Forget New Year's....today is the day!

I don't make New Year's resolutions anymore and here's why.  Making a resolution implies making a change in the future...tomorrow, Monday, after my vacation, when the kids go back to school, when we finish all of the holiday sweets, etc.  You get the picture.  And then Monday comes, the vacation is over, the kids are back at school and the sweets are gone...then what? 

If you're unable to stay on Plan figure out why!  And trust me, it's not because you're lazy and stupid. It may well be that you don't want to accept that for change to happen you actually have to change.  If that's the case why not make a list of what is so fantastic in your "food world" now that it's worth clinging to even though it has the power to make you feel rotten about yourself?  Does that bag of chips, loaf of bread or can of icing give your life so much meaning that you are willing to sacrifice reaching your goal for it?  (Notice how I chose the things that held me captive for years!!)

For me facing that starch and sugar were not working for me was certainly a challenge but I am so thankful that I didn't give up and somehow found the courage to make the change and stick to it long enough to feel and see the benefits.  Give yourself the chance to be successful and feel it! I'll bet each and everyone of your knows exactly what you need to do to be successful.  Face it, do it...today!

We've got to start thinking that today is the day and will always be the day, not tomorrow, but today. Stop waiting for everything to be right, over and finished to start living in the body you want. Start living in that body today by giving it what it needs, you will be amazed at how your body will respond!

"Let go" for Christmas!

If you want to be peaceful and joyful this Christmas, let go.   

Here are some of the things that have taken me 53 years to learn and to "let go"!  I hope you already know them or will learn them soon because, whew, the peace bring it will bring to you.

Let go of the need to be perfect. 

Perfection is unattainable because it's criteria is forever changing making the goal line continually moving away from you!  Don't think of all of the time you've wasted, you'll just get sad.

Let go of caring what others think of you. 

It's a waste of energy and are they really thinking and obsessing about you?  No, just you are.

Let go of the need to control everything. 

Control is an illusion we've been taught to manufacture to make ourselves feel safe and anchored. And yet, we can't control our eating or a two year old!  Learning to accept what is and to manage it is much kinder, to ourselves and the two year old.

Let go of the thought that you're not good enough. 

Nature does not make mistakes. If that feeling stems from childhood then realize you are now an adult and it's your responsibility to soothe, love and build the esteem of  the child within you.  Don't do it with cookies.

Let go of the fear of failing. 

Being paralyzed by fear of failing is actually worse than failing. Failing means you're trying and trying means you're living.  This may be the most liberating thing you will ever do.

Let go of fear.

When you are driven by fear to accomplish something you sacrifice the love and joy of your journey.  Imagine the journey you're on this minute.  Now imagine it filled with love and joy.  Better, right?

Let go of your obsession of whether to eat or not to eat.  

Food is the fuel of the human body.  Our obsession with "to eat or not to eat" has turned it into a drug over which we are powerless.  Change your relationship with food and ice cream becomes just a delicious creamy dessert instead of "the only thing on this earth that will get makes me feel better!"  

Let go of judgement, of yourself and others. 

When you judge another you are defining them by your criteria and that's hardly fair is it?  When you judge yourself you are defining yourself by the criteria of others.  Again, hardy fair. Live and let live.

Let go of jealousy. 

The accomplishment of another has no reflection on you.  It's not about you.  If their accomplishment makes you feel inadequate then you need to address "why".  

Let go of anger.

Anger is a response.  It never makes anything better or solves any problems.  Plus it turns your mouth on and your mind off which is never a good combo!

Let go of past hurt.

Hanging on to a hurtful situation from the past just weighs down your soul.  And a heavy soul has a hard time flying.

Let go of the past period.

What's done is truly done.  Learn from it and let it go.  You can never be present if you spend your time in the past.  This one took me FOREVER to learn!

Let go of resentment. 
The funny thing about resentment is rarely does the person we resent know it.  So whose feeling all that pain?  Oh, right, us.

Whew, that is a lot of "let go's"...and yup, I've lived them all!  No wonder I was so tired all the time!

My Christmas wish for each and every one of you is that you are able to "let go" of the ties that are binding you, keeping you from moving toward the life you want and deserve!

Now is not the time to miss a meeting, is it?

We're getting to the time of the Christmas season when even those who've managed to resist the holiday temptations start to crumble under the constant barrage of food coming at them from all directions!  It's everywhere!

And oddly enough this is also the time when the meeting rooms start to empty out!  Why???   I know you're busy, I know you're frustrated and I know sugary foods are being eaten and weight is being gained.  Even more reason to come to weigh in and attend your meeting!  

Please, please remember, there is no judgement at the scale and no judgement in the meeting.  Just lots of ideas to help you change your relationship with holiday food.  Wouldn't it be amazing to let go of the incredible power that food has over you and feel in control for perhaps the first time ever?

Meetings can help you with that. :)

Ok, here's the hormone post!

If you've heard me mention, a time or ten, about hormone replacement therapy, here is why:  I care about how you feel.   

When I hear that members are truly working the plan and seeing no results, I care.  When someone says they look into the mirror and don't recognize themselves anymore, I care.  When someone says they don't care anymore and want to give up, I care.

I care so I will share.  I will share how I was feeling about 8 years ago.  Eight years ago I was doing everything in my power to loose weight and no results, in fact kept gaining.  When I looked into the mirror I saw an angry person and did not recognize her.  I got to the point where I didn't care and so wanted to give up but I was afraid if I gave up I'd never find my way back.  Sound familiar?

Luckily for me, I now realize, I have this Hartman gene that never gives up (sometimes to our own detriment) so I kept searching for an answer.  I had been going to a naturopath (Carole Quinn, she's awesome!) for a couple of years who had been helping me with stomach issues and we started talking. She suggested that at 45 years old my hormones could be out of whack.  What???  Menopause, me????  No, no, no, no.....yes!

She told me about Dr. Schlanger in Toronto.  I believe in being pro-active so I made an appointment, got blood work and saliva testing done and found out indeed that my progesterone and estrogen levels were "depressed'!  Seriously, that's what the results said!

  

So, I got my prescription (BTW you cannot do this by yourself and buy over the internet, you need to see a doctor.  Hormones are serious, and a tad touchy, they like to be in balance....no more, no less). Balu's in Stirling is a compounding pharmacy and he made up my prescription cream.  Within 4 days, I was no longer seething inside, it was like the huge angry cloud that hung over me around was lifted! I started to feel like my old self and, yay hooray, all my hard work in the diet and exercise department started to pay off. Not to mention when the hot flashes started occurring 2 or 3 times an hour...24 hours a day...a tweak to my prescription took care of most of them!  Let me be clear, this is not a miracle weight loss pill/cream.  Like I've said many, many times;  If there was a magic weight loss pill, Oprah would have it and she'd be thin.  

So the whole point of this entry is to share an option that gave me myself back.  I know that's a strong statement but that's truly how I feel.  I've had women tell me that they just "sucked it up Buttercup and put up with it"....well, great.   If that works for you and you're happy, great.  But if you're not happy, I urge you to be proactive, look for options, talk to your doctor, do your homework. 

Please don't settle for being unhappy.

. Life is a gift but sometimes our personal

 "fog" keeps us from receiving it.

"Tell me what you want, what you really, really want!" (Spice Girls song lyrics)

Here's what we really want, right??

OK, now back to reality,

 cause that ain't never gonna happen! 

We all know someone who can eat whatever they want, whenever they want and never gain a pound...maybe it's your best friend, or your sister or your spouse.  Whoever it is, it's not you....and it's certainly not me! It's not fair, it sucks, it's hard to accept and it's not what we "want" but it is reality. And as long as we ignore reality by continually "really wanting" it to be otherwise we cannot move forward because what we resist will persist.  So just by wanting something that cannot be, and will NEVER be, keeps you from moving forward!  Now that really sucks.

So when I say use your "want" power be smart....stop wasting your time and energy

 resisting reality and "want" something you can actually achieve!  

You will be happier, healthier and most likely thinner!