Dealing With Hunger

Diets NEVER help you know when you're hungry!  If the thought of eating begins with frustration, you're a diet victim.

• Diets create stress that puts your mind and body in a state of confusion.
• The result is often an emotional response - cycles of binging.
• Emotional hunger cannot be satisfied by food

Being happy with your body is not about your weight; it's about you. Here are some facts:

• You're naturally in control of hunger by tuning-in to what you notice and how your body feels, not by following a plan where you ignore your body.
  

  • Eating without tasting and smelling your food and noticing how you feel, is like putting gas in your car but ignoring what the engine needs - it's destructive.
  Isn't it time to decide feeling good is worth the effort?
  It's a relief to stop ignoring your body. Eating intuitively is dealing with hunger by being in tune with yourself. Don't ignore what you feel.
  When you use your senses to relate to hunger and depend on intuitive tools like dignity and determination to stay in sync with self-respect, it feels so good that it becomes automatic.

Eating when you're really hungry is normal. Dealing with hunger is intuitive.

• When you tune-in to your body with your senses at mealtime, your body physically relaxes. 

• You digest food most efficiently when your body is relaxed.
• It's logical to feed physical hunger when you eat. 

Intuition is a total support system that connects with what you value. This keeps your emotions, appetite and personality balanced.  You don't feel ignored and you don't feel like you're fighting with your body.

Believing diet myths means you pay. Discovering diet habits don't relate to your body is like learning you've been paying for something that you never received. It's a relief to stop paying. Spring is around the corner. Dump the diet plan and discover your body.

Confused About Cravings

Do you worry that your craving is an addiction?  It may be. Many processed foods contain chemicals that trick your body into wanting sugar, salt or fat! Deal with this by reading labels and don't buy into the trap of chemical addiction.

Stay clear about this:
Anything that doesn't make you feel good about yourself is bad for you.

Do your cravings hit when you're stressed? Stress creates confusion that feels like angst, dread, or even loneliness or fear. These wreck havoc with emotions and as a result, you may automatically turn to salt, sugar, ice cream or pasta when you're generally stressed. Deal with this kind of craving forcefully by connecting with your inner rebel! You can end abusive stress craving by using intuitive thinking to take control of your eating.
 

Emotional buttons are a kind of stress and a source of cravings. Everyone has unique nutritional needs, but women tend to be 'victims' of craving binges more than men. What you eat is personal. Don't be a victim. When you recognize the difference between temptation and obsession, you can put the lid on binge eating.
 

It may surprise you to know that cravings can be a healthy signal! Your body doesn't play games with you. People who diet and have cravings are often protein deficient. Dieters I have worked with report, with amazement, that eating protein reduces cravings! The next time you crave salt or sugar, eat a handful of walnuts or almonds or if you're on the run, a hard boiled egg. If it's mealtime, eat meat, fish or fowl. When what you're eating doesn't satisfy you, try using the 3 Minute Rule.

 

You don't need to "trick your body" to stop the cravings. Instead, the next time you experience a craving, sit down, close your eyes, take a breath and listen to your body. Your body is always working and tuned in to your health and you naturally crave  what will keep it working best.
 

Giving up on your body is not an option. Eat for success by being aware that you always have choices. Intuitive eating is easy because it feels like common sense. When you start to relax by depending on your intuitive tools, you'll discover how to take control of cravings.  

A complete book of these posts can be downloaded  for just 99 cents.

Keeping Weight Off With Intuition

Intuition works like a vitamin that you take to stay good to yourself. It helps keep off the weight you lose by keeping clear about what feels good to your body, heart and mind.
Take this Intuitive Vitamin every morning to reinforce smart choices and stay clear about keeping weight off:

• Every day before you get out of bed, say out loud, "I will notice how I feel before I eat. I will remember my body is the home of my heart and treat it with respect. I will see, smell and taste all food that I eat." 

Intuitive eating works because you learn to know when you're physically satisfied and when you're being physically abusive. For example, you're at a party and aware that your favorite party pants are feeling tight, but there is a tray of your favorite cookies. You don't feel hungry but your friends are eating the cookies and you want to be 'social'. Also, you know you can't eat just one.

• Ask for help: Friends will be surprisingly supportive. Tell the truth - you're not really hungry. 
• Help yourself: Grab a glass of something to hold or put something you don't really 'want' on a plate and hold it as you socialize. It's intuitive to protect yourself from old defeating habits.
• Reward yourself at the end of the evening: Look back at the evening and the way you handled yourself. Give yourself credit for taking steps to keep your body looking and feeling good.

Intuition works like common sense.  For example, you lose 15 pounds:

• You like the way you look and feel. 
• You decide you want to stay looking and feeling good. 
•  You commit to yourself.

If you're not sure how recognize your intuition, then grab a copy of Am I Really Hungry to learn how to defeat social and emotional hot buttons that make you feel like overeating. Or download a copy so you can refer to it any time. Intuition is something you were born with and you can connect with it 24/7.

Be good to yourself. Use your intuitive vitamin to keep weight off long-term:

• Feed the body you like.
• Eat when you are hungry to maintain your energy and health.
• Choose not to eat what you don't need by respecting your body.

Keeping the weight off is really satisfying.
It gives you time and energy to focus on finding satisfaction in other areas of your life - and you will!

Over-indulge Yourself for Valentine's Day

When you eat, you are offering strength and pleasure to your body. 

It's sensual and practical. The truth is that when you love yourself, you can be open to loving others. Don't be afraid to feed yourself some love.

Instead of approaching Valentine's Day from the place of thinking about what you don't have, feed yourself love by making an unconditional commitment to be kind to yourself.

Obsessing about weight is a kind of fear. You experience it by measuring, hoping, anticipating or dreading your meals. All of this results in defending, contriving and forcing yourself into a defeating emotional and ultimately physical pattern.

Instead, decide to be open to seeing yourself at your healthy weight and use your senses, including common sense, to eat for health and pleasure. You can be sensual and practical.

• Give yourself a fresh perspective by realizing that every day is new. 
• Remember : You deserve the best of everything life can offer. 
• Never settle for fear.

Valentine's Day can be a time of overindulgence if you go out. Instead of overeating:

• Overindulge in complimenting your Valentine. 
• Overindulge yourself with a clear vision about keeping your body healthy so that you can do everything that feels good. 
• Forgive the past. Accept the present. Keep an open mind about tomorrow.

If you're alone,  frustrated, angry or sick, Valentine's Day can be an arrow going through your heart. Think of the arrow as a strand of warm light that is part of who you are. 

• Use Valentine's Day to love yourself and eat a meal that feels good.
• Reach out to help others on this day. Share the love by giving a smile to a sick child, an elderly acquaintance or a total stranger.
• Make a pact to indulge yourself with respect, dignity, courage and kindness. That's real love.

Follow this 30-minute rule.
No matter how busy you are, take a half-hour each day just for yourself. Go for a walk, plan healthy meals or simply relax and recharge. You're not being selfish—you need the time to focus on your own well-being. After all, if you're not healthy, how can you take care of anyone else? I did feel guilty at first, but following this rule helped me lose the weight, and it enables me and my family to live a healthy lifestyle. (Abigail Cuffey)

Indulge yourself with kindness this Valentine's Day. 

"There is a voice inside of you that whispers all day long, 'I feel this is right for me, I know this is wrong.' No teacher, preacher, parent, friend or wise man can decide what's right for you - just listen to the voice that speaks inside." (Shel Silverstein) 

Relax and Lose Weight

Time flies and habits happen and next thing you know, your pants are too tight. What does it mean? It means you're probably tired and working hard. It means you deserve to take 5 minutes today to relax. Yep, that's the intuitive solution to keep from gaining weight due to stress and exhaustion: RELAX.

When you get stressed emotionally, it tenses your body making it think you're in danger. The physical response is to hold on to fat cells so you have extra fuel to 'fight the danger.' That's one reason stress makes you put on pounds. Here's how to relax to take them off.

• Before you eat or go out to eat, go to a quiet place and sit or lie down for 5 minutes with your eyes closed. . This will calm your body.
• Put your fork or spoon down between bites This relaxes your urge to chew so fast.
• Before you get out of bed in the morning, vow - out loud - to notice what you're eating at every meal. Be sure you hear your voice. Be sure you mean it. This programs you to slow down. Do it every morning. In 2 weeks you'll discover changes.

Habits often come from frustration or exhaustion. Instead of grabbing a bag of cookies or chips when you're at that point, it will relax that urge to drink a glass of water and if possible, go for a simple walk around the block. A change of scenery  is surprisingly refreshing. Getting out of the house can reset your perspective.

Your body is a barometer for your spirit and your heart. You gain weight because these parts of you carry the burden when you are too tired, stressed or frustrated. Relaxing nourishes your heart and spirit and this relaxes your body. Then it has no reason to hold on to extra weight.

My book, Am I Really Hungry? is full of tips for knowing yourself better and for ways to relax and protect yourself in eating situations that push your buttons. It contains tips like creating an eating plan that responds to your lifestyle, and how to recognize different kinds of hunger and how to feed it.

When time flies and you lose track of taking care of your body, it feels yucky. Winter is flu season and avoiding that too, takes awareness. The more relaxed you are, the more aware you feel.

Remember, spring is around the corner and your body is going to feel the change of seasons. Be ready for spring by using winter to keep your body trim and relaxed. You'll be so glad you did.

#1 Diet Resolution : The Best Revenge

The #1 way to know you will be your healthy weight in 2013 is resolve to Be Good To Yourself. You will look good and you will feel good.

Because life is unpredictable, you cannot know what eating challenges lie ahead. Whether you're an emotional eater, a stress eater, a lonely eater or just a food lover, resolving to be good to yourself will keep you happy with your body. Here's how to do it:

• Tune-in to what's pushing your buttons. Eating will never satisfy emotions, beat stress or be your best friend. Instead, when buttons are pushed try this:
• Wait for 3 minutes to see if the urge to eat passes, which it probably will.
• Plan an alternate activity to use to diffuse these feelings.
• Call your mother/cousin/friend to see how s/he's doing. Everyone gets lonely.
• Take a brisk walk around the block to diffuse anger. Focus on what is essential for you and adjust accordingly. If someone is making you angry, it's their problem, and the way to deal with it is to honor yourself.

• Don't let eating be a habit. Volunteer to help others and discover how lucky you are. Helping others is cool. You will make new friends by being good to yourself and end mindless eating.

• Check in with how your body feels for clues when you eat. 
• Notice personal changes and respond to them.
• Notice how smelling and tasting what you eat makes you feel.
• Notice when you're no longer hungry.

• Feed social and emotional hunger as often as you feed your body.
• Talk more, eat less.
• Share portions.
• Feed others. 

Being good to yourself is choosing to deal with the changes happening around you by going with the flow, but not compromising your priorities. You don't need permission to trust yourself, because you know what feels good and what doesn't. Trust yourself.

Intuitive tools will always protect you, as long as you use them. So, for 2013, here's how to be the #1 star in your life all year long. 

• Be curious before you eat.
• Use foresight as self-defense to think about how you'll feel tomorrow if you binge today.
• Connect with dignity when someone or something pushes your button. It takes energy to take the high road, and that burns calories. It has been said  "Looking good is the best revenge". Be determined to look good!

Feeling good and looking good go together. Take time to know your body. Share the pleasure of enjoying tastes and the comforts of relaxing with someone you love. Have a Happy New Year and remember, you are #1.

Eating Habits & Emotional Eating

Eating habits don't help you lose weight.

Eating habits are a rut you get in from letting someone else dictate what your body needs to be a healthy weight. In fact, you gain weight because habits are not a response to your body.

Habits cause emotional eating, which is you rebelling against what doesn't feel right.

So for the New Year, make a resolution to Be Your Own Boss. It takes time and energy, but so does everything worth having. The cool thing is the energy burns calories.

The way to do it is by paying attention with your senses and your mind.

Here's how:

• Think with your senses. Do this by checking the way your body feels before and while you're eating. If you see a huge piece of cake in front of you and check-in with your body, your brain may put up a red flag saying: cut it in 1/2 & put what's okay to eat on separate plate. Or your body may already be full. This means you are free to leave the table. 
• Feel with your mind.  Do this by using intuitive tools like foresight, courage, dignity and curiosity. Before you eat ask, "How will I feel about myself if I eat this?" It's intuitive to respect and protect yourself, but if it's not your habit, you won't do it. Once you use your intuition to do this, you will feel liberated because you will be in control.

Using your senses makes you feel fresh, while mindless habits make you feel old and trapped.  Open up your life by thinking with your senses. Feel with your mind.  You'll look younger because you will be happier. Don't be in a rut.

Here's the bottom line about eating habits that cause emotional eating:

•  Eating Habits limit choices and kill spontaneity, which makes you look drawn and wrinkly, even if you're overweight.
• Habits Avoid letting the moment unfold in the present, which means you stay in the past, which is full of emotional hot-spots.
• Bully & bluster often justify habits that age & delude you into eating when you're full.  
• Habits Ignore problems and inhibit the truth, which - like doing drugs  - is a temporary fix. It wears off; then you get the nudge, the gut feeling, the inability to sleep. Ignoring self-control doesn’t mean abandoning self-respect.  
• Habits are Traitors to your soul. Habits turn a blind eye to possibilities and ignore problems. 
• Stuck is how habits make you feel, and that feeling creates anger, frustration, loneliness and emotional eating. 

Take a breath and take the time and energy to give yourself a chance. Stay in the present and don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it - because you absolutely can! By this time next year, you'll look at holiday parties and yourself in a whole new way.