LightenUp blog

Forum this weekend :)

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 23:15:00 GMT

We are so looking forward to our Forum this Sunday - we have such an amazing group of vibrant, enthusiastic, switched on women that we feel honoured! Our new model based around self acceptance, self respect and self care will be form the framework of the day, and we intend that everyone will leave with a renewed sense of hope and appreciation for their body and themselves. Bring it on!!

Workshop on Self Care

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 03:09:00 GMT

Thank you to all the wonderful, inspiring, intelligent and fun women who attended our first Foundation Workshop this Saturday! It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to work together on boosting self acceptance, self respect and self care as an alternative and real approach to achieving our body related goals. We were excited to introduce the HEARTfull Approach to illustrate how to access our heart space to create powerful change in our lives. Watch this space as we will soon announce upcoming dates for future Foundation Workshops.

Dawn French on your body

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:52:00 GMT

I recently read a fantastic excerpt from Dawn French’s hilarious book ‘Dear Fatty’. From page 22 for those of you with a copy – here goes:

“..I hope your enviable connection to your body and the confidence it gives you will last the rest of your life. That’s the key, you know, confidence. I know for a fact that if you can genuinely like your body, so can others. It doesn’t really matter if it’s short, tall, fat or thin, it just matters that you can find some things to like about it. Even if that means having a good laugh at the bits of it that wobble independently, occasionally, that’s all right. It might take you a while to believe me on this one, lots of people don’t because they seem to suffer from a self-hatred that precludes them from imagining that a big woman could every love herself because they don’t. But I do. I know what I’ve got is a bit strange and difficult to love but those are the very aspects I love the most!”

Thanks Dawn we love what you have to say! Big cheers from us here at LightenUp!!

Find peace with your body

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 03:23:00 GMT

It was disappointing to recently see slathered across the weekly magazines headlines like ‘hotter than ever celebs share their slim down secrets’ and ‘diets that work – Hollywood’s hottest new weight loss secrets revealed’. Admittedly, I ended up buying the two magazines to see what they were going to say and the articles both left me feeling hollow. They were so superficial, focused on dropping kilos fast, implying that this would be the answer to everything, and of course the source of true happiness. It is hard for anyone, even intelligent women who KNOW that diets don’t work, to resist the temptation to be seduced by these kind of claims…especially if on some level we feel bad about ourselves. So how to we break the vicious cycle of dieting? We find that the first step to lose weight without dieting, and to feel better about our body is to build self-respect. The more we truly hold a high regard for ourselves, the more likely we are to make better, healthy, more nurturing choices for ourselves. LightenUp has developed an online program called ’30 Days to Self Respect’ that is available for free. If you are interested send an email to us requesting to program from the ‘contact us’ page of our website. Why not take the first step to finding real peace with your body?

A new Prime Minister for Australia!

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 01:08:00 GMT

24th June 2010 will go down in history as the day Australia had its first female Prime Minister! Regardless of your political leanings, what an accomplishment for women, and men, and humankind for that matter! Secretly, I would like to think that this monumental moment will also mark a shift in our belief in ourselves as women, as people who can dare to dream big and dare to achieve magnificent things! I can already 'hear' the breaking down of the shackles that can hold us back, like a fixation with our outward appearances, and a toxic relationship with perpetual diets being replaced by an emerging and real belief in ourselves. We really can feel free to be who we really are, and know that not only is this enough, but to nurture who we are is the most powerful way to honour ourselves, not to mention inspiring others to do the same. And as a bonus, when we do give ourselves permission to be ourselves, our eating falls into a natural flow and basically just takes care of itself. What one thing can you do today to honour who you really are? Now go and do it, I dare you :)

Mindful eating tip

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 03:44:00 GMT

I was recently reading an e-newsletter from realage.com which wisely advises:

"When you lift that forkful of whole-wheat pasta to your mouth, do you think "tasty," or do you think "healthy"? To curb overeating, focus on the mouth appeal.

In a recent study, thinking about a food's delicious flavor rather than its nutritional or health-related benefits helped to curb hunger later in the day."

So LightenUp online community let's all choose to focus on how tasty our meal is which will reduce overeating but also increase our enjoyment of the act of eating itself.

Fashion Mag Gets Real

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 23:45:00 GMT

Recently at the hairdressers I grabbed a magazine to read called ‘Shop til you Drop’ June 2010 which was packed with fashion for ALL shapes and sizes. It also had great write ups on larger sized models which I found so refreshing. Maybe this is a sign of things to come? Wouldn’t it be great for us all if the stick thin models no longer were mainstream and instead were replaced with real women who make up over 90% of the population? Fingers crossed.

What is your magic weight?

Thu, 20 May 2010 03:38:00 GMT

Over the years I have worked with so many clients who come to me as a wellness coach with the goal of achieving 'x' number of kilos and then 'everything will be alright'. The first question I ask is 'what will be different when you achieve your weight target?' More often than not their answer is 'nothing'. This is a major insight. When we discover that our weight does not and will never determine how we feel about ourselves and our lives we are finally able to work out what we REALLY want and what we need to do to find our own happiness and success, as we define it. What is your magic weight? Or more importantly, 'what is your magic?' Your magic may be knowing and expressing your magnificent, unique talents, it may be giving yourself permission to take care of yourself properly, it may be taking the leap to achieve your heart's desires, it may be allowing yourself to be open to falling in love, it may be looking at yourself in the mirror and really seeing the beautiful person that you are, right now, as well as the person you may choose to become - whatever your magic is, find it and relish it. As an added bonus, when you find your magic, and start living it, your eating and weight will take care of itself.

You are "love"ly!!

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:59:00 GMT

When it comes to making changes in your life, you HAVE to give yourself the time, love and energy to make these reality. Stop beating yourself up, stop trying to do too much, stop trying to prove that you're a superwoman (or man)! The only thing that matters at the end of the day, is that you've treated yourself kindly, given yourself the time you need and said lovely things to yourself because the more you do this, the more wonderful the ripple effects are on those around you - your family, friends, colleagues..... The "love"lier you are to yourself, the "love"lier you are :)

It's all about time

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 01:57:00 GMT

I remember something my mother said to me when I was trying to decide whether I would study a particular course after I had left HSC. She asked me how old i would be in 2 years time and I said, 20 and she said how old will you be in 2 years time when you've completed the course? Well.... 20... Time is still going to pass whether you choose to do something specific with your life or not. The same applies to making changes in your life. In one year, you will be one year older - do you want to be one year older and feel the same as you do now? Or do you want to be one year older and feel even more vibrant, happy, joyful and alive!? What small, daily, easy changes can you make in your life that will accumulate to a great shift by the time 12 months comes around? For me, I'd like to run a half-marathon by this time next year. One small change i can make immediately is for example, adding 15mins to my current runs; or perhaps booking in with a personal trainer to help me work out a schedule. Whatever else I do, I know that by this time next year, I will have run a half-marathon.

What do you want to be, do or have by this time next year?

Learn to love all of you!

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 01:45:00 GMT

The Famous Weekly Magazine from 25 January 2010 talks about celebrities weighing in as the body debate continues to rage. LightenUp really likes what Jessica Alba has to say: “So I’ll take the stretch marks. I’ll take the sagging boobs. I’ll take the cellulite I can never get rid of. Even though some might call flaws, I’ve learnt to love my stretch marks!” Is there a part of you that you want to learn to love? Why not start today but looking at the parts of you that you don't like and deciding to see the good in them. Perhaps they represent the joy you have experienced in your life, good times with family and friends, or wisdom of the years? Of maybe they just show that like all of us you have bits you love more than others....learning to accept and then love all your bits is what will move you to the body you truly want.

Geneen Roth

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 03:54:00 GMT

If any of you happen to get the Oprah magazine, April's issue has a great article on Geneen Roth's latest book: Women, Food and God. An excerpt: "The bottom line, whether you weigh 340 pounds or 150 pounds, is that when you eat when you are not hungry, you are using food as a drug, grappling with boredom or illness or loss or grief or emptiness or loneliness or rejection. Food is only the middleman, the means to the end. Of altering your emotions. Of making yourself numb. Of creating a secondary problem when the original problem becomes too uncomfortable...."
Check out the full article here.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:40:00 GMT

Whenever I hear the word 'respect' it always reminds me of Aretha Franklin's song on the subject :) At LightenUp we have been working on some new resources to support people in achieving the body they want and feeling better about themselves. We know that a key part of weight loss success and sustainability is cultivating a health level of self respect so we are excited to say they we are in the final stages of developing a 'Self Respect in 30 Days' e-based program which will be released shortly. Both the directors of LightenUp have trialled the program to test it out on our own lives and have found it to be extremely beneficial in terms of feeling better about ourselves, and making choices about our eating, exercise, sleep and general health from a place of self care and self regard rather than a negative space. Can you imagine a world where every one of us steps up our self respect a notch?

What's the reality?

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:55:00 GMT

If any of you have been watching the Biggest Loser this season, the changes are quite dramatic and i think long overdue. Previously it was all about food and exercise; how much of each and one needed to be less than the other (as everyone knows but sometimes doesn't follow!) This season, sees the addition of the Masterclasses where they give the contestants advice, tools and resources to be able to continue their weightloss and lifestyle changes outside of the un-reality of the Camp. They're asking them to think about why they eat and why they let themselves get to the weight they were. It's so important to know your 'why'. Everyone knows the 'how' but rarely considers the 'why' because often it's too hard. This is key to sustaining and mantaining the changes. It's the same for evereyone who lives in the real world - we have to make changes that are realistic and manageable while understanding why we want them. The key is to set yourself up for success, don't overwhelm yourself and take one step at a time. One drop of water in a bucket will not fill it, but many single drops will.

Savour your food

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:00:00 GMT

The latest issue of the Wellbeing Magazine (www.wellbeing.com.au) has a great article entitled ‘The Wow of Now’. It talks about the importance of mindfulness for reducing stress and anxiety, but also how it can boost happiness because the practice helps us to savour every moment. LightenUp – the intelligent approach to weight loss – teaches the benefits of mindfulness in terms of eating. When we are 100% aware of the food we are eating, the taste, the texture, the smell, our chewing, our stomach satiety signals, we derive far more pleasure from the practice of eating and we create more happiness in our lives. So when you next eat something take the extra moment to sit down, look at your food, smell it, eat it slowly and savour the whole experience. We guarantee you won’t regret it – and chances are you will only eat what you need. Bon appétit!