Sunday, January 24, 2016

When You Are Feeling Fat...Shifting Gears in a Flash

Fat Shaming 101, here goes. 

I have a secret. When I used to go to the gym, if I worked out with a mirror in front of me, my motivation would pop like a balloon struck by a steak knife. I couldn't stand there and workout, because my negative mind was cruel and relentless. I decided that either I'd gained weight or my family played a mean trick on me and changed out all my clothes for smaller ones.  I judged my body with harsh, resentful eyes. It felt awful inside my head to have those thoughts; so I gave them way. Here's how you can, too.

It's near impossible to feel motivated for the gym when you feel yucky. It feels heavy in your heart and that heaviness contributes to additional heaviness of the body. That level of shame only brings you deeper into a state of despair that spreads into your whole life. Suddenly, social engagements are not exciting when you don't feel that you can hide your weight gain or that you don't have clothes that fit you like they should. Yes, it's a sad world where our appearances bear so much weight. (pun intended!) What's even more sad is hearing the overly-negative internal dialog of the mind and fall for it.

So I recommend you stay away from the gym if it doesn't sound good, don't force it!. If there's just a little piece of you that thinks it would be fun, then maybe, go. But if you have dread and anxiety towards the notion, then skip it. Listen to your inner voice. Take a couple months off without feeling guilt about it.

And definitely don't go somewhere that you leave, feeling worse about yourself. Instead, build yourself up internally. Find a trail to walk on instead, go for an hour long walk. Or don't worry about exercise for a while, just focus on eating nutrient dense foods, like a baked sweet potato with coconut oil and salt.

If going to the gym stresses you out, believe me when I say it will do more harm than good to go. Stress is the number one killer to all things healthy and vibrant. After you feel energetic to workout, find something to do that gets your body moving. If you're really eager, start a 100 day burpee challenge or do wall sits while watching TV or jump on a mini trampoline for 20 minutes. Just move your body in a way that's pleasurable and non-stressful. Plenty of people stay in shape without a gym membership.


When I lost weight in the past, it wasn't while shaming my body. It's always been the opposite. It's been a decision I made and following it out came easy sometimes and tougher other times. Your body reflects your thoughts and your eating habits perfectly, so make them beautiful.

 I also didn't sit there and feel fat, instead I was doing something about it. I also know through the universe that if you want to lose weight you have to operate at a trans-formative vibration. You have to stop looking backwards or forwards and instead focus one step ahead. Focus on what you are doing right now for change. Eating a healthy breakfast with no sugar and enough protein to fuel you. Good. Baby steps. Stay in the vibration. Be elated at that step even if that's your last step of the day. Don't look for results long term, just focus on feeling good. When you slip up, just look for what you can do in your next step. 

How Will I Feel After This...
I realized that I get off track easily when I don't listen to my inner guidance system. But lately I've realized that the further from my guidance I go, the worse I feel. If I want to feel good, then I need to reflect on how my activities make me feel. Does sitting down all day feel good? No. Does it make you feel good after you overeat? Maybe you get a temporary high but then the guilt comes in. The guilt isn't to just make you feel bad, no! The guilt is to inspire you toward change. Use your emotions as your navigation system, and they will lead you to anything you desire. Understand that dissatisfaction is what leads you to change. There is a reason you are feeling this way, it's to use it as your arsenal to get you where you want to go.

Asking Different Questions:

Self-Sabotage Questions:
How did I get to this weight
How did I do this again?
Why do I keep eating so much?

The Questions that lead to Transformation:
What am I doing that's working?
What can I do RIGHT NOW to feel really good?
What have I done in the last hour that has helped me in my journey?
What can I do tonight that will make me feel good tomorrow?

A Miracle Book for sure




My favorite transformative book. I highly recommend. I listened to it on audio CD's and it began my weight loss journey.





Things that you want to grow bigger, focus on. If it feels good, focus on it.  The more you think about something, the bigger it will get. If it makes you feel yuck and negative, send it away, let it go. Talking it out doesn't help for this. Instead, find your happy place. I find mine when I work out, partially because it feels good just to move my body and partially because sometimes it is so hard to do the workouts that I don't have any room inside my head for chatter. My problems can disappear during my workouts.

Get outside. It's a magical place out there and it offers the nurturing, giving, forever abundant energy of mother nature. Unless you are living in Antarctica, there is gear that will protect you from the elements, so get outside for a walk or sit out there and eat dinner. Take in some fresh breaths of air and send out your desires to the world.

Speed thinking/speed eating and speed in general causes all your body to work under stress. It's like having a drill sergeant scream at you to go relax, it won't work.  Slow your roll! When you eat, slow down and enjoy your food with pleasure. Eating quickly teaches your body to store food because your body thinks you are in danger. When you feel your thoughts moving too fast, stop whatever you are doing and sit down or lay down or hell, get upside down in a headstand. It only takes 2 minutes to reset your nervous system. Sit down, take deep internal breaths through your nose and begin again. Your parasympathetic system wants to aid you in weight loss but it can not be turned on when you are stressed out. Weight loss does not happen when you are amped up on caffeine, sweating in the racquetball court or eating like the world is ending. Weight loss happens when your body is at ease, when it's sleeping, when you're recovering from your work out, when it knows that it doesn't need to store energy.

Weight loss through grounding


Weight loss is a multi-faceted issue. It's like having 300 rivers converge into one. You have energetic reasons for your weight to be where it is, you have many physical needs and you have a spiritual pieces. Discover parts of you where your weight is speaking the strongest to and nurture it back to health. We're all here to learn. If we were all perfect, with perfect bodies and perfect thoughts, the world would be a boring place. Instead relish in the idea that you are in control of what your body does and feels like. If you don't like how it feels in this moment, you are one thought away from changing it. Another recent trick I learned, if I feel uncomfortable in my own skin, feeling panicked because I have gained weight, all I have to do is start moving. Any movement will do. I dance, I walk, I stretch, I stand up - movement is king. Movement will set your mind free.

THE ANTAGONISTS TO FEELING FAT:

  1. Movement ** My favorite!
  2. Lightheartedly accepting you are transitioning without adding negative judgement to your current situation
  3. Slow down when your mind tries to race too fast
  4. Get outside - get grounded!
REMEMBER THIS: No one ever got fat from having a cheat day, and no one ever dropped all their extra weight from doing one workout. It's about consistency. What are you consistently doing? Make it count.

My fav video

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

What Your Cravings Mean + Cravings Chart


Sometimes after a big event like the Tough Mudder, I will crave nothing else but a cigarette. It's like I wish instead of handing out bottles of water, they were giving me a Camel Light. It's SOOO strange. I have always been a little ashamed of it but now I understand more. Apparently craving cigarettes/tobacco means your body needs Silicon or Tyrosine. I'm assuming after a race my body wanted Tyrosine because it's involved in adrenaline production which I'm sure I was low on.

Cake + Ice cream, Nope.
Sometimes, if I don't obey my food cravings they eventually nip me in the butt later. So if I'm at a birthday party and they have cake and ice cream (this never happens, right?) And I really  want some, but instead I practice self-control, pout on the inside, and say no thank you. Then, the story is not over. Later that night I might go home and scarf down cookies in private. There's a balance one must find, between indulging and hearing your inner wisdom. I don't always find peace through hard core deprivation. Nor do I find it though a lack of self control. Balance, I swear.

Instead, try to soften your harsh thoughts towards yourself. Figure out what's causing the craving. Cravings mean something. Don't judge them. Instead, let them guide you and then analyze what they mean. Sometimes your cravings will lead you to have a big ass bowl of ice cream. Sometimes boredom or loneliness will lead you there. Well, if you think it will help something, eat the damn thing, be excited about it, relish in it and then examine why you wanted it. Remember that if you feel bad about it later, then use it as a guide to help you the next time you feel that way. Don't over analyze it, just learn and move on.

EMOTIONAL CRAVINGS:

I know about these all too well. If you aren't hungry but you find yourself feeding a bucket (your face) with a huge hole in the bottom. Remember there is not enough food in the world to make it feel better when you feel this way. You do need to feel better, but the food is not the answer, try another answer. Step #1: Trace back where in your day or in your week you needed some nurturing. Maybe because you kinda felt crummy all day and needed to be taken care of. Maybe you just used food to work through some emotion you were avoiding. Maybe you have just started a lousy habit of flipping on the boob tube and eating because it helps you disconnect from reality. If it's for these reasons, then you just need to figure out what else you want to do to cope instead. I like to meditate. I used to do burpees or sit outside. Or hug a tree or set up a massage.


Ginger Tea Recipe here




Food/Item Deficency Foods Energy Meaning
Bread       B Vitamins High protein Feeling insecure
Nitrogen fish, nuts, beans Needing comfort


Sweets and
carbs   
Magnesium Fresh Squeezed juices Do 3 protein meals with no snacks between
B Vitamins Green fruit smoothie
 Chromium Broccoli, grapes, cheese, beans


Phosphorus

Poultry, dairy, eggs, nuts, grains
Feeling unsupported Maybe feeling unhappy
Sulfur Cranberries/kale/cabbage
/crucifer veggies
Tryptophan 3 protein meals + sweet potato
at night before bed
Cheese, fries or pizza Vitamins E,
A, D
calcium
CoQ10
Homemade French fries or roasted carrots, nut butters or hummus, walnuts, salmon, add fatty acids like fish oil to diet for long-term cravings Exhaustion, need comfort or sadness about not reaching your goals yet



Coffee/Tea





Burnout, No energy for things you do not love. Resentment toward job or disappointment 
Vitamin C Chai tea with no sugar
Apple Cider Vinegar
Iron Black cherries/Meat
Sulfur

Egg yolks, onion, garlic, crucifer veggies
Chocolate

Magnesium


Carob, Epsom salt bath or magnesium oil spray


Angry that life feels unsatisfactory
Soda pop Calcium Sparkling mineral water  Looking to stay   motivated &      energized
B Vitamins and Vit. C  DIY ginger tea with lemon
  
PMS Cravings Zinc Red meats, cucumber skin, seafood           Feeling   disconnected from thoughts/behaviors
leafy veggies


Lots more info & help here:

Supplements to Control Carb Cravings

How to Dog Whisper Your Cravings:

Nutrition for Intuition

Craving Chart



References: Nutrition for Intuition Book plus the above web sites