Turn cravings to comfort.

Cravings and Candy

Change cravings to the comfort and pleasures of self-respect in 15 minutes. 

Every emotional dip on the roller coaster of living is a time of heightened cravings. Family and friends ask, what do you want? Our classic response is emotional, physical and social! When teased by sweets, we see food not only with our eyes, but also with our heart. Intuitive eaters use dignity to tune-in and trust their gut/heart response.

If you expect to be in a stressful eating environment, eat a hard boiled egg before you go out. It will take the edge off of your hunger, provide healthy protein and is an easy way to know you're in control of what you eat.

Did you know it takes a full 15 minutes for your brain to know that your stomach has had a sweet treat?  Use that 15 minutes to give yourself times to socialize or relax! This way you will give your head time it needs recognizes if you still are physically craving sweets. What will happens during the 15 minutes is, your other priorities will become exciting. Try it! You will be surprised.  

You might just eat 1/2 of what you crave and then use the 15 minute rule before you go for more. During your 15 minutes, imagine how you feel when you take control of your choices. You feel pretty good!  When you're hit with emotional stress, keep an open mind, stay clear about what matters to you. 

Everyone is unique. Eating is a personal experience. Trust your physical process to be the best you can be. Acknowledge cravings and stay clear about what matters to you in the long run at the same time. Eat less, taste more because you can. While you eat a piece of chocolate, be sure to really taste and enjoy it. Make your senses and loving your body a priority when you eat. 

The difference between intuitive eating and eating 'unhealthy' cravings is, you feel good about yourself an hour after you eat with dignity. When bullied by emotional eating demands, you feel lousy about yourself an hour later.

You can balance what you crave with what you need. Eating a square of chocolate because it makes you feel good and you like the way it tastes, is healthy. Chocolate is an anti-oxident. Your body uses anti oxidents help to clean pollution from your system.  Craving to eat something can mean that your body needs it. Yes, even chocolate!  You can work with and satisfy your body by trusting what you sense in your gut.  

Social, emotional needs, and physical needs are equally important. We all crave and need respect and affection.  The first person to get if from is you. Respond to your needs by going after what you really want. Make yourself happy. 

Learn more practical tips for eating intuitively, by knowing  how to take control of what pushes your buttons with Am I Really Hungry - 6th sense eating. As always, feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions! You are amazing.

Trust your process. 

Intuitively you know what makes you feel good.

#JaneBernard

jb@transitionspress.com

Get Physical.

Get physical at mealtime. 

Intuitive eating is physical.

Being physical when we eat means connecting with what we sense and what we feel.  

The feeling we all look for is happiness. Happiness isn't complicated. Sharing a smile, a song or eye contact keeps energy of happiness bouncing around us. The intuitive way to feel this is by being grateful. Being grateful is how to feed your heart. Gratitude, importantly, reduces the risk of emotional eating.

• Be grateful before you put any food into your mouth.  Feed your heart first by remembering that you are not homeless, at war, or ill. 
• Feed your heart by being thankful for the chance to be thankful.

Then, turn your brain off.  Eating is not intellectual.

Whenever possible, take pleasure in the food you eat. Intuitive eating is a spontaneous physical response to the moment. How do we trust being spontaneous when so much hinges on our responses? 

• Eat with an attitude of dignity and comfort. Make this attitude your priority at mealtime.

Respond to eating with your 5 physical senses. As a result, you will enhance automatic intuitive nudges.  When food is in front of you, before you eat, be grateful for food on your plate, and then:

• Tune in with your senses. Think with your senses when you eat. Respond to what you notice and how you feel.

• See what you are eating . 
•  Notice portion size. Do not eat any serving bigger than your fist. 

• Connect with your body. 
• When yo enjoy food, digestive enzymes are more efficient and more calories are burned. 
• Eat only up to your physical comfort level. Stop when you feel good, which is before you feel full.

• Listen to your thighs, your gut and your heart and you will eat wisely. Ignore your head. 
• Eating is physical. It's like putting gas in the car. 
• It doesn't matter what's playing on the radio inside the car. The goal is to fill the tank with gas for power.
• Your head does not know what you need to eat; only your body does.
• Don't overload your body or put in the wrong fuel. 

• Chew more, taste more, talk more and you will eat less. 

Being physical by being grateful, using your senses more and connecting with your body, will reveal insights about your heart. Being intuitive connects with feelings of self-respect and pleasure. Give yourself every opportunity to be the best you.

Learn more about how to connect with your intution by reading Fine Tuning, Connect With Your Inner Power. Learn more specifically about using natural intuitive insights to stay in sync with your body by reading, Am I Really Hungry, 6th sense diet:Intuitive eating.

It is only possible to live happily ever after on a day to day basis. – Margaret Bonnan  

#janebernard

Break Habits

Take control of what you eat by breaking habits.

Habits happen when we grab what is easy, convenient or fast. The result is emotional eating because habits are not a response to our body. Eating is not supposed to be a habit. We're supposed to respond to hunger.

Ignoring our body often means we are not satisfied by what we eat. Physical needs are unique and change all the time. When we ignore what we want, we feel lousy. Emotional eating is an unsatisfying way of rebelling against what doesn't feel right. Don't let emotional eating be a habit.

Habits are ruts. Being in a rut feels like being old. Worse, habits make us feel trapped. Yuck! Shake off eating habits by getting into the season. Open your eyes, inhale the new fragrance in the air. Try new foods that smell and look good. New experiences renew us. There is a feeling of excitement and anticipation that makes us look and feel younger.

• ·Habits limit choices and kill spontaneity, which makes us look drawn and tired. Eat to feel good.  Don’t be in a rut.

• Add spice to life with new experiences. Instead of a big meal, eat small amounts when you try something new. Really taste, smell and experience the newness. Eating is supposed to be a pleasure.

•  Be kind to yourself.  Don’t dwell on the past. It’s history. What matters is eating to keep healthy and fit today. Leave the past behind. Take a moment to be grateful for good health and the ability to move forward.

•  Initiate change in routines. Spring is the season to be spontaneous. Allow yourself time and space to do personal things differently. Eating is personal. If you don’t feel like eating, don’t; if you want to just have appetizers, do! Connect with curiosity you were born with. Have more fun. 

• Taste more by chewing and savoring what you eat. Stop talking about your body, weight, diet or frustration. Talk about ideas and what makes you feel good. Spring is a season of new beginnings.

• Simplify eating decisions by using your senses more. Notice what you notice. It will be clear if you’re bored, excited or hungry. Listen to your body. The rule is to honor yourself.

Take a breath. Take time to give yourself a chance. Stay in the present and enjoy Life!

• Think with your senses. Check in with the way you feel before and while you're eating. Make decisions spontaneously.

• Feel with your mind.  Use intuitive tools like courage, dignity and curiosity to guide eating choices. Before you eat ask, "How will I feel about myself if I eat this?" Respect and protect yourself.  Be intuitive.

  Am I Really Hungry, 6th Sense Diet: Intuitive Eating  will help you reset mealtime priorities and recognize what holds you back from eating when you're hungry and stopping when you're not. Pick up a hard copy and stick markers on pages that help you stay true to yourself, or buy an e-copy and access intuitive tools from your phone!

#janebernard

Addicted to Food

You may think you're addicted to food, but you're not!

• Food isn't addictive, emotions are. 
• Fear and doubt are sharks that devour inner grace and cause bad choices.
• Don't eat when you feel emotional. 
• Emotional food addiction happens when you eat to soothe, hide or vent.

It's time to stop letting your emotions rule your life.   

Use intuition instead, to take back self-control.

Make social and personal pleasure a priority at mealtime.

Addiction doesn't happen if you focus on enjoying food as a way of nourishing your body and getting the most out of living. It's intuitive to enjoy eating. Eat for the pleasure of taste, touch, smell and physical comfort. That's how to love your body. Thinking about food as love makes fear and doubt small.

•  Food is love, when it's shared and when it's savored. 
• You eat less, when you talk about how your food tastes. 
• You don't gorge, when you share eye contact during a meal. 
• Take time to breathe between bites, and you'll discover your body is responding to the food.

Because eating brings physical satisfaction and takes the edge off the anxiety of starving to death, you may confuse eating with love. It's natural to be addicted to love because real love brings out the best of who you are. 

"Just as food is needed for the body, Love is needed for the soul." Osho

 

Knowing why you're hungry and what you're hungry for, is as important as realizing when you're hungry. Then you know what you need.

• Feed your soul with music, eye contact, conversation and laughter.
• Be grateful for little things and you will eat less. That's a promise.

"Life is what we make it. Always has been, always will be." Grandma Moses

Intuitive Exercise

Use your intuition to overcome uncomfortable emotional urges.

• Emotions make you feel heavy. Emotion-driven situations can make you feel like you're drowning. Remember: emotions are not more important than your body, especially when it's about eating. 
• Emotions make waves in our lives 24/7. It's the gamut of living. Your intuition keeps your head above the water, so you stay clear about your priorities while riding the waves. 
• You can't satisfy emotional hunger with food. That's why bingeing doesn't work. Instead, you can use intuition to know what's going to help you. 

Here's how to  flex your intuitive muscles to refresh and re-focus the next time you feel an emotional wave driving you towards an uncomfortable or compromising  choice.  

1. Try this:

•  Think of yourself when you're tense. Feel your body. Where are your shoulders? How does your neck feel? Where does your body hold tension? I hold mine in my stomach.

•  How do you look when you feel comfortable and relaxed?  What's on your mind? ... probably nothing :) How are your shoulders? How's your heart?... probably peaceful (*

When your shoulders are relaxed and your heart is comfortable, it's automatic to be aware of your priorities and personal boundaries. It's intuitive & healthiest for you to keep an emotional / physical / mental balance.

2. Look at yourself:

• When you're not really comfortable, it's automatic to lean forward just a little and this presses your heavy chest bone against your beating heart. Lift your sternum away from your heart. Notice the difference.
•  Use inner strength to be courageous and to be patient. Identify with someone you admire who could do it : James Bond, Superman, Wonder Woman, Harry Potter, Mother Teresa, etc. You can use the strength you recognize intuitively.
•  Use foresight to ask yourself : How does this choice feel? Tune in to your body.  Where are your shoulders? How is your heart?

3. Let your eyes and body distract you from your emotions.

• Breathe firmly in and out and really see what's in front of you. Look at colors and shapes. Notice what you notice. 
•  Breathe firmly in and out. Turn around and see what's behind you. Notice color details. 
•  Now your posture is alert, refreshed and re-focused. You're in sync with your intuition. It's pretty amazing, isn't it.

When life hits frustrating emotional walls, use your 6 senses  to stay clear about what you want. You will be in control of eating choices and look great.

• It's so easy, anyone can do it.

Let go and lose weight.

"It's all right letting yourself go as long as you can let yourself back." -- Mick Jagger

The food-filled holidays are over. Still, at a party last night women and men confided in me that they had "let themselves go" between Thanksgiving and the new year. They felt burdened. It makes no sense to focus on what you ate last year. 

The old emotionally manipulative 20th century diet mentality  is to humiliate yourself with regrets and beat yourself up with recriminations. It's wrong. It boomerangs and makes you hold on to guilt, anger and fat!  

Instead, give yourself space to come back to your best interests. Intuitive eating is tuning-in to the present. Use your 5 senses to recognize messages from your body and your 6th sense (intuition) and eat in response to physical hunger, your values, priorities and personal boundaries. 

Feeling badly about what you ate a month ago adds extra weight on your body. It makes you literally feel heavy! Put it down. Let go of it. 

Time is passing, be guided by your moments.  Stay in the now and lighten up literally and psychologically! Feel good because you're committed to being true to your body and yourself.  Enjoy your next meal because it's the beginning of living your dream. 

Let yourself lose weight by letting go of regrets and guilt trips. Then, keep in step with today, eat less, chew more and use common sense. The pounds will come off.

This is January. Eat to protect your health from seasonal colds and flu and have energy for the best quality of life. You'll get some satisfaction.

Am I Really Hungry addresses how to recognize emotional hot buttons and turn them off. It was written in response to interviews with dieters and intuitive answers. Use this book to help you let go and lose weight.

The Stock Market & Intuitive Eating

It's still party season and will be until January. Think of eating as making an investment in yourself, and position yourself for success. Use intuitive tools to guide your choices so that you stay grounded and in control.

When diet restrictions cause frustration, often the result is emotional eating. When you use your intuition there are no restrictions. Instead, you focus on your immediate quality of life.

Intuitive eating is like smart financial investing.

An article about financial investing said:
"Emotional decisions tend to be impulsive and irrational decisions that compromise the realization of your stated goals."  That's exactly what happens when you make emotional eating decisions.

The stock market has been completely unpredictable for some time. It goes up and down, creating frustration and disappointment for many. For some, this yo-yoing is part of investing. For others, it creates a spiral of despair.

Here are intuitive rules to remember when you eat and are ways to make a solid investment in yourself and your future.

• Don't panic and let your emotions drive your investment (eating) decisions. Instead, take a long-term approach, confirm your previously set goals and assess your risk tolerance in view of your eating choices. Protect yourself by using your intuitive tools to stay clear about your priorities.

• Have a taste of what tempts you to make yourself comfortable. Really make sure you taste it for pleasure. Chew well and slowly. Take a second taste and you'll notice it's not as good.  When we're not really hungry, just a taste is the rational investment.  Consider how you would feel if you ate more than your body wanted, and ended up binging. You always have the option to eat less. You are in control.

• Keep an open mind and be skeptical when someone tells you the latest fad for maintaining your perfect weight.  You can try anything, but trust only your own body when it comes to eating. No one except you knows how you feel physically. It's good to learn about your body and it's best to stay connected to your physical and emotional priorities to make grounded decisions.  An open mind shows you your options.

• If you overeat, don't fixate on food you've eaten. "Once you make  a purchase, focus on whether the stock still represents one of your best ideas." Beating yourself up is destructive emotionally, and useless. Instead, learn from your mistakes. Everyone slips up; the intuitive way to handle it is to give yourself grace and commit to being wiser next time.

• If your first choice isn't available or you find you're at an unexpected party where food is abundant, stay balanced by using common sense to stop and assess your options. It's intuitive to be flexible and go with the flow. Enjoy yourself by tasting your options with dignity. Stay clear about your long-term goals.

• Anticipate the foods that will tempt you at a party, and plan to ride out the evening without panicking by remaining committed to your long-term investment/eating plan. This way you will position yourself for success.

Intuitive eating is the healthy solution to 21st century stress-driven living and eating challenges. It's having an open mind, a flexible attitude towards yourself and eating - you know yourself. Stay clear and you'll like the way your investments turn out. 

"All investors have a unique situation regarding their finances." Your eating choices are uniquely related to your lifestyle and body type. "Solutions to your financial concerns vary dramatically depending on your particular set of circumstances."

Intuitive eating is personal. Download your kindle copy of Am I Really Hungry? 6th Sense Diet : Intuitive Eating,  and have the answers in your pocket 24/7.  It's an investment in your future you can count on!

*Investment article written by Joseph M. Lanza, Branch Manager of SagePoint Financial, Inc., Ridgewood, New Jersey

Plan to de-stress and eat less at holiday parties.

The intuitive  plan to de-stress and eat less this holiday season.

DE-STRESS :

D stands for Defend yourself.

Don't let your emotions rule your body.  Remember, when your cousin is so annoying you want to eat the entire pie, that it's his problem, not yours. People who push your buttons usually don't know it. Defend yourself by realizing that you dance to your own music, and walk away from the annoyance.

E stands for Escape from your old emotional habits.

Instead of expecting annoying comments from in-laws to 'make you' overeat, you can escape this by noticing you're not alone. Everyone deals with personal demons at holiday time.  It's not your fault that your brother-in-law is sour, so no need to punish yourself.  Defend yourself by realizing no one can 'make you' do anything that doesn't feel right. Check in with your body to escape from your emotions.

S stands for make it Simple.

Emotions make everything feel complicated. It's easier to eat smart when you use your senses instead of your mind to to see and hear what's going on. Eating is physical, not emotional or intellectual. Keep it simple by trusting your body and your heart. You will feel protected.

T stands Think long-term.

Talk more, eat less. When tension makes you feel like shutting down and stuffing yourself, take a 10 minute stroll away from the food. Think about how you will feel about yourself in the morning if you stuff yourself tonight.  Intuition is always tuned into the big picture. Your life is Big; emotional eating is small.

R is a reminder to Relax and not react.

Stress makes us shut down and tighten up which interferes with efficient digestion. If you can't relax, slow down the eating by taking 3 deep breaths in and 3 deep breaths out between bites. This is the intuitive way to connect with and relax your body. Remember emotional reactions usually relate to the past. Stay in the present because, right now, you're creating your future.

E stands for Enjoy.

Eating for pleasure is intuitive. To get pleasure you must taste your food. When you enjoy what you eat your body digests it better and you get more nourishment from it. This means it will keep you full longer. Don't eat unless you're sure you're really enjoying every mouthful.

S stand for Share the pleasure.

Sit with someone you don't know  who you like. Talk about how delicious the food tastes. Share the pleasure of the holiday meal instead of focusing on the emotions. The point of  holidays is to celebrate life. Stay clear that you know you're lucky to have food when others are starving. Feeling grateful and sharing is intuitive.

S stands for Satisfy yourself.

This is your life. Today will never come again. Satisfy your need for self-respect by listening to your body to help stay away from emotional eating. Satisfy your need for comfort by enjoying and really tasting the holiday meal. Satisfy your need for love by treating yourself with dignity.

Print this out and keep it handy, or grab a copy of Am I Really Hungry on kindle and have the answers with you, 24/7.

Time to be liberated!

Am I Really Hungry reinvents dieting!!!!

Has any of this ever happened to you?

Diet makes you feel deprived..

You feel resentful..
You see what you want, but "can't" have..
A stressful day at work..
Frustration makes you feel bottled up..
The man or woman who you have been seeing for the past 3 months, turns out to be a lying, cheating cad..
The children need you - 24/7..
Bills piling up, but you keep buying..
You really need to talk and your cel phone just fell in a puddle..
The diet isn't working..
Life isn't predictable or fair.
You're not alone. Every day, when buttons are pushed, dieter's punish themselves with confused, self-destructive food choices.

Confusion causes self-doubt that comes out as bad decisions.

Intuitive eating keeps you in sync with yourself.

It's never intuitive to be self-destructive. If you know when you're really hungry and what you're hungry for, your 6th sense is absolutely clear about what you need.
When you know how to tune into your body around eating, there's less confusion.
When you learn how to use intuitive tools clear decision making becomes automatic because you know what really matters.
Even kids can do it.

Intuitive eating diffuses your diet hot buttons.

Recognizing what you notice with your senses can make you aware of opportunities in your life in many ways:

- help you lose weight because you are tuning into your body
- cure loneliness because you are connecting with your emotions
- improve business environment because your priorities and values are in perspective

Eating intuitively keeps you clear about your personal boundaries and about protecting yourself in all areas of your life.

Take advantage of what's easy to do. Open your eyes and follow your gut. 

When food or diet hit you emotionally, use your intuition to stay in control or your choices.

Instead of feeling manipulated, you will feel liberated.

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

Resist Fear.

Feeling a little on the edge, about trusting your senses to lose weight or maintain your weight, is natural. Fear is an emotion. Emotional eating habits are bullies that don’t have your self-interest in mind. Emotions distract you from what's in your best interest. Tuning-in with your senses protects you form fear.  Intuition often is a feeling of clarity.

Trying new ways of doing things, takes courage. Don't underestimate your efforts.

 “Courage is resistance to fear, a mastery of fear- not absence of fear.”  ~Mark Twain

Many dieters are afraid that they will not be able to control their eating if they eat what they want. This is not true. Intuition connects with your survival instinct. It naturally protects your body when you eat. The way to recognize your intuition is by staying aware of your other senses. You gain weight when you are unaware of what you are sensing while you eat.

• Your senses: sight, taste, touch, smell, and hearing are natural born guides for healthy eating and they connect you with that 'gut feeling', the little nudge - that's your intuitive sense.
• Your 6th sense, intuition, balances what you sense with what you know and what you feel, so healthy eating choices result.  
• Instinctively, you know what feels good to you and is good for your body.

If you're lonely or fearful about eating, it can be because you are ignoring responding to what you sense with your eyes, ears, nose and skin. The result is you don’t connect with your body or your food and so eat wrong foods that don’t satisfy you, or else, eat in a way that may harm your body. Ouch!

Practice fine tuning by noticing what you notice and you will connect with your inner courage. As you use them, your senses become walls of protection to help you eat wisely. It's amazing.

Make the commitment to be honest about how you feel, physically and emotionally when you eat. This is courage to be true to yourself. Instead of emotional eating, learning to connect with your body this way means you'll eat when you're hungry and stop when you're not!