changed how you look it. You will begin to notice things you
never noticed before, and won’t notice things that used to get your
attention. It’s like looking thru a telescope…you will see only what you
focus the telescope on. By moving the telescope, your view will change.
That doesn’t mean the other view is not there, it is just not in your line
of sight. Changing the lens through which you look at the world will
change what you see and what gets your attention. This is a guarantee!

Begin today to fall in love with the most important person in your
life…YOU! It is a love affair that will last a lifetime and bring you
more joy and happiness than you can even imagine. And once you are in love
with you, watch how those around you start to fall under your spell too.
True love must start within, and then it can progress to the outside.

To your success!

Watch:

Rogers Television: Go to: http://www.rogerstv.com/option.asp?lid=237&rid=17&mid=52&gid=68171

CKCO News – Health section, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVn7dCxAzwk

Breakfast TV, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr_xRM1gUhM

Listen:

Show: “Wellness Experience”
A fascinating discussion about obesity in America and how the media is contributing to the problem. Listen to the recording at:
www.blogtalkradio.com/WellnessExperience/2009/03/19/Food-Is-Not-Making-You-Fat/#comments

Show: “Intuitive Radio”
A lively discussion about how the brain fits into weight reduction and management. Listen to the recording at: www.intuitivesoul.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=285&Itemid=61

Show: “Achieve Radio”
A lively interviewer asking some great questions about weight, self-esteem, self-perception etc. Listen to the recording at: (It’s show #62):
www.achieveradio.com/yale-devereau/#arch

Show: “Holistic Health Show”
Stacey is interviewed by Dr Carl Helvie, educator, author and practitioner in health and wellness. Listen to the recording at: http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WDyjDbl4

Show: “Conversations Live with Vicki St. Clair”
Vicki and Stacey discuss weight and non-dieting ways to have less of it. Listen to the recording at:
http://conversationslive.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=127&Itemid=29

Everyone wants to get their extra pounds off as fast as possible, and often the radical “ripping off the band-aid” approach seems more appealing because you think you’ll get quicker results. This can mean not only a complete change in what you’ve been eating, but could also include changing where you eat, who you eat with, even what time you eat.

Massive change like this can leave you feeling overwhelmed and completely discombobulated. And this feeling of disorientation will often lead to a very strong urge for the familiar, which will then have you falling-off-the-bandwagon and right back where you started. Actually you’ll be worse off than when you started, because now you’ll also feel like a failure and thoughts like “what’s the use?” will start to pop up. This is not a good place to be.

With weight management, the baby-steps approach, while seemingly slower, will get you what you want. By changing your habits slowly, but surely, you will be building the foundation for a lifetime of being at your ideal weight.

So what do baby-steps look like for weight reduction? They are easy-to-implement, not-too-painful changes that you can make, that added up will produce profound results.

You might start by just changing your breakfast. Say you normally have a sugary cereal with whole milk. An easy switch to a healthier option could be having a sugar-free, whole grain cereal, topped with some fresh berries for sweetness. Then you could use 2% or even 1% milk, and your meal will still be satisfying to you, because it is familiar to what you are used to. This means you are more likely to stick with your changes until they become your new normal.

If you are a meat-lover, instead of becoming a full-fledged vegetarian overnight, try incorporating just one vegetarian meal each day, or if that seems like too much, aim for 3-4 veggies meals per week.

If you drink a lot of soda pop, you could begin to replace some of your drinks with soda water sweetened with fruit juice. (Don’t however just switch to sugar-free soda options, those are even unhealthier than their sugar-laden counterparts. Artificial sweeteners can wreak havoc on your health in so many ways!)

Even exercise can be gently incorporated into your life. Begin by walking an extra block to the bus, or parking at the back of the parking lot. Whenever possible, take the stairs instead of the elevator. Or get off the elevator a couple of floors below where you need to be and walk up a flight or two.

These types of changes are much easier to keep on track with. And remember, it is our habits that create our lives. So work slowly but surely on changing your habits in little baby steps, and before you know it, your life will have changed for the better, and you’ll look back and think it was almost painless! (And definitely worth it!)