LightenUp: Every mind, every body.

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.

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!

How many of you go through life asking yourself all sorts of Why questions?  Questions like, “Why am I so fat?” “Why can’t I lose weight?” “Why is exercise so hard?”  And the list goes on (I won’t because it’s doesn’t feel good at all!!) 

Our brains are designed to search for the answers we ask it, negative or positive – it can’t tell the difference.  What would happen if you started to ask yourself positive Why Questions?  Try “Why is it so easy for me to lose weight?” “Why do I love exercising so much?” “Why am I so deserving of all the good things in life?”  And on this list can go!  When you read these, don’t they make you feel good?!  The key is to also take action in the right direction – i.e. you can’t continually ask yourself the first question and then remain on the couch, watching TV and snacking on chocolate!  That just doesn’t make sense.

So, think about the negative why questions you’ve been saying to yourself and then turn them into positives and then ask, ask, ask! 

Oh how easy it is to procrastinate!  I've quite the champion at it and have now made the decision to no longer specialise in this area but to now specialise in taking action.  Having started already, it's amazing how much better I feel!  It's also amazing to see how it translates across different areas of my life.  If I am procrastinating in one area, chances are I'm procrastinating in most areas!  By just doing the thing that needs to be done actually makes it all feel better!  I've also realised how much more I get done in my day.  So, I now have a no procrastination zone!  Right, I'm off to take some action!

Everyone I’m sure has heard the real estate mantra, it’s all about “location, location, location!”  Well in our world, it’s all about “action, action, action!”  While it would be so easy if we could simply visualise our ideal bodies into existence, the reality is whatever you decide you want in terms of your health, fitness, life etc there is always a level of action that must be taken.  You can’t visualise your best body and continue to lie on the couch snacking on less than healthy food!  What one action do you need to take that will give you a kick-start?  My friend Sue has a great blog called The One Action – this is more business focused, but if that’s easier for you to start on, then go check it out.  Once you start getting used to taking just one action to move you closer to wherever it is you want to be, the easier it will be to focus that one action on yourself.  Happy actioning!

Lately I have been practicing self care as a priority in my life.  Who knew such a small change could have such a profound impact?  I used to exercise and try to eat well because I thought I should or needed to.  Now I choose to do things like yoga, pilates and personal training sessions because I WANT to.  Self care has been about listening to my body more, making choices for my health because I care enough about me to take positive action to feel better and be healthier.  By default this has led me to a place where I have changed my body for the better.  In fact I am surprised at the number of people that are commenting on the positive changes - often saying that I look like I have lost weight, or more muscular.  The reality is that I have only lost about 2 kilos but my body has changed.  I have built up muscle and shifted some body fat which changes the how I look.  I absolutely love the feeling of being strong as this boosts my belief in myself.  The point of all this is that I have made these changes by losing the 'shoulds' and not forcing myself to do stuff, but instead doing the things I love, eating the foods that I enjoy that I know are healthy for me, getting more rest and taking more time to relax.  And this has made all the difference!

We have had our first minor hiccup with our website.  For a seemingly random reason, we lost over a year's worth of blogs which we were initially devastated about.  Now, we are looking at it as an opportunity to start our blogging afresh in 2010 - we're sorry if you don't see a blog post there that you've come to revisit.  We are going to get busy writing and build up our blog again. 

Keep visiting and watch this space - it will be filled up again soon!!  Thanks for your support! 

One of our stellar customers drew our attention to this article expressing the anti-diet sentiment that LightenUp shares as the intelligent approach to weight loss.  Well worth the read.

Recently I had found that my usual exercise routine had become harder and harder as opposed to easier (as I got fitter) and I really struggled to feel energetic even after a long sleep.  Knowing that things weren't "quite right"  I decided to get it checked out and I'm glad I did.  Following numerous blood tests, I was diagnosed with anemia.  I was very grateful that it was something that was easily fixed in my case - lots more iron-rich food, high potency iron tablets and far gentler exercise for 6 weeks and I am now feeling like a different person!  I had no idea the effect low levels of iron could have on my health, fitness and general wellbeing.  It really hammered home the fact that I need to keep in touch with my body and how I'm feeling and the more I do that and the more aware I am, the quicker I notice if I'm feeling out of sorts and I can do something about it.

Make it a habit to check how you're feeling within yourself, notice any changes with your day-to-day routine (exercise, as it was in my case) and make sure you get yourself checked out if you're not feeling yourself.  The earlier detection, the better!  I love that I am now so much more energetic and am really wanting to exercise a lot more now that my iron levels are returning to a far more normal level.