Give Yourself a Pat on the Back and Say Goodbye to Dieting

As a coach, I know that taking daily steps to create change in your life is essential. Repetition and support is the best way to learn something new. In my Juicy Woman Yahoo discussion group, I often post a challenge or insight on the board to guide my clients to think differently about themselves. It's easy to get in a rut and to do something the same way over and over again. As a woman who has spent years dieting, we often learn to regard the scale as our only benchmark of progress. It's not. In fact, it does more harm than good.

In my upcoming book, Say Goodbye to Dieting: The Juicy Woman's Guide to Reclaim Power over Food, Love Your Body and Yummy up Your Life, I go into depth and explain the link between what we think and believe about our bodies and how we look and feel. You see. Your thoughts are actually making you fat! However, you can change that by changing your negative self talk.

Your body is listening in on everything you tell it today. If you wake up, look in the mirror and  say, Bleech, I hate my body, these fat thighs are disgusting and I can't stand my arms,... Those negative messages become commands to your brain. Since the brain can't tell the difference between an imagined thought and reality, your brain will do its part to keep you fat. The stress of feeling fat, will cause a chain reaction of chemicals to flood your brain, eventually converting insulin to fat! Yessirre, there actually is proof that your thoughts are the key to the health and state of your body.

I teach all my clients how to use Emotional Freedom Technique to put the power of change at their fingertips. It's the best method to reprogram your subconscious mind and to change the tapes in your brain to put your goals on autopilot. In addition to that, it's important to take baby steps to create new habits. Here's a simple challenge that I shared with my clients recently.

Pat Yourself on the Back Today

When your days are stress filled and life gets crazy, it's all too easy to fall back on the old catastrophic way of thinking, "I'll never lose this weight." That's when your thoughts go to your thighs or any
other part of your life that is not changing as fast as you'd like.

Remember this is a journey and that means it takes time. In order to enjoy the trip, change the focus. Instead of paying attention to the outward signs of weight loss which everyone looks for, seek out the
inward changes that you're making.

Notice when your behavior takes a turn evidencing a new way of honoring your internal wisdom, that quiet Intuitive Eater within you. Think about the things that you do each day and notice that as you
become an Intuitive Eater, that is what changes, your life!

The best way to change that negative self talk is by focusing on different things. Take a look and see how many of thse things you can fit into your day.

Pay attention today to the little things that aren't so easy to see.

• Did you speak up today in a way that you wouldn't have before?
• Did you decide to set aside some time to play today?
• Did you call a friend and ask for help?
• Did you jump in and take a risk instead of playing it safe?
• Did you get and eat exactly what you wanted at your last meal?
• Are you feeling comfortable around fattening food?
• Have you cleaned your refrigerator and cabinets and tossed out stale
• and rotten food?

Remember that you are a princess and nothing is too good for you. So move forward with your day, hold your head high and know that I love you.