Getting My Body Back Friday - 3 Reasons Why We Stop Using What Works to Achieve Our Goals and 2 Cures to Fix It

Do you find that you start doing something and then it works but somewhere along the way you stop? Why is that? In this article we'll look at 3 reasons why we stop using what works and we'll look at 2 cures to fix it.

We all have different experiences and perspectives that affect the way we do things but I think we can break down these down into about 3 main reasons why we don't do what we know works or that is right for us.

1) Life happens

We get busy, we put it off and before you know it, a week has gone by then we become unmotivated lose momentum and find it difficult to start again. I know that this has happened with me when trying to lose weight. I know I need to exercise. I know I need to leave off the junk food but some days I just feel for that junk kick lol and those days are not always on my cheat days. I get busy with the family, my business, and just life on a whole. So yeah, I could totally identify with that.

2) Stuck in the old rut

We're so used to the old and then the old becomes easy - our old habit comes back easily. Face it; we've been doing what we do for a long time so when we make a change we focus on the outward change and not the inward habit - the mindset that creates that change in the first place. And then what happens is that the old internal programming kicks in once again.

3) We didn't make it a habit

When we don't make 'doing the right thing' a habit - first creating it from within - yes, using the visualization process - then it becomes easy to abandon the dream as we change our focus.

So now it only leaves us to ask, "What's the cure?"

Cure #1 - Create a new habit - retrain the subconscious mind - your internal programming.

This has to be a conscious effort that's repeated over and over. That's what I had to do with my weight program. Each day I consciously made the decision to go out for my walk and whenever I slacked off my body would yearn for exercise. So that would get me back on track - even if I didn't walk, I would do something to keep things moving again - that's the power of the internal programming.

Cure #2 - Adding pleasure

We do more of what we enjoy doing. So when we add pleasure, enjoyment to the things we're trying to change - the outcome? We want to do more of it.

Coming back to my weight loss program example; I actually began to enjoy walking and working out. That's an accomplishment for someone who didn't like to exercise.

I focused on something that I enjoyed doing and let that motivate me - which was playing with my children - so I wanted to be strong and full of energy to do that.

Did you know that you’re losing out on what life has to offer by allowing low self-esteem, inferiority complex and lack of self-confidence to control your life? It’s time to take back control of your life. It's time to take control of your mind and finally break free from negative self-image, fear of failure, feeling inferior and not good enough...from what’s holding you back from really living your life!

If you are ready to make the change I can help you. Go here to find out how.

http://www.changinginsideoutnow.com/OICmember/

Getting My Body Back Friday - And the Winner Is!....

Okay, a few weeks ago I told you that we started our family competition to see who would first lose 10 pounds by September 18 - Dad and I and our 2 eldest daughters. 

And the winner was......

DRUM ROLL PLEEEASE!!!

Lee. Yes, Dad won the competition as he was working on getting his 'washboard' back. He still has some more to go but he's done an awesome job at dropping off those extra pounds. 

I dropped 1/2 an inch off my legs and arms. 

So we're back at it again creating a new target date, January 1, 2012 and now we have all the children wanting to join in. Well all, except the 2 youngest ones lol. 

The younger ones are working on building strength, working on their cartwheels and basically having fun at the same time. 

And now that brings us to you. What goals are you working towards? Who's keeping you accountable to reaching your weight goals?

If you're struggling with motivation and staying on track, having an accountability partner will certainly give you the extra boost you need to get moving even on days when you don't feel like.

Go for it. You can do it.

And now I'd like to invite you to a Free 30-Minute Self-Empowerment Session, if you'd like some help getting clear on your weight goals and staying on top of things. 

Get the details here: http://www.changinginsideoutnow.com/coaching/

Getting My Body Back Friday - Weight Loss Gifts Giveaway

I wanted to let you know today about a Weight Loss site that will allow you to download a ton of weight loss-related gifts. And the best part is that it is absolutely FREE!

If you’ve had enough of plodding along year after year and you want to improve yourself and your health to make this your BEST ever year, then you need to go here: http://weightlossgiftsgiveaway.com/go/281

The Weight Loss Gifts Giveaway will be open only for a VERY LIMITED TIME from October 6th to October 27th, 2011. When you go there you’ll find a multitude of products – all FREE – provided by Weight Loss experts from all over the world. Here is just a small sample of what you will find:

* Divinely Easy Weight Loss - Moira Hutchison

* Angelic Healing Audio - Self Esteem for Weightloss - Lisa Dorey

* Goal Setting Success - Leslie Householder

* Weight loss In A Week System - Terry Phong

* Destroy Weight Loss Self-Sabotage Hypnosis Audio - Michelle Mayur

* Lose Weight and Radiate 21 Day Challenge E-course - Lynn Smith

* 10 Surefire Ways to Jumpstart Your Motivation - Terri Bodell

* Get Wealthy Healthy and Hot Audio - Zoe Routh

* And TONS MORE!

Get all of these and many more here: http://weightlossgiftsgiveaway.com/go/281

The organizers of the event are Carolyn Hansen, Gillian Hood-Gabrielson, Stephanie Mulac & Dr. Joe Rubino.

Stephanie started this style of event in 2006. It’s in the form of a “Giveaway” which is sort of like a giant electronic trade fair where 100’s of experts offer their products free to the public.

Because it has become so popular, this time Stephanie has joined forces with Carolyn Hansen, renowned fitness professional, Gillian Hood-Gabrielson, exercise physiologist and intuitive eating coach, and Self Esteem Expert, Dr. Joe Rubino.

You only have to walk into any book store in any country to see how popular the subject of weight loss is. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry churning out hundreds of new books, audios, CD’s and other paraphernalia every year.

These can be very expensive but at http://weightlossgiftsgiveaway.com/go/281 you can pick this information up completely FREE.

With the year 75 percent over, what better time is there than right NOW to set yourself and your business up for future success? This event is a life-changing experience for those who take it.

Come and join Carolyn, Gillian, Stephanie, Joe and me and see for yourself.

If you want to grab the best collection of weight loss products you’ll find ANYWHERE – all FREE – then go to http://weightlossgiftsgiveaway.com/go/281 NOW and claim your bounty!

Getting My Body Back Friday - How to Create a Spiritual, Mental and Physical Action Plan for Successful Weight Loss

We are made up of spirit, mind and body. Because of this triune combination we must bring into operation all the levels of spirit, mind and body to aid the success of any plan.

Spirit

You are more than just your body. Knowing the role your body plays in the process of living will help you define yourself and see your life in a different light. Your body functions to physically express the thoughts and desires of your inner spirit. Identifying with your body as the all and end all of who you are only puts you in a place of limitation and distorts the true identity of your unlimited potential as a spirit being.

So what kind of spiritual plan can you create to aid your weight loss?

Shift your perspective from your physical body to your spiritual unlimited being. Your power lies in your connection with the Universal Source of Power and you draw your life sustenance, confidence, joy, love, peace and wisdom from your Source. Accepting, embracing and living this truth causes the false identity of low self esteem caused by being overweight to begin to lose its grip on you.

This begins to put you into a position of non-resistance (no more fighting/struggling within yourself) and more into acceptance of yourself which will make the process of weight loss more of a natural, instead of forced, process.

Spiritual plan - daily practice mental shifting from physical limited identity to spiritual unlimited potential. "I am an unlimited being. I am one with the Source of Power. I can overcome anything."

Mind

A mind that stops learning becomes dormant and loses its sharpness and alertness. Your imagination, the workshop of your mind must be kept in tip top shape to continue to engage in the vivid visualization creative process.

Visualize yourself daily at your ideal weight and size. Let your imagination explore the way you move at your ideal weight, the way that new outfit would fit at your ideal size and how contented you feel that you've finally reached your goal. Important of all, own the image.

You cannot be separate from your image mentally and expect it to be yours. You must own it; see you as the person at your ideal weight. Feel you as the person at your ideal weight. Believe in yourself as the person at your ideal weight. Exercise those mental muscles so they can continue to develop strength and become more vivid in the creative process.

Mental plan - Daily exercise your mind using and developing your imagination with vivid animation of your ideal weight and size. What do you look like? How do you feel?

Body

Once you've got the spirit and the mind working together in sync on your behalf, now comes the body. Your spirit, which has now been energized from the connection to the Universal Source, sends this energy wave to your mind in the form of thought waves. As you accept these thoughts and allow the imagination of your mind to go to work to create unique ways of exercise/activities/workout routine to follow, the weight begins to fall off. Start looking at your food differently making healthier food choices to nourish your body which in turn nourishes your mind.

Body plan - Daily engage in physical activity - whether it's brisk walking, jogging, weight training and/or a combination of these. Make sure you're having fun. Include some other fun activities as well - playing with the children, bike riding, playing tennis - get creative. 

See how they're all working together? The order is imperative because if you only focus on the physical weight loss without looking within yourself to align your spirit and mind, you'll feel like you're engaged in an uphill battle of the bulges. If you're identifying with your body only and dislike the way you look, you're working against yourself. These other intangible areas need to be dealt with in order to create the change you desire to achieve.

These steps will get you started. It's your turn to create your own. 

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!

Getting My Body Back Friday - How to Overcome Inferiority Complex to Enhance Weight Loss

When you despise the way you look especially because of your weight it sends a negative message to your body which counteracts any results you intend to have to lose weight. You're sabotaging your own progress when you habour self-hatred or allow feelings of inferiority to dominate your life.

This can really affect your self-esteem. I recall in my personal experience feeling depressed because of the excess weight. But even when you're not yet at your ideal weight, you can still feel beautiful, bold and confident and not feel inferior because of your current physical appearance.

What can you do to change this mindset?

1) Understand your true identity

When you understand that your body is not the entirety of who you are, you stop allowing your physical image to determine your overall identity. You are a powerful spiritual being connected to the Universal Source and Supply. Feeling inferior because of the way your physical body looks only worsens the condition and sets you up to be in a vicious cycle of inferior thoughts which will continue to expand and dominate your life.

2) Change your thoughts

Your weight issue is the manifestation of your thoughts and imagination followed by your actions and therefore the results you're having now. Many of these thoughts relate to unresolved emotional issues, fears, anger, shame, etc. in our own lives. As you begin to change your thoughts about yourself, your body and even your personal circumstances, it will change the results you're having.

3) Love yourself

You may ask, "What does loving myself have to do with inferiority complex or weight loss?" That's just it. Many people don't really love themselves and in turn send a negative message and energy constantly to their bodies. Can you look at yourself in the mirror and truly say and mean it, "I love you?" And really say this in spite of your weight? It may feel uncomfortable at first, a little strange, but keep at it and soon enough your mind will begin to agree with you and your body will feel the effects of being loved by you.

4) Feel good about you

"How can I feel good when I hate the way I look?" I had to face this same thing until I decided that you know what, this is where I am right now, but I'm beautiful, I am powerful, my power comes from within and I began to look at all the positive things about my life. Even if it's just one positive thing you can think of, begin to feel good about that and it will begin to expand into other areas that you never even bothered to think about. I accept myself as is and loved me. Soon enough, as I kept up my workout, my body began to respond to the weight loss.

5) Create positive affirmations with your strengths

When you identify the positive aspect of your life, create positive affirmations around that and keep repeating them. Fuel them with your emotions so they begin to expand in your life. Over and over everyday repeat your affirmations until they begin to take root. And even after they take root keep repeating them until they bear fruit in your life. The dominating inferior thoughts and feelings will begin to lose their grip on you and you'll feel empowered from within.

Getting my Body Back Friday - Feeling Discouraged?

On your journey to reaching your goal, you get all fired up, you're focused and doing all the steps necessary to bring you closer to achieving it. Then, it happens. You begin to get anxious because you're not making the progress you expected.

Click on the link to read more

http://doingthisnow.blogspot.com/2009/04/feeling-discouraged.html

Getting My Body Back Friday - Time for Show and Tell

Okay, it's time to show and tell my progress since I started this getting my body back journey.

Drum rolls pleeease!

This one was taken in April of 2009, 3 months after Roxella's birth.

Almost a year later, February 27, 2010

This was taken 2 days ago.

I'm energized - playing more with my children, going for bike rides, running, weight training and I'm having fun. I'm not keeping my schedule too rigid, nor am I so focused on weight loss. My focus is on being strong, healthy and having fun and in the process I'm loving me and enjoying the journey.

And the weight? It's coming off one day at a time. This time, it stays off! I'm allowing my body to gradually adjust to each new stage and size. I still have a ways to go, but I'm not stressing over it like before. When I find myself getting into stress zone, I shift my thinking and my emotions back to be appreciative of what I've already accomplished. My family's my strong support and really encourage me forward.

Whatever stage you are in your getting your body back journey, keep pressin' forward. You'll reach the finish line.

Getting my body back Friday - Don't Believe What They Tell You!

Don't believe a word they say about you that does not express the highest truth of who you are. If you find you're not getting the results you want, check what you've chosen to accept as truth. What have your family and friends told you about you? Many of these opinions we take and accept them as our own and as such they become ingrained in our subconscious producing the results that we're having now.

What about the negative things that you've been saying to yourself that you've accepted as truth about you? "I'm ugly, I'm stupid, I'm not smart enough like Jane. I'm fat, life is so hard, it's difficult to get ahead." How many of these have you accepted as your truth and are now being manifested in your life?

How about reversing the effects of these words? Let's try a remix, "I'm beautiful, I'm smart, Jane is smart and that's good for her, but I'm smart as well, I'm 120 lbs (or whatever the # is for you), life is beautiful - all good things come to me easily and effortlessly. It's easy to get ahead because the universe brings to me the mirrored image of what I feel inside. I am blessed. All my needs are met. My body uses food to keep me nourished and healthy.

Now you can create your own truth. And when that negative voice raises its head to say, "Who do you think you are? You know you're still stupid." Just simply respond, "Thanks for sharing but I am wise and I am beautiful," and accept that into your heart as your truth. "I accept this beauty as my truth. I accept this into my heart."

Keep repeating this to yourself. Even if you at first it feels uncomfortable, keep at it. The resistance will soon fall away.

One more thing, make sure you add feelings to this. So get your emotions involved in, feeling the feelings of the acceptance of being wise and beautiful and at your ideal weight.

Choose to believe your truth and don't believe what they tell you other than what is true for you.

What have you chosen to accept as your truth that's not getting you the results you desire to have?

Getting my body back Friday - Every day is a new beginning!

No matter how far you’ve gone or how old you are, you can begin again today. As long as you can breathe and have the will to try, you can begin living your life. Even though you have failed many times, so much time has gone by or you may have wasted your earlier years, new beginnings is not just for the young.

If, like me, you want to gain your ideal weight but have never engaged in an exercise routine before, or have not done so for a long time, it is never too late to start. You can start today, one step at a time, moving at your own pace.

Decision, determination and perseverance are the three elements needed to change your life and achieve any goal. Once you’ve made a decision to make a comeback, keeping at your pace helps to negate the feeling of being overwhelmed.

I discovered that lesson years ago. I’ve tried to keep up with all of the exercises on workout DVD’s and realized it was too overwhelming for me and I became quite discouraged. I decided, “You know what? I’m going to do this according to my own style and at my own pace and chosen number of repetitions.”

I decided that I would start slowly with stretches and as I got stronger added other moves into my routine. Before long, my body was asking for more. I felt the urge to go for brisk walks and even took up jogging. That was amazing.

Whatever journey you embark on, ensure you follow what you feel is right for you and allow other things to fall into place, naturally. You, too, can begin again.

What area of your life you feel like you need a fresh start?

Getting my body back Friday - Release your fears to lose body fat

Today, I was planning on discussing interval training, but I felt that there's a deeper issue here that should be addressed in order to achieve the weight loss we desire.

I recall listening to a video a few months ago by Louise Hay. She talked about if a person is struggling with being overweight there's a direct relation between a person being overweight and fear.

Fat in our physical bodies serves as protection for the body. But excess fat is a symptom of something deeper happening. It's the symptom of emotional disturbances within us - troubled about the past or some current situation or fear of the future. So if you're trying to lose the weight and find that it's not coming off, you may need to check to see what's the underlying anxiety is, expressing protection in the form of excess fat.

I wasn't consciously aware that I felt fear or anxiety. But when I sat down began to examine my inner emotions, I realized that a family situation had me feeling some anxiety. So I decided to address this issue. I began to speak to the fat on my body, "Thank you for your protection. But I release you now and I release my fear and all anxiety about my situation knowing that all is well and I am protected by love. So you are free to leave now."

I began to visualize the fat melting off of me. That's when I started to see more results in my weight loss. And now I've added the interval training which took me up to the next level. We'll discuss interval training next Friday.

If you're doing all that you can do to lose the weight and it's still not coming off, you may want to consider examining your emotional well-being to see what may be causing any anxiety in your life.

I've found a really cool article which goes into some more detail about this. Follow the link.
How to Lose Body Fat with Ease.

Then come back here and let me know what you think. What anxieties are you facing? Do you know how to get to the root of the issue?

Visualization to getting your body back - Part 1

Getting my body back - Day 48

Okay, mother's week and mother's day is over. I hope you had a great time. I know I did. Now, it's time to get back on track.

We're going to focus on the specifics of visualization when working out. The principles could also be applied to any issue or project you're working on.

Visualization is a powerful enhancing tool used to get your mind and body motivated into action. It sends the message to your brain as the brain does not differentiate the difference between real and imagined.

If you've ever tried imagining that you're happy and excited about something, you may have found your body energy responding to your happy excited feeling. Your brain doesn't know that you're pretending. Similarly when you use visualization in your workout, your brain sends your desired message to the rest of your body and your body, in turn, goes into response mode to the message delivered.

Arms workout

Today, we'll deal with working out the arms. Whether or not you're using weights, focus on feeling the movement and really work the muscles. As you do this, see (imagine) your arms as your ideal size. See the ripped muscles as you engage in the movement. Doing this allows the brain to send the message to the muscles in the arms to take on this new shape. You're engaging your mind, your brain and your body to bring you the results you desire.

Fuelling words: My arms are slender and ripped. My brain is sending this new message to my arms and the cells are working now with this new message to bring me to my goal.

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.

Change your mindset about food

Getting my body back - Day 46

So much has been said about food; what you should eat, what you shouldn't eat, how much of what you should and shouldn't eat. Sometimes it makes you feel like saying, "Would you make up your mind, already!"

The purpose of food

Food was intended, from the beginning of time and still is, the source of our nutritional sustenance. You don't have to be told that if you don't eat what will happen to you. That's pretty obvious.

Visualization and food

Because thought and visualization are such powerful tools of manifestation to attain what it is you want to achieve, why not use them as you're eating. Consider this:

Instead of being distracted while eating and eating only because it's natural when you're hungry, try slowing down and as they say, "Smell the roses." In this case, change your mindset and enjoy the aroma of your food and the taste of it.

Research has shown that the digestion process begins in the mouth. The chewing action combined with your saliva begins breaking down the food and prepares it for further digestion in the stomach.

The mindset about food

As you swallow, think about and imagine the nutrients being extracted from food and is distributed to all of your body parts providing the necessary energy it needs to repair your cells and optimize bodily functions.

See your body using this food to give you the energy you need for your daily activities. See yourself experiencing health and wellness. As you do this, you'd consider making better food choices.

Gratitude

You know that gratitude opens the way for more good to come into your life. As you are eating, remember to say, "Thank you," for your food. Be appreciative of the fact that you have food to eat and that your food supply will always be plentiful.

Fuelling words: Food is good for my health and well-being, and therefore I am thankful for every bite I consume.

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.

Feeling discouraged?

Getting my body back - Day 45

On your journey to reaching your goal, you get all fired up, you're focused and doing all the steps necessary to bring you closer to achieving it. Then, it happens. You begin to get anxious because you're not making the progress you expected.

Instead of becoming discouraged look for the positive results you've had so far. When discouragement sets in, it brings with it its first cousins disappointment and depression and its second cousins feelings of defeat and dissatisfaction.

Don't go down that road. Quickly look for the results you've attained so far.

Today I was looking at myself in the mirror. Even though I see some progress in my goal to attain my ideal weight, the physical progress is not as much as I expected. Immediately I began to feel the feelings of discouragement, yep followed by first cousin disappointment. I stopped those unfriendly visitors right at the door.

The first question I asked, "What can I do to turn this feeling around and begin to feel good again?" I began by appreciating my body. Just being thankful that I bore and nursed 7 healthy perfect children. I expressed thankfulness that I am healthy and able to care for them and that I'm a fruitful vine. Immediately, the feelings of joy returned and the family of discouragement and depression took off.

Whatever you may be feeling today because you're not where you expected to be, stop and look for all the things you have and you've accomplished. You'd be surprised how energized you'll become to keep on keeping on.

Fuelling words: I appreciate and I'm thankful for my beautiful body. It carries within it the rich treasures of Life.

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.

Honesty

Getting my body back - Day 44

When deciding on what it is you want to achieve in your life, you need to be honest with yourself. It's amazing how we could compromise in what we truly desire to accomplish because we feel that we can't have what it is we want.

If you decide in your mind that you can have what it is you want to achieve, you begin to remove the barriers and all limitations and get down to the heart of the desire.

I've found in my own experience that when I'd compromise and settle for something other than what I truly desired to have, that I was running around and not getting anything accomplished. This is because there's a deeper longing in my heart that stood out more to God than the actual thing I was saying with my mouth.

If you find yourself going after something and things do not seem to be working out, stop and check yourself. Ask the question, "Am I on the right track? Is this what I truly want, or am I settling for less because I can't see how I'm going to accomplish this?

When you start being truly honest with what you truly feel in your soul, you allow yourself to be opened to receive your blessing.

Fuelling words: I am honest about my ideal weight and what I truly want my body to look like.

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.

Pulling up on inner strength

Getting my body back - Day 40

Not feeling like you're in the swing of things today? Why not pull up on your inner strength to lift you up and get you back on track?

If at times you're feeling like you can't make it, it's time to pull up on your inner strength, shift your thinking immediately to, "I can do this, I have the strength to go on." When you motivate yourself in this manner, it's amazing how your body follows along with the message you give it.

Try this exercise:

Say to yourself, "I feel tired, exhausted." Feel what your body starts to feel. It begins to follow suit.

Now, say to yourself, "I feel great. I'm energized. Oh, yeah!" Your body begins to feel energized and alive, following the message that you sent it.

If ever you're beginning to feel down and out, change your thinking. Send positive messages to your body of the way you really want to be feeling. Start feeling yourself enjoying being alive and energized and all the cells in your body would begin to agree with you and your body will begin to move in that new direction.

Fuelling words: I send positive messages to my body. My body responds in return to the message sent.

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.

Learn something new

Getting my body back - Day 39

When working towards your goal, being open to new ideas is essential for progress achievement. Reading information in the area you're working on gives you new and perhaps time-saving ways of accomplishing your goal. Use knowledge from others to jump start your own progress.

Even though I pretty much know what I should do to achieve my ideal weight, such as monitoring my eating habits and workout routine, I still find that there's so much more information available for me to try different ways to get the best out of my workout routine.

I read an article yesterday about a research that was done. Two groups of people were chosen to test the amount of time they spent doing their workout. One group spent an hour each day, while the other spread their workout throughout the day in 10 minute segments. The second group that spread out their workout actually showed betters results than the group that just exercised for the one hour.

Because of my schedule, I find it easier to just do the one hour and then I could focus on other things. Today I did things a little different. I decided to do my regular one hour workout, then I went out to the garden to get some gardening done, using the opportunity to workout other muscles that need special movement to get them going.

Other people's experience and advice could enhance your life and save you years of mistake. Make it a part of your daily routine to learn at least one thing new each day.

Fuelling words: I learn something new today, so I could be a better person tomorrow.

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.

Evaluating your progress - Part 4

Getting my body back - Day 37

Putting together a progress report

When putting together a progress report, decide what area or areas you want to track. There may be several areas you want to track but you don't want to become overwhelmed. Focusing on one area at a time allows you to zoom in to get the best results. When you see progress in this area, you'll be encouraged to focus on another.

1) Start by creating a chart. Choose the area you're working on i.e. ideal weight

2) What you want to track, i.e. workout routine, break it down into aerobics, strength training, nutrition etc.

3) Record your progress in each column

4) Date of your evaluation; whether it's daily, weekly or monthly

How often should you track your progress?

Depending on what you're working on, you may need to track and evaluate daily, others weekly or monthly. Or you can use a combination of these.

Start with what you feel is best or what works for you and then make adjustments from there. Or you can choose different areas within your goal to track daily and others weekly or monthly.

For my ideal weight goal, tracking my daily eating habits is a good way to stay on top of things. At the end of the day, I look back on what I've had to eat that day. For my workout routine, I evaluate weekly to see if I need to add more repetitions or change it. For weight reduction, I assess this monthly.

Fuelling words: I track my progress regularly to keep me focused on my goal.

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 31

Be the change you want

Whatever goal you are working towards, you must make the necessary changes to draw you closer to seeing that goal manifested in your life.

You must change the way you are doing things in order to get a different result. You can't want to be 10 lbs lighter and do absolutely nothing to achieve that goal; like sitting on the couch all day, eating potato chips. Your thought pattern and your daily action steps determine the outcome of your desire.

It is you who must make the change within. Wishing to lose weight or achieve some other goal is just not enough. Every desire and decision starts internally, but that's only one part of creating change. The second part has to do with external actions.

You see, there are two main parts to achieving your goals:

1) The internal - thought, specific desire, plans, and
2) The external - putting those plans into action, evaluating the plans and progress you've made and making necessary adjustments for future actions.

They both go hand-in-hand to give you the results you're looking for.

Being the change you want causes you to think differently; going from thinking that you'll just lay there all day doing nothing other than eating potato chips and just dreaming about losing weight to deciding you are going to become healthy, full of energy, eat differently and then actually doing so.

You first see yourself doing what should be done followed by the action. You are living in your heart and mind the end results, which, when put into physical action produces the final results you're looking for.

As I move forward to achieving my ideal weight, I see myself in my mind's eye or you may say your imagination, eating healthy, being full of energy, having fun working out and wearing that same red and white checkered dress I wore when I was at that weight. This gives me the extra boost needed to externally/physically engage in my exercise routine.

Fuelling words: I see my ideal weight. I'm enjoying the changes in my body. I love my body.

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 18

What’s your nutritional value?

Every fruit provides different nutritional values and benefits.

Citrus fruits and strawberries are rich in Vitamin C, and help wounds heal, strengthen blood vessels, build connective tissue, healthy gums, skin, and promote strong teeth and bones.

Carrots are rich in Vitamin A and promote growth and repair of body tissue, healthy eyes, good night vision and a strong immune system.

Our differences and variations in talents provide a wide array of ‘nutritional’ values and benefits for us and others to sustain our well-being and well rounded life.

Teachers at varied levels and fields educate our society, bringing awareness to many different aspects of our world.

Specialized doctors study in depth specific parts of the human body. A brain surgeon’s ‘nutritional’ value is rich in the knowledge of all aspects of the brain and its wiring. His benefit to society provides resolution for brain injuries, abnormalities and dysfunctions.

A paediatrician’s ‘nutritional’ value is rich in the knowledge of children’s illnesses and is beneficial to all parents as a place to go when their children are ill.

Businesses, with unique ideas, provide us with a variety of services and products to choose from making us a very rounded society.

What’s your ‘nutritional’ value/contribution? It may be to inspire, to care for the sick, to be active in your community addressing its core needs, sing songs bringing joy to your listeners, or dance adding to the ‘nutritional’ needs of others in some way or another.

Whatever the ‘nutritional’ benefit, know that you can make a valuable contribution to the health and wellness of society.

Fuelling words: I focus on achieving my goal so I can be an example to my children.

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.