The Weight Loss Motivation Coach

BACK ON TRACK AGAIN

Chrissie Webber — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 10:20:00 +0100

Here I am, back at my computer and writing my blog again. Yes, I know it has been several months. The fact is that just like Oprah Winfrey I ‘fell off the wagon’ - big time. Life hit me in the face yet again and I forgot all about the special relationship with myself. How could I do that after all I had written about and succeeded at?

Well the fact is that I did and no amount of ruminating over it is going to change the fact. No amount of guilt and shame is going to change a thing. So my clothes have somehow shrunk and are nearly strangling me round the waist. The reality is I have put on some weight but the strange thing is that everyone I tell this too genuinely responds with “Have you? I hadn’t noticed”. All this angst and no one even noticed only me!

What I have learnt from this unsettled period in my life is that as much as I want to be, I am not perfect. There are times in our lives when what we eat or drink pails into insignificance. The problem I found is that it too easily became my excuse. My daily yoga and meditation routine began to slip and all too soon it was ‘out the window’ and along with it went my healthy eating. I had detached from myself. Ignoring my inner voice until it was unperceivable, all too easily I again buried my emotions with food.

Eventually the wake up call came in the guise of my painful joints and this time I was listening. So the months of not listening to myself are over and I feel a great deal of satisfaction being back at my computer again and connecting with people all over the world.

Life is too short for regrets and for continuing down a pathway of behaviour that only brings us pain and unhappiness. We owe it to ourselves to be happy and make the most of every new day that dawns for us. So make today a special one. Listen to what your body needs, eat the foods that make you feel good, focus on the moment, without the negative thoughts of past remembrances or the fears of things to come. Go for that walk and notice the beauty in each and everything you see, take pleasure in the increased activity that energises your body and more importantly burns off those calories!

Loving The Skin You're In

Chrissie Webber — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:20:00 +0100

Have you ever considered how important it is to have a positive body image? For many of us this is not an easy thing to sustain, yet it is vital if we are to lose weight permanently. Think about it for a moment. If you hate part or the whole of your body now what will be different when you lose weight?

Body Dysmorphia – a hatred of your own body- does not tend to change when you lose weight or even reach your target weight. All those weeks, months and years of focussing on what you hate about yourself, take their toll. Unless during the process of you losing weight you learn to gradually love the skin you’re in, you are likely to remain dissatisfied with your body image when you are the weight you were born to be.

For some people this can lead them into over dieting or giving up and putting the weight back on because they never find the body perfection they seek. One of the keys to sustainable weight loss is therefore finding different ways to learn how to love your body image as you gradually lose weight.

Don’t worry, this will not stop you wanting to lose weight but will enhance your motivation as you learn to love and take care of every inch of you. It is in this journey of self-love and self-acceptance that true weight loss success lays.

Sometimes it is great to do something different to find ways of loving the skin your in. So last week, I organised a fun ‘girly’ evening for some of my friends and family. Instead of just sitting and doing the usual ‘girly’ things, which of course includes lots of chatting, I decide to organise something different. I arranged for a Colour and Image Consultant to spend the evening with us.

We spent a great evening discovering the colours and outfits that best suited our skin tones and body shape. This inspired me to have a wardrobe clear out – always a rewarding and freeing experience – and to rediscover clothes and combinations I had not thought of before. I now have a new wardrobe of my old clothes as I am wearing things I had forgotten about and better still, outfits that make me feel a million dollars when I wear them.

Your love for your body grows a little every time, when you feel great in the clothes you wear. So, have a sort out. Try different combinations of clothes. Use scarves and jewellery to dress up your outfits and start your journey to love the skin you’re in.

‘BUDDY’ UP AND GAIN MORE MOTIVATION

Chrissie Webber — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:55:00 +0100

A friend of mine recently asked me if I would be her ‘Buddy’ to help remotivate her healthy eating. Like so many of us she had reached a target weight which was a great achievement – 50lbs in 50 weeks. Then it all went to pot and she was struggling to get back on track.

I too have been struggling, for a long time, to stick at regular exercise. Like many people I had an on and off relationship with exercise - more off than on if truth be told! There were always excuses I could come up with as to why I could not find the time to walk or do my yoga exercises. Sound familiar?

So we set out the ground rules…

1. No criticism of each other, just support and encouragement;

2. To focus and communicate the positive things;

3. To be completely honest with each other;

4. To celebrate success, no matter how small, at every opportunity by sharing it;

5. To email or text each other every day with a short journal of what we had achieved, how we felt and what we had eaten;

6. To include in the journal information about when healthy eating and exercise habits had slipped;

7. To offer supportive words, thoughts and encouragement to each other when things had gone off track;

8. To meet up a couple of times a week (wherever possible) and go for an hours walk;

9. To make sure we were always enjoying ourselves;

10. To have fun!

The transformation for both of us has been amazing. I have never felt so motivated and determined to exercise regularly 4-5 times a week. On the days that I am not due to meet my ‘Buddy’ it is like a personal challenge to do my hour of exercise. Not even this rain has put me off, as I now have an indoor exercise routine.

It is also wonderful for both of us to hear how our respective words of support and encouragement have helped to get and keep us both on track. That led me to thinking about developing a Life Shapers ‘Buddy Up’ Programme. So with the launch of my new web site, next month, you too will be able to find a ‘Buddy’ through the online forum. This is so exciting as it adds a new dimension to the support we will be offering.

There is also no need for you to be living in the same location or country as your ‘Buddy’ either. I have just linked up with a second ‘Buddy’ and she is in Canada. Not only is this motivational it also feeds the soul as we develop new and wonderful relationships across the globe.

So ask a friend to be your ‘Buddy’ set out the rules of how it will work for you and start to get the support and motivation you deserve or try out the Life shapers Forum next month and find a new friend to ‘Buddy Up’ with.

WEIGHT LOSS THROUGH CONNECTING TO A LOVE NOT FOOD

Chrissie Webber — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:31:00 +0100

Today I have taken a section from my book Weight Loss, Life Gain that highlights the importance of connecting to more than just food.

An obsession with what we eat is unhealthy and leads us into believing that we should make food scarce by restricting it. This ‘Scarcity Mindset’ only leads to craving and eventually over eating. Quantity, balance and changing our connection away from food and towards more loving thoughts and actions are the keys, after years of dieting.

One of the first loving acts that requires attention after years of playing the dieting game is to connect back in touch with yourself and life. For years you may have only been connected to food. Your focus may have been on wanting it, thinking about it and allowing it to rule your life. This focus may have obliterated the loving connections in life that bring happiness and joy.

So on your journey through life are you connected or disconnected? When you live your life in an ‘Abundant’ mindset…

Your mind is connected to the feelings of your body;

Your mind is connected to your fuel tank – your empty/full feelings - to ensure that excess food is not wasted (put on our waists and hips!);

Your mind is connected to life in the moment – the power of the present;
Your mind is connected to your inner friend and the loving things that ‘Feed Your Soul’;
Your mind is connected with the energy that each food provides in order to determine those that are the best fuel for your body;
You are connected with your own inner beauty;
You are connected to your deep intuition;
You are connected to your emotions and thoughts managing them appropriately without burying them with food by comfort eating;

Through this mindset you fully connect with the abundance of joy and beauty in the world around you. You connect with the positive things people say, not the negative ones. You are healthily connected with the food you eat. In this mindset you seek, and find, the abundant connections with the joy and happiness you deeply crave.

The disturbing thing is, when you are disconnected, you think you will find happiness at a certain weight, size or shape. This is the illusion that a ‘Scarcity’ mindset creates!

Change the focus of your life and fill it with loving connections now!

HOW TO USE DEPORTMENT TO LOOK SLIMMER AND FEEL GREAT

Chrissie Webber — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:07:00 +0100

I have a confession to make – I am an inveterate people watcher! It is so fascinating what you learn when watching others. We can learn not only about them but also some important lessons for ourselves.

The other day I was aimlessly watching people when I noticed a lady who stood out from the crowd. It was not the fact that she was big and beautiful that caught my eye, but her deportment. Her body had a natural grace to its line and flow. As she walked there was an air of confidence about her that seemed sadly unusual in a woman of her size.

The straightness of her back yet the relaxed posture, with head held high, was indicative of slim attractive women. You could tell at a glance that she was happy in the skin she was in, a sadly unusually thing for woman who are overweight.

What was most remarkable was the way people were noticing her. This brought back a memory of what a man told me many years ago – “A beautiful, confident and well groomed, large lady who enters a room will turn more heads in admiration than a thin one, as thin confident women are ten a penny.”

It is usually the norm to notice large people (if at all) because of the way they look so uncomfortable with themselves and the clothes they are wearing. Sadly, many take not pride in their appearance because no matter what their weight and size they hate their body image. This is then reflected in the way they walk and carry themselves.

This got me thinking about the importance of our deportment to our confidence and visa versa. I never know which one comes first as one can influence the other so dramatically. The more confident we feel the more we show it in our body language. We stand more erect, walk with an ease and give confident eye contact, connecting with others without a worry about being judged.

This is when our true beauty radiates for all to see. The problem is that the way we carry ourselves and walk can either make us appear thinner or fatter. The more erect we walk the thinner we appear. The more we walk with a waddling gait, the greater it exaggerates our size.

Remarkably we do not have to build our new self belief and confidence first to achieve this new and confident look. We can fake it! Yes, that’s right. Using more positive, upright body language and practicing a relaxed and flowing walk has a major knock on effect. It can heighten our sense of confidence and self-esteem.

By re-learning the skills of deportment you can stop hiding in a skin that you dislike and learn to feel confidence in yourself no matter what size or shape. Releasing the power of your uniqueness and beauty for all to see and admire is the outcome of positive deportment.

It really doesn’t matter what others think or say, if you feel confident and beautiful in the skin you’re in. Don’t let presumed thoughts, of what others may think of you, stop you radiating who you are for all to see. Let you beauty shine forth and see your confidence grow and the compliments flow as you look slimmer and more radiant.

WAKE UP TO PORTION CONTROL

Chrissie Webber — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 08:18:00 +0100

A few weekends ago I had a wake-up call regarding portion control. I was away for a short break, staying in a hotel, where at breakfast I had cereal from one of those individual packets. As I poured them into my dish I was amazed at the size of the portion. It was so much less than I would have served for myself at home.

This made me think about all the other portions of food I serve myself and just how easy it is to be eating far more than you realise is really needed by your body. So as an experiment I bought myself some of the healthy option ready meals for one. That was also an eye opener. I had not realised how much my self-served portions had crept up in volume!

It has to be said that I had also been an advocate of fresh food over ready meals. So it was quite a surprise to me when I found such a variety of healthy options without the additives that I had expected.

My initial reaction to my first ready meal was “That’s not going to be enough to keep me satisfied.” How wrong was I! The saying of ‘eyes being bigger than stomach’ sprang to mind and with such a truthful ring to it. The portions were just right and the different varieties kept me eagerly looking forward to my next meal instead of wondering what I wanted to eat or cook.

This got me thinking about how much is ‘full enough’. Eating these ready sized meals made me realise that I was experiencing a completely different feeling of satiety than I had been previously working on. The great thing was I did not get hungry any sooner with these smaller portions. And another advantage I found was the reduction in me food bills!

By taking note of how the portion size fitted my plate and by down sizing my plate – something I used to do – it is so much easier to serve up more appropriate portions of my good old home made cooking. It has also been a lot easier and more enjoyable than the old dieting method of weighing all my food portions. I don’t know about you but that always heightened my feeling of being different and somehow not good enough to eat like other people.

Training our eyes to be the scales for our stomachs is far easier and more motivating. Don’t forget though to watch for those portions creeping up in size again. It is all too easy to do.

HOW TO BANISH GUILT AND SHAME AND GET BACK TO HEALTHY EATING

Chrissie Webber — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:02:00 +0100

Does it take you ages to get back on track when you have broken your diet or healthy eating plan? Do you beat yourself up because your willpower has been lacking? Do you feel a failure and convince yourself that it is not worth even trying to get back to your diet plan or healthy eating regime?

These are certainly behaviours that the dieting game has programmed into us, all because of the unhealthy relationship that food restricting creates. For over 30 years researchers have proved that food restricting, even in people with no weight or size issues, leads to binge eating and weight gain in most people.

I concede that after years of dieting, it is not easy to break the guilt trip brought on by a period of overindulgence, on the foods that do not suit our body best. However, it is made so much easier when we alter the way we view the situation…

Ø        Look back at the period of overindulgence and focus on what you ate that you really enjoyed. Allow yourself the enjoyment of food.
Ø        Remind yourself that no food is bad but some foods suit your body better than others. Allow yourself the occasional enjoyment of the foods that do not work well for you.
Ø        Consider whether you overate and if so think about how it spoilt the overall enjoyment of the food. Remind yourself that no food is restricted, only eaten in a balance to suit your body.
Ø        Now plan how you will create a mind and body connection, before you eat, that will enable you to stop when you are just full.
Ø        Congratulate yourself on having created a learning experience out of your overindulgence.

Ø        Remind yourself that past actions cannot be changed but can affect the future if you dwell on them with guilt and shame.
Ø        Let go of these negative emotions as they only raise your stress levels and lead back into more inappropriate eating.
Ø        Take action to reduce any stress in your life and so eliminate the need for comfort eating
Ø        Focus on NOW. Switch on your mind/body connection and take action to get back on track with your Conscious Eating Skills.

It is actually the negativity of our thoughts and emotions that holds us trapped, for periods of time, in patterns of unhealthy eating. Guilt and shame are massive demotivators. It’s therefore no wonder we have such difficulty in re-starting our healthy eating or diet plans once we have ‘broken’ them.

Accepting that we are only human and so will overindulge from time to time is a vital part of the process. Reducing the amount of times we overindulge is a major key to sustainable weight loss.

By changing the way you view the whole situation of overeating you make life far less of a struggle and so reduce your stress levels. Being more loving and caring to yourself, whilst at the same time resetting your positive rules around food and ‘Conscious Eating’, you have no need to rebel and continue your unhealthy eating patterns.

The key is not to focus on the food but on your attitude and beliefs around it. Change the way you react to it and see how much easier it is to get back on track, eating the food that suits your body best.

THE TRUE GIFT OF LIFE – LIVING IN THE MOMENT AND REDUCING YOUR NEED TO COMFORT EAT

Chrissie Webber — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:36:00 +0100

Have you ever considered how much time your mind is focussed in negative mode? The time we spend ruminating on past or present issues can have one major effect on us – it can raise our stress levels. This is not always apparent as we may not feel particularly stressed. However, consider for a moment how much more you comfort eat when your mind is stuck in negative thinking.

The more we struggle with these thoughts, try to problem solve them, fight against them, and the emotional turmoil they can create, the more we can get deeper and deeper into the negativity trap. What I never realised, for many years, was that all my efforts to escape these negative thoughts and the pain they brought with them, only lead me into withdrawing from the world and eating more and more.

Positive affirmations were helpful at times but still didn’t solve the problem of my comfort eating. The power of overcoming inappropriate eating habits actually lies, not in trying to avoid or escape the negative thoughts and their associated emotions but, in actually welcoming them inquisitively and letting them drift away. Being in the moment, as much as possible, without fighting the flow of thoughts; acknowledging them inquisitively and letting them go offers a freedom from the stressful battle in your mind.

This method of ‘Mindfulness’ has dramatic effects on your life when practiced on a daily basis. It allows you to develop the skill of living in the present moment. Regular practice enables your mind to quieten its negative chattering in order to experience the power of the present. It is in these moments that reality lives; at peace with the natural flow of life, unhindered and uninfluenced by past or future rumination.

This is where true peace lies. It is this peace that frees us from the need to comfort eat. So what methods can you use to aid you in your search for mindful moments during each day? Here are a few that you can start using right now…

Ø      Singing and playing a musical instrument– especially when you focus on the music resonating through your body;
Ø      Listening to music intently – becoming rapped up in it;
Ø      Mindfulness breathing – concentrating fully on your in and out breath, allowing your thoughts to drift in and out as they do and each time refocusing on your breathing;
Ø      Gardening – being in touch with nature as you work;
Ø      Physical exercise – especially where you focus your mind on the movements of your body;
Ø      Yoga / Pilates / Martial Arts and other forms or exercise where the mind in trained to be in touch with every movement of the body;
Ø      Meditation – both quiet and guided formats where the mind is being trained to slow down its thought processes.

Creating space every day for this type of activity is more beneficial than you could ever envisage. It reduces the guilt, shame and self-loathing instilled in us by years of playing the dieting game. It reduces the stress in our lives that has us reaching out for the false comfort of food. It reduces the time we waste each day worrying about things that may never happen, stressing about what we ‘should not’ have eaten when it’s already done and can’t be changed. And most importantly, it reduces the amount we beat ourselves up mentally, reinforcing within our own minds that we are ‘bad’, weak willed or just ‘not good enough’ because of our size, shaper or weight.

The truth of the matter is that you are unique, wonderful and loveable, right now, no matter what your weight or size. These techniques of being in the moment allow you to see, feel and believe this, as your rumination reduces and you live more and more in the reality of the present moment. That is the true gift of life.

THE RIVER OF LIFE WHERE FOOD AND NATURE WORK IN HARMONY

Chrissie Webber — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:48:00 +0100

I was just reflecting on how, last week, I felt completely out of balance. I had lost my flow and felt as though, instead of easily sailing along the river of life, I was on a river with lots of whirlpools and eddies. Not only had my feeling of being centred and balanced been lost but also my mind more easily filled with its old habitual negative thoughts.

There are many things in life that send us along an off-shoot of our personal river of life. You know the one. When you are on it, life and happiness flow, you eat appropriately, feel in control and never comfort eat.

When on the wrong river, we struggle against the flow of water. My life of playing the dieting game was like that as I battled with my weight. The more I fought against the reality of my body image, the food that suited my body best and the negative and self-critical thoughts in my head, the more I prevented myself finding my own river of life where food and nature work in harmony.

How do I know I have wondered away from my river of life…

*    My life or day is full of stress
*     I start to give myself excuses for not taking exercise
*    I  withdraw from the world, into myself and comfort eat
*    I set up a battle within my head about food
*    My thoughts revolve to those of self-criticism and self-doubt
*    I start to live less in the moment and more in the negativity of my head

Creating the right balance in my life of loving actions that increase my physical activity and fun, feed my body with foods that fill me with energy, feed my soul with the love of friends and family and feed my purpose in life through the work and writing I do is the way I get back on track.

I find again, through these actions, the peace and tranquillity that comes when going with the flow of life and not against it. Follow your intuition, find the synchronicity in your life, get out of your own way and let nature do the rest.

THE WEIGHT LOSS TRAP OF THE WEIGHING SCALES

Chrissie Webber — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:14:00 +0100

I did something a few weeks ago that I said I would never do again – I weighed myself. That wasn’t too bad, as I promised myself that I wouldn’t get on the scales again for six months. But the temptation was too great. I had been taking much more exercise, eating healthily, most of the time, and was itching to see the results.

So at the weekend I jumped on the scales only to discover I had not shed a single pound! The old thoughts and feelings flooded back as I began to beat myself up about the odd time in the past few weeks when I had over overeaten.

Then I stopped myself and began to think about how, only minutes before, I had felt so positive about myself. Yet again I had fallen into the trap of linking my self-esteem with my weight. I had attached myself to an outcome which had a chance of demotivating me.

Thinking about it now, I can see how much more productive it is to attach ourselves to outcomes that only motivate…

J        Doing things that feed our soul, not our weight issue
J        Creating and seeking happiness in our lives
J        Making time for self-loving actions for ourselves
J        Setting aside time to practice mindfulness and connecting with the present moment as often as possible
J        Counting our blessings every day
J        Creating space and time for the people who feed our souls

The weighing scales have gone and in their place are the self-loving actions that will inevitably let my body settle at the weight it was born to be.

Letting go of the need to be a certain weight, by a certain time, can be not only very freeing but also a great stress reducer. And that means less comfort eating, which is always, in my book, a good thing.

THE 6 KEYS TO HAPPINESS THAT REDUCE COMFORT EATING

Chrissie Webber — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:52:00 +0100

What sort of a day or week are you having? Is it filled with happiness? Do you eat less when you are happy? I am asking these questions because I realised a long time ago that the happier we are the less we reach out inappropriately, for food . The more emotionally balanced we feel, in our life, the less we need to use food as a substitute for happiness.

Of course, happiness for most people is not a permanent state of being. However we can make a choice, in our lives, to fill each day with as much happiness as possible.

We also have a choice about how we handle the things that make us unhappy. The fact is that unhappiness is a state of mind that generates uncomfortable emotions, which many of us then try to bury with food. What we are missing out on is the lesson those emotions are there to tell us. They are actually the needle of our internal barometer, indicating to us when we are off course.

To get back on track or stay on a course for happiness there are 6 Key things we can do…

1.         Make the choice to seek and focus on happiness every day.
2.         Acknowledge the things that are outside of your influence to change and let go of them or they will continue to cause you pain and upset.

3.         Practice noticing any thoughts that focus on negative past events and
            remembrances. These are gone and cannot be changed but they will
            cause unhappiness if you allow them to. Let them go by bringing all
            your attention to the here-and-now.
4.         Practice labelling your thoughts into categories such as judgemental,
            fearful, depressive, guilty, helpless, worried, lonely, jealous, sad or
            anxious. Let them go by creating and taking actions to overcome them.
            It is in the inaction that unhappiness lies.
5.         Practice noticing when you are focussed on fears and worries of the
            future. Acknowledge that these things have not occurred as yet and
            may never do so. Let go and stop wasting the happiness of the
            moment on things that may never be.
6.         Practice Mindfulness, living in the moment as much as possible,
            without past or future thoughts. See the joy, beauty and happiness in
            whatever you are doing, no matter how mundane.

Happiness is your birthright, isn’t it time you claimed it for yourself and reduced your comfort eating in the process?

A Holistic Approach to Weight Management

Chrissie Webber — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:45:00 +0100

Giving up food and weight control to a holistic natural process, linking mind, body and spirit, after years of playing the dieting game, can be a scary prospect. That is until you consider that the human mind actually knows how to do a jolly good job of taking care of you, if you could only switch off your judgemental and self-critical thoughts.

These are the negative thoughts that get in the way of the natural mind, body processes and produce the stress and emotions that lead to our inappropriate comfort eating. They keep our mind firmly routed in the past or the future, yet it is the present moment that contains all the information we need to instinctively make the right choices with food and life.

In the present moment, ‘The Now’, we are…

J     In touch with our body signals and satiety levels
J     Able to make rational and appropriate choices about food, without them being obscured by emotion
J     Able to see and feel the joy of life and therefore do not need to find comfort in food

Training the mind is no different from training the body. It takes daily practice in Mindfulness techniques. These are a variety of meditative and body awareness practices, that when used regularly, every day, change the way you view and use food. The wonderful thing is that these changes occur without you even controlling them.

Take the example of last weekend. I had a personally difficult and emotional situation that would have normally sent me on frequent visits to the refrigerator. My comfort eating and even binge eating would have been triggered by the stresses of my emotions. In the past I may sometimes have managed to overcome the temptations of my mind but it would have still been a struggle.

Using the Mindfulness techniques I was able to sit and welcome my emotions, not bury them with food. By healing the emotions and letting them go I was again, balanced and at peace. Where peace is present, there is no need for food as there is no longer anything that needs comforting.

Without the clutter of negative chatter or emotions, the mind is able to see clearly the loving choices that the moment presents. Instead of withdrawing from the world and eating inappropriately I was able to easily make decisions that enabled me to stay in the moment much more, connected with the love and beauty that surrounds us every minute of our lives.

This is where reality lies, not in the past or the future. This is where our mind is free to make the choices it needs to keep us happy and healthy. Of course we need to spend some of our time in reflecting on the past and planning for the future. It is all about balance and making sure we spend time every day in Mindful pursuits.

For more information on Mindfulness read Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat Zinn.

‘Mindfulness’ a Way of Reducing Comfort Eating

Chrissie Webber — Wed, 21 May 2008 11:17:00 +0100

Have you ever noticed the effect your mindset has on your eating? I know that the more my mind ruminates with negative thoughts, the greater my comfort eating. The more I have found myself stuck in these patterns of negative thinking, over the years, the harder it has become to break them and get back into a mindset that aids my weight loss.

Research is now showing that physiological changes occur in the brain, linking thoughts and emotions together, as we habitually focus on the negative. The more time we spend in thoughts of guilt, shame and self-judgement, the stronger these physiological links become.

Affirmations and focussing on the positive have definitely helped me get back on track but all too often I slip back into old destructive thoughts and emotions that quickly lead to my comfort eating again. That was until I began to learn the art of ‘Mindful’ meditation.

It has long been recognised that meditation aids stress reduction but now research is showing that it also alters the physiology of the brain. The more you meditate, the more the links between thoughts and emotions in the brain are separated. This reduces stress, depression and aids in the development of new, more positive thoughts and actions.

Armed with this information I decided to take myself off on a course in ‘Mindful’ Meditation. Already after two weeks of daily practice I am seeing the effects…

J     I now regularly leave food on my plate. (Something I rarely did before)
J     There is no longer a battle in my head about what I want to eat and what would suit my body best.
J     I have stopped thinking about food, especially in the evenings and therefore my comfort eating has disappeared.
J     My body is feeling lighter and I am more consciously aware of its feelings throughout the day.
J     I feel in a place of contentment and peace most of the time, even through the stresses and stains of the day.

And the final remarkable thing is that there has been a bar of chocolate in my fridge for the past two weeks and I haven’t even thought about it, craved or wanted it!

Form more information on ‘Mindfulness’ go to…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwwKbM_vJc&feature=related

THE LESSONS WE CAN LEARN FROM ‘TOO FAT TO TODDLE’

Chrissie Webber — Wed, 07 May 2008 12:10:00 +0100

At last, a programme that was true to the issues of childhood obesity. ‘Too Fat to Toddle’ (6^th May on ITV 1) examined so many of the issues that confronted me as an obese child. In its sensitive and challenging way it highlighted to the parents, not just the usual issues of diet and exercise but of honesty and openness when talking to children about their weight issue.

Using words such as ‘Fat’ and ‘Obese’ helped both parents and children to fully address the reality of the children’s growing weight issues. More than that it highlighted the importance of…

¯       Being honest about the situation with the children;
¯       Working together as a family team to support the life changes;
¯       Increasing physical activity by having fun and the joy of sharing it;
¯       Creating strong boundaries around food – what, how much and how often;
¯       Acknowledging parental responsibility and an understanding of sound parenting around food and exercise;
¯       Allowing the children to know what choices they were able to make around food and teaching them to take responsibility for those choices;
¯       Creating self-esteem and an ability to learn how to love oneself through the experience of being able to give and receive love as a child.

All these are the actions we also need to integrate into our adult lives, even if you did not suffer the traumas of childhood obesity. The fact is that to lose weight permanently we need to re-parent ourselves.

We need to…

J        Re-establish sound boundaries around food for ourselves, without the need to listen to the diet trends;
J        Learn to love ourselves unconditionally, not with an expectation of being loveable enough when we are a certain size or shape;
J        Be honest with ourselves in accepting the reality of our size and shape whilst acknowledging we can make changes to some of our issues;
J     Ask for support and encouragement for our life changes from friends and family;
J     Find ways to experience the fun and joy of increased physical activity;
J     Place a focus on living an loving life and not food as your priority;
J     Accept that excess food does not offer comfort and is not a solution to stress or emotional hunger.

Not only can we help ourselves by these re-parenting actions, we can also act as role models for our children and grandchildren.

The tide is at last turning on 4 decades of a dieting mindset. Let’s be the ones to lead an example of how to live in harmony with food and nature.

For more ideas of how to keep your motivation for permanent weight loss high, check out my FREE 44 page e-book on my web site at www.lifeshapers.co.uk

Singing From the Souls of Your Feet!

Chrissie Webber — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:08:00 +0100

I have just returned from a course that has had an amazing effect on me. Set on a hill, above the Vale of Evesham, the centre where the course was held - Farncombe Estate - was idyllic in itself. The sound of birdsong filled the air and views from so many vantage points feasted our eyes.

It is at times like these that I feel, again, the importance of feeding our spirits with such joys. These are the moments that are so much more fulfilling than food. They feed our souls and not our stomachs. There residual effect is long-lasting, where excessive food is not.

Creating ‘Me Time’, to experience such special events or moments, is a vital part of ensuring that you have plenty of opportunities for self-loving actions. My ‘Me Time’ and the reason for being away, was to ‘Sing From the Souls of My Feet’! Well, that was the name of the course and it is exactly what we did.

We learnt breathing and body techniques that linked our minds with every part of our body, right down to the tips of our toes. It highlighted again for me the importance of…

¯    Loving our body enough to want to connect with it in a caring way.
¯    Keeping our mind and body connection flowing.
¯    Being in touch with our body signals, as much as possible throughout the day.
¯    Keeping the mind switched onto the body before, during and after eating.
¯    Creating harmony between mind and body, by knowing what it really wants and needs, to keep it happy and healthy.

It is too easy to listen to what others tell us we should be eating, how much or in what way it should be consumed. For most of us, the problem is this does not lead to permanent weight loss.

Getting to know your body from the inside out means developing a new and exciting relationship that really does eventually see you ‘Singing From the Souls of Your Feet’!

HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT BY UTILISING THE PAIN OF COMFORT EATING

Chrissie Webber — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:55:00 +0100

The problem with human nature is that it is far too easy for many of us to perpetuate the habits that create pain in our life. Take comfort eating for example, we all know that it creates momentary pleasure but long-term pain.

However, we almost always focus our attention on the short term pleasure factors associated with eating for comfort. We conveniently ignore the pain that follows.

This ability to ignore reality keeps us trapped in a cycle of unhappiness. Here the pain is just not felt enough to make us change our habits permanently. That is because in the moment of our cravings we switch off our fear and pain factors and only focus on the momentary pleasure the food will bring.

One way round this problem, that can help you break your cycle of inappropriate eating, is to place your focus on the pain that comfort eating brings. The fact is, we will do more to avoid pain than we will to seek pleasure, so let’s examine the pain that comfort eating brings…

·          Increased weight
·          Depression
·          Fear of ill health
·          Feelings of failure
·          Feelings of being unloved and unlovable
·          Feelings of shame and guilt
·          Increased self-loathing

Eventually when we do switch our focus to these well known pains, what we usually do is ruminate on them. We think about them at great length and then try to solve the problem by more thinking.

THIS IS THE TRAP!

Thinking about what we have done or even the reasons why, will not solve the problem. All it does is take us on a downward spiral of negative emotions and unhappiness. The fact is, no amount of thinking about our past actions will aid us in our quest to prevent our comfort eating. What is required comes from a very different set of habits and skills. These are the skills of habit change…

1.    When thinking or reaching out for comfort food switch your thoughts to the pain and unhappiness it will create.

2.    Feel the pain and the unhappiness it creates.

3.    Now bring your thoughts into the present moment using the ‘Mindfulness’ technique of focussing your attention on your breath for a few minutes.
4.    Keep bringing your attention back to your in and out breaths as your mind wanders. (Don’t fight this as it is quite normal for your mind to wander)

5.    Now focus your mind again on the pain and unhappiness that the comfort eating brings in its aftermath.

6.    Finally, consider what loving action you can take to overcome the stresses that are making you reach out for food.

NOW TAKE ACTION AND REPLACE YOUR COMFORT EATING WITH COMFORT LOVING!

EXERCISE YOUR MIND AND REDUCE YOUR COMFORT EATING

Chrissie Webber — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:45:00 +0100

Increasing your level of exercise is always a good way of reducing weight and the effects of stress, which often lead to comfort eating. But there is another way of combating the dreaded comfort eating – through the power of the mind.

Comfort eating is often triggered by the habit of focussing incessantly on negative thoughts, feelings and food. Whatever the external trigger (stress, boredom, loneliness etc.) it throws our minds into a state of rumination. This is where we are churning negative thoughts and beliefs in our head. The more we ruminate, the more our negative mood deepens and the more we want food as a comforter.

Natural instinct is to try and think our way out of this unhappy state but that just increases the rumination and our misery. The interesting fact is that thinking about our thoughts is a trap that leads to more comfort eating.

Research has shown that the way out of this sorry state is to exercise the mind in a different way. This form of mental exercise is based on the meditation technique of focussing on the breath. Such a focus brings you into the 'NOW' (the present moment) and away from thoughts of food and your negative ruminating. It brings with it a feeling of peace and therefore a reduction in the need to comfort eat.

The way to do this is to concentrate on your breathing. Feel the sensation of your breath as it travels in and out of your body. Feel the rise and fall of your chest and abdomen. Trace the breath flow though your body, right to your toes and then out again. Let all thoughts of food and negativity go. As the thoughts drift back, don't fight them, just keep refocusing back on your in and out breaths.

Whilst you can use this technique as the basis of a meditation, you can also use it whatever you are doing. It heightens all your senses and makes you far more focussed on whatever you are doing.

Practice switching onto your breathing as often as possible every day. Do this for a period of 5 – 10 minutes or longer. Use it especially when something has raised your stress levels. Like exercise it takes daily practice but the results are amazing...

Reduced comfort eating

Increased happiness

Increased self-esteem

Reduced stress

Reduced focus on food

Increases concentration

Happy breathing!

A WINNING PROCESS FOR PERMANENT WEIGHT LOSS

Chrissie Webber — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:01:00 +0100

Over the weekend I was thinking about how important it is, to the success of any endeavour, to fully identify with yourself as a winner. The process of permanent weight loss is no different. When we struggle with food, negative thoughts about ourselves or our body image, unwittingly we have chosen the role of the victim and not the winner.

Winners create a true reflection of the effect of all their positive actions. Winners create the success they want through being true to their dream. Winners reflect the true beauty and harmony of their goals.

It is so easy to fall into this dieting trap, as we battle to lose weight or maintain a certain shape and size. All the negative thoughts, beliefs and emotions that form part of the dieting game are indicative of the fact that we have become the victim to food and size.

So, the question is, how do we keep a focus on being a winner. There are a number of things that winners do every day that form the reasons for their success…

·        They take positive actions to create change;
·        They make the actions they take, many and daily;
·        They demonstrate a high level of commitment to their endeavour;
·        They focus on the positive;
·        They see obstacles as positive challenges to overcome;
·        They accept what they cannot change and work at changing the things they can;
·        They draw around them people who support and encourage the development of their pursuit;
·        They celebrate success;
·        They reach for personal goals but see the process as an ongoing journey not a destination.
·        They enjoy what they do and feel the happiness it brings them every day, not just when they achieve a milestone or goal.

Take action and create your own winning process NOW.

6 Tips for Getting Back on Track After Easter

Chrissie Webber — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 09:51:00 +0000

How was your Easter break? I hope it was full of family, friends and lots of joy. Now that the festivities are over, this is usually a time for guilt and shame, as you reflect on the food you consumed and of course all those Easter Eggs.

I want you to do something different, this year. I want you to reflect on how much you enjoyed the food and chocolate. Believe it or not you are no different from many people who do not have a weight and size issue. They also over eat and indulge in lots of chocolate. The only difference is that they do not put on weight!

One of my friends can stuff her face and not put on a pound! So that’s life. Some of us store fat cells easily, others do not. That’s the reality but it should not mean that on the occasion we cannot enjoy the food we eat.

By allowing yourself this enjoyment, it is far easier to get your healthy eating mindset back on track. The guilt and shame of the dieting game only makes you negative, stressed and rebellious. This means you are less likely to get back on track quickly.

So here are a few tips for refocusing your mind and getting back onto the foods that make up the fuel that suits your body best…

1.      Get rid of all the negativity in your mind – the guilt, shame and self-loathing.
2.      Fill your mind with positive thoughts.
3.      Visualise yourself with lots of energy, enjoying your daily exercise.

4.      Visualise yourself eating all the foods that suit your body and fill you with energy.
5.      Allow yourself to feel the energy and joy that living in tune with your body gives you – nature and nurture working in harmony.
6.      Set out in your mind a positive plan of your day and fill it with self-loving actions.

Now take these actions and get back on track, on your journey to find the weight you were born to be. Get the support you need to keep your motivation high by signing up for the Life Shapers online motivational support.

http://www.lifeshapers.co.uk/OnlineMembership.htm

And let me know how your motivation is working.

Healthy Living!

Chrissie Webber — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 14:52:00 +0000

I just received this by email and thought it worth sharing with you!

In the beginning God covered the earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, with green, yellow and red vegetables of all kinds so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.
Then using God's bountiful gifts, Satan created Dairy Ice Cream and Magnums. And Satan said, 'You want hot fudge with that? And Man said, 'Yes!' And Woman said, 'I'll have one too with chocolate chips'. And lo they gained 10 pounds.And God created the healthy yoghurt that woman might keep the figure that man found so fair.And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat and sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 12 to size 14.So God said, 'Try my fresh green salad'. And Satan presented Blue Cheese dressing and garlic croutons on the side. And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast.God then said 'I have sent you healthy vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them'.And Satan brought forth deep fried coconut king prawns, butter-dipped lobster chunks and chicken fried steak, so big it needed its own platter, and Man's cholesterol went through the roof.Then God brought forth the potato; naturally low in fat and brimming with potassium and good nutrition.Then Satan peeled off the healthy skin and sliced the starchy centre into chips and deep-fried them in animal fats adding copious quantities of salt. And Man put on more pounds. God then brought forth running shoes so that his Children might lose those extra pounds.And Satan came forth with a cable TV with remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman laughed and cried before the flickering light and started wearing stretch jogging suits.Then God gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite.And Satan created McDonalds and the 99p double cheeseburger. Then Satan said 'You want fries with that?' and Man replied, 'Yes, and super size 'em'. And Satan said, 'It is good.' And Man and Woman went into cardiac arrest.God sighed ......... and created quadruple by-pass surgery.And then ............ Satan chuckled and created the National Health Service.THE FINAL WORD ON NUTRITIONAfter an exhaustive review of the research literature, here's the final word on nutrition and health.:1. Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
2. Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
3. Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
4. Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
5. Germans drink beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
6. The French eat foie-gras, full fat cheese and drink red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than usCONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.Here endeth the Lesson.

Kick-Start Your Motivation

Chrissie Webber — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:45:00 +0000

It is so easy to lose sight of your weight loss goal, from time to time. This especially happens when our minds revert to the old learnt patterns of dieting. We hook back into thinking of some foods as bad and oops, we’re back craving what we think we can’t have.

Of course, our motivation can wane, when life gets stressful and the old habits of comfort eating kick back into play. Or maybe you just get tired of your battle with food and nature.

Whatever the reason for your lack of motivation, there are ways of kick-starting it again quickly and easily.

These are what I call the six magic motivators…

1.      Focus on how negative and unhappy you feel when not leading a healthy lifestyle. Contrast that with how energised, confident and happy you feel when you are enjoying eating healthily.
2.      Take action to reduce your stress levels – exercise, yoga, meditation etc. This will reduce your desire to comfort eat.
3.      Start an evening ritual to review all the positive and loving things that have happened that day. Also include the self-loving acts you have achieved.
4.      Start a morning ritual to project a picture of the coming day that is filled with wonderful people, great experiences and loving moments.
5.      Take a break and visualise yourself as a slim trim person. Create a detailed photographic image in your mind of the new you and feel the joy and achievement that goes with it. Do this often throughout the day.

6.      Visualise yourself surrounded by food. Carefully search for the foods that you love and that work best with your body and fill you with energy. Include them in your next meal where possible.

By using these motivators – all or some of them – you will find it easier to get back on track with your healthy lifestyle. And one last thought, remember that there is much, much more to life than food and weight. Start to live, love and be happy with the wonderful unique person you really are.

LOOKING FOR THE GAINS AND NOT THE LOSSES

Chrissie Webber — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:40:00 +0000

Whenever we are trying to reduce weight our focus is strongly fixed on ‘losing’:

·        Losing Weight;
·        Losing inches;

·        Losing the food you love to eat;
·        Losing your need to eat when hungry;
·        Losing your life as a ‘couch potato’

What would life be like if, when trying to lose weight, if you placed your focus on gaining? Just think about is for a moment, what wonderful things could you gain and still lose weight?

1.      More love in your life from all the self-loving actions you take each day.
2.      More energy from the self-loving foods that suit your body best.
3.      More love of food because you no longer fear it.
4.      More energy from the increased physical activity you take.
5.      More joy and happiness as you free yourself from guilt and shame.
6.      More choices of new and interesting foods to try and experiment with.

7.      More inner confidence as you begin to love your body image.
8.      More connection with your body and intuition to reduce comfort eating.
9.      More support for your lifestyle changes.
10.More joy in a life where your mind is full of positive thoughts.

It is so much easier to achieve anything when you are looking for the gains and not the losses.

USING YOUR EMOTIONAL BAROMETER TO REDUCE COMFORT EATING

Chrissie Webber — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 10:59:00 +0000

How much do you reach out for food when upset or angry? Do you use comfort eating to bury your emotions?

One of the triggers that can launch us into inappropriate eating is negative emotion. So how can we reduce the effects our own inner feelings have on us? One way is to see emotion as a barometer – an indication of the levels of negative or positive pressure we are under.

This inner barometer is a unique gauge that indicates when there is something we can learn, in order to correct the imbalance of our emotions. It is a map that can show us the way to greater peace and of course to less comfort eating.

To gain the best learning from each emotional event, the first thing to do is stop reaching out for food. Then you need to sit quietly, allowing yourself to properly experience the emotion. Next you consider what has generated the emotion and then take the following steps…

·        Consider if there is anything you can do that is positive and loving to move the emotional situation forward.

o       Talk it through with someone;

o       Resolve the situation by taking positive loving, action;

o       Release your anger appropriately;

o       Sit with the emotion, feel it flow through you and then heal it with a kind and loving thought or prayer.

·        Accept what you cannot change and change what you can.
·        Accept that another person may see things and react to things completely differently to you.
·        Accept that trying to make your ‘right’ and another ‘wrong’ is a sure way to emotional turmoil. Give up the need to be right by inwardly accepting the truth of the situation as you see it.
·        Consider what positive action you now want to take that is loving and caring of yourself. Then take that action immediately.
Finally, consider what you have learnt about yourself and the situation that will aid you next time. Using food to bury an emotion does nothing to resolve the problem. It only aids us in storing it for another time.

Start to learn more about what your emotions are trying to tell you. Develop this skill and you will discover more of the joys of life than the pains of emotions.

TOP 10 TIPS FOR A POSITIVE BODY IMAGE

Chrissie Webber — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 11:39:00 +0000

Developing a positive body image, right now, before you find the weight you were born to be is absolutely essential to sustaining your weight loss. Why is this? Because you are likely to still hate your body, and not be able to see it in all its beauty, when you have eventually lost the weight you want to. This can so easily lead to eventual weight gain and all you efforts being in vain.

The fear is that we will not have the incentive to lose weight if we are in love with something that is not how we want it to be. Since when was anything perfect? There are always things we wish we could change in others and ourselves but that doesn’t mean to say we can’t love them despite their foibles. This is unconditional love. It is what we deserve and need from ourselves if we are to sustain the motivation to lose weight permanently.

To lose weight permanently and give up our battle with food we need to develop not only a positive body image but also a deep love of how we look. So here are my top 10 tips for how to develop a positive body image…

1.      Find clothes that suit your body shape and make you feel great.
2.      For your women who have never had a bra fitting, enhance your shapely figure with the right bra.
3.      Give yourself a great big hug and a special gift of a new ‘hair do’.
4.      Let your self be pampered by a facial make-over and learn some new make-up techniques to highlight your beautiful features.
5.      Get up each morning and put on clothes that make you feel beautiful.
6.      Every morning look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself how beautiful and loved you are.
7.      Look at the parts of you that you like and start to really love them.
8.      Every month, take one part of you that you hate and look at it every morning with loving thoughts and words.
9.      Play a game inside your head of catching the negative thoughts you have about your body image and changing them to loving and accepting ones.
10.Listen for the compliments about how you look and NEVER throw them away. Accept and absorb the loving support they bring by saying a simple ‘Thank You’ and believing the compliment to be true.

By building a positive body image, no matter what your size and shaper, your true inner beauty is allowed to shine forth. Make sure you polish the ‘shine’ every day.

Weapons of Mass Reduction

Chrissie Webber — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:08:00 +0000

The other day I heard the phrase ‘Weapons on Mass Reduction’ which made me stop and think. What are the weapons in our arsenal that can be used to destroy our motivation disablers and boost our motivation enablers?

After years of playing the dieting game we need an arsenal of new weapons. These are required to remotivate weight loss, whenever it wanes. It is these weapons that are the tools used to boost your motivation. They form a toolkit for the development and maintenance of sustainable motivation. This in turn aids effective, long-term weight management.



The tools that form your weapons arsenal are…

Change Champion – the desire and determination to change, which stems from a solid belief that you can make it happen, given the right tools and support.

Uniquely Lovable – the belief that you are and always have been deserving of all the love in the world and especially that which comes from within yourself.

Conscious Eating – the skills and habits with food, used by people who have always lived diet free and without a weight issue.

Image of You – the ability to sustain the image of a slim, trim self, which is accomplished through loving support from yourself and others.

Mind & Body Connections – the skill of switching on your mind to your body in order to monitor your satiety and emotional levels to prevent overeating and comfort eating.

Comfort Loving – the ability to find loving actions that replace the habit of comfort eating

Energy Enhancers – the desire to increase the peace and energy in your life through the food you eat and the physical activity you take.

Positive Reflections – the skill of inner reflection that aids in you reframing old, unhelpful beliefs, leading you away from shame and guilt and towards the joy and bliss of life.

Soul Food - the skill of connecting to a power of love far greater than ours that has only our happiness at its heart.

These are the tools that unlock the truth of the motivational potential that lies within you. Understanding your motivation disablers and developing your own strategies to ensure that you use an abundance of motivation enablers is a commitment you make to yourself.

Skinny Songs That Motivate

Chrissie Webber — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:33:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I joined a choir. After some 30 years of not singing I am somewhat ‘rusty’ and had forgotten just how uplifting and motivating singing is. It is as if every cell of your body resonates with joy as you sing.

As one of those special things that ‘Feeds the Soul’ you don’t even have to sing in tune for it to make you feel joyful. Of course, choosing the right music to sing or sing along with is so important. Music is an emotional trigger that can lift you up or pull you down.

So I was delighted, this morning, when a CD arrived by post from the USA. I had been approached, by an American company, to review an album with the unusual title of ‘Skinny Songs’. From the moment the music began I not only found myself singing along but also inspired to get active!

At first when they contacted me I thought it a strange idea to write songs about losing weight. On reflection, why ever not with so many people struggling to lose weight?

The fact is the music motivates, the lyrics make you think and the whole thing makes you smile. It is definitely a new tool for my toolkit for when things get tough and I need to find that special lift.

If you want to hear samples of the tracks then take a look at their web site www.skinnysongs.com. It is worth a look and a listen.

Unconditional Self-Love

Chrissie Webber — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:12:00 +0000

The one thing that we need and desire as people is love. How strange it is that it can be one of the most difficult things to give, unconditionally, to ourselves.

When we are unhappy with body image, our size, shape, and ourselves, self-love is nowhere to be found. We are unhappy with everything about ourselves and we believe ourselves lovable. Once in this state of mind we make it impossible for us to truly love ourselves.

So what does unconditional self-love look like?

·        It has a foundation based on the belief that we are and always will be a uniquely wonderful human being.
·        At its core is an understanding that we are not supposed to be perfect but instead a pupil of life, learning from all experiences.
·        It is built strongly through the habit of unconditional self-forgiveness.
·        It is filled with many acts of self-kindness every day.
·        At its centre is an ability to identify and chase away all the negative and untrue errors of our mind that negatively attack us.
And where do we find such sublime love? Deep within ourselves, waiting to be set free every minute of the day. So what is it that stops it shining through and feeding our souls?

~       Our actions of overeating and comfort eating.
~       Our inaction where physical activity would bring balance into our lives.
~       The way we wait for others to give us their love, forgetting what a store we hold within ourselves
~       The way we switch off our mind from our body and forget to eat consciously.
~       The way we fill an empty void with food instead of love.
~       The way we allow our mind to be full of negative and demotivating thoughts and beliefs.
To find this unconditional love, all we need to do is put new actions and thoughts in place to overcome the old negative ones. And how do we do this?

We fall in love, all over again, with ourselves through the small and loving things we do constantly throughout the day…

ü      Feed our body’s with the fuel that suits it best
ü      Balance the intake of fuel with physical activity that aids our wellbeing.
ü      Forgive ourselves as often as necessary for old habits and attitudes.
ü      Find ways of loving your body image – even the ‘wobbly bits’.

These are the actions of unconditional self-love. They are not always easily achieved but the more we practice them the more we feel the love that we so definitely deserve.

Friendship is A Sheltering Tree

Chrissie Webber — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 17:53:00 +0000

My wonderful friend Jennie bought me a lovely Christmas present, a 365 day calendar of ‘Moments of Indulgence for Girlfriends’. This morning when I turned it over I read…

Flowers are lovely;

Love is flower-like;

Friendship is a sheltering tree.

                                                         William Taylor Coleridge

Choosing the friends we want, as our tree to shelter under when we are changing our lifestyle and habits with food, is so important.

Some trees whither and fade away because they cannot relate to our changes. Other trees look the same but on closer inspection their branches and leaves are spread in other directions and they are not in the right place themselves to shelter us.

Then there are those who stand like mighty oaks. Always splendid in their strength, beauty and glory, they are there to shelter us at any time. Yet just as often they come to shelter under our very bows.

It is these friendships that fill our hearts with joy and feed our souls. They are the ones who help to raise our motivation when life throws us a ‘curved ball’. In their loving ways they are…

·         Challenging without being judgemental;
·         Critical in a constructive way;
·         Full of good ideas and useful tips;
·         Full of fun to make you smile and your heart sing.

They are sometimes like Angels, replenishing the love that has eluded you. It is from this reservoir of their love that we re-kindle our remnants of self-love, depleted by the ravages of life.

Finding the trees that provide you shelter is a very important part of the process of motivational change.

The Regenerative Properties of Soya

Chrissie Webber — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:41:00 +0000

It is very rare for me to promote a dietary substance as I feel strongly that each person’s body has its own individual fuel needs. However, I watched a programme last night about longevity. In it they highlighted an area in Japan where the people regularly live to over 100years old. They were also very fit and with no obesity issues.

The researchers identified that people in this region ate a diet high in, not only antioxidant rich vegetables, but also soya. They lived on this simple vegetarian diet and were fit, agile, mentally very alert and active. However, within one generation, where a change of diet was made that was high in animal fats, salt and sugar, the problem of obesity reared its head.

I was also fascinated because from his early 50’s, when angina struck him, my father has been taking a pure soya derivative – Lecethin. Following the advice of a friend, who explained that the soya product would aid in lowering his cholesterol, he has taken it in granular form daily and is now nearly 93 years old.

Research into this product has shown that regular use has many more benefits than just that of regulating cholesterol in the body. By nature of the fact that it breaks down unhealthy fats in the body it also…

·        Aids in the breakdown of gallstones
·        Keeps skin looking radiant and younger
·        Aids in weight loss when on a healthy diet
·        Reduces memory loss

·        Reduces joint and muscular problems

Sounds like quite a product and it certainly works for my

family. The point is that we each, individually, need to find the right foods

and supplements that aid our body’s development.

No one can tell us what that may be; we have to find it out for ourselves.

Creating Our Own Network of Motivational Support

Chrissie Webber — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:53:00 +0000

I have just been invited to join the ‘Experts’ list of an American web site www.weightlossbuddy.com. They have a great ‘buddy’ support system going and it got me thinking about how much more we could support each other by sharing our thoughts, tips and ideas about motivation.

Whenever we support another person the process has such an advantage for ourselves. It raises our own motivation…

·        Through the thought we have to put into how we support another;
·        By the response we get when it helps another;
·        By the response we get when others support us with their thoughts, ideas and tips;
·        Through the fact that when we help another we are more committed to helping ourselves.

As the saying goes, ‘You have to be in it to win it’. That is the same with any form of support but especially for weight loss motivation. To get the most out of it and to keep your motivation levels high you need to engage with the process of helping others.

I have certainly noticed this since I working with Lynne Rees, my first Life Shapers, Weight Management Motivation Coach, as she develops her weekly meetings in Swansea. The very process of attending her motivation classes and sharing with others the ups and downs of weight loss keeps me on track.

So, I was thinking what better opportunity than using my blog to get a support network off the ground. You can easily and quickly create a user account (left hand column) and then write your comments. That way I can support you individually through some online coaching as I respond to your comments.

We can grow each others potential to find the weight we were born to be. How great is that?

Alternatively why not join my support group ‘Permanent Weight Loss Motivation’ http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1064361795 through my Facebook site. I have just started a discussion topic on motivation so why not join me http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10299177974 and get involved with supporting others.

I look forward to meeting you through my blog or Facebook and raising our motivation even further.