Christopher Westera has written a wonderful article called “The Eight Emotional Transformation Recipe”.  He suggests that by following his 8 steps you will have greater clarity and an increase in consciousness that will help you to let go of painful emotions and give you the spirit of openness and acceptance:

1. Accept full responsibility for the emotion even if you don’t fully believe it right now you need to tell yourself, “I create my reality, and I am creating this emotion right now”.
2. Name the emotion by positively identifying feelings such as disappointment, shame, anxiety etc.  This will increase your awareness, clarity and consciousness.
3. Let go of the story – The story is whatever is outside yourself that caused the emotion.
4. Bless the emotion by accepting it as a necessary learning step in order to move on to the next step.
5. Feel the emotion physically in your body without judging or resistance.  Christopher Westera states that what you resist persists and that you need to become a kind of observer of your own processes.
6. Ask for clarity - In order to grow you need to ask yourself, “What do I need to learn from this emotion” and “What effective belief do I own that created this emotion?”
7. Identify the belief – At the root of nearly every painful emotion there is an ineffective belief.  For example, you may believe that you must make everyone happy, or that you can’t be loved if you are not perfect or you believe that you are simply not worth it.
8. Replace the belief – Replace the belief with a more effective belief by telling yourself that you choose to reject the ineffective belief and that you are replacing it with an empowering belief.

By following theses 8 steps, changes will occur that will lead you to self-acceptance and in turn greater success in your weight loss efforts.

George Eliot has a wonderful quote that states, “It is never too late to be what you might have been”.

Step1
Begin by setting some small daily goals. Your weight goal might be to lose 1 pound per week. If you hardly exercised in the past, you might want to walk around your neighborhood for 20 minutes every day. (If you like, split it into a 10-minute walk in the morning and another in the evening.) Your nutritional goal may be to reduce your fat intake. Your psychological goal may be to write in a journal every day.

Step2
Establish intermediate goals that are a little more ambitious than your original goals. For instance, two weeks after you begin to meet your daily 20-minute walk goal, extend your goal to a daily 1-hour walk; start eating smaller portions at every meal; and seek counseling for any self-esteem issues you might have.

Step3
Determine big-picture goals; this includes the total amount of weight you’d like to lose by the end of your program. Make a commitment to jog or run every day to maintain your weight and health; learn how you can shop, cook and eat as nutritiously as possible; and take up an activity that you think you have a knack for – this can keep up your self-esteem.

Step4
Set time frames for your daily, intermediate and big-picture goals. As you progress from one to the next, reward yourself. Go shopping, get a facial, take a weekend trip. You deserve it!

Full Story at eHow.com

Take small steps to implement your goals and ask yourself:

• Are you willing to make the changes necessary to reach your goal?  If you are starting a weight loss or exercise program you need to ask yourself if you are taking on something that you can do for the rest of your life.  If not, you may not be ready to make the changes needed for long-term success.
• What is it that you really want and are you willing to work towards your goals with commitment, time and persistence?
• Are your goals your own?  They shouldn’t be your friends, family members, neighbors etc. It is really important to set goals that are yours alone and nobody else’s.

Goals need to be practical and not overwhelming because the only way you will achieve them is through implementation.  If you want to save yourself a lot of aggravation, your goals need to be both attainable and realistic.  Setting unrealistic goals is the main reason why crash diets and exercise programs fail.  However, goals do need to be just challenging enough to keep you motivated and keep in mind that goals continue to change as you progress which means that you will need to readjust them as you move forward.

Once you have determined your specific goals you will feel empowered by taking small steps towards achieving them.  By being specific you will be able to prioritize and stay motivated.  Which goals are you the most passionate about?

Are you enthusiastic about your goals?  It will be much easier to achieve your goals if their possibilities get you excited.  If they don’t, you may want to re-evaluate the goals that you’ve selected.

Finally, setting a date is important as it will help prevent procrastination and give you encouragement.

Drink a glass or ice cold water as soon as you sit down for your meal. Or, enjoy a bowl of broth-based soup just before your entree.

Article from about.com

• Track your eating triggers. At CMH we really stress journaling so that you can track your emotions and situations as they relate to your eating. After a while you will be able to notice when you are most vulnerable to eating for reasons other than hunger. Recognizing reasons for trigger eating is an important first step to becoming aware of unnecessary eating. For example, watching TV can become a high risk eating situation for many of us. We find ourselves eating mindlessly and end up consuming many more calories than we ever anticipated. Research shows that people who eat in front of the TV report feeling like they haven’t eaten at all.
• Learn to ask yourself a few questions when you feel the urge to eat. Ask yourself if you are really physically hungry. Will the food you are about to eat, nourish your body? How will you feel once you have eaten it? By asking yourself these questions you are better able to control your behavior. If I am craving a certain food before I go to bed, I promise myself that I can have that food for breakfast the next morning. Chances are I won’t feel like it the next day.
• What you eat is also important. Most of you have heard the expression, “You are what you eat”, so eat well to promote both mental and physical health. Good food choices can affect a brain chemical called serotonin and it is the serotonin that influences our mood.
• We need to be aware of high risk situations and have a plan for dealing with them. Parties, celebrations and stressful work conditions can all lead to eating when you are not hungry.
• Finally, try to find some alternative behaviors to eating such as taking a walk, washing the car, taking a bubble bath and how many of you can eat whilst painting your nails? Find something that works for you and takes your mind off food.

Your weight loss journal can be kept the same way as any journal—you can use a diary, a notebook or even a blog. One approach you can take is to plan your meals and fitness activities throughout the week and keep track of them as the days move forward. It is also helpful to include information related to your progress including how many pounds and inches you have lost. If you feel comfortable enough, include photographs of yourself as your weight loss continues. As time goes by, your journal can help you notice trends in your weight loss, which choices help you and which choices cause you to backtrack.

Your journal does not have to be merely a collection of facts, however. The path toward a healthier weight can affect us emotionally in positive and negative ways. Feel free to write about the goals you hope to reach through diet and exercise, how it feels to reach those goals and how it feels when you fall short. Journaling has been shown to relieve stress and will help you release some of the negativity you may experience. 

For both practical and emotional reasons, journaling can be a valuable routine to adopt while working to lose weight. Keep in mind that you can write whatever you want as long as it is helps you along on your journey and keeps you accountable to your goals.

Get on the right track and let us help you with your weight loss goals.  Contact us today!

We welcome your questions/comments and will respond as soon as possible to get you the help you need.  Log in and ask away…helping people lose weight is our passion and we are here to help!

Did know that there may be underlying causes preventing you from successful weight loss? Learn more by visiting www.cmhva.com

At CMH, Our Mission is…to create a community of motivated people who understand how to successfully manage their weight for life.

It is inevitable with any weight loss plan to reach a plateau or experience a relapse.  It is most important during these times to talk to your weight loss coach, get involved and overcome your plateau or relapse without using it as an excuse to abandon all of your efforts that were working up until this point.  Often, mild tweaking of your plan can make all the difference in the world and keep you on the road to success.

We welcome your struggles here on our blog.  Let us know your barriers and struggles and we will give you sound, practical advice so you can experience success this time as well!  We offer expert advice and motivation for successful weight loss results each and every day and welcome this new forum so we can do the same for you.  We all have barriers to weight loss success - don’t go it alone – share them and help others as well along the way!

Check with your doctor

Consult with your doctor before you begin any exercise program. After a medical evaluation, your doctor will be able to determine your fitness level and advise you on the right way to start a program.

Don’t overdo it

Start slow! Start with a walking program of about 20 to 30 minutes three days a week. You can slowly increase the duration and intensity of your exercise activities as you become more fit.

Have fun

Choose activities that are fun and add some variety to your program so exercise won’t seem boring or routine. Ask a friend to join you or listen to music to keep yourself entertained while you are burning calories!

Stick to a schedule

Make an appointment on your calendar for your exercise activities and stick to it. Try to make exercising a daily routine, but be flexible – if you miss your scheduled workout, incorporate physical activity into your day another way.

Reward yourself

Every day, write down what type exercise you did, how you felt and how much weight you have lost since starting your program. To stay motivated, reward yourself when you reach your daily or weekly weight loss goals.