Food Diet

With the New Year fast approaching, many of us are reflecting upon the successes as well as the failures of the last 365 days. To increase the value of YOUR time, consider this coaching exercise.

Take a sheet of paper and fold it in half long ways. Then draw a heavy line down the fold. On the left side label it: Your Successes This column would contain all that went well for you and the resolutions or goals that you achieved. Then on the right side, label it: Failed Resolutions or Failed Goals. Jot down what didn’t go well and those resolutions that you failed to achieve.

Now ask yourself what qualities or characteristics were present on the left side that weren’t present on the right side? Possibly, there is really just one significant quality necessary to bridge the gap between success and failure? Let me take a few moments to share a quick story that may help you discover that quality.

During a national conference, one of my mentors who was presenting asked the audience if there existed a multi-billion dollar diet industry within the United States. The obvious answer was YES. Then he asked this question:

• “If I would drink 8 glasses a water a day,”
• “If I would walk 30 more minutes a day,”
• “If I would reduce my calorie consumption a day by 10%,”
• “If I would avoid those foods that I know put weight on me,”

“Would I or would I not lose weight through these four simple actions provided I did not suffer from a documented medical condition?” Again the answer was a resounding YES from the audience.

“Well,” he continued, “if losing weight is so simple, then why is there a multi-billion dollar diet industry? Those in the audience looked at each other with very puzzled faces. After a few moments, this wise gentleman answered his question with one single word - “Commitment.”

So as you review your Resolution or Achievement list, maybe the quality that is present on the left side and not present on the right side is commitment. How truly committed are you to those areas where you did not experience success? And why are you more committed to those areas where you had success?

William F. Scolavino said it best: “The height of your accomplishments will equal the depth of your convictions.” What is the depth to your conviction of commitment? Possibly by honestly answering this question and taking the necessary actions, you will achieve even greater success in 2006.

Leanne coaches small business owners and professionals to double performance in real time. Click here to learn how YOU can double and even triple your own success. Please feel free to contact Leanne at 219.759.5601. If you truly don’t believe doubling your results is possible, read some case studies where individuals and businesses took the risk and experienced unheard of results.

One quick question, if you achieve that recurring New Year’s Resolution or breakthrough that one roadbloack, what would that mean to you? Then, take a risk and give a call at 219.759.5601 to experience incredible results.

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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.

About The Author

Laura M. Turner is a Certified Personal Trainer and Sr. Editor of the The New Body News and Wellness Letter. Increase your healthy I.Q. Sign up for free: www.new-body-news.com

VioletProsePubs@aol.com

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A low-carb diet is also called a “reduced carbohydrate” or “controlled carbohydrate” diet. It is a broad term, encompassing many popular diet books as well as eating plans. A low-carb diet does not require you to follow a rigid diet format, but advise limiting the consumption of foods with fats and carbohydrates. Some diets limit the amount of overall carbohydrates, while others focus on certain types of foods, generally ones high in starch and sugars. Any diet whose primary focus is the reduction of carbohydrates in any way is “low carb”. Generally, a diet with 40% or less energy from carbohydrates is considered a “low-carb diet”, though people also measure it in different ways.

Low-carb diets help reduce blood sugar and insulin production, which enables the body to utilize stored fat for energy more easily, as well as providing other health benefits and better control over eating. Starch or sugar is highest in carbohydrates. Other food items include anything made with flour, grains, added sugar, and starchy vegetables such as potatoes and corn. Most processed foods are also high in carbohydrates. Examples of low-carb foods are proteins such as meat and eggs, most vegetables, low-sugar fruits (such as strawberries), soybeans, and some dairy products.

Erythritol has the least impact on blood sugar and almost no calories. This white powdery sweetener is very useful and versatile, and can be easily used as an alternative to sugar in cakes and chocolates. There are many people who could benefit from reducing their intake of sugar and refined grains. Individuals vary in their tolerance for carbohydrates. Various studies tells us that people with insulin resistance had better results in terms of weight loss and improvement in health factors such as triglyceride levels on a low-carb diet, while the insulin-sensitive group had better results on a high carb/low fat diet.

Low Carb Diets provides detailed information on Low Carb Diet, Low Carb Diet Foods, Low Carb Diet Plans, Best Low Carb Diets and more. Low Carb Diets is affiliated with Low Cholesterol Diet.

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