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Anyone who has followed my blog for 2009 knows that is was a terrible year. I stopped posting in September, because it was bringing me down, so I figured it would do the same for others. I instead focused on teaching yoga, reading uplifting books and trying to figure out how to proceed.
A friend of mine told me the other day to just surrender to the negative in hopes that it would then give…she has had a similar year to mine with illness, financial crisis, car accidents and the like. When these things hit you one right after another, surrender is difficult, but sometimes the best route to take.
So, effective today, January 1, 2010, I surrender to the universe. It is my hope that the bad things have passed, with the last one coming in the mail yesterday. And that all of the negative energy that seemed to surround me in 2009, was to show me how wonderful the events of 2010 will be!!
So not being one for New Year’s Resolutions, I am listing out the good things that will happen in 2010 to start producing the positive energy I need to proceed out into the world today! Here we go starting with the smallest and working up:
1. I will focus on a simple diet of wholesome good for me foods that will nourish me through the winter. I will listen to my body and by intuition, eat what it is asking for to find a good balance. I will identify “emotional eating” and instead of eating through it, will find space for meditation to work through the emotion which is causing the desire.
2. I will find movement in everyday. Without a vehicle, which was truly a blessing in disguise on many levels, I will walk daily, I will get back to a comfortable running schedule, and daily yoga will happen.
3. As the year progresses, I will work on creating the living space I desire, which I believe to be in the cabin in the valley. I will create a list and a plan to accomplish full-time cabin living by the time the fall of 2010 arrives.
4. To go along with #3, I will find a good used 4-wheel drive vehicle to allow me the ability to live in the valley. I will have the cash to pay for this vehicle when it comes across my path.
5. I will run a 1/2 and full marathon and complete the Ragnar Relay in 2010. These are challenges that will help me to get my body back on track, as well as allow me time to practice “moving meditation”.
6. At least 2 properties will sell and close in 2010. Preferably 3, but I don’t want to get greedy here!
7. I will allow relationships to work out in the way that the universe intends. I will not force or prod them along, and I will quit enabling everyone in my life. It is important for each of us to walk our own path and sometimes those paths take turns we don’t intend on. I will accept whatever path we each ultimately follow.
8. The job that I need will find me, and my yogic path will become clearer. My eyes will open as to how I am intended to share what knowledge I have with others.
9. I will welcome my first grandchild into this world this summer. This will be the culmination of all that is good in this world.
So, I may have some lofty ideas for 2010, but am sure that will positive intentions and guidance from the universe, they will happen. So, I have tied up 2009 with a bow, and shipped it off to history, not to look back. I welcome in 2010 with great anticipation and joy….
May you be healthy
May you be happy
May you live in peace…..
Namaste,
jen
p.s. My motto for the year, thanks to a good friend is “A better Jen in 2010.” Let’s watch it manifest….
I felt compelled to write my entire story of my relationship with food this morning because some people don’t buy that there is a psychology to eating….so here I go.
When I was a very little girl, I could eat whatever I wanted and I was always about average. I ate doughnuts and twinkies for snacks and in my lunch. Mom made spaghetti and tacos for dinner, and I could eat until I was full. When I was about 11, things started to change. All of a sudden, I started to go through puberty, and I got chubby in places I didn’t like. I always thought my thighs were fat. They spread out and covered the entire desk chair at school.
I joined the track team and started to run. I sucked as a runner, and I hated it, but I did it so I could lose weight. I was about 15 years old. Then, I heard that if you smoked you could stay thin, so I started smoking. That is a habit that took me almost 25 years to break. When I was 17, my mom decided to lose weight, so she went on a diet called PermaSlim. It was part of the big low-fat craze of the 1970’s. I probably weighed about 125 pounds at the time. She started it, so I started it too. I hid Dexatrim in my dresser, I lived on soda crackers and diet coke, and at 5’7″ tall, I ended up at 113 pounds. My clothes were falling off of me. I would do sit ups in bed in order to burn calories. I was battling an eating disorder, but they didn’t call it that then. Eventually, luckily, I started to eat again and then I left for college.
When I got to college, I weighed 113, by Christmas break I weighed 129 and by the time I got married the end of my 2nd year of college, I was at 143. In less than 2 years, I had gained 30 pounds, all while working full-time and attending school full-time. I got pregnant the next year, and went from 143 to 211 in 9 months. After my daughter was born in March of 1986, I went on one of my more extreme diets. I skipped breakfast, had an 8 ounce yogurt for lunch, and a salad with fat-free dressing for dinner. I took a high impact aerobics class at the college. The rest of the day I drank Diet Coke and smoked cigarettes. I was going to be thin again if it killed me. I got back to about 140 pounds by her second birthday.
Then my husband lost his job and we moved. I got pregnant with my second daughter. This pregnancy went pretty well, I only ended up getting back up around 190 with her, and most of it I lost right away. Of course, I was smoking a pack of cigarettes a day and didn’t give up the Diet coke. I was so afraid of getting fat again. After she was born, I went to TOPS (Take off Pounds Sensibly). The day of the meetings, I wouldn’t eat all day. I would barely drink water because I was going to get weighed in. I got back again to about 140 or so by her first birthday.
When she was 2, I found out I was pregnant again. This was kind of a stressful time, as we had only planned on two kids, but God had other plans for us. With this third pregnancy, I climbed back up to about 220. After I gave birth to a beautiful 9 pound boy, I went home to care for three children under 7 of my own, plus I provided child care. I had 8 children all under 7 in my house. I wasn’t overeating, I was cooking very well and I was running non-stop for about 10 hours a day. By the time my son was 1, I was still over 200 pounds. I tried starving myself, but would give up after a week or so. I bought a Nordic Track, but when you weight 200 pounds and smoke a pack or more of cigarettes a day, the frustration of that was just to much, so I didn’t stay with it. I tried lots of things, nothing worked, so for many years I gave up. Plus, I firmly believe that in the back of my mind, I was afraid that if I lost weight again, I would get pregnant again…a mental block that kept me from being successful.
When my son was 9, I decided to quit smoking. Cigarettes had just gone to $21 a carton, and I couldn’t rationalize spending that. Plus, I was up to 2 packs a day. I couldn’t climb a flight of stairs without losing my breath. I quit cold turkey in May of 2001. On that day, I started walking instead of smoking. I traded one addiction for another. At first I was walking a mile or so a day, but soon it headed up into 3, 4 then 7 or 8 miles per day as the addiction grew. This was also about the time that I discovered yoga. I started practicing yoga daily to help me to stay calm and reduce stress.
I decided in mid- 2002 that I wanted to run a marathon before I turned 40. I didn’t have much time, so I started training. The diet addiction hit again at this time. In order to run a marathon, I would have to be thin, right? I dropped my daily intake of calories to about 1200 and was running 30 miles or so a week, plus lifting weights or doing some kind of resistance training 4-5 times per week as well. I was working out about 2 hours a day on 1200 calories. I was only losing about 1- 1 1/2 lbs a week because my body had kicked into starvation mode. It was holding onto whatever it could to keep me alive. I passed out one day, when my blood pressure got to low. I didn’t stop my quest though. I was doing a daily run and a daily workout video, no matter what. When we got to the race, I weighed 143 pounds. This was after almost a year of eating nothing and working out excessively. My hair was falling out, I had dark circles under my eyes and I was pale. My blood pressure was so low, I got dizzy alot, but God help me I was thin!!
After the race, the only thing I wanted was a Big Mac at McDonalds. I ate it, and when we got home I weighed 148. I had gained 5 pounds after running a marathon, and eating nothing else bad the entire weekend except a Big Mac. This was disheartening to me. I wouldn’t even drink Gatorade at the water stops because I didn’t want to take in the extra calories. I had a problem and I needed to face it.
When we got back from the race, I started to eat a bit more and eased off the exercise a bit. I was still getting in at least an hour a day, but some days it was just teaching yoga, other days running, and other days resistance. I started to gain back weight. This scared me.
I have over the years evened out between 160 and 175 pounds for the most part. I can gain 5 pounds in a weekend if we travel somewhere. It takes me a month or better to lose it again. It is a constant and lifelong battle that I need to face. Coming from “heavy German and Scandinavian stock”, I work hard to maintain where I am at. I will not say it is easy and it never will be for me, but it is worth the effort. I can run a half marathon without thinking about it much. I can do push-ups and sit-ups with the best of them. I am strong and fit, even if I am not stick thin, and you can’t see my 6-pack abs.
I teach 7-10 yoga classes a week, with most of them being either sculpt or power classes. I run 3 or 4 times a week too and do some BeachBody workouts in between. It is truly my passion to help others find their own level of fitness. It isn’t the same for everyone, and I don’t want anyone to get discouraged because they don’t look like the people in the DVD’s or the models in the magazine. Be you, find your place and be happy with yourself. This is the lesson I want you to take from this story of mine.
Yes, I still need to keep track of what I eat. I have to make conscious choices about my food, I need to spend time everyday being a bit hungry. I fight myself to not obsess over food and exercise, but it is a battle everyday.
You can accomplish your goals, just know that once you get there, you will need to work hard to maintain it. It can’t be a diet, it has to be a lifestyle change. You can never go back to the old ways or you will gain back the weight you worked so hard to lose. The satisfaction you will get is knowing that you can keep up with your kids, you can climb stairs without losing your breath and you will be comfortable in your own skin! Ok, I do eat a doughnut every once in a while now because I really like them, but then I pay attention the next day.
If you are ready to take the next step, I would love to help you! I want to help you to become the best you you can be…I want to help you learn to love yourself, find a healthy relationship with food and fitness…
Are you ready??
email me at simplicityquest@gmail.com or visit my website at http://www.yogafitnesswellness.com
Every day I hear people complain about not being able to carve out a minute of “me” time everyday. Time for yourself is one of the most important gifts you can give to not only yourself, but your family and friends as well. Me time makes you a better mom, dad, friend or co-worker. Me time can help you get fit, or it can be an opportunity to write, think, just clear your mind. Everyone needs to spend a little time on themselves every single day, no matter what is going on in your life.
Finding the time can be as simple or complicated as you make it! A student at yoga last night said that she takes one hour every day to do something for herself. She is married, has three kids and a full-time job. If she can do it, we all can. Yes, she said, there are things in the house that could be done, but for her sanity, she takes that hour to read, practice yoga, journal, walk or whatever is on her “me” list that day. When she walks back into her regular life after that hour, she is ready to face the world again.
Getting rid of “I can’t” is a great place to start. “I can’t” leave work on time to get to a yoga class because there is to much to do. (It will be there tomorrow). “I can’t” sit down during nap time and read a book because there are three loads of clothes that need to be washed. (Put one in, sit down, start reading…the hour will be up before you know it.) I don’t get off work until 5 (or I get get done at 4), so “I can’t” get to the 5:30 fitness class, because it is to early (to late…fill in the blank). If you get done at five, walk out, put on your workout clothes and head to class. I don’t mind if you are a few minutes late! If you get done at 4, read a book, journal, return phone calls or check your email until class time…..
Ok, so we got the words “I can’t” out, now let’s get rid of “no money”. Most of the me time things are relatively inexpensive. Having a good book to read can be as simple as stopping at the library once a week to pick something up. Or, if you garage sale, making sure that a book is on your list of things to buy. Walking only requires you to pick up a decent pair of shoes every 500 miles or so. Yoga classes can be inexpensive if you buy packages or skip a fast food meal or two every week. (you don’t need that anyway!!).
If you have small children, it is even more vital that you find time for yourself everyday. Small children are wonderful and at the same time can drain you of every bit of energy you have. I actually have one mom who tells her kids that she will come home a “better mommy” after her hour of yoga, so they say “see you after yoga mommy!!”.
If you need help finding time for yourself, journal your day for a while. See where there are things you could modify in order to carve out your time. You will probably find things in your day that can be changed in order to allow you to sit on a park bench, walk or get to a yoga class….it is important, you are important!! If you need help figuring it out, email me at simplicityquest@gmail.com and let’s figure it out together…
Have a great day!!
Jennifer
The major players in the weight loss game have a scam going on. Did you know that only 5% of the folks who lose weight ultimately keep it off? Why?
Primarily, the problem is that these programs are thought of as a diet, something you start, do until you reach some goal, and then ditch like a bad habit. Who wants to count points or eat prepackaged food for the rest of their lives to keep it up?
Another problem comes with low calorie dieting. The more time we spend eating too few calories, making our body think it is starving, the lower our metabolism drops, making it harder to lose weight the next time. Eliminating one food group, such in the Atkins Plan, where most carbohydrates are eliminated, essentially forces you into low calorie mode.
Low calorie dieting, makes you feel deprived, and it also leaves you hungry most of the time. I have been on that road many times, I have skipped breakfast, counted points, tallied calories and starved myself on weigh in day so that I would be the “big loser” at that particular meeting. I have stuffed my cart with prepacked “diet” foods in an effort to manage portion control. I did the “low-fat” thing, thinking that if I ate almost no fat, I would lose weight. None of this works in the long run!
If you buy into the “reduce calories and do cardio exercise craze”, you will find yourself being able to eat less and less, and having to workout more and more to continue to lose weight. By the time you reach your goal, you will be at starvation mode calories, and working out hours a day in order to maintain your weightloss. Is this something you can maintain for years? I don’t think so….
The diet industry has us duped into believing their plans, only to have us run from one plan to another when the weight starts to come back on. In my lifetime, on various plans, I bet I have lost a few hundred pounds. Funny, I never had that much to lose, but by being a “chronic dieter” and losing the same pounds over and over again, I have accumulated quite a boatload of weight loss!!
So what is the answer? How did I lose 70 pounds and manage to keep off most of it for 7 years? Ok, I fluctuate by 10-15 pounds, up and down, usually gaining it in the winter and losing it in the summer, but for the most part, I hover between 160 and 175 pounds consistently. Which at 5’7″ is not skinny, but it is a good weight for me. I feel strong and comfortable at this weight, fitting into about a size 10. Nope, you don’t need to be a size 2 and you don’t need to be rail thin. You can eat, you can workout a normal amount of time, and you can find your set-point weight and be happy.
Here in a nutshell is the answer.
1. Start with a few weeks of an elimination diet- Find a good elimination diet that takes out sugar, grains, dairy and “processed” foods. Follow this diet for a few weeks, then start adding back things into your diet. This allows you to assess if you have any food sensitivities or allergies that have been causing you to hold onto weight.
2. Eat whole foods most of the time- no prepackaged anything. No macaroni and cheese from a box, limit cookies, cakes and the like. Eat real veggies, fruit, meats and whole grains. Once you are past the elimination diet phase, you can start to bring other foods back into your diet gradually and create an eating plan that works for you. You can start to figure out a way to eat out at restaurants and make snacks to take with you when you travel, based on the foods that work with your body.
3. Get moving!- Work out 20-30 minutes most days. With a combination of stretching, strength training and cardio work, you can minimize your workout time, but maximize your workout effort.
4. Journal everything you eat- Not to count calories, fat and carbs, but to access how you feel, what moods make you want certain things and start to work through issues with food and fitness that may have manifested over your entire life.
5.Add meditation and yoga to your daily life- 10-20 minutes a day….that is all it takes! 5-10 minutes to meditate and 5-10 minutes to stretch, with hopefully a once or twice per week class to keep you on track and help you to learn new poses to add to your stretching sessions.
6.Face your demons-If chocolate is your downfall, make sure to acknowledge that! In order to be successful at long-term weightloss you need to be able to handle cravings in a different way. Perhaps in the chocolate example, by purchasing the one ounce squares (one serving!) and putting them in your freezer. Allow yourself to have an ounce of dark chocolate each day! Everything is ok in moderation, is the thing you need to keep in your mind.
7.Find a coach- Finding someone to guide you and help you on the journey is paramount to success. This is a person who can hold you accountable, keep you motivated and point you in the right direction when you are falling off the track. I can coach you through Beachbody Just go to the site and sign up as a free customer. I can also coach you personally with a personalized program, set up just for you. Email me at simplicityquest@gmail.com to set up a time for your free personal consultation. I will spend some time with you determining what your goals are, what things you have tried in the past, fitness level and current diet. We can then determine a plan to start to get you on track!
Here is to finding your long-term solution to your health and weightloss efforts! No one wants to do it twice! Find a system that works for you for the long haul….
Namaste,
Jennifer
Mind body fitness involves much more than working out. As a yoga teacher, I see many folks come to class initially to get a fit body, but find out that yoga offers much more.
My initial venture into yoga was just that, a venture into the fitness world. What yoga ultimately did was help me to quit smoking, start walking daily, eat better and eventually run a marathon. How does yoga do it? By incorporating not just your body, but your mind, into the activity.
Yoga helps us to gain patience. In some types of yoga, you hold poses for an extended period of time. Letting us take that moment to focus on breath, focus on feelings and focus on what resides inside of us. Some poses will prove difficult and you will gain patience with yourself to work through difficulties.
Yoga helps us to gain insight. Again, when you take the time for yourself, time to look at your inner self, you will gain insight. A new goal might come to mind, or perhaps the solution to a problem you have been pondering for ages.
Yoga helps us to gain fitness. Yes, yoga does help you become fit. You will gain strength and stamina as you work through the poses. Your aerobic capacity will be helped with some forms of yoga too!!
Yoga will help you to seek wellness in other areas of your life. Yoga will help you to WANT to walk instead of drive, it will encourage you to EAT HEALTHY instead of eat junk, it will help you to seek BALANCE in your life rather than being that hamster on the wheel…
So what is mind body fitness? It is a combination of activities for your body, that may encourage other changes in your physical self that help to improve your mind self….
Would you like more information on fitness of the mind or body? Please visit www.paths-to-fitness.com or if you are local to the Winona, MN area, visit www.yogafitnesswellness.com for class schedules and updates!
jennifer
I hate to swim. I REALLY hate to swim. But I do it. Why? Because it is good for me, and because in order to complete a triathlon I have to swim.
I take a vitamin every morning. I really HATE the taste of it, but I do it…why? Because it is good for me and it will make me healthier in the long run.
Running is not my favorite activity, but I do it. Why? Again, in order to finish a triathlon, I have to run, and running is good for me. It helps to keep me fit, keeps my heart healthy and helps to control my weight.
Competing in events many weekends in the summer keeps me doing something physical the rest of the week. I don’t train like crazy, but I do get out almost every day and bike, run or swim. Most days I practice yoga as well, in order to stay flexible and create strength.
You don’t have to like to exercise to do it, you just have to do it. This may sound harsh, but I am sick of excuses. I hear excuses almost every day. I don’t have time, my knees hurt, it was cold out, it was raining, I can’t afford a membership to a gym, I didn’t have a babysitter….etc…on they go.
You make time to watch some TV everyday (don’t say you don’t, I can almost guarantee it!), your knees will stop hurting if you get out and do something physical, dress warmer, wear a raincoat, you don’t need a membership to a gym, you have the whole outside world, take the kids in a jogging stroller, or have them ride their bike along side of you if they are older….there, I debunked every excuse you have….( if you have another excuse, email it to me and I will figure out a way to make it go away.)
You can start a resistance training workout with a $10 resistance band from Target, all you need to start walking or running is a good pair of shoes, and of course, I recommend a weekly yoga class, which is about the same cost as dinner at McDonald’s (which one is better for you???).
So, I finished the triathlon on Saturday. I ran 2 miles, biked 10 miles and swam 350 yards. Did I enjoy every minute of it? Nope. Did I enjoy the training leading up to it? Nope. Do I feel a great sense of accomplishment for having done it? Yup. Do I like the way the training makes me feel when I am done? Yup. Will I do it again? Of course!!
So quit the excuses and get your butt up off the couch, right now, and get outside for a walk or drag your bike out of the basement, pump up the tires and head out for a ride…you will thank yourself for it in the long run….
see you at yoga!!
yogajen
I just got done listening to a recording by Joshua Rosenthal from Integrative Nutrition. I love his work and his book! “Integrative Nutrition
He talks alot about primary food. Primary food are the things in our lives besides what we eat, relationships, exercise, stress…..We can eat well, but if the other facets of our lives are out of whack, we may still feel unhealthy, unhappy and overweight. We need to look at all areas of our lives in order to get a firm grasp of our health and wellness.
He mentions work relationships and helping people either find work they love, or helping them to love the work they do. Sometimes, simple changes, such as moving to a different department or a change in frame of mind can make a job you don’t enjoy, tolerable. In relationships, we sometimes eat to dull the pain, boredom or lack of intimacy within it.
In fitness, he talks about making sure to cross train, or do different things to make sure your body is worked in a variety of ways. For example, runners who only run may need to add some yoga to their routine to balance themselves. Yogi’s may need to add some walking or running to add in that cardiovascular component.
Starting with a journal is an excellent way to access what is causing your weight issues. Each time you eat something, don’t just write it down, but make sure to write “how you felt” and “what you were doing” next to the food. No need to track calories, fat, carbs or anything else. You will start after a week or so to see a pattern develop. Perhaps you eat ice cream on the way home from work in order to “reward” yourself for making it through another day. Maybe that pizza you stopped and got while the kids were at dance lessons was your way of compensating for feeling overwhelmed by everything you have to do in a day.
By starting to identify the triggers to overeating, we can start to find ways to overcome them. Utilizing modalities such as meditation, breathwork, mantras,biofeedback and exercise, we can circumvent the need to eat with some other activity. A mantra is a word or phrase that you keep repeating to yourself to help focus your mind. For example “I am worth the effort” is a good one when you are feeling like you just want to eat that cherry pie.
Mantras are also helpful in maintaining an exercise routine. For many of us, me included, it isn’t the exercise that I love, but how I feel when I am done. I don’t enjoy running, I enjoy the high I get when I am done running. I do love to practice yoga, but it too, is challenging, where I sometimes want to quit, or make a pose easier by compromising my form. So it isn’t that those of us who are out there everyday get some sort of sadistic pleasure out of sweating, breathing heavy and working hard. We know that in order to live the life we wish to live, it is important to move our bodies everyday. It is HARD WORK, and you need to make the commitment to do it. Sometimes a little encouragement and someone to be accountable to is all you need to find fitness success.
So start your journal today, and begin to identify your triggers. Do you want someone to be accountable to, who will help you and encourage you every step of the way?? I would love to be your coach…. visit http://www.paths-to-fitness.com to see what programs I can offer to you!
have a great day!!
yogajen
This is a HUGE topic, so I am just going to touch the surface of it in this blog. If you want more information, or would like to schedule a consultation after reading it, please email me at simplicityquest@gmail.com
We have become a society that likes things to happen RIGHT NOW. Instant gratification is the word of the day. If we have a headache, we want it solved with a pill or shot that works instantly. If we are hungry, we want something that can be popped into the microwave and be hot and ready in 2 minutes. The same is going on in wellness, weightloss and health!
Passive wellness activities are those where you are not physically moving or engaged in the process. You are there, being touched or worked on, but you do not need to do anything to receive the benefits of the process.
Passive wellness includes many very good modalities including massage, Reiki, reflexology, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), herbal or vitamin supplementation and others. Some will argue that you are involved in the process and in some ways you can increase the effectiveness by being engaged in the process, but you can just be there and receive the treatment. All of these methods are awesome, if combined into an overall plan for wellness. There is another avenue of passive wellness or healthcare in the allopathic or western medical realm. These things include drugs and surgery. Unfortunately, typically drugs and surgery address the outwardly manifested “symptom” rather than looking for the inwardly manifested “cause”.
For example, if we are overweight is it because we overeat, or is it because we are stressed and too busy to cook the appropriate foods, we aren’t involved in physical activities or because the foods we eat are not providing the proper nutrients that our body needs, making our body think it is starving, thus requiring more food to try to meet the nutritional goals? Are we overeating to fill a void (emotional eating) that we can’t seem to get filled any other way? What part of that does gastric bypass surgery solve? Only the limiting food part. What part does a diet pill solve? Again, only the limiting of the food intake. These passive methods do not fix the underlying cause of the problem.
Active wellness on the other hand includes, yoga, meditation, walking, running, biking, eating well….and a myriad of other things that you are physically involved in. Active wellness is hard. It takes effort and is sometimes a difficult mode to get into. Let’s say for example, that I could tell you that if you eliminated gluten from your diet, that your migraine headaches would go away? OR, you could take a pill everyday for the rest of your life that would accomplish the same goal? Which one would you pick? But then, let’s add the other unfortunate problem of side effects, and the continual increase in dose of the medication? Now which one would you pick?
Let’s say that you are suffering from chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia, and it is determined that you suffer from a candida overgrowth that can be corrected with a special diet and anti-fungal medications, or that again, you can take a prescription drug that will cause strange side effects and will never truly correct the underlying problem of the candida overgrowth?
Now let’s examine weight loss. This is a tricky subject, because in most cases, it isn’t just your food intake that causes the problem. Actually, only 2% of people who undertake a reduced calorie diet and lose weight, manage to maintain that weight loss once they discontinue the program. Why is that? It is impossible to starve yourself forever. At some point, you fall off the bandwagon. You can’t spend your entire life hungry and you can’t fill up that void caused by stress or frustration if you never get to eat enough to satisfy you again!
Unfortunately, the diet program world has made reduced calorie dieting, eliminating certain food groups etc into really big business! Why? Because they know you will be back again and again, when you fail and need to start over. I have even seen it on a couple of ads for Weight Watchers and Nutrisystem! “I did it in 2004 and then I did it again in 2007!”. Why would you need to do it again if the method was successful at creating a lifestyle you can live with?
So what is the active wellness answer to weight loss? The answer to that question is different for everyone. First, you need to determine why you have a weight issue? Do you emotionally eat? Do you have a thyroid or adrenal issue? Is stress making you hold onto weight? Are you eating to few calories, making your body think it is starving, so your metabolism has slowed to a crawl?
Once the cause or causes can be figured out, a plan can be put together that includes a whole foods eating plan, active and passive wellness activities to help you achieve your goals and maintain them. Perhaps in your case it is a stressful job and marriage that are creating your eating issues. The eating plan is devised, followed by meditation, yoga, daily walking and counseling to start figuring out how to deal with the issues that need to be dealt with. Is a job change in order? Perhaps your spouse needs to know how you feel in order to start to work through those problems.
By starting to fill your diet with whole, natural foods, you will start to feel better immediately! By eating enough quality calories to sustain you, your metabolism will start to readjust itself, helping you to start to lose weight naturally. You won’t lose it quickly like you will with Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig or Weightwatchers, but you will lose it for always! Yes, you will need to eliminate some things like artificial sweeteners and white flour, but you will be replacing them with natural fruit sweetness and whole grains.
My personal journey started with yoga, but yours may start somewhere else. Yoga helped me to start to focus in on the needs of my body, guiding me to quit smoking, start walking and start eating better, so I started to lose weight naturally. Your journey may start with walking, or with adjusting your diet…wherever it starts, let it develop!
Active wellness is a challenge. It involves working through the symptoms to get to the underlying cause of your health problem. Then an active plan needs to be devised to help to eliminate the underlying cause, thus eliminating the symptoms. It is a cycle which can take longer than popping a pill or having surgery, but that in the long run will be of great benefit to you.
If you are ready to start your journey to health through active wellness and holistic passive wellness, send me an email or give me a call!! I would love to help you start on your path…..
yogajen
Since leaving my full-time job on June 12th, I must admit, I have been a bit lazy. I have been working, if you can call it that. I am teaching 3 yoga classes a week, walking every day and working on some pretty intense personal development stuff.
In a sincere quest to find out what I really want to do when I grow up, I am tackling “Wishcraft-How to Get What you Really Want”.
It makes you start to answer the really hard questions. It helps you to plot the path to your goals in a way that is workable. By helping you to define what your goal really is, you can start to create a framework which will help you to get there in incremental steps.
We all have things we love to do, goals we want to accomplish, places we would like to go….but to many of us push those things to the back of our minds as we go about the task of daily life. You don’t have to quit your job to start to find this path, you can just order and start reading the book, following the steps. I am done reading it now, so now the hard work begins.
Yes, defining and following your dreams is hard work! I have many times heard people say “if only…” or “I wish….”, but then take no steps towards the goal. Or they start working on it, and when things get tough they quit, saying they either don’t have the time, don’t have the money, or that the goal in unattainable. They give up before giving the dream or wish or goal an opportunity to take root and start to grow.
My goal is to make the yoga studio a successful venture. My goal expands to not only including yoga, but massage, Reiki, yoga massage, supplements, wellness, weightloss and fitness coaching….just helping people find the best in themselves. It is what I love, what I am passionate about and what makes me light up!
So, yes, I have been lazy….working towards a goal, laying out the plan and preparing to make my dreams come true….on the corner of East 5th and Carimona…there is a dream in the making….join me??
yogajen
There is more to losing weight than eating right and working out. Unfortunately, our emotions play a huge role in our ability to shed those unwanted pounds.
Recently, I gained about 5 pounds, while working out 2 hours a day, and eating relatively well. It was due to stress and turmoil in my life. I was working to much, and worrying about whether to continue my job or leave it. Stress raises the level of cortisol in our bodies, making it harder to shed the weight.
I am working on getting through a couple of books right now, that I am hoping will help me figure out how to balance stress with losing weight. I easily have at least 20 pounds that I need to shed, but I have been battling for a few years now. Even while teaching 7 yoga classes a week, walking for an hour a day and lifting weights 3-4 times per week, I have been unable get rid of it, so I am looking at the reasons other than eating and working out that are causing the problem.
I am reading <a href=”Integrative Nutrition
Wishcraft: How to Get What You Really Want
The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person
I also just received today The Complete Artist’s Way: Creativity as a Spiritual Practice
Although not a book about losing weight, it is a book about finding yourself, getting back to, or finding the artistic side of yourself in a spiritual way. When we force back our spirit and follow a path that is not natural for us, we feel sad and helpless, which makes losing weight and being happy extremely difficult.
So, with these four books in hand, I will begin to work through the next 3 months and see if I can clear out the dust that is in my head, uncover the reasons why I am holding onto this 20 pounds that I don’t want, and read, journal, walk and practice yoga….finding myself….
yogajen
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