LightenUp: Every mind, every body.

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.

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 :)

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!