4 Steps to Ideal Weight

If you were your "ideal" weight today, how would your life be different?

This is a trick question. "Ideal" is a direct connection with our state of mind!   

Do heavy thoughts make us physically heavy? Heavy thoughts distort priorities so that we don't make good decisions. When our emotions control thinking, the result is self-sabotage. Next comes exhausting cycles of gaining  and losing weight. Can we think ourselves slim? It helps to imagine ourselves an ideal weight- but only if we stay real. 

1. Be flexible about food choices.

•  Healthy eating is a physical response to hunger. Habits are NOT the secret of healthy eating. Variety is. If you are in the habit of eating cut-up fruit with cottage cheese for lunch every day, this may not be healthy. Our bodies are always tearing down and rebuilding. Skin is often a mirror of what's happening inside.The way to know if an eating habit is a rut and not ideal, is to notice how you look and feel an hour after the meal. If you start to get hungry and look stressed - your habit is a rut. When a meal is 'healthy', our body is satisfied for hours! Healthy eating happens when we stay in tune with our body.

2. Don't force yourself to identify with an image that is not you.

• Being Physically Active is a signal of physical health. When we are stationary for long periods of time, our internal signals get confused. The body is an amazing machine that works best when it's recharged by simple physical activity, like walking. You may discover, if you want a snack between meals, that a walk around the block 'kills' your craving. Instead of grabbing something to eat to calm an odd feeling in your stomach, take a walk to help your system make connections you need internally for more efficient calorie burning and digestion. 

3. Respect your courage to trust your body.

• A Good Appetite is a sign of good health. Often, a good appetite is satisfied by less than we consume. The trick is to eat what we need, not what is easy or looks prettiest. Think about it. Protein is the most satisfying food we can eat. Many dieters are protein deficient, making them crave sugar for instant energy - that then, brings them down hard. For ideal weight, eat protein first at mealtime. Then enjoy greens and carbs. If you want to lose weight, skip carbs or just eat a half portion.  
• Chew more, eat less. Close your mouth when you chew. People who talk with food in their mouths are rarely an ideal weight. Put down the food, spoon or fork, when you talk. This way, talking more at mealtime means eating less.

4. Be Thankful for every meal. A lot of people we see, go through their days hungry. Appreciation of what we have balances our perspective. Gratitude builds self-confidence.

• State of Mind is the lens we live through. Ideal weight is personal. Be kind to yourself. Choose to be healthy, active and smart about eating choices, and you will have a positive state of mind. Don't buy-in to dogma or media hype. Beauty begins in the heart and comes through our eyes. Love yourself with kindness. This makes you receptive to your ideal weight,  patience, self-control and variety. Life is beautiful.

Give yourself every chance to be your ideal weight. Every body is a unique shape. Ideal means: Healthy, Physically Active, Good Appetite and Positive State of Mind. If you believe Life will be better if your weight is 'ideal', tune-in to determination and it will happen. For extra help, download: Am I Really Hungry? to intuitively understand how to take control of eating challenges.


An easy way to fine-tune your senses is: Fine Tuning Connecting with Your Inner Power. 




#janebernard

Time Crunch

Time crunch is what we're all experiencing - lots to do and time seems scant. The idea of healthy eating can feel like an added time-consuming burden. In fact - it's the opposite.

It's intuitive to seek the best quality of life. This means it's intuitive to make things easy when it comes to eating and maintaining a desirable weight. Breakfast is the time to get a solid foundation of energy to seize the day. Eating a fortifying breakfast means you won't want or need a mid-morning snack and you won't gorge at lunchtime. When we eat a solid breakfast, it creates more time in our day because there is no urgency to 'grab a quick bite' or to make lunch a big deal. Importantly, when we eat a solid breakfast, we discover that lunch and dinner are not as important, so eating less is easier.

Here's some help to beat the time crunch and be kind to your body for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

• Breakfast:  
• No-cook overnight oatmeal is easy to make in advance and is ready to eat in the morning. It is fortifying and having this for breakfast will mean that a salad for lunch is all you want. If you have the time, enjoy some orange juice with this to make it into even more of a power breakfast. 

• Lunch:
• If you skimp on breakfast and are 'starved' for lunch, then take a few deep breaths to remember, that hunger comes from your body, not your mind. Next, have a protein packed sandwich. It can be cheese, steak, fish, tofu or any kind of burger. Now, take just one bite and put it down on the plate. Chew, swallow and take a drink of water. Often, when we're 'starving', our body is really thirsty. Water has zero calories and it's what your body wants. Do this with every bite and you will have eaten a quick and satisfying, hearty lunch.
• If you had that yummy oatmeal and are having a salad for lunch, remember to take the dressing on the side. Dressing often makes salads high calorie, so be stingy with it. Once you add any dressing, toss your salad before you eat it. You will be amazed at how little is required to get the 'taste.' Even with a salad, your body needs water. Water helps us burn calories by lubricating our metabolism.
• Dinner
• Don't let a time crunch cause you to down your dinner without tasting it. What you choose to eat should be balanced and visually appealing.The point of eating is to enjoy the taste and give your body fuel. If you have no time, then cut your portions in half.  Then, follow the same process as outlined for lunch- take a bite, put your fork down and take a swallow of water. Eating less means less calories and drinking some water between bites means you are less likely to have indigestion. 

Intuitive Eating is a way of being kind to yourself. We do this by giving ourselves a chance to succeed. To succeed at being your healthy weight, take a healthy approach. Learn to enjoy having water when you eat because it has no calories, helps us feel full, and our body genuinely needs it.  Nourish your heart and your body by taking your time when you eat.

"Getting my lifelong weight struggle under control has come from a process of treating myself as well as I treat others in every way."   Oprah Winfry

Healthy Eating and Junk Food

Healthy eating stands for happiness and energy. Happiness is not a constant and it's not rigid. That's why intuitive eaters are flexible with themselves about food choices. It's as important to nourish yourself emotionally as it is to eat well physically.

The secret to keeping your body looking and feeling great is balance. Balance never feels stuffed and always feels comforting. Giving yourself emotional and physical balance when you make eating choices reduces stress.

Junk food often stands for justifying what feels emotionally satisfying. How do you know? Use your intuitive tools know what you're really hungry for.

When you're aware of cues from your body, you also realize the need to nourish yourself emotionally.  If a 'junk food' represents comfort, and you know that and you eat it in moderation, can it be bad for you? Only you know the answer. Listen to your body and check in with common sense.

Use intuitive tools for clarity, instead of eating because you feel confused.

Eat for energy and health- not as an emotional band-aid.

The habit of having a junk food treat in the afternoon because you're stressed is not healthy eating. Instead it's using junk food as a crutch. A crutch is a sign of a problem.

If you notice you need a "pick-up" every afternoon, than try these:
- eat lunch an hour later then usual and make sure it includes protein
- instead of eating a candy bar, if possible leave the room and take a 3 minute walk/stretch to refresh your body.
- drink a glass of water, if you don't 'like' water mix in a small amount of fruit juice for a flavor you find satisfying, but make it at least 2/3 water.

Eat when you're hungry and stop when you're not. If you do decide that you'll have that candy bar, eat it slowly by putting it down between bites. Really savor the flavor and notice how your mouth tastes and your stomach feels. Don't feel compelled to finish the whole thing. Why not save 1/2 for another day?

Healthy eating is a state of mind that includes healthy emotions and physical comfort. You deserve that.
Get easy tips for healthy eating, and help understanding emotional responses to food better, download: Am I Really Hungry, 6th Sense Diet : Intuitive Eating. 

For help connecting with your senses, download: Fine Tuning, Connecting with Your Inner Power

Get Sensual.

Intuitive eating includes being aware of sensations like hunger and fullness. It is intuitive to use your mind to notice how your body feels. 

Recognize how your body feels by using your 5 senses: taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing. 

Being sensual keeps you in touch with what matters. 

Your 5 senses tune you in to your body and the intuitive tools guide you to re-connect with self control around eating.  (http://www.IntuEating.com)

How the senses work:  

>The job of your senses is to give you pleasure and protection.

>When you use your senses, you are giving yourself every advantage they offer. 

>When you take them for granted, you ignore them and miss opportunities to protect yourself from  over eating.

You will discover that using your eyes when you eat keeps you more tuned in to how much you're eating.  Being aware of tastes, textures, smells and at the same time of being aware of how your body feels keeps you clearer about eating choices. It's the natural mind/body connection of your intuition. 

Be sensual. Changing from the habit of ignoring your senses to noticing what you notice will help you shed pounds. When you connect with your intuition, and use your 5 senses, you connect with your body.

Using your senses- sight, taste, touch, smell, hearing and your intuition 

complete the mind/body connection you need to make choices that protect you and

keep you eating healthy.

As you use your senses, start trusting what you notice to make your eating choices.
You know what you want for yourself.
You have learned from experience portions that feel good to your body.

Connecting with your body when you eat is a way of respecting yourself. It's the way to give yourself the chance you deserve to be healthy and happy. 

Intuitive eating is how to be clear about what's important for you. It is making eating choices that make sense and  feel good to you emotionally and physically. The only way to predict your future is to create it. By eating intuitively you create the body you want.