The Most Powerful 2015 New Year's Resolution.

Make this new year's resolution: "I will not doubt my inner sense of truth. "

Your intuition is more powerful than manipulative emotions because it connects with the truth. Emotions connect with what you wish was true, while intuition keeps you in touch with what is real. That's why you can feel deeply emotional around food and 'know intuitively' not to eat it. Intuitive tools, like determination, courage and dignity, protect and guide you away from self-defeating emotional eating.

Hunger is a physical reality. Binging is an emotional trap that treats your body like a second-class citizen. Ending emotional traps is intuitive. Intuition works with your body. When you use it to make eating choices, you tune in to self-respect and physical needs. Intuitive eating creates a safety zone of balance.

Use these questions to 'hear' your intuitive inner voice, your inner sense of truth.

• Does eating this leave me feeling physically comfortable, satisfied and healthy?
• If the answer is yes, then focus on comfort, satisfaction and health while you eat. These are intuitive.
• You can feel when you've had enough by working with your body. 
• Intuition balances what you think and what you want, with what you know and how you feel. Your inner intuitive voice filters out the truth.
• Why am I eating this? 
• Be honest with yourself about trusting your intuition. 
• The fact is, intuition is always protective. If a choice doesn't feel 'right', it's not your intuition; it's emotional manipulation.
• It's powerful to take control of self-defeating emotions, but it's not hard. Things that are wrong, crumble easily.
• Learn  to feel dignity in your heart and respond to that feeling.
• Take control this year by being courageous. 
• You are stronger than anger or disappointment. You are stronger than sadness. 
• Give yourself a space to be determined. Go for a short walk to cool off. Reset your perspective by noticing what you sense. Remember, the only reason to eat is because you are physically hungry.
• What do I really want? 
• If this is confusing, then write down what you really want and put the piece of paper where you can look at it any time.
  • Adopt an attitude of self-respect with determination and stick with it. Get what you want this year. It's time! 
• Comfort, satisfaction and health create quality of life. Eat less, chew more. Tune in  to intuitive attitudes to feel your intuition. Even if you've ignored it your whole life, you have it. 

Remember to focus on comfort, satisfaction, and health when you eat. Use determination and self-respect to follow through with what feels 'right' Be dignified and you will stay in control. Every morning when you wake up say, "I will not doubt my inner sense of truth. " You will be a different person in 12 months!

#janebernard

Inner Peace

Inner peace begins with intuitive thinking. 

Intuitive tools find your inner guidance system.

Take attitudes of courage, dignity, tenacity and self-respect to holiday parties.

Hunger is a physical reality. Binging is an emotional trap. Fighting emotional traps is intuitive. When you make an intuitive choice, it feels 'right'. Your intuition 'has your back.' Powerful intuitive tools bring freedom from emotional eating.

Holidays push our buttons. Anyone who has eaten food for emotional support knows the result is disappointment. Emotional eating is a trap. There is a way out. The 6th Sense Diet  brings inner peace by revealing new solutions and understanding that change your relationship with your body from stress to satisfying. Putting pressure on yourself will be over.

Emotional eating or binging happens when we feel bad or sorry for ourselves. Even though the media would have us think differently, food is not a band-aid. It cannot mend a broken heart or make a mean person nice. Reality is that Life can be painful, unfair and hard. Responding to pain by eating more changes nothing; instead, we feel worse.

When emotions guide food choices, there is no inner peace. Intuition bypasses emotions. That's why we can feel deeply emotional around food and 'know' we're wrong to eat it. Using intuitive tools like tenacity, courage and dignity are your surprisingly reassuring anchor to personal peace. It's personal power.

  Three questions to ask yourself for inner peace:

• Does eating this leave me feeling physically comfortable, satisfied and healthy?
• If the answer is yes, then focus on comfort, satisfaction and health while you eat. 
• You will feel when you're had enough. This is feeling your mind working with your body. 
• Intuition balances what you want with what you know and what you feel. Power eating is listening to your intuition.
• Why am I eating this? 
• Being honest with yourself is the beginning of trusting your intuition. 
• The fact is, intuition is always protective. Trust it.
• Feel dignity in your heart and listen to that feeling.
•  If you're eating to satisfy emotions, stop. Decide to take control by being courageous. 
• You are stronger than anger or disappointment. You are stronger than sadness. 
• It's powerful to take control of self-defeating emotions, but it's not hard. Things that are wrong, crumble easily.
• Give yourself a smile of determination. Go for a short walk to cool off. Reset your perspective. The only reason to eat is because you're hungry.
• What do I really want? 
• You want to fight it. No one wants to be a slave to emotions. Eating, weight maintenance, diet, work, family, responsibilities - all of these weigh on us 24/7. We need help to be strong. We don't have a lot of time to cook. Write down what you really want and put the piece of paper where you can look at it any time.
• Adopt an attitude of determination and stick with it. Get what you want. Comfort, satisfaction and health create quality of life. Eat less; chew more. Attitude is powerful.
• FitsMe is a Web app that helps you find meals and create plans that fit your diet. Tell the site your food restrictions, likes, and dislikes and it serves up recipes to satiate even your pickiest preferences. It can save time and help you plan. 

Peace comes when you focus on comfort, satisfaction, and health while you eat. Natural courage to zap fear and overcome doubts is part of your intuition. Determination and self-respect to follow through with what feels 'right', complete the picture. Be dignified when you eat. Find your inner peace; it's intuitive.

 "Anything is possible if you've got enough nerve." JK Rowlings

#janebernard

Take 15 minutes to relax.

Time to relax in mid-December? Really!? 

You want to do the right thing which is - not gain weight that your body doesn't need. You are committed to looking your best. So what happens? This is what happens to me: stress, deadlines, bills, social commitments, etc., and before I know it, I need to relax and get back my perspective of what I want.

Of course, I want to do the right thing. It's not always easy. Everything I want is not always available. When it gets to the point of not remembering what my last meal was, I know I need an intuitive pause.  I need some alone time to notice what I notice. Simple stuff, like tuning-in to the smell of perfume, the itch of my sweater or the fact that I'm exhausted helps me feel less confusion and more in touch with my priorities. Thinking with my senses resets my point of view. My favorite kind of alone time involves eating.

I tune-in to my intuition when I eat a snack alone. I choose something healthy that I enjoy.  Today it is a piece of crusty bread with a tablespoon of peanut butter smeared across it and some yummy honey spread delicately on top.

• I look at it and take a breath:
• to realize how lucky I am to have it.
• to see how much I took and if the portion is what I really want to eat.
• To make it last longer, I take small bites instead of eating the whole thing in three large mouthfuls.
• By chewing extra and savoring it with my tongue, the flavor has more kick. Nice.
• Because the size of the bites is small, I stay focused on chewing and my non-food related emotional tension is relaxing. Focusing on the food for it's flavor has liberated me from the dragon of stress.
• I'm enjoying myself. :)

I try this again a different day with an energy bar and a cup of coffee. The decision to take smaller bites (or sips) and to see and savor what I eat, again, resets my perspective and is ultimately relaxing! Because of the way we are wired, eating with smaller bites resets every part of our being. Who knew it was possible to relax in mid-December?

When you need to exit the discomfort of stress fueled exhaustion without being self-destructive, take 15 minutes to relax and have a pleasing snack.

• Take small bites. Chew each well before you swallow. Enjoy the personal satisfaction of self-control.
• Let part of your tongue tease your sense of taste until you feel pleased.
• Be grateful you are not homeless or hungry this holiday season.

For practical intuitive solutions that are common sense for maintaining a your healthy weight, download: Am I Really Hungry? 6th Sense Diet : Intuitive Eating

and overcome eating challenges.

"If you can't solve a problem, it's because you're playing by the rules." P. Arden

#janebernard

Just say, No.

                Keep Calm and Just Say, No.

The way to say No in an environment where there is a lot of tempting food is to tune-in with your senses. Notice what you notice. Don't let food choices push any emotional buttons. Open a channel of honesty between your desires and your needs by staying in touch with how your body feels. Use the intuitive tool called patience to stay in touch with your goals. 

Patience comes with surprises, so don't worry about the unexpected. You will discover that patience is an emotional stress buster that makes it easy to say No to fattening foods and the pressure to eat. Being patient is how to give yourself inner permission to be flexible and avoid abusive eating.

Use these three types of patience to take control of eating choices.

GIVE YOURSELF CREDIT!  Be patient with yourself to stop self-defeating habits. Taking a pause before digging in will get you surprise admiration from others and results you want.

• This means, before you commit to a meal, check in with self-respect. Notice if you feel dignified. Notice if you're really hungry.
• Look at the food on your plate. Do you like the picture? Are being honest with yourself about what feels right?

IGNORE THE CLOCK. Patience with timing is not about waiting. It's about doing what you need to do to get where you want to go. Your body is on its own internal clock. If everyone else is filling up but you don't need to eat, then just say No to uncomfortable food choices.

• Rushing when you eat cancels natural digestion in your mouth and is an automatic way to eat more than you need. 
• Patience with timing allows events and people to catch up with your inner drive. There are no shortcuts to quality. 
• Good timing, when it comes to eating, means taking time to make it good for you. 

TURN OFF SOCIAL PRESSURE. Patience with others has limits. Self-respect is the first instinct of intuitive thinking. Patience with others means acknowledging differences and maintaining your boundaries. 

• If someone is pushing your button and disrespectful, sometimes it's best to just say Thank you and Good-bye. What you eat is personal. Being polite and at the same time respecting yourself, is being patient. 
• If you are attending a buffet, carry a plate of radishes, pickles or celery around. Say No to carrying around temptation.
• No and yes are equally important for staying in tune with your personal power. Take control by saying No to what doesn't feel right. 

Think less, sense more. Take control by flexing your self-respect muscle. Take time to be true to you. In time, this will bring you just what you need to stay in control.

#janebernard

Three Reasons to Eat Leftovers

Three Reasons to Eat Leftovers

Leftovers taste good. Often, flavors are deeper. With Thanksgiving around the corner, start planning your second taste now. When you store leftovers, be sure to refrigerate them in proper containers and to heat before you enjoy them the second time around.  As a general rule, don't keep leftovers more than 4 days.

1. Eat less.  

If you're a fan of take out, then you know the portions today are bigger than your fist*.  This is because our plates are bigger than they were 20 years ago. The fact is, most of us overeat because the food is there to consume. The next time you have take-out, before you start eating, put half away for another day.  The next time you prepare a meal that has over-sized portions, slim it down and save those goodies for another day.

2. Save time and money.

Spend less time grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning up.  Chances are you work hard and are often too tired at dinner time to focus on portion size or even home cooking. Once a week, make a meal (roast chicken, lasagna, hearty soup or stew) that can be a source of healthy eating for more than one meal. Divide it up by portions and then, know when you come home tired, the work is done and a healthy delicious meal is waiting for you.

3. Health Benefits.

Food is live nutrition. That's why we seek fresh food. Always smell your leftovers to make sure they are fresh. Then, enjoy the ease and benefit of a precooked meal.  

• Interesting fact: Recent studies show that reheated pasta is better for you. Why? While cooled pasta has just as many calories as freshly cooked hot pasta, the starches become more resistant, which means lower levels of glucose, which keeps blood sugar in check.

Some people balk at the 'thought' of eating leftovers. If someone in your home feels this way, add something extra for the second round, such as a fresh ingredient or different spices. It's easy to turn a stew into a curry and just as simple to make chicken hash or a pasta dish using leftover roast chicken.

Pizza freezes well and is a nutritious leftover for when there is no time or desire to cook.

 

*Eating portions the size of your fist is considered best for staying our optimum weight. In fact, when your stomach is empty, it is the size of your fist!

#janebernard

Afternoon Pick-up

  If a 'junk food represents comfort, and you know that and eat it in moderation, can it be bad?

Only you know the answer. Listen to your body. Check in with common sense.

The secret to looking and feeling great is balancing what you want with how you feel. Give yourself emotional and physical balance to tune-in to your body and reduce stress.  Junk stands for justifying what feels emotionally satisfying. You don't need to justify your emotional needs. Instead, be kind to yourself.

The habit of having a 'junk food' in the afternoon because it's easy, is like ignoring a red light because you don't like the color. Ignoring the reality of effects of junk food or red lights is equally devastating. Tune-in to what you sense. The point of seeing and feeling is to respond. The more you do, the more balanced your life will be.

Take cues from your body. Eat for energy and health. Responding to what you sense is being kind to yourself. Sometimes you need a physical pick-up in the afternoon and blood sugar will drop. The result is a 'down' feeling. If you need a "pick-up" every afternoon, then try these:

• Eat a good breakfast; then, have lunch an hour later than usual. Make sure lunch includes protein.
• Instead of eating a candy bar, leave the room to take a 3 minute walk/stretch to refresh your body. This refreshes your state of mind.
• 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 sure at least 2/3 of the mixture is water. 

If you are still hungry,  eat what you want  and stop when you feel satisfied. To know when you're satisfied, make a commitment to enjoy the taste of your comfort food of choice.

• Decide to enjoy a candy bar or other treat by eating it slower. Put it down between bites. 
• Really savor the flavor and notice the taste with your tongue. Notice how your stomach feels.
•  Don't feel compelled to finish the whole thing. Why not save half for another day?

Healthy living stands for happiness and energy. Happiness is not a constant and it's not rigid. That's why intuitive eaters are flexible about food choices. When you need a pick-up, get it. It's important to nourish your whole self. Think with your senses. They are a gift of life that keeps you in touch with the pleasure of taste, touch, smell and sound. Eating is sensual. Make the most of it!

 #janebernard

Is Eating Self-Control a Myth?

Your body controls itself and has complete control over how fast it burns fat.

If you want to trim some pounds or take control of eating, tune-in to your body.

If you force yourself to lose weight, you are violating natural physical laws. Your body will rebel by holding on to fat. The path for physical self-control is to connect with your needs by being patient with yourself. Use dignity and your 5 senses to be clear about what feels right. 

Using a book or diet method to force yourself into 'healthy' eating misses the point of noticing what your body needs. There is no such thing as 'one size fits all' eating. Everyone's body is unique.

'Self-control' imposed by ideas or rules feels like a threat to your body. That kind of self-control is a myth. Feeling threatened puts your body in the survival mode where there is no self-control.

• Everyone is physically programmed for survival. That's why your body can force you to eat, breathe or sleep. 
• Your body is designed hold on to fat any time it decides that being fat is the best way to keep you safe. That's what ultimately decides how much you weigh - not your conscience, a diet program or a book. 
  

For genuine eating self-control, get to know your body. Tune in with your senses and notice what you notice. You will discover you abuse your body. That is something you can control. Use intuitive eating to enhance your observations. The better you know yourself, the more automatic it becomes to eat in sync with the body you want.

Take a deep breath today and realize that your body is talking to you.

Begin this way:

• Be picky. Nourish your body every day by only eating what you really want. 
• Be personal. Listen with your senses to your heart and body. Respond to your needs.
• Take charge. Visualize and imagine your healthy fit body, exactly the way you want to look and feel before you get out of bed in the morning and before every meal. 
• Feed that body.

Learn how to tune-in to your body by using your senses. Learn to understand your eating needs. Download: Am I Really Hungry? 6th sense diet : intuitive eating. You'll be happy you did!

# janebernard