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I am embarrassed to admit how
many different commercial weight loss programs I’ve
tried. I don’t know about you, but after a while I grow
tired of talking heads touting empty promises. None of
them helped me look the way I think I should and most of
them left me agonizing over eating the same foods over and
over.
What’s a body to do?
In this article I’ve
outline a few different ideas that I’ve found to really
work. Ideas I continue to come back to again and again.
Whether you need to lose a few pounds or are looking for a
healthy lifestyle change, these 4 solutions will help get
you started.
Solution #1: Use Creative
Visualization
Creative visualization a
great way to bring about lifestyle change. “Seeing”
yourself thinner is one of the most successful ways to
decrease your body size and improve body image. Guided
imagery works by training your mind to stimulate changes
within your body.
This can be accomplished
using a few of my favorite tools:
Affirmations: Using
affirmations will train your mind by stating or affirming
your intentions. It will retrain your thinking toward
positive thoughts.
When I use affirmations, I
like to use positive statements such as these:
MY BODY IS BEAUTIFUL! I
LOVE MY BODY!
To increase their
effectiveness, I write these messages to myself on an
index card or piece of paper and carry them with me. I
review them several times throughout the day.
Tapes: If you are an
auditory person, you will love the guided imagery and
weight loss tapes available from Health Journeys ( http://www.healthjourneys.com
). Their positive learning tapes will walk you through the
thought process of building a stronger, leaner body.
Books: One of my favorite
positive affirmation books is Love Your Body! By Louise L.
Hay. Inside this book, Louise has created affirmations for
you. If you read through them each day you are sure to
reap the rewards of loving your body.
Solution #2 Try An Herbal
Wrap
If you need to lose a few
extra pounds, you may want to try an herbal wrap. Herbal
wraps help the body lose water and inches. You can get a
wrap from your favorite salon however, they tend to be
expensive. It’s just as easy to give yourself a spa
treatment at home. Herbal wrap products are everywhere. If
you’d like to get a wrap but prefer the privacy of your
own home, check out: http://www.slenderwrap.com
Some of the benefits of
herbal wraps include:
- Weight loss
- Water loss
- Decreased inches
- Smoothness of Tissue
Solution #3 Stop When You
Are Full
In her book Appetites,
Geneen Roth gives us a simple outline to manage portion
control. Her two major mantras are: take time to eat and
stop when you are full. These are both shape-shifting
ideas. To some people, including myself, food is a friend.
Therefore the tendency to overeat stems out of emotion;
food provides comfort and security. Others are in a hurry.
Food and the need to eat are just obstacles that get in
the way.
In effort to break free
from these unhealthy behaviors, ask yourself several
questions:
Am I enjoying what I am
eating? Do I eat standing up or on the run? Do I continue
to eat even after I know I am full?
Next, begin to carve out
time to eat and enjoy food with friends or family. Or to
take time to enjoy a nourishing meal even if you are
alone. Eat to the point of being full, then stop. Most of
the time, weight loss can be easily stimulated through
portion control.
Solution #4 Keep a Food
Journal
In addition to the
aforementioned, it may be wise for you to keep a food
journal. By tracking what you eat every day, you hold
yourself accountable for everything you place in your
mouth. It’s simple to start. Record everything you eat
for a week and document your weight each week.
At the end of the week take
inventory of yourself. Have you gained weight? Lost?
Remained the same? If you are gaining weight, simply cut
back on your refined sugars (sweets) and heavy carbs like
white rice or white potatoes. For these, substitute brown
rice or sweet potatoes instead. Track your habits for a
second week.
When you’ve reached the
point in your eating program where your weight remains the
same, you will need only consume a few less calories (or
burn a few extra during exercise) each week to lose
weight. Keep in mind: in order to lose weight, your body
needs to burn more calories than it consumes. First, find
your melting point, then adjust your portion control and
exercise program accordingly.
In Conclusion: With just a
few adjustments and an enjoyment of food – recognizing
its beauty for nourishing your body - you can shift your
focus from frustration to enjoyment. Give these
alternatives to weight loss a try. Your health and your
waist line will thank you for it.
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