In my last blog post I shared with you a few highlights of the interview I did with Dr. Susan Smith Jones.
During that interview with Dr. Susan, we also talked about the fact that she looks 20 years younger than her age. And she added, “This is how most people should be looking.”
The thing is that when we carry extra weight, it creates major stress on every system, every organ and cell in our body, and it ages us quickly. So we must get the extra weight off if we want to look younger than our age! Frankly, is there any woman out there who would rather look older?
As a next step, we must choose to make our health the top priority in our life. Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “Health is your greatest wealth.” The only way to take care of our greatest wealth is by showing by the actions we take every day that our health, weight, and life is our top priority.
To that, Dr. Susan adds, “Yourlife and all of its magnificence is a reflection of how you feel about yourself. So you’ve got to plant those seeds of high self-esteem and support them with every action you take every day. Because you deserve the best life has to offer you.“
And she keeps saying, “Sometimes, people would say to me – like they pull me over in the middle of a talk during the intermission – they’ll say, ‘Susan I like what you say, but you know what? I can’t start eating better ‘till next month because I am under too much stress, my birthday is coming up, it’s my anniversary, or I can’t exercise for at least two weeks because I am going away on a holiday or vacation and it’s my church’s bake sale’.”
I have heard those excuses over and over, and so has probably pretty much every weight loss coach or expert on the entire planet.
The truth is, my friend, that you are never going to get to your desired achievement in your life until you have some self-discipline. And by that, Dr. Susan recommends to “…following through on what you say you are going to do.”
If you sometimes feel that the steering wheel of your car just turned into the fast food restaurant, then you have lost control. And this is not how it’s supposed to be, and this is not how we can become the ‘CEO of our health, weight, and life.’ We – and I have to include myself in this – have to have some control and discipline in our lives.
When we don’t keep our word with whatever it is, we lose faith in ourselves…each time a little bit more. We lose self-esteem, and at a deep level, we don’t feel that we deserve the best in life. And, according to Dr. Susan, this causes depression.
When your energy goes down, and your emotions go down, and you feel depressed, what do you then do? In those situations, so many women often select foods that match their lower emotional level. Then it becomes a vicious cycle of being depressed, eating the wrong foods, gaining weight, being even more depressed, eating more of the wrong foods, and gaining more weight until the day comes where she feels completely out of control.
Dr. Smith Jones says that we can stop this vicious cycle by choosing to love ourselves and show by every action we take every day that we deserve the best.
We deserve to feel powerful and under control, we deserve the best food, and we deserve to be slim and healthy.
Let’s not forget that there is always something we could use as an excuse. The time to eat healthily or to go for a walk is never perfect. It’s never the right time unless we decide that it’s the right time now.
So let’s stop making excuses and ask ourselves who is supposed to have control over our health, weight, and lives. Is it the next baking sale, the next birthday party, the Drive-Through, a current depression….or is it you?
*****
A few years ago, I did an interview with several health and weight loss coaches with a different approach than the diet approach. One of these experts was the bestselling American author, Dr. Susan Smith Jones. She quickly turned out to be one of the most amazing interview partners, and she spilled the beans in that interview. She held nothing back. If you want to hear the whole interview with Dr. Susan, you can go here and claim your free 2-week membership trial:
Many women feel like the victim of a cruel fate, of poor genes, or habits they can’t control. Such an attitude makes it very hard to be successful with any maintainable weight loss method.
In an interview I once did with bestselling author Dr. Susan Smith Jones, she said, “Most people live in what I refer to as like victimhood. Most people would rather complain and get upset or angry, but then they don’t choose to take the action required.”
No matter how often we visualize, how much we hope, how sincerely we pray, and how many times we repeat our affirmations, maintainable weight loss will not happen unless we take action…the RIGHT kind of action.
The good news is that no matter what you have done in the past, no matter how many mistakes you have made, at any day and any time, you can decide that this is a new beginning. Nobody forces you to keep living by the past; nobody forces you to worry about the future.
“As you live the best you can each day with a positive attitude, you can change your life,” says Dr. Smith Jones.
Any change and any goal achievement begin with the choices we make every day. Dr. Susan recommends choosing what is best for you to celebrate your life and cultivate the best life you can. This begins with cultivating a good relationship with yourself. “Treat yourself with the respect that you deserve.”
She encourages everyone to step up to the plate and take your new position as the CEO of your body, weight, health, and life because you are the only person in charge of your body. Today, you can decide that this is a new beginning for you and affirm, “I deserve to be happy and healthy. I deserve the best.”
You can stop your pain and weight struggling right here and now and make new choices that have the potential to change your health and weight for good.
To achieve that – and to claim back the power over your own body and weight – Dr. Susan Smith Jones recommends choosing to be the “CEO of your body and life.”
Dr. Susan keeps explaining, “What you need to realize is that your body is an amazing feedback machine, and your beautiful body is always talking to you. Now, if you get a headache, your body might be trying to tell you something like you are eating too much food, or you’re eating junk food, or you’re not getting enough sleep, or you’re not getting enough water or whatever it is. But you’ve got to listen to your body’s messages to you with an open heart and an open mind. And then – here’s the most important thing – you’ve got to take some action. So know that your body is always talking to you, and you’ve got to pay attention. What we are talking about here is living more mindfully because the sad truth is that most people get up in the morning, and they are sort of on automatic pilot until they go to bed at night. You’ve got to pay attention.”
When you look at all the commercials on TV and the advertisements in magazines and newspapers, the advertisers are trying to tell you that they have a miracle pill, powder or potion, and we’ve come to believe that things outside ourselves are the keys to health and well-being. And whatever you are suffering from, be it headache, constipation, sleepless nights, diarrhea, indigestion, skin rashes, high blood pressure, weight gain–you fill in the blank-you then first try to self-medicate before going to the doctor. Thus, we have become a self-medicating society or world because we don’t really understand how our body is trying to communicate with us, trying to give us the correct answers for a healthy, slim, long, and happy life. And because we are impatient and want instant relief without taking care of the body’s needs first, we make matters worse by going the wrong route.
“So each of us needs to be reminded that we are magnificently equipped to meet life’s problems when supplied with the simple and easily obtainable requisites of health,” Dr. Susan recommends. So we’ve got to realize that our human body is remarkable and a wonderful feedback machine.
We are supposed to be the CEO of our body, and we’ve got to listen more to what it’s saying to us. Because – and here comes one of the secrets no weight loss coach has ever told you before – your body already has most of the answers for your weight loss success, especially when the cause of your weight gain is a physical one.
The body knows what it needs to burn fat faster and better, if we cared to listen, and if we cared to do the right things.
*****
A few years ago, I did several interviews with other health and weight loss coaches with a different approach than the diet approach. One of these experts was the bestselling American author, Dr. Susan Smith Jones. She quickly turned out to be one of the most amazing interview partners, and she spilled the beans in that interview. She held nothing back. If you want to hear the whole interview with Dr. Susan, you can go here and claim your free 2-week membership trial:
Currently, the world seems to be hidden under a gigantic clowd of fear, worry, and panic. The news channels seem to have only one topic: Coronavirus. It seems like the world has come to a screaching halt. There are so many different and even contradictory reports about the spreading of the Coronavirus what leads to even bigger confusion. Although the death numbers more sound like normal numbers like with any other winter flu to me (people are dying at any time of the year, not only during a so-called pandemy) the media publish new numbers every day. And the worst numbers are the added up ones what makes it look like quite a daunting number.
Corona-Gift #1: Relaxation Island
Hello and welcome!
During such a situation that is very stressful for many of us, I decided to give you a gift my clients usually have to pay for. May this help you get through the current corona crisis with less stress.
As you may know, stress is making matters worse not better. Stress is even adding on pounds and we want to prevent that from happening.
As a former stress-relief therapist I have created this short 10-minute relaxation for you to use as often as you like. If staying healthy is important to you, I recommend to do it three times during the day (although not directly before going to bed).
It takes some time until the body will react to, but once it will, you can be certain that your immune system is getting stronger daily.
Here is your gift:
Don’t use this relaxation tape shortly before going to bed becasue it increases your energy. The best times are upon waking up before breakfast, before lunch and before dinner.
Corona-Gift #2: 13 Tips to prevent yourself from getting sick
13 Steps to Prevent yourself from getting sick
Almost all governements worldwide have issued various protective measures and implemented restrictive orders for the the people, which are, “Wash your hands”, “Sneeze into your ellbow”, and “Stay at home”. If we are facing a real pandemy, this seems quite rudimentary advice to me.
The importance of effective prevention and the appropriate strengthening of the immune system is hardly mentioned by the media, authorities and experts. Although this should be our very first concern. But the media are more concerned about which celebrity got infected and how much toilet paper they have to produce to cover the increased demand.
Prevention should always be given attention in the winter months anyway, but nobody seems to care about prevention for the 99,99999% of the people who are healthy.
Here are the most sensible preventive steps that can help your body to remain immune for viruses and to activate its fabulous self-healing power in case of an infection.
13 Steps how to remain healthy and give Corona no chance:
1.) Keep in mind the following fact: the body is perfectly capable of warding off any viruses and bacteria IF it has everything it needs. Therefore, as long as you are taking well care of your body and its immune system, you don’t have to worry about viruses. Just feed your body the right food.
2.) One of the best preventions is keeping an optimistic mindset. While fear weakens our immune system, positivity strengthens it. That doesn’t mean that we have to adopt a Polyanna mindset, but it means to be conscious about how we think and feel. Thoughts and emotions are energy, and if you are familiar with the law of attraction, you understand that we always attract what we are afraid of. Therefore, if you do not want to attract the Coronavirus, you should not even think about it, let alone allow fear, anxiety and panic to dominate your thinking and emotions.
Each time you realize that you are being fearful, stop and take a few deep breaths. Then shift your thinking to something else, preferrably to something you can still be grateful for. For instance, you can be thankful that you have more time with your family now, that you have more time for yourself, that you now finally can read that book you never had the time for, that you can meditate and relax every single day, that you can finish tasks you never had the time for and so on and so forth. Or you can simply be grateful that you and your loved ones are healthy and alive.
3.) To be on the safe side, follow the hygiene instructions of your government. Your own protection is only one part why I add this to my list. The second part is that when you follow these instructions, nobody can blame you for being irresponsible. Besides, a correct coughing and sneezing etiquette is always a good idea and should simply be part of good manners.
4.) Deep abdominal breathing has a profound effect on the flow properties on the blood. The blood then can transport more oxygen to the organs what increases the detoxification process what keeps your organs healthier. If you are not allowed to leave the house, step out on your porch or balcony or open the windows several times a day. Then hold your face up to the sun and breathe deeply for 10 minutes. Make sure that you breathe into your abdomen and breathe out deeply again. Imagine that your breathing is like the waves of the ocean: coming and going, coming and going, coming and going…. Do that several times a day. “Before and after” haemograms always proof clearly a big difference. While the red blood cells are often clumped together before the breathing exercise, they can float freely afterwards (no more clumping).
5.) Stress is one of the biggest contributing factor to any disease. Nothing weakens our immune system faster than stress. Therefore stress relief is the call of the hour. Although it may seem like normal to be stressed in such a worrisome time, the necessity to stop and refrain from what’s going on is life saving. Besides, most of us have more time now since we can’t leave our homes. So why not take advantage of this situation by giving your immune system a boost and practice to relax? With my last message I have sent you a gift, an audio with a relaxation session you can do at any time. Just don’t do it while driving or working with heavy machines. To do it properly you need to lay or sit down, close your eyes and allow your nervous system to completely let go. In that process of relaxing and letting go your immune system can recharge itself beautifully. The more often you practice this relaxation, the better you get and the faster and easier you can relax, even in times of stress. You can use my relaxation audio (it only takes 9 minutes) or any other relaxation method you may like. Just do it on a regular basis several times per day.
Here is the audio “Relaxation Island” (Corona-Gift #1) again:
Don’t use this relaxation tape shortly before going to bed becasue it increases your energy. The best times are upon waking up before breakfast, before lunch and before dinner.
6.)Fresh air and exercise is another way of improving your immune system. The combination of fresh air, sunlight and movement is simply ideal. Besides, it makes you feel great, happy and strong. Oxygen is more important than food. If you are one of those individuals who can’t go to work, it might be a great idea touse that time and go for a daily one-hour walk, play with your children outdoors, go on a bicycle tour or hiking tour. You will see that afterwards you will feel like all the power is back in your hands….and it is.
7.) Did you ever hear that a lack of sleep will lead to weight gain? So now you have the chance to sleep more (ideally 8 hours per night) and by doing so you can improve your immune system and at the same time lose weight. Especially during the flu season good and enough sleep is very much recommended.
8.) It’s no secret that a healthy and balanced diet supports our immune system. Health begins in our intestine, and optimal digestive function as a prevention of flu-like infections is crucial. A light and well-balanced diet – fresh and light meals, cut back on the carbs, eat lots of fresh vegetables and fruits, herbs, wild plants, sprouts and seeds – will aid your intestine to do a better job what will aid your immune system. Also cook from scratch and give your microwave oven a break. Microwaved food is dead and altered, thus toxic – your body simply can’t recognize it as food and stores it in fat cells to keep it away from the vital organs. This cloggs up your entire system, weakens the immune system, toxifies the body and leads to weight gain. If (since) you have more time now, there is no reason to use the microwave oven.
9.) When I was a child, each winter we had to swallow fish oil capsules in order to stay healthy. Gosh did I hate that. But today I understand why this was necessary. Thank goodness we have better alternatives nowadays. Vitamin D, E and C in high dosage are very important during the flu season. The combination of these two substances has proven to be very effective for the long-term strengthening of the immune system. This is a very important part of preventing a flu. But make sure that you get supplements from natural sources and not syntetically manufactured ones. Rather pay a few dollars more in your health food store than for supplements from the drug store. Together with vitamin D3 you should also take K2. And please don’t hesitate to add an Omega3 supplement.
10.) Besides the vitamins, minerals also play an important role for a healthy immune system. Zinc in particular increases the body’s defense mechanism and the protection of the lung – very important when facing the Coronavirus. Selenium is a strong antioxidant mineral and essential for various functions of the immune system and also for detoxification and cell protection.
11.) Many medicinal plants have an immune-strengthening, protecting and antioxidant effect. For prevention use products with echinacea, thyme, parsley, rosemary, basil, mint, ginger, turmeric, oregano, liquorice, rockrose, elderberry, rosehip, and horseradish. These plants can be ingested as tinctures, teas, in capsules or fresh in meals. The good news is that some of the mentioned herbs are great additions for the kitchen and improve every meal in taste. Nothing beats a salad with a handful freshly chopped parsley and basil or a pesto with fresh oregano. Why not take advantage of the unplanned “vacation” to experiment with new, healthy menues?
As soon as you begin to feel some flu-like symptoms, take 40 drops of echinacea tincture in a glass of water every two hours during the entire day until the symptons will be gone. Most of the time the flu will take its leave before it can really break out. If these symptoms don’t go away within a day or two, call the doctor. Keep in mind that the mentioned herbs are for prevention.
12.) The better your body can release toxins, acid and slag, the healthier your body remains. And to get rid of those in the fastest way possible, your body needs a lot of pure water (nothing added to it). If you are at a normal weight, three liters (102 oz or 300ml) per day is enough. But if you are overweight, you need four liters (135 oz. or 400ml or 1 gallon) of water daily. Add a small pinch of a healthy, organic salt to every third glass of water but nothing else. If you live in a city or in an area where you depend on community water, you should ideally filter your water. If you are not used to drink so much water, first replace all other drinks you usually drink during any given day with water. Then increase the amount of water slightly from week to week (for instance, increase your daily water intake for 500ml/17 oz. every week until you will have the three or four liters).
13.) Speaking of prevention we shall not forget one of the biggest contributors to illness. The virus has always been around and part of the winter flus. So why is it more severe this year? The problem is that the governments do not yet understand the severe danger of radiation (EMF). Some scientists are warning us from microwave radiation for many years, some even for more than two decades. So far that radiation has gone up linear, slightly increasing from year to year through cordless phones, mobile phones, Wi-Fi and all technical devices that communicate wirelessly. The cell phone and smart meter technology is based on microwaves and as we know, microwaves heat. Over the years the radiation was increased only slightly but regularly and steadily so that most people didn’t feel a difference. But last year in many western countries they began the roll-out of 5G which is said to be 17 times stronger than 4G. And that lead to a rapid increase of microwave radiation all around the planet and in the entire atmosphere.
Therefore, for the sake of prevention I highly recommnd to go hard-wired and reduce the use of cell phones, wireless phones, Wi-Fi, smart phones, robots, etc. to an absolute minimum and only for emergency cases if nothing else will work. At this time of your life you don’t need to be available 24/7 anyway, unless you have to work from home. But maybe even then your boss could call you on your land line. This will help your immune system to recover.
The electromagnetic radiation of such devices weakens the defence and detoxification ability of our organ systems and cells and impairs the regenerative and self-healing powers. Giving your body and immune system a break from radiation will be a very welcome change and help your body to improve its immune system and keep you healthy. Isn’t this the most important thing right now anyway?
Don’t forget the joy of life. Like attracts like! We can only attract the same Energy we send out through our thoughts and emotions. Negative thoughts and emotions bring back negative situations and circumstances and vice versa. If you start your day with a feeling of gratitude that you are alive and healthy and go through your day with joy and enthusiasm – by celebrating feelings of friendship, love, trust, hope, faith, and strength – that’s exactly what you will get. Pay very close attention to your thoughts and emotions and softly the negative ones into a more positive direction by changing your thinking. Pay very close attention to the information and news you are currently consuming. Don’t allow to get inundated. News are seldom positive and can make us feel helpless and hopeless. This is not helpful at all. Negative emotions have been proven to weaken our immune system. Whenever you feel helpless or hopeless, turn your attention back to gratitude, people you love and life-enhancing things.
And let’s not forget laughter – it’s said to be the best Medicine!
Aids for acute cases Should you have to stay in bed with symptoms of cold and fever, there are still several things you can do to support your body in the healing process.
Herbal teas with ginger, thyme or sage strengthen the immune system and free the respiratory tract. Camomile tea reduces the Inflammation. Drink a lot of these teas.
American Ginseng supports the lungs.
You can also apply a warming chest ointment from the drugstore or pharmacy.
Inhale with thyme, eucalyptus oil, American ginseng root or baking powder.
The intake of Umckaloabo (tincture) or acetylcysteine (available from the pharmacy) promotes the expulsion of mucus.
With bronchitis and pneumonia, potato, onion and mustard seed poultices have been found to be very effective.
If your symptoms do not improve, you should consult your naturopath, homeopath or doctor for individual advice.
As disasterous the effects of the corona virus are for the economy may be, there is still an advantage most people don’t realize. This crisis is forcing us to look at some things closer and change a few things in our lives for the sake of our health and the health of our loved ones.
Don’t allow the death numbers to impress you. Compared to the world population this is a minimal number. Of course each life counts, but please keep in mind that the people who die are old and/or have other diseases of which they probably would have died anyway. This may help you keep things in perspective. Follow the instructions of your government (just to be on the safe side) and on top of that try to implement these 13 steps to strengthen your immune system. This should get you a long way.
Corona-Gift #3: 17 Steps to healthy weight loss during Covid-19
Yesterday I read in the newspaper that because of the home quarantine people begin to gain weight. That doesn’t surprise me. Of course one issue is that people are sitting around more and move or exercise less. Then they also tend to eat more junk food because this gives them kind of a cozy feeling. But then there is also another psychological component to that.
In such a time where we are being told that our life is in danger – regardless whether this is true or not – we choose to prevent ourselves from starving by allowing the body to add more fat. This is a totally unconscious agreement between our brain and the body and is part of our survival mode. But that doesn’t mean that your weight gain is a given. You can still choose. You can over-rule your subconscious mind by becoming aware of. More about that in a minute.
Crisis always contains chances. And the Covid-19 crisis is no different. Everybody who is at home quarantine has received the gift of more time. And with that time we can do wonderful things and apply some new weight loss habits.
17 Steps how to lose weight during the Corona Crisis (instead of gaining weight)
Since most of the instructions above that lead to better health and a stronger immune system also lead to faster and easier weight gain, I highly recommend to keep applying the 13 Tips in my gifts #1 and #2 above. These steps will also aid your weight loss.
The next step is really to become aware of what’s going on subconsciously and then make a decision. As soon as you do that, it’s no longer subconscious and you gain the control back. That’s how you can over-rule your subconscious mind.
Tell your body that you are perfectly capable of taking care of its needs even during such a crisis and that there is no need to shovel in junk food to gain and store fat. You have to tell your body that in an assertive and determined tone and it will understand you.
Of course, you then will have to deliver on the promise so your body will learn to trust you when you say that you are taking care of it. One way to do that is by giving it the healthiest possible food your money can currently buy. This has to include a lot of fresh greens, salads, vegetables and fruits. The more fresh food the better.
Since sleeping is very crucial for healthy weight loss, I want to repeat that step here again. Make sure that you sleep between seven and eight hours every night. Do not underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep.
Just because you have to stay at home doesn’t mean that you can’t get out and get some fresh air. This is simply essential for effective weight loss. Your body needs a lot of oxigen to burn fat. If you have the opportunity to go for a walk in a nearby park or if you live in the Country, go for a daily walk of between 30 and 60 minutes. I hear you say that you still have to work from home despite of corona. Yes, that’s right, but since you don’t have to commute to work and back you gain time. That time should ideally be spent for your body in order to remain healthy And why not also use that time to lose some extra fat? That way you demonstrate your boss that you are able to take responsibility and he or she will appreciate that.
If you have a yard – whether you have children or not – play outdoors a lot.
When the weather is wet and cold, you can also move in the house. If you are so lucky to have stairs in the house, you can climb the stairs up and down. Just keep in mind that for the sake of weight loss, any kind of exercise has to be done at least 30 minutes. That means that you would have to walk up and down the stairs several times. To make this more interesting and to prevent boredom, you can use motivating music while exercising this way.
Speaking of music, dancing really intensive for at least 30 minutes is another way to exercise and it’s fun. Dance in a way that makes you sweat.
The good news is that many things that provide weight loss are actually free, and so is water. Water is a great help for weight loss. The bodies of overweight people have a higher need of water, therefore try to increase your water intake. Now is a very good time to train your body to hold more water. Three liters per day is a minimum. You will see that you will be less hungry.
Years ago I began to make weekly meal plans. That habit is now making my life significantly easier and helps me to eat healthier. Every day I know exactly what to cook and when I go shopping I don’t just fill the cart with food but I fill it with healthy food I know I will actually need during the week. This not only forces me to make healthier choices but also saves me money because I have to throwe away less food.
Cooking from scratch can be really fun. Spoil the body with healthy food instead of purchasing pre-cooked stuff that contains lots of sugar, carbs and toxins. I never liked cooking until I realized how much more tasty my meals get when I use fresh herbs. There is no comparison to pre-made meals. After cooking from scratch during four weeks of home quarantine it will become a desire to keep cooking that way after the crisis will be over. And thus you will find good ways to keep that healthy lifestyle beyond the Covid-19 crisis. After all, millions of European women still cook from scratch three meals per day and every day, although many of them have their jobs as well.
Don’t eat microwaved food because it’s void in nutrients. I know they told us that microwaved food contained the most vitamines over other cooking methods, which is only partly true. That means that the vitamins can be found in the food. But what they don’t tell you is that food that has been defrosted or heated in the microwave is being altered in a way that your body can’t recognize it as “food” any longer, and thus it becomes toxic for the body. Because your body doesn’t understand what to do with that “matter” it stores it in fat cells labeled as “toxic” what leads not only to a little bit weight gain but to massive weight gain and obesity.
Reduce the starchy carbs. Since you are now eating more vegetables and fruits, you will not need any starchy carbs anyway.
Some of the biggest stumbling blocks are snacks. It’s so easy to grab some sugary snacks or a bag of potatoe chips, especially when working from home. By eliminating them from your home completely helps your tremendously to make better and conscious choices. Unsalted nuts, for example are very healthy and you will only need a few of those to reduce your hunger. Then, again drinking a glass or two of water reduces the appetite as well and you will see that you will need way less food (and money). One of the healtiest snacks are apples, but only if it’s organically grown. One apple is enough between two meals.
I think by now we are all aware of the fact that stress leads to weight gain. You can easily reduce stress drastically by applying #2, #4, #5 and #7 of my Corona-Gift #2 above. Fresh air, deep breathing, regular methodical relaxation and good night’s sleep help reduce stress tremendously and although it may seem like costing time, at the end of the day these tactics help you reduce time. The Managers of some Fortune 500 companies I used to work with are not only allowed to relax regularly during the work time, they are also encouraged to do so. This for a very good reason. Relaxed employees are much more effectice than the stressed ones. Therefore, whatever you do to reduce stress in your life will increase the quality of your work and you can do much more.
Visualize. Imagine how you are slim and happy. Do that one a day for a couple of minutes.
Simple? Yes. Simple and effective.
Like I said earlier, we have been given a gift: the gift of more time. This gives us the great chance to implement some new and better habits and get rid of some old, fattening habits. It would be a shame not to take advantage of that gift of life.
Leading a healthy lifestyle has always been the best way of lasting weight loss.
Just in case that you might think that you already knew all that, I believe you. But how many times did we Forget About even the simplest Things because life was creaping up on us and then suddenly realized one day that we have forgotten what we wanted to do? And don’t we all need some motivation from time to time? So see this as a friendly reminder from me.
Especially during such an unprecedented time the world has never seen before we tend to run through the days mindlessly not realizing the chances this may bring. And when that happens, it is so easy to feel powerless and that we have lost control over our lives and health.
Now it’s time to be gently lead back to a healthy lifestyle and to gain your control back.
Take care….and stay healthy, slim and happy! You are worth it!
Corona-Gift #4: 3 Secrets and 4 Elements of Lasting Weight Loss
Gift #4 is the recording of a class I did about three years ago. So far nobody ever had access to this recording. This is my gift to you so you can learn what the four elements of a sensible and powerful weight loss strategy are.
With this gift we are going more into depth regarding lasting and healthy weight loss and also integrate the psychology of losing weight (it’s the psychology of weight loss that makes it last, by the way).
Corona-Gift #5: Weight Loss Experts Reveal The Truth
At the end of the webinar (Corona Gift #4) you have the chance to claim your $144 gift.
P.S. If you have any questions regarding Covid-19 and how to keep yourself and your loved ones healthy during these unprecedented times, please post them below and I will answer them personally.
If you struggle with your weight, then you have probably already tried several things to lose it. Apparently nothing has helped so far long-term. In other words, by now you have probably found out by yourself that dieting may not be the solution. But what is the solution for weight issues?
Before I or anybody can give you a helpful answer we first have to look at another topic.
A few months ago I had to spend a month in a rehab clinic after a surgery. That clinic is specialized on vein and lymphatic problems. That was very interesting for me because over 80% of all patients in that clinic are obese.
While my physical therapist was working at my body we talked a lot, mainly about health and weight topics. Since most of her patients are obese I asked her one day, why, in her opinion losing weight is so difficult. Her answer was very interesting.
To be honest, from her I expected to hear an answer like, “Obese women eat too much.”“Obese women don’t like to exercise.” “Obese women have poor eating habits.” But to my big surprise she said that the single and most relevant reason for that issue was that overweight and obese people fail to look at the psychological causes. She added, “As soon as overweight people take care of their causes, they can lose weight.”
FINALLY another person who has come to the same conclusion I have! To hear this from an expert who treats 40 patients every week what makes about 1,800 patients per year meant a lot for me.
Of course, that physical therapist and I are not the only professionals who understand the connection between weight gain and psychological issues. In fact, we are in the best possible company (unfortunately that doesn’t mean that people would listen and understand).
Louise Hay lists four possible causes of being overweight:
Fear – the need for protection
running away from feelings
insecurity, self-rejection
seeking fulfillment
This alone should give you a better idea of the complexity of weight issues.
In my 32 years of working with 10,000+ weight-struggling women I have found over 50 possible causes so far. 47 of them I have listed in a report with the title Why You Can’t Lose Weight for Good – Possible Causes of Weight Gain and Yo-Yoing.
There is one simple reason why diets don’t work:
No diet or program will ever work until you will have recognized and eliminated the real cause or causes!
When we think about possible causes of weight gain we usually think about things like over-eating, lack of exercise, hormonal imbalance, lack of discipline…. But that’s only a tiny, tiny part of the whole picture.
Let’s not forget that we are whole beings. We are not our body – we have a body. That is a bigger difference than you may believe. We not only have a physical body of cells, but also finer “bodies” made of atoms, molecules, and electrons. These parts of us are invisible but not less important. The body – or the physical part – is pretty much just like the tip of the iceberg.
Our way of thinking has a tremendous effect on our healthy, our weight, our finances…our whole life. Then, of course, we also have emotions. Emotions and thoughts combined have a very powerful creative effect. The thinking, feeling and acting patterns we repeat over and over become habits which have an enormous impact on our weight. And then we have memories (conscious and subconscious). All these parts of the human being make us the individual we are, and they affect our body, our weight and our health.
One of the reasons why diets don’t work long term is the fact that people only look at the physical body and completely ignore the rest of the human being. The physical and visible part of our being is only a very little part of the problem. Therefore, a diet or any program that ignores the mental, emotional, and psychological part of the issue can never bring long-term results. We can’t ignore 90% of the problem and focus on the 10% and seriously hope that this will solve the problem.
In fact, over-eating is most of the time just a symptom; the real cause of weight gain is usually something else, for instance a hunger for life, for love, for recognition, for improvement. Unfortunately these issues are not often recognized and not taken into consideration for a sustainable weight loss strategy.
No matter how many diets you follow, how determined and disciplined you count calories, how many sacrifices you make, your weight will always bounce back if you don’t take care of the real, underlying causes of your weight problem. When these causes are being ignored for too long, they can add up quite a bit and make your attempts to lose weight more and more difficult with each year.
On th eother hand, simply resolving or eliminating the cause will often bring the desired results without even changing the diet or exercise regimen.
Here are nine examples of what a psychological cause of excess weight or obesity in women can be .
Example #1: After entering a romantic relationship with a partner, Bertha identified even more strongly with her role as a woman. Consequently, she developed a more feminine form. These curves have an erotic appeal. Her body reacted quite naturally to the new situation. If Bertha had recognized the reason behind the slight weight gain, and responded properly (accepted her body and enjoyed her femininity), her weight would not have increased more than a few pounds if she wouldn’t have started yo-yo dieting.
Example #2: Jessica did not have a steady boyfriend for a long time before she met her husband. Her marriage now gives her peace, quiet, safety, and security. This settled lifestyle gives her a sense of comfort – she is content, so to speak. Jessica’s body reacts to this peace, as she relaxes about everything. Her body gains a little weight. With that, her body signals to other men: “I am at home, I am not available anymore.”
Example #3: Erica’s self-esteem is very low. She feels that she must somehow be happy now that she has found a husband. But, in her deepest heart stirs something else – for Erica, yet unnoticed. But this part deep within herself is strong and self-confident and knows that there is no reason for those feelings of inferiority. Yet, because she has learned as a child that she was only loved because she was cute and well behaved, something starts to rebel within her. What if her husband just loved her too because she’s pretty, nice and “low maintenance”? So now, she needs to (unconsciously, because she is not aware of all this) find out. By gaining weight, she is suddenly not so cute and attractive anymore, no longer the sweet little girl. In this way, Erica wants to “test” her husband and find out if he really loves her or just her outer appearance.
Example #4: Even though Mary is very faithful to her husband, he tortures her again and again with jealousy. These outbreaks are very tiring to her, especially since she feels helpless and powerless against the allegations of her husband. She notices that no logical reasoning helps here. She wishes deeply that other men would not look at her that way, so her husband would have no reason to be jealous. Because she loves her husband very much, but knows no way out, her subconscious mind finds a solution. It causes the body to increase her weight and so lose its attractive appeal. From then on, Mary feels satisfaction and peace, as she is no longer noticed by other men. That way, her husband no longer has any reason for jealousy. However, the price is very high, because he finds her new appearance no longer particularly appealing either. Well, you can’t please everyone!
Example #5: Ruth has learned as a child, that she must not say “no,” or she would be punished. At the same time, she received from her mother the message that somehow, she should fulfill her conjugal “duties” with her husband. Now that she is married, she feels the sexual desires of her husband are often too demanding. Although she enjoys the sex, she is not always ready. Since she has never learned to say “no” verbally and she cannot stand up to her husband, her body says “no” in her behalf. She builds up a protective armor, so to speak, and gains weight.
Example #6: Norma’s situation is similar to Ruth’s. She has not learned to say no. On the other hand, she enjoys her body and sexuality. Before she married, she was quite free and could choose her lovers. But now she is only “reserved” for one man. To Norma’s mind it is quite clear that she wants to be faithful, but somehow she has difficulty getting used to the idea of having only one man in her life. She doesn’t trust herself completely. So she gains weight to keep men away. Again, the overweight serves as protection from male harassment on the one hand, and as protection from her own unconscious desires and feelings on the other.
Example #7: When Isabelle met her husband, he courted her intensely at first. He spoiled her with flowers, presents, caresses and compliments, and he called her every day. Isabelle interpreted this behavior as the great love of her life, and said yes to his marriage proposal. But as soon as they were married, the flowers, gifts and other tokens of love stopped. Isabelle believes that her husband no longer loves her. She misses the regular vows of love and affection from him. What’s more, increasingly, he is tense and busy with his professional career. While day after day she is sitting at home alone, bored as a housewife, Isabelle experiences increased cravings for sweets. For her the eating substitutes for love. And then something else happens. Her increased physical size, too, can no longer be ignored, which means that her husband has to notice her more now – she can’t be ignored as easily anymore.
Example #8: Rosmarie has been taken advantage of throughout her whole life. She is by nature a giver, and many people she met took advantage of her, including her family. This caused an imbalance between giving and receiving in her system. As an adult she had the constant feeling of coming short…she feels cheated by life. Therefore she also has the impression that life owes her something. On the physical level this results in constant hunger. At the same time she became very demanding. Often she felt so empty that to others she was like a big black whole that could take and take. In Switzerland we have a saying that goes like this: “She can’t get the throat full.” What that means is that such a person wants more and more and more, even if she can’t handle all that she receives. These people are takers in the truest sense of the word. Their throat can never be filled – it’s like a black, empty, bottomless pit. This is in most cases due to a lack of love in their childhood or other experiences of a lack of something. This can be food, but it’s mostly love and affection. Rosmarie’s way of giving and receiving is not balanced.
Example #9: Living with step-family, Linda has always been the black sheep of the family. Whenever somebody did something wrong, Linda was the one who was blamed. She was blamed for every fight and conflict in the family. There were many problems and a shameful history in Linda’s family, all of which were carefully swept under the carpet. By passing on the responsibility to Linda, the family could live with their blind spots quite comfortably. This allowed them to project everything negative onto Linda, rather than confront what needed to be changed in themselves. Instead, they could fault her and fight her. It was easier this way. They had singled out the “guilty” one. This is how Linda learned very early in her life, to carry other people’s problems on her shoulders. This pattern continues, not only within her family, but also with her friends and acquaintances. She takes the blame for problems and conflicts immediately and kind of automatically on herself – it has become her nature; it takes place on an entirely unconscious level. She has never learned to question whether others might also have their share of blame in a dispute or issue, or even realize that others tended to project their problems onto Linda. More and more, she felt like she was carrying the weight of the whole world on her shoulders. She could hardly breathe and felt depressed and immobile, like she was carrying a big, invisible burden. Her overweight condition simply reflected her role as a scapegoat. It also gave her the strength to be able to carry the burdens that were not hers. In the truest sense of the word, she needed broad shoulders in order to be able to carry all that.Some of these examples may sound familiar to you and others don’t. That’s normal. Not every woman has the same causes.
These examples may just give you a better understanding of the real and quite complex nature of being overweight. These are still just a few examples and a very small part of the problem. Now, just imagine that you wanted to remedy all these issues with one tactic: a diet. You instantly realize what a ridiculous attempt this would be.
But what is the solution?
Very simple.
Weed out the roots first
If we want to make lasting changes and become slim and healthy for good, we have to get to the roots of the problem and weed them out. As soon as these underlying causes can be resolved, there is no reason for the body to stay overweight and it begins to burn more fat.
This may sound very complicated, but it isn’t. The only crux is that in most cases the overweight person needs an expert who is not only familiar with the possible causes but can also lead her through the transformation process. Sometimes there is a lot to weed out before the body can stop the symptoms.
This doesn’t mean that you have to go through 10 years of psychotherapy or through a very painful transformation process. Most of the time we can transform even the biggest and worst causes within 1 and 3 weekly group coaching calls. Frankly, there is no faster, easier and more efforless weight loss method out there I know of.
I personally do that kind of transformation work through one-on-one coaching and group coaching sessions over the phone. Once the real cause (or causes) has been detected and transformed, the body has no more reason to hold on to its extra fat and can begin to burn it.
Here is a short interview with Deepak Chopra on “hunger”.
There is one major reason why it’s highly recommended to take care of extra weight and eliminate the causes right away. And this is something else hardly anybody else tells you.
The longer you are overweight and the more often your weight bounces back and forth, the more your body creates what is called lipedema.
Lipedema overgrowth of fat cells that occur in the legs and lower trunk. In many cases it also includes the arms or upper body as well. Lipedema is often thought to be simple obesity. Don’t confuse lipedema with “lymphedema,” the accumulation of lymph fluid in the interstitial areas, though.
What makes lipedema a big problem is the fact that in such fat tissue hormones are created that force the body to create even more of these fat cells. That way lipedema can grow pretty much in every direction and to this day no cure has been found.
The very best and least painful way to lose your extra weight for good is really toeliminate the causes ASAP.
Allow me just one final word.
Everybody wants to lose excess weight fast and effortless. Here is the most important weight loss secret:
Eliminating the causes is by leaps and bounds the fastest, easiest and most effortless way of losing weight. Period.
When you’re overweight, then your body needs healing in some form or another. Healing (weight loss) can and often has to happen on several levels in order to be effective.
One of the strongest healing powers is entirely free and you can get it anywhere and at any time…and it burns fat without exercise. All it takes is a decision of yours. I’m talking about humor.
Did you know…
…that laughter improves our sense of well-being?
…that it reduces tension, depression and anger?
…that it lowers the stress levels?
…that it reduces blood pressure?
…that it’s a great exercise for your heart?
…that it strengthens your immune system?
…and that it reduces pain?
Laughter is safer than any pharma pills and free of harmful side effects. Laughing is one of the easiest things you can do to promote healing and well-being. And well-being supports your weight loss process. It’s a known fact that patients who have a sense of humor and laugh often, tend to heal faster and better than those who don’t.
Dr. Frank Lipman said: “If health and wellness is your goal, skip irony, bypass sarcasm and make the conscious choice to add more joyous laughter into your day.” Isn’t it exactly irony and sarcasm overweight people are so good at? How about replacing this now with genuine humor?
He also shares 10 simple health-enhancing reasons to have a daily laugh:
Laughter helps boost your immune system by increasing T cell activity, those “killer cells” that help our bodies fight viruses and tumors.
Laughter helps lower blood pressure and cortisol levels, decreases pain and can also help stabilize blood sugar.
Laugher stimulates chemical changes in the brain that help buffer our bodies against the cumulative effects of stress.
Laughter burns a few extra calories: according to a recent university study, just 10 -15 minutes worth of chuckles throughout the day can burn up to 40 calories.
Laughter stimulates the release of endorphins, the mood-elevating brain chemicals behind the “runner’s high.”
Laughter helps reduce inflammation throughout the body – good news for your heart, brain and circulatory health.
Laughter “massages” internal organs – which is why it’s sometimes referred to as “internal jogging” – with effects similar to exercise.
Laughter provides a light workout for the heart, lungs, diaphragm and even the abdominal muscles.
Laughter releases tension in the muscles of the face, neck, shoulders and abdomen – all common areas where we tent to hold lots of tension
Laughter is physically and mentally therapeutic – an involuntary response that positively alters mood instantly – what could be better?
The thing is that your brain can never think two contradictory thoughts at the same time. It’s impossible for a negative thought to remain while you’re laughing. And in my last blog posts we talked about the effect negative thoughts have on our belief system and the effect our belief system has on our weight and health.
Laughing is contagious, irresistible and very attractive.
Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, keeps you ground and focused.
Can you laugh your pounds of? I think you can.
So my “prescription” for today is to add laughter and humor into your life. Take life less seriously. Find one humorous thing each day. “Lighten up”.
“The nicest thing about a laugh is that so much of you has a good time.” –Marsha Perlman
You can make it a habit to read in a joke book or watch a funny video every morning to make it a great start of the day.
A good way is to be more around happy people. Children are great to have a lot of fun with.
In one of my last blog posts I talked about the power your words have in your life and how you can use that power for your weight loss. Today I want to take it a step further.
You see, when thoughts and words are used often enough, they eventually become beliefs. And beliefs are something you naturally believe in, whether or not they are based on truth and facts. For you they seem to be true. The more you believe in them, the more you act accordingly. And the more you act as if they were true, the more you create a physical “reality” around your beliefs.
And with every action you take in that direction, and with every “proof” you get for your belief, it becomes stronger and more powerful. So you operate every day based on what you believe were facts. Beliefs can grow so strong that they can completely mentally cripple a person.
Limiting beliefs are sneaky things and they affect you on a deep subconscious level; they can definitely hold you back from achieving your desired weight loss goal.
Yet, they are still nothing else but beliefs that have nothing to do with facts.
These are the top 11 self-limiting beliefs among overweight women:
I have a strong bone structure.
I’m too old
I’m not smart enough
It’s all about the calories
It runs in my family – it’s the genes.
I’m afraid of trying and failing
You have to have money to lose weight
I’ve already tried everything
I don’t feel that I really deserve to be slim and beautiful
I don’t have the willpower
It just doesn’t work for me
Now does one or several of these self-limiting beliefs resonate with you? Does one of these beliefs resonate more strongly with you over the others?
At this point I encourage you to look behind that curtain and put those beliefs under scrutiny. Take a closer look and find out how some of the little beliefs you hardly paid any attention to may be wreaking havoc regarding your health and weight.
Now let’s take a closer look at these self-limiting beliefs:
Fact: having a strong bone structure does not include having excess fat. Bone is bone and fat is fat.
Fact: you may have to take some more aspects into consideration when you’re past menopause, but that doesn’t mean that your body is operating under different “laws”.
Fact: being successful in any field has nothing to do with your IQ. Fact is that very often the less intelligent people have the greater successes because they’re not stopped by the mental concepts intelligent people often have. Besides, there are several forms of intelligence that most can’t be measured through IQ tests.
Fact: there is ample scientific proof that weight gain and weight loss has nothing to do with calories. This is a myth that has been debunked a long time ago. So let’s not go that route anymore. The only calories you really have to worry about are those empty calories. It’s the quality food that matters, not the quantity.
Fact: there is also enough scientific proof that genes can be over-ruled and even changed. Did you ever see families with very skinny kids and very fat kids? Both have the same parents and the same genes, yet some are slim and some are not.
Fact: if you don’t try, you can’t succeed. The biggest failure is not to try and to maintain the current status quo. Fear of failing is a very disempowering life strategy. The best way to fail is not to try. With over 50 possible causes of weight gain you may have to try several strategies (not diets – no matter what diet you choose, they don’t work) until you will find the one that addresses your individual causes.
Fact: the best weight loss strategies are free. Eating healthy costs way less than unhealthy eating. And if you believe that weight loss programs have to be expensive, try my 30-Day Triple Power Weight Loss Program where you learn how to eliminate pretty much every stumbling block and bad habit that has been standing in your way. Of course, there are $390 programs out there, but they’re not a bit better than my $49 program. So money can’t really be an issue.
Fact: obviously you haven’t. Try my 30-Day Triple Power Weight Loss Program and then you can probably say that you have tried everything. And if that one doesn’t work for you, then you’re definitely doing something wrong….or you have a cause for weight gain that was not yet found. In that case please stay tuned. I’m regularly publishing content about new-found causes of weight issues.
Fact: you are a child of God, and as such you deserve only the best this universe has to offer. Unfortunately the feeling of not deserving to be slim and beautiful is a very common pattern among women. The original blueprint of your body is slim, healthy and beautiful. And whenever you choose to, you can go back and realize your personal original slim blueprint.
Fact: we humans are very powerful beings…each of us. Just because some people have tried to keep you small in the past because they are small, that doesn’t mean that you can’t become the powerful being you once were or you are meant to be. Maybe what you need more than willpower is just the right support system.
Fact: what used to work one or two decades ago regarding weight loss doesn’t work anymore. Dieting and exercising alone doesn’t work for 90% of overweight people…so you’re not the only one who is struggling with those tactics. Since causes are very individual, the belief that what you have tried didn’t work for you may be partly correct. But that doesn’t mean that there is no solution. The only thing this means is that you have not yet found the right solution for you. There are so many new weight loss strategies on the market that address the weight problem on a deeper level.
Are you ready to finally let go of your self-limiting beliefs? In my 30-Day Triple Power Weight Loss Program we eliminate and transform one by one.
What are YOUR main self-limiting beliefs?
Please share them with us in the comment section and let me know how I can assist you in transforming them.
Frankly, I couldn’t care less about calories. I never counted a single calorie in my entire life. I rather use that time for cooking healthy meals.
Calories don’t say anything about the quality of the food. And health and weight loss is MUCH more about quality than about quantity. By eating the right quality food you will find quantity hardly to be an issue.
Before I’ll come to some healthy foods that can support your weight loss process, I have to remind you of the nonsense of the low-fat theory. Low-fat food has only one purpose: to make the purse of the food industry fatter. Because the more low-fat you eat, the more food you need to eat.
Fat has one very important function: it acts like a natural appetite suppressant. With natural, healthy fats you are full much faster and you automatically eat less.
So now that we have the low-fat myth out of or way, let’s look at some really healthy foods that can support your weight loss process.
Nuts and seeds are high in proteins what is crucial for your fat-burning process. Plus they contain a lot of natural fat what makes you feel full faster. Nuts and seeds make great snacks between the meals.
Avocados are very healthy and can also make you feel more full. Women’s Health magazine said, “The fiber, potassium, and healthy fats in the green stuff may curb your cravings so that you skip afternoon trips to the vending machine.”
A real miracle food for weight loss are blueberries. They are best known for their anti-aging effects and are very figure-friendly at the same time.
Women’s Health magazine also lists dark chocolate as figure-friendly and states that eating chocolate is associated with lower levels of abdominal fat. Frankly, I don’t know if this is true. We all have seen it so often in the past that one year a particular food was a strict no-go and only a few years later it was promoted as a real fat burner. As an informed reader of my newsletters you know that statistics can be manipulated…a method often used when sales go back drastically. Then suddenly that food becomes “healthy”. Like I said, I can’t tell if this is true about chocolate or not. Just keep in mind that chocolate contains sugar and sugar is a real toxin for everybody, not just for weight-struggling people. On the other hand I’m not a friend of strict “Eat-this-don’t-eat-that” diets either. Besides, I can’t see why cocoa shouldn’t be healthy. So I leave that decision in your hands. However, if you decide to have some chocolate from time to time, at least eat it slowly and enjoy every bit of it. The worst you could do for your weight is to cobble it down with a feeling of guilt. If you absolutely can’t be without chocolate and are willing to do without sugar, get dark xylitol chocolate.
How many years have you been told not to eat egg-yolk? Well, thank goodness I never fell for that one. Because whole eggs are loaded with appetite-curbing proteins, what makes them a great breakfast food. The cholesterol lie has been debunked for a long time now.
Mmmmm, salmon! One of my favorite source of proteins. It’s full of monosaturated fatty acids which increase metabolism to burn fat faster. If you want to lose weight effectively, you need a lot of natural Omega3.
Lots of leafy green vegetables (such as spinach, collards, Swiss chard, kale, salad greens, etc.). You can’t overeat on those and nicely fill your stomach without having to worry about the calories. Or you can use them for your green juices. These produce should grow in everybody’s backyard. I even grow them on my balcony and window sills.
Beans – especially black beans – contain considerable amounts of protein what makes it an ideal protein source for vegetarians. For sustainable weight loss we need large amounts of proteins. Please, just never eat canned beans. Beans are so cheap to buy and so easy to cook.
These are all produce (minus the dark chocolate) you could pretty much live from without lacking any vital nutrients. If you’re serious about eating healthy and losing weight in a healthy way, these could be your staples that can cover at least 80% of your body’s nutritional needs. And at the same time you will never have to worry about calories or amounts.
If you want to do a real great job, go organic with these foods. Food additives are some big contributors to weight gain. If you don’t let them get into your body, you will never have to worry about getting them out of your body. Be smart and save yourself a lot of time, money, and extra pounds by going organic.
For more valuable tips on how to lose weight AND keep it off, please check out this page.
Here it is: a clean plate, a new beginning, a new CHANCE to make it happen this time.
Will you take that chance or let it go by (again)?
The choice is – as always – entirely yours. So are the consequences.
Every January millions of people make New Year’s resolutions, and no one keeps them.
The question is, what’s stopping YOU from achieving your goals?
Be it a lack of time, lack of discipline, poor planning, trying to do too much…or too little…both, success and failure are still entirely in your own hands.
Who says that New Year’s resolutions can’t last? Mine do and the resolutions of my clients do last, and it’s easier than you may think. All you need to do is working around a few stumbling blocks and not to give up. It’s really easier and simpler than you may believe.
Goals generally can be extremely motivating. By nature you are a very powerful being, capable of accomplishing awesome things. And this is exactly what I encourage you to focus on: your inherited power (not your past failures).
The trick is to…
…set realistic goals
…choose a strategy that has a good chance to bring you the desired long-term (Regarding weight loss this means choosing a holistic strategy and staying away from diets.)
…ask yourself what you are unhappy about and what you absolutely don’t want anymore
…find your big WHY and what you really want instead (most of the time the big WHYs have something to do with your life purpose)
…make a plan/a strategy that contains healthy eating, some exercise, change of attitude and elimination of some psychological causes (which are some of the biggest reasons why the weight bounces back if not resolved)
…stick to that plan for a whole year (create a “stick-strategy” – no poor night’s sleep, no unpredictable occurrence, no sudden breakup, no stressful job can keep you away from your plan)
…make just one change at the time (“Do few things but do them well.” St. Francis)
…take charge (don’t wait for things to change or for a new diet pill to hit the market, there is no miracle pill – the greatest miracle are YOU)
…take consistent and daily action – no excuses (taking action gives you such a sense of confidence and makes you feel better – being in control of your weight and health is invaluable)
The worst thing you could possibly do is starting with a New Year’s resolution without having a clear plan. Not having a plan must lead to disaster and failure.
Would a clear and simple 30-day plan with tiny daily action steps help youovercome the biggest hurdles? I’m talking about a 30-day plan all of my past participants have learned to appreciate very much. Such a plan can really keep you on track. Check it out here.
So what do you want to achieve this year? Do you want to lose 10 pounds? 50 pounds? 100 pounds? It doesn’t matter how much excess weight you want to lose, you can do it. I’m here to assist.
The worst thing you could do is letting this chance pass by and hear me say in a year from now, “I told you so.” I told my readers 12 months ago, 24 months ago, 36 months ago….and I can certainly encourage you in 12 months again. But I’d rather see you succeed this year, because there is nothing more empowering than achieving your goals. Just go about them the right way. Stay away from diets and quick-fixes (because they are actually no-fixes).
What are your New Year’s resolutions? Are you facing any weight issues that seem insurmountable? Do you want to lose weight this year and make 2016 the last year you’ll ever have to struggle with your weight?
Let me know in the comments below and I’ll gladly assist you in your goal achievement process.
Recently I read an article by one of my peers who suggested you take a particular supplement instead of juicing. He went on telling how tedious juicing was and how much simpler and cheaper it was to simply take a teaspoon of the particular supplement he was promoting.
This sounds so intriguing and although I firmly believe that nature still provides the best food, it made me thinking.
It made me thinking why we need juicing and supplements at all. So I put together a list of advantages and disadvantages of juicing.
Disadvantages of juicing:
it’s expensive because it requires a lot of organic vegetables (it doesn’t make sense to juice with produce that had been sprayed with chemicals)
It’s quite a task to purchase large bags of carrots and charts full of greens every day
even if you have organic produce, it still takes a lot of time to wash and cut the vegetables and run them through the juicer; and if you don’t use organic produce, you even need to peel every piece; this is only realistic for stay-home mums, retirees, and unemployed people
if you’re over 30 years old and/or more than 20 pounds overweight, you need to start juicing slowly in order to prevent acid and toxins flooding your organism more than it can handle
our bodies are not designed to consume such concentrated food like juices are; we need fibers
in order to have the desired effect, juices have to be freshly juiced and be consumed within 24 hours; you can’t store them longer and bottled juices are more harmful than helpful
juicing creates a lot of waste and you have to through valuable food away that is rich in healthy fibers
juices are not really good to consume; to make them tasteful it requires quite some mixing, and you need to know which produce go together well and which doesn’t (there are vegetables I love eating, but when I juices that contain these produce are absolutely disgusting)
you need to learn first which fruits and vegetables go well together and which don’t
I don’t know how about you, but there are phases when my body completely refuses fresh juices
On the other side there are tremendous advantages in juicing nothing else can beat.
Advantages of juicing:
our bodies are so deprived because fruits and vegetables have lost between 30% and 80% of their nutritional value due to the current farming methods, and there is currently nothing else that can fill your empty vitamin deposits as quickly as juicing
many chronic diseases are caused or aggravated by a lack of vital nutrients and many of them can be easily reversed simply by juicing
juicing has an alkalizing and detoxifying effect what is great for young people and those who only need to lose a few extra pounds (if you’re older than 30 years and more than 20 pounds overweight, you need to know exactly what to do so that your body can deal with the flood of acid and toxins without creating more fat)
we are living in times where it’s not enough to just take one vitamin or one supplement (no matter how balanced they may be); our bodies lack vitamins, minerals, trace elements, enzymes, amino acids, phytohormones, etc.; all these things have to be consumed through food because only in food these substances are well enough balanced so that our bodies can really use them (an overload of some nutrients can lead to health problems, too)
juicing is a great way to start a cleansing and weight loss process
We all know that juicing was not meant to be the way we eat, and it’s not the final solution. Because of our ways of eating and time-saving cooking methods we have created a world that makes eating healthy a real challenge. Facts are…
…that we only want shiny and spotless produce (organic food can never look so perfect)
…that people want to cook their meals as quickly and easily as possible and increasingly purchase finished menus
…that using microwave ovens as the defrosting and heating method
…that makes eating healthy and keep the family healthy nearly impossible (at least long term).
But please, don’t let us complain. It’s us – every single person on this planet – who contributed to the lifestyle we currently have with all its advantages and health challenges. It’s always the consumer who dictates what we are being sold to. And only we have the power and the possibilities to change that.
How can you know whether your personal lifestyle is healthy or not?
The weakest link in the family will always become sick first.
As soon as one family member develops a chronic disease or cancer, the way you cook and eat is at least partially the culprit, and the health of your family can quickly and drastically be improved by changing your lifestyle.
Fact is – and you’re probably going to hate me for that, but keep in mind that I’m just the bearer of the message – that if we want to keep our families healthy, we have to cook from scratch, using all fresh, organic fruits and vegetables that are rich in vital nutrients. Convenience definitely jeopardizes our health.
Keeping yourself and the ones you love healthy starts with what is on your kitchen table…it starts with a healthy lifestyle.
“But I don’t have time to cook from scratch. I have a job, three kids and an elderly parent to take care of!” you may object.
I hear you. I really do. I used to be a single mom with my own business, and I know exactly where you’re coming from.
However, please keep in mind that the way we live is nothing but a series of choices. Maybe you have made the choice to purchase a house that requires both parents to have a job. Maybe you have chosen the false safety of a job over working from home and now you’re constantly afraid of losing your job, if you don’t work long hours. You have made choices regarding your budget. You have made choices regarding cars, televisions, and vacations. Sometimes it just requires a little bit of a cut down or a slightly simpler lifestyle and a family may be well able to live on one pay check and a smaller budget.
It’s all about setting priorities. Only you can decide what priority the health of your family has and what you’re willing to sacrifice for. This time of the year is the perfect time to reconsider your personal life priorities and make new choices.
What I’m saying is that we ALL constantly need to reconsider past choices. Many of us need to choose differently for the sake of their family’s health.
Currently I’m living in an apartment that comes with its own 500 square meter garden. When I moved in I decided to cut a little bit back on my work and use that time to grow my own produce. And I realized that just a small piece of land or backyard can easily save me $200 every month in food just for one person. Plus the organic food I grow myself is the healthiest you can get. Because my own vegetables are so full of vital nutrients, I need much less food to get my body satisfied. From a peer of mine I know that one acre of backyard is enough to almost fully feed a whole family of five.
I understand that many women just don’t think that they might have time for their own garden. But if something resonates within you with what I’m sharing here, then you may want to try and at least get your feet wet.
Before I moved to this place I started with pots on my balcony. I grew my own tomatoes, potatoes (you read that right), herbs and salads on my porch and balcony. If you have rich soil, you can easily grow a zucchini or cucumber plant on your porch or balcony. I even have several pillar fruit trees (they only have a stem but no side branches and require very little room) and berries on my balcony. The waste I get from juicing I utilize as mulch for my pots and beds and spray some living organisms over the compost for a faster decay. That way nothing is lost and nature beautifully provides me with more and more healthy food because my soil gets richer from year to year.
You can slowly grow into a healthy-food gardener. The first step would be to purchase a book about correct composting and organic gardening – maybe you would even find a book on organic pot gardening.
Then decide on one thing you would like to grow on your patio or in a bed in your back yard. This could be a few seedlings of spring salad (the sort you can constantly harvest the outer leaves and the salad keeps growing in the middle). This gives you and your family a healthy salad every day. Then you may want to grow some basil, chives and parsley to make the salad more tasteful and add some more vitamins. Very easy to grow is Swiss chard and you can constantly harvest the large outer leaves. The leaves are great for juicing and the stems are a delicious vegetable when cooked with onions and garlic.
If you’re not yet a gardener, then I recommend start slowly. Now is a good time to make plans for next year and start purchasing or creating the right containers. Also start composting now.
Please add your own ideas and experiences below. We are eager to learn from your experiences.
If you want to learn how to apply a healthy lifestyle step by step and stress free that works individually for you and your family, you may want to check out my 30-Day Triple Power Weight Loss Challenge.
Over the course of this year we talked about self-sabotage several times. I dare say that self-sabotage is one of the biggest obstacles keeping women from losing their weight and keeping it off. And the real bad news about self-sabotage is that it is almost to a 100% subconscious. In other words, we don’t even know if and when we are sabotaging our goals. That one fact makes losing weight a real challenge.
But for every challenge and problem there is always at least one solution.
Today I want to talk about ten possible ways to end your self-sabotage and to bring your weight loss success to the next level. The time for new orientation is perfect, because in a month from now you will begin to feel that strong inner desire to give your weight loss goal another try. Come January your motivation will peak and then you will be happy to have some new information and possibilities to finally get a handle on your excess weight.
Here are my 10 tips:
Hire a coach: this is by leaps and bounds the best, strongest, fastest, and most effective way of recognizing where you sabotage your own goal and learn how to end it. The better and more experienced your weight loss coach is the better and faster she can spot your hidden saboteurs and lead you to the path of accomplishment. This can be through live consultations or over the phone.
Joinagroupcoachingprogram: if you can’t afford a coach for yourself, then joining a group coaching is the second best solution. Although the coach has to divide her attention between several individuals, she can still spot your blind spots and lead you through the necessary transformation process. This too can either be through live consultations or over the phone.
The buddy system: if for whatever reason you don’t want to choose one of the first two options, then it’s highly recommended to at least find a buddy. The only disadvantage here is that your buddy most likely has her own blind spots and self-sabotage patterns. Besides, she may still be fixated on the dieting-exercise approach what will not bring you much further. But it’s still better than doing it alone, especially for the exercise part.
Schedule every single step and stick to it: if that’s not an option either, then you’d have to test your willpower. One way to do that is by scheduling every single step ahead of time and making it a habit to stick to it. For most women this works best, when they mark their calendars and reserve a time spot for whatever step they want to take.
Self-reflection: this is not an option – it has to be part of every way you choose. If you choose a coach – be it for one-on-one coaching or for a group coaching, your coach can spot your blind spots. Still, you need to do some self-reflection to accept those blind spots. If you go through the weight loss process alone, you’d have to be very good and experienced at self-reflection. It can be done.
Apply the 21-Day principle: Some months ago I offered you my free Weight Loss Habit Hack. In that free program there is the 21-Day principle included. The trick is to change habits one by one simply by sticking to one new habit for consecutive 21 days. Of course, in my free Weight Loss Habit Hack I share more information, but this is how it’s done in a nutshell. It’s easier to stick to one habit for three weeks than starting with a process you think you have to do for the rest of your life. Although you have to, it’s still easier psychologically just to think about the first 21 days. Once you’ll have accomplished that, it will have become a new habit and will be much easier to stick with it. If you didn’t get your own Weight Loss Habit Hack yet, you can claime your copy in the box at the right side of this page.
Jointhe30-DayChallenge: if you’re on a tight budget but still need some clear guidance and live support, then the 30-Day Triple PowerWeightLossChallenge may simply be ideal for you. It gives clear daily directions in baby steps so that your subconscious mind has enough time to adjust without sabotaging your weight loss process. And it costs less than $50. That program addresses several aspects of weight issues and it also comes with 4 weeks of live group coaching over the phone.
Consult a behavioral therapist: that is almost as good as having your personal one-on-one coach. A behavioral therapist can quickly and easily spot your self-sabotaging tactics and help you eliminate those. The only thing she can’t offer is the experience and expertise of a weight loss coach. So, after she has helped you eliminate your self-sabotage, you’ll be asking yourself, “What’s next? How can I proceed from here?” You can consider yourself lucky if you can find both professions in one person.
Stoptheexcuses: this possibility requires a lot of self-reflection. But when you’re used to self-reflection and honest to yourself, then this could be a great beginning. Once you have trained yourself not to use excuses anymore, you have eliminated a giant obstacle.
Stop the quick-fix mentality: believe it or not, but one of the biggest obstacles that are standing in women’s way to losing weight is their quick-fix mentality. As soon as they decide to lose some weight they want to achieve that instantly. Unfortunately many forget that they didn’t gain that weight within a month or two, and they also lack a deeper understanding of how their body really works. To make matters worse they hear daily that they could lose 10 pounds in as little as 10 days and thus are completely mis-lead by some greedy marketers and false gurus. When someone tells you that you can lose that much weight in such a short time, then he or she is a crook. Sometimes it may go that fast, sometimes it may go even faster, during some phases however it will be much less than that. And then there are months you will not lose any weight at all. This is normal and part of weight loss. Your body is not a machine. Too many then give up because they think that there was something wrong with them instead of questioning the diet or program. The sooner you understand that, the faster you can begin to make some real, serious, and lasting changes.
If you think that overcoming self-sabotage could be tough, then you have my full empathy. It is probably the toughest part of the whole weight loss issue. However, there is no way around, if you’re serious about losing your weight because fighting against yourself is very energy consuming. There is no diet that can overcome that obstacle in your behalf.
However, there are solutions to overcome those stumbling blocks. It’s not always easy, and I think every weight-struggling woman can testify that. But with those 10 steps you can achieve great results, especially with items #1, #2, and #8. Not every person is equal. Some need more time and others need less time. I have seen breakthroughs in my coaching programs in as quickly as two weeks. It all depends on how open and how willing you are to eliminate your personal saboteurs. And once those saboteurs are eliminated, the weight loss process goes much smoother, faster, and easier.
Here’s to your final weight loss success,
Angela B.
behavioral therapist and weight loss coach since 1984
The truth is, my friend, that you are never going to get to your desired achievement in your life until you have some self-discipline. And by that, Dr. Susan recommends to “…following through on what you say you are going to do.”
We deserve to feel powerful and under control, we deserve the best food, and we deserve to be slim and healthy.
A few years ago, I did an interview with several health and weight loss coaches with a different approach than the diet approach. One of these experts was the bestselling American author, Dr. Susan Smith Jones. She quickly turned out to be one of the most amazing interview partners, and she spilled the beans in that interview. She held nothing back. If you want to hear the whole interview with Dr. Susan, you can go here and claim your free 2-week membership trial:
Many women feel like the victim of a cruel fate, of poor genes, or habits they can’t control. Such an attitude makes it very hard to be successful with any maintainable weight loss method.
When you look at all the commercials on TV and the advertisements in magazines and newspapers, the advertisers are trying to tell you that they have a miracle pill, powder or potion, and we’ve come to believe that things outside ourselves are the keys to health and well-being. And whatever you are suffering from, be it headache, constipation, sleepless nights, diarrhea, indigestion, skin rashes, high blood pressure, weight gain–you fill in the blank-you then first try to self-medicate before going to the doctor. Thus, we have become a self-medicating society or world because we don’t really understand how our body is trying to communicate with us, trying to give us the correct answers for a healthy, slim, long, and happy life. And because we are impatient and want instant relief without taking care of the body’s needs first, we make matters worse by going the wrong route. 
“So each of us needs to be reminded that we are magnificently equipped to meet life’s problems when supplied with the simple and easily obtainable requisites of health,” Dr. Susan recommends. So we’ve got to realize that our human body is remarkable and a wonderful feedback machine. 
