Getting My Body Back Friday - Redirect Your Discouragement Energy Into Enthusiasm to Maximize Weight Loss

On your journey to achieving your ideal weight loss goal, discouragement may set in at times when you're not achieving your expectation. What do you do then to redirect the negative energy of discouragement into enthusiasm to maximize weight loss?

Instead of allowing the feeling of discouragement to consume you and tempt you into giving up, look for ways in which you can redirect your energy to give you better results.

Energy Redirection #1 - Shift gears

If what you're currently doing isn't working, it may be time for you to 'shift gears', try something different. When I first started out, I would do stretches and add some aerobic exercises in the mix. Even though I got some results, I felt that I wasn't satisfied and I wanted more. So I got outside and added brisk walking to my routine. Sure enough, my results increased.

Energy Redirection #2 - Expand on what you're already doing

If you're already walking, you can add other things to it, like swinging your hands back and forth (with elbows bent) so you're using more energy and getting more of your body involved. Add an extra mile onto your distance as well or jog for 1 minute, walk for 1 or 2 minutes, jog again for 1 minute. You'll find your body will start sweating at this rate of interval training making a perfect blend of high and low impact workout.

Energy Redirection #3 - Take it up a notch

Taking your exercise routine up a notch gets your body out of the comfort zone and into the fat burning zone. You may find that you're extending yourself just a bit more but this is where you begin to really maximize your efforts and produce even more results. Add weight training to your routine. Your muscles require a whole lot more energy for daily maintenance. Weight training will cause you to burn more fat and will continue to do so even beyond the actual workout session.

Another area you can also examine is your calorie intake to ensure that your output in energy usage, fat burning, is more than you're consuming.

Don't get discouraged but be encouraged and redirect your energy into a stronger healthier you!

Changing Inside Out Now! Tending the garden of the heart - Day 12

Reach for the light

Have you ever noticed indoor plants how they gravitate to and reach for the light? It is said that plants need the light in order to make chlorophyll which makes them green. Plants also use the energy from light to make them grow. If you move an indoor plant from it's position and place it somewhere else, it would change direction and grow in the direction of the light.

As you tend the garden of your heart, you must reach for the light. Opening your heart to love allows the light to shine in your heart. Open your heart and let the light of love shine in. Coupled with 'nutrients' you've added to your heart's soil, you'll begin to grow daily.

The more you open your heart to love, the more light shines in and the greater the energy flow, breaking walls, renewing and rejuvenating the core of your being. Your light will shine outward and draw others to you.

Changing Inside Out Now! Getting my body back - Day 28

Renewed energy

Once you've rested and renewed your energy level, you're ready to get back into the swing of things again.

With vigour, you implement your new strategies to achieving your success. Draw from the renewed strength within you and build up those areas still lagging behind.

Be thankful for the small changes. Small changes, one step at a time, over a period of time add up to great differences from where you've started to the progress you've made.

No one was born as an adult. Everyone of us started off as an egg, fertilized and developed into an embryo and keeps growing into a full term baby. After birth, small changes occur day after day, year after year until adulthood.

If you were to look at each stage of human growth, birth/infancy, child, teenage, adult, you could use this as the progressive stage to visualize the process of growth for achieving your goal.

Expressing gratitude for small changes opens the door for more healthy growth to occur.

Fuelling words: I am energized to engage in daily activity and appreciate small changes.

Routine: Warm-ups, stretches, aerobics, toning and strength exercises, cool down.

Visualization - keeping focus on my goal; healthy, strong and my ideal body weight and shape.

Deep breathing - relaxes the muscles and sends oxygen to the muscles where exercising alone would not reach.

Changing Inside Out Now! Getting my body back - Day 27

Take a break

When on the journey to achieving your goals, it is important to take the time to rest.

Resting rejuvenates your body and allows your mind to receive creative ideas. When you resume your routine again you are energized with renewed vigour.

During this time, it is important to reflect on the progress you have made so far, in addition to analyzing how close to your goal you've come and how far you need to go. It is also important at this time to think of ways to improve your performance; if you need to change what you're doing or add other activities.

Although you've suspended your regular activity for the day, you could engage in another activity that's totally different from the norm. E.g. take time to do an activity with the children, go for a stroll, this time slowing down to appreciate nature, or spend some time reading.

Enjoy rest and relaxation time, today. Your body will thank you for it.

Fuelling words: I rejuvenate my body cells with rest and relaxation.

Routine: Take a break today.

Visualization - As I rest, my body cells are rejuvenated energizing my energy level.

Deep breathing - relaxes the muscles and sends oxygen to the muscles where exercising alone would not reach.