“YOU ARE WORTH IT”

Do not undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.

Do not set your goals by what other people deem important.
Only you know what is best for you.

Do not take for granted the things closest to your heart.
Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

Do not let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past nor for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.

Do not give up when you still have something to give.
Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying. It is a fragile thread that binds us to each other.

Do not be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Do not shut love out of your life by saying it is impossible to find.

The quickest way to receive love is to give love; The fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly.

Do not dismiss your dreams. To be without dreams is to be without hope; To be without hope is to be without purpose.

Do not run through life so fast that you forget not only where you have been, but also where you are going.

Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way.

~Anonymous

Believe In Yourself,
Cathy, CL
Certified Life Coach, Weight Loss Surgery Coach
Certified Back On Track Facilitator

Begin shifting your perceptions of movement from something that you have to do to lose weight or change your body, to more immediate gratifying internal factors:

* instant gratification of enhanced psychological well-being.

* movement feels good.

* social aspects of exercise (work out with a friend or trainer).

* stress reduction.

* connection with body.

* better sleep.

* relaxation.

* eating better.

* opportunity to be outside.

* breathing fresh air.

* thinking clearer.

* movement is something you want to do (not something you should do).

Another main difference is that active people expect fitness to be fun, while inactive people dread the event.  Of course, it you haven’t been active in a while, it may take a while for exercise to feel good. It’s normal that you’ll be out of shape, out of breath, and have a tendency to get sore if you overdo it. So how do you take an activity that’s foreign and give it a positive spin?  Go slow and don’t overwork things in the beginning.

Treat your body gently and with loving kindness.  Find ways to focus on the IMMEDIATE payoffs of the exercise itself, such as feeling better, learning new skills, or having fun, or better yet — reward yourself. Develop a daily, weekly, and monthly reward list. Get a tape recorder and stroke yourself with “Yes I can” messages. Pay yourself, and enlist others to contribute to your fund. Our partners are always asking how they can help us achieve our goals, so involve them somehow in the process. Make this time for yourself and being with yourself or exercise with others.  Mostly, make it enjoyable!

As you exercise, check in with yourself.  How are you feeling – a higher self-esteem, feeling better about yourself, having fun???  Remember these wonderful feelings so you’ll actually want to enjoy them again!

Believe In Yourself,
Cathy, CLC,
Certified Life Coach, Weight Loss Surgery Coach
Back On Track Facilitator

Are you still using food to solve emotional issues? Is that what you repeatedly do?  Healthy behaviors  create healthy habits so you do not use food as an emotional band-aid.  If you engage in unhealthy behaviors such as eating junk, grazing, eating fast food, or eating refined carbs as one of your main food groups, your body size and weight are going to reflect those habits.

It is actually very simple, if you want a strong, healthy normal weight and body size, you are what you repeatedly do so adopt habits that reflect the body that you want.  It is a bit of a cliche but we are what we do, we are what we eat.

When you set goals, you are shaping the process of success. That means deciding what characteristics, like commitment and dedication, you need in order to reach your targets.  The determination of success is staying committed to your goals when times and emotions are raging.  It is easy to stay on track when things are going your way.  The real commitment to your goals is reflected when you’ve had an argument with your spouse, your kids are behaving less than you’d like, you have a conflict at work, etc.  If you hang tough and don’t emotionally eat no matter what, that determines success in reaching your weight loss goals.

What strategies do you have in place to counteract the old habits of turning to food each time you get stressed or want to emotionally overeat?  As we know, you are going to have more stress in your life and more opportunities to emotionally overeat. Might as well plan NOW for how you can handle the next situation more successfully!

Remember, there is NO NEW FOOD! How many binges does it take to solve work, financial and family stress?  Food really doesn’t solve anything and creates even more problems.  Turn to yourself, not food to solve your problems and ease your emotions.  Food holds NO power.  You hold the power to to deal with emotions and situations in a healthy way.  You don’t need food from emotional eating.  You are all you need!!

Believe In Yourself,
Cathy, CLC
Certified Life Coach, Weight Loss Surgery Coach

The temporary fix of food as a calming, soothing way to manage your emotions is fleeting.  When you’re thinking of indulging in the downward spiral of emotional eating, fast forward to how you’ll feel after.  The guilt, shame, worry over being derailed from your weight loss efforts and compromising your weight loss goals aren’t worth it.  The negative self-depreciating feelings you have last far longer than the few minutes of relief from a cookie.  Don’t numb out…tune in to yourself.  You have the answer.  You have to allow yourself the time and create the habit of dealing with emotions without eating.  It is uncomfortable at first.  However, the payoff long term is worth it.

Think of how you’ll feel as you step on the scale and see a weight loss.  Visualize how it will feel as you wear smaller sized clothes.  Now those are the things that are worth it.  They are a long-term investment in yourself.  All the emotional eating does is plant the cookie, chips, or junk food firmly on your body in the way of excess weight.

Emotional eating is a habit.  It is a way we coped with situations and emotions.  Break out of that habit.  Habits can be changed.  Break out of the jail of emotional eating and excess weight.  Feel the joy of being free without the bonds of emotional eating and excess weight.  It is truly worth it….you are worth it.

You are stronger inside than anything that can happen to you!  Don’t numb out, tune in to you!

Believe In Yourself,
Cathy, CLC
Certified Life Coach, Weight Loss Surgery Coach