LightenUp: Every mind, every body.

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.

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?

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!