You are in the elevator. You have pressed the down button. You are going to buy apples, bananas, carrots, grapes, celery and your favorite fruit and veggies to replace any of the vending machine "good choices".
Oh! and for those of you who are picking your favorite food, check in with yourself. If there something you love even more than that Snicker's bar? If so, go buy a portion of that more desirable delight. I'd rather have a See's chocolate chip truffle than a Snicker's bar. If Snicker's bars are your ultimate favorite treat and you want to eat one every day? Well, add an apple to it. Before you eat whatever favorite treat you have selected; imagine the treat has been sitting out over night. Or it was dropped in some sand and you had to take it to the sink to rinse it off with some water.
Most confections don't look so good after they have sat in the water a few minutes. Was it a Snicker's Bar that cleared the pool when someone saw it floating in the water in "Caddy shack" and mistook it for poop. After an hour in water, an apple still looks lovely. If that image helps you enjoy real food more and helps add a little distance from that "treat". That treat is after all keeping you at your unhealthy undesired weight. Why not meditate on that a bit? Flip back and forth between thinking "Aahhh" for the piece of fruit and "Eeew/yucky" from the packaged treat.
It's not that I don't want you to get incredible joy out of whatever you are eating, I do.
I want the elevator to start to descend smoothly and rapidly. I want you to feel like you are in 100% control and are treating yourself like royalty. I can't imagine someone royal eating out of a vending machine. Find the best you can afford and treat yourself. In the interim, have a piece of fruit 100% guilt free. Imagine you are feeding your soul Your spirit is saying "yes", your body is in heaven. Your body knows exactly what the components are. There is no red dye to navigate, no unpronounceable chemicals. Just real wonderful food. The kind of delight that is good for you on every level.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Why Drinking Water?
Speaking of water, grab a glass. In order to speed your descent if you want to keep drinking whatever you are drinking now, for every four ounces of any of the following you are currently imbibing (soda, coffee, wine, beer, juice, protein shake - and whatever else you are currently drinking on a daily basis, drink 4 oz. of water before and drink another 4 oz after. A lot of the above mentioned beverages are dehydrating. You are doing something good for your body with every sip of water. Imagine you are pouring water on a dying plant and notice how the plant begins to perk back up once it has a little water. Your body needs water. It is good for you, and it should be enjoyable.
If you aren't a water drinker, then start slowly. If the idea of 4 oz of water makes your throat tighten up, try a teaspoon, or a tablespoon, or one ounce. As you sip it, think about how much your body loves water. Your body is about 70% water. The more you drink water when you are the thirsty, the lighter and cleaner you will feel inside. What you drink it out of makes a difference. The next time you are out shopping, satisfying your ancestral hunter gatherer instincts, go on a search for a beautiful water glass. My current water glass is hand blown glass. It is incredibly light weight and fragile. There are tiny blue and green fish etched into the glass, swimming in an arc around the glass. Just picking it up feels good. It is a pleasure to look at. I make an effort to "flood" myself with a good feeling every time I pick it up, with every sip I take.
What do I mean by "flood" myself with good feelings? Well, for me, I get this feeling when I yawn that tingles near my ears along my jaw. I imagine I am pouring that good feeling all over myself. It is the memory of the hug from someone who loves me, it is the feeling I had when I opened a gift I really wanted, but hadn't expected. it is the moment my husband kissed me after he proposed. The good feelings throughout my life are still alive in my memory. By remembering them, and feeling then now intentionally flooding myself with the memories, I am associating that good feeling with a think I didn't like to do.
Drinking water is becoming something enjoyable for me. I used to dread it. I had read a lot of weight loss books that recommended drinking lots of water to lose weight, and I came to associate drinking water with punishment, obligation, failure, deprivation and self loathing. I have had to put a lot of extra love and good feelings into reprogramming how I feel about drinking water.
Another thing I started to do is imagine the most beautiful images of water and connect it with the sound of a lovely voice singing softly, "Aahhh" like it has a ray of sunlight shining down on it and by drinking the water I am pouring that good beautiful sunlight into my body. It is healing me. It is quenching my hunger. It is giving me real calm steady energy. It is flushing any disease from my body gently and lovingly. I am telling my body, I love you and I will care for you a little better every day. Just thinking those thoughts makes my mouth water, so I will go grab a glass - care to join me?
The light is shining through the glass, "Aahhh" pure pleasure.
If you aren't a water drinker, then start slowly. If the idea of 4 oz of water makes your throat tighten up, try a teaspoon, or a tablespoon, or one ounce. As you sip it, think about how much your body loves water. Your body is about 70% water. The more you drink water when you are the thirsty, the lighter and cleaner you will feel inside. What you drink it out of makes a difference. The next time you are out shopping, satisfying your ancestral hunter gatherer instincts, go on a search for a beautiful water glass. My current water glass is hand blown glass. It is incredibly light weight and fragile. There are tiny blue and green fish etched into the glass, swimming in an arc around the glass. Just picking it up feels good. It is a pleasure to look at. I make an effort to "flood" myself with a good feeling every time I pick it up, with every sip I take.
What do I mean by "flood" myself with good feelings? Well, for me, I get this feeling when I yawn that tingles near my ears along my jaw. I imagine I am pouring that good feeling all over myself. It is the memory of the hug from someone who loves me, it is the feeling I had when I opened a gift I really wanted, but hadn't expected. it is the moment my husband kissed me after he proposed. The good feelings throughout my life are still alive in my memory. By remembering them, and feeling then now intentionally flooding myself with the memories, I am associating that good feeling with a think I didn't like to do.
Drinking water is becoming something enjoyable for me. I used to dread it. I had read a lot of weight loss books that recommended drinking lots of water to lose weight, and I came to associate drinking water with punishment, obligation, failure, deprivation and self loathing. I have had to put a lot of extra love and good feelings into reprogramming how I feel about drinking water.
Another thing I started to do is imagine the most beautiful images of water and connect it with the sound of a lovely voice singing softly, "Aahhh" like it has a ray of sunlight shining down on it and by drinking the water I am pouring that good beautiful sunlight into my body. It is healing me. It is quenching my hunger. It is giving me real calm steady energy. It is flushing any disease from my body gently and lovingly. I am telling my body, I love you and I will care for you a little better every day. Just thinking those thoughts makes my mouth water, so I will go grab a glass - care to join me?
The light is shining through the glass, "Aahhh" pure pleasure.
Foods To Make Losing Weight Easy
Plan ahead by bringing really good choices. It doesn't take a lot of effort or planing to swing by the grocery store and pick up these 6 items:
1) Bag of organic apples - I love Pink Lady, Fuji, or Honey Crisp
2) Bunch of bananas
3) Bag of baby carrots
4) An orange
5) Bunch of grapes
6) Celery Stalks
Feel free to substitute any of the above with your favorite fruits or veggies.
Then, the next time you are feeling like you need something from the vending machine, grab your change, plunk it in your jar that you have secretly labeled "Paying myself to be thinner and happier" and enjoy whichever fruit or veggie sounds best to you. Does one make your mouth water?
1) Bag of organic apples - I love Pink Lady, Fuji, or Honey Crisp
2) Bunch of bananas
3) Bag of baby carrots
4) An orange
5) Bunch of grapes
6) Celery Stalks
Feel free to substitute any of the above with your favorite fruits or veggies.
Then, the next time you are feeling like you need something from the vending machine, grab your change, plunk it in your jar that you have secretly labeled "Paying myself to be thinner and happier" and enjoy whichever fruit or veggie sounds best to you. Does one make your mouth water?
Friday, February 26, 2010
Vending Machine Choices
What brings anyone to a vending machine in the first place - at a base level it is a desire for a good feeling. If you were physically hungry - then the good feeling is your attempt to return to feeling satisfied. If you were emotionally hungry then the desire is to feel less stress, more good feeling. Is a Snicker's Bar something that feels good? It can be... in the moment. I can't read your mind. The good feeling content isn't stamped on the package like a nutritional panel... but it is emblazoned in your mind's eye. It is how you determine what you would rather have. If you were choosing between a bag of potato chips and a snickers bar; which would you prefer? Which one sounds better to you? The one you pick when you plunk your money in the machine and press the corresponding letter and number is the one you have identified as giving you the most good feeling. If it isn't the one that is your favorite - example you are picking the trail mix bar instead of the Twix in an effort to make a healthier choice - then that suggests you are at one starting point. If you are picking your favorite candy from all the ones available, then you are at a slightly different starting point. Which one is better? Well, they are both fine, but neither will help the elevator descend.
It is a little known secret that there is no such thing as a good vending machine choice. Every nickel you drop into a vending machine is like you are paying yourself not to lose weight. If you really want a good feeling then there is probably a much more decadent choice that isn't in the vending machine.
Some of these decadent choices are edible. Others, like getting a massage or buying a bouquet of flowers feed your body without getting stored as fat.
What is your favorite dessert? Not just your favorite junk food but your favorite dessert? Odds are slim that it is readily available in the vending machine. I like See's Chocolate Chip Truffles, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and warm chocolate croissants. None of which are to be found in any vending machine I have ever stumbled upon.
If you were choosing the healthier option - that is great, but a piece of fresh fruit or raw vegetable would make the elevator descend even faster.
If you eat food from the vending machine at your work, then imagine putting the vending machine money into something that could help you lose weight easily and effortlessly. Plunk your spare change into a jar that is called, "Love and Good Feelings".
It is a little known secret that there is no such thing as a good vending machine choice. Every nickel you drop into a vending machine is like you are paying yourself not to lose weight. If you really want a good feeling then there is probably a much more decadent choice that isn't in the vending machine.
Some of these decadent choices are edible. Others, like getting a massage or buying a bouquet of flowers feed your body without getting stored as fat.
What is your favorite dessert? Not just your favorite junk food but your favorite dessert? Odds are slim that it is readily available in the vending machine. I like See's Chocolate Chip Truffles, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and warm chocolate croissants. None of which are to be found in any vending machine I have ever stumbled upon.
If you were choosing the healthier option - that is great, but a piece of fresh fruit or raw vegetable would make the elevator descend even faster.
If you eat food from the vending machine at your work, then imagine putting the vending machine money into something that could help you lose weight easily and effortlessly. Plunk your spare change into a jar that is called, "Love and Good Feelings".
Welcome To the Elevator
This particular elevator has mirrors that reveal your soul. In this elevator you weigh exactly what your soul weighs. You are weightless. You feel light as air. You feel free. Your body is strong and your desire for change is enough to make pushing the button easy. You are answering your heart's request to give yourself love.
If you weigh more than you'd like, you have been hearing your heart ask for you to give it more love. This desire is a good thing. If there was a vending machine in your office that you could plunk money into and it would give you a good feeling that was calorie free that flooded your body with good feelings and another vending machine that made you feel like crap; I know you'd pick the good one.
If you weigh more than you'd like, you have been hearing your heart ask for you to give it more love. This desire is a good thing. If there was a vending machine in your office that you could plunk money into and it would give you a good feeling that was calorie free that flooded your body with good feelings and another vending machine that made you feel like crap; I know you'd pick the good one.
Magic Elevator to Thin
Magic Elevator to Thin
Over the next seven days you can ride the elevator down to the next floor. You can either stay in the elevator waiting for something to happen, or press the down button to descend. Imagine the lobby is your goal weight. It is a beautiful place to be, and once you have landed at your goal you are free to leave the elevator. If the scale starts to go back up, just return to the elevator and start your descent again.
How long will it take? Less time than it took for you to get to whatever floor you are on. How many pounds do you want to lose? One pound per floor... how many floors? Each floor takes seven days to descend going at a speed of minus 500 calories per day. Burn 200 of those calories with exercise. Thirty minutes of walking a day, broken into 3 ten minute walks can do this. Eat 300 calories less a day. Less than what? Less than you are currently eating. To make this work it would be really helpful if you knew what you were eating. If only there was a way you could know what you are eating... oh wait, you can. Great!
Since you are able to be aware and to observe what you are eating every day this isn't an impossible task. If you hate counting calories like I do, then shift to eating lower calorie foods like fruit and vegetables.
I am your elevator companion on this journey down to your goal weight. The music in the elevator is exactly what you want to hear, and I am with you the whole time.
Maintaining a healthy weight is easier than maintaining an unhealthy weight.
Every bite is a choice. I'd like you to start now by focusing on getting more pleasure out of every morsel you eat.
Deprivation isn't going to get you to the ground floor. What you need is love and support, security, safety and abundant motivation. By setting your intention to see the scale go down and following the easy suggestions that make the most sense to you - you will achieve your goal.
If you don't know exactly what floor you are on - and you know you are up too high, then step inside and press the down button. The elevator door is open, step inside.
Over the next seven days you can ride the elevator down to the next floor. You can either stay in the elevator waiting for something to happen, or press the down button to descend. Imagine the lobby is your goal weight. It is a beautiful place to be, and once you have landed at your goal you are free to leave the elevator. If the scale starts to go back up, just return to the elevator and start your descent again.
How long will it take? Less time than it took for you to get to whatever floor you are on. How many pounds do you want to lose? One pound per floor... how many floors? Each floor takes seven days to descend going at a speed of minus 500 calories per day. Burn 200 of those calories with exercise. Thirty minutes of walking a day, broken into 3 ten minute walks can do this. Eat 300 calories less a day. Less than what? Less than you are currently eating. To make this work it would be really helpful if you knew what you were eating. If only there was a way you could know what you are eating... oh wait, you can. Great!
Since you are able to be aware and to observe what you are eating every day this isn't an impossible task. If you hate counting calories like I do, then shift to eating lower calorie foods like fruit and vegetables.
I am your elevator companion on this journey down to your goal weight. The music in the elevator is exactly what you want to hear, and I am with you the whole time.
Maintaining a healthy weight is easier than maintaining an unhealthy weight.
Every bite is a choice. I'd like you to start now by focusing on getting more pleasure out of every morsel you eat.
Deprivation isn't going to get you to the ground floor. What you need is love and support, security, safety and abundant motivation. By setting your intention to see the scale go down and following the easy suggestions that make the most sense to you - you will achieve your goal.
If you don't know exactly what floor you are on - and you know you are up too high, then step inside and press the down button. The elevator door is open, step inside.
A Letter To You
If you are reading this, and you know you want to lose weight then this is the moment you begin. If you aren't in that place yet where you are ready to dive in, that's fine. Imagine there is another you, one that is ready to lose weight, and she or he is just a few weeks into the future. Imagine you are reading this over their shoulder.
I am tired of reading diet books that have chapter after chapter about why their plan is different or better than any other diet book.
You already know everything you need to know to lose all the excess weight you have gained. It may not feel like it to you now but it is true, and it is a good thing.
If you are serious about wanting to lose weight, then before you spend time reading this blog, I'd rather you spend a minute figuring out which of these foods you have in your house:
Fruits
Apples, bananas, oranges, grapes, or any other fresh fruit you love.
Vegetables:
Lettuce, carrots, celery, cucumber, kidney beans. broccoli, tomato, asparagus, or any other vegetables you love.
If you have none of the above... you would be willing to add them to whatever you are currently eating? Once you have these foods in your fridge begin at your next meal or snack trying one of the following two suggestions.
Option One: Prior to eating your normal breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or eating your next normal snack... Eat an apple.
Or you can substitute a banana, orange, grapefruit, plum, pear, strawberry or any other fresh fruit you love. By fresh fruit I am suggesting that you don't pick a dried fruit or canned fruit.
Option Two: Prior to eating your normal breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or eating your next normal snack... Eat a salad.
Eat at least one cup of lettuce and any of the other raw vegetables you'd like on it. Don't use a store bought dressing. You can pick either balsamic or red wine vinegar or lemon juice. Skip any of the non-raw vegetable toppings like croutons and olive oil.
Once you are doing these two things, you can continue to read on.
Ok, if you are anything like me, you checked off the items as I listed them, contemplated going to the store at the next convenient moment and continued to read on so you could see what else I have up my sleeve for you.
Well, I offer hope. I know you can reach your goal. I lost 100 pounds. I wish I hadn't had 100 pounds to lose, but I did, and now I am putting everything I learned to the best possible use by sharing it with you. I changed my definition of healthy food and re-calibrated my idea of what it means to eat "a-lot" or to walk "far".
It is easy to read a book on weight loss in a day or two. I am a speed reader, so I can breeze through a whole 30 day plan in about two hours. All the while I am thinking, this is it, this time I can follow the plan perfectly and reach my goal. But whether you fail or succeed is something outside the pages of the book.
Any plan has the potential to help you lose weight.
I've re-read books on diet, fitness, and nutrition having lost over one hundred pounds, and amazingly though the words are the same -- the recommendations that were so unhelpful to me at that heavier weight make perfect sense to me now.
I have spent thousands of hours, whole decades of my life thinking about how to lose weight. It is tempting to try to come up with a catchy hook, some way of organizing my thought that follows a neatly outlined step by step path. But losing a lot of weight happens over many months and sometimes over many years, and this book will be just one of a thousand of sources you draw on to reach your finish line.
With that in mind, I recommend flipping through the pages with the intent to find the truth that speaks to you. The truth that sparks something in you that says, "I could do that." or maybe just, "I'm not alone."
For me, I am constantly looking for new ways to re-ignite the spark.
Sometimes I come across an idea in a magazine article, a conversation. Today, I found the spark in a book. It was actually a spark of anger because there was a skinny guy asking me all these questions about why I am over-weight, and I'm not. I am at a healthy weight but I was curious about his plan. If I had read it at a heavier weight I might have felt bad about myself. Having already attained what he was offering, I was able to just tune into his voice. I am sure there are people who are just waiting for his message, and they are hearing something hopeful in it that I am deaf to.
Tonight we ordered a pizza for dinner and I was starving. I ordered a medium thick crust pizza half cheese (for our very picky four year old) and half pepperoni, black olive and mushroom for my husband and I. One look at the pizza and I went straight for the fridge. I pulled out the medium size box of mixed greens, a can of kidney beans and the bottle of balsamic dressing. I grabbed a large plate and piled over half of the 5 oz box on the dish (for those of you who aren't able to visualize five ounces of mixed greens, it would fill a large measuring cup). I added half a can of kidney beans and a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. Once I had finished the salad, I took a half slice of pizza and ate it. Then, still hungry I finished off the rest of the salad. I feel satisfied and proud of myself. I know myself, and I have no willpower when I am super hungry. But I don't need willpower when I have good habits to draw upon.
Back at my heaviest, I could have (and did) eat a whole medium pizza all by myself... and still want more. Now 1/2 a slice and I am content?! How is it possible? Well, I learned a lot about how my mind works and I have written down my experiences and observations with the intention of helping you.
Weight loss is a winding road - but each step is a chance to make a better choice.
With every bite you are building who you are.
If you are starting by making a commitment to eat more fruit and vegetables then you are already moving in a better direction.
You were able to gain weight - you are able to lose it.
There is no question in my mind; you can reach a healthy weight.
That is my wish for you... and with that let's begin by dreaming.
Your Friend,
Jennifer Johnson
I am tired of reading diet books that have chapter after chapter about why their plan is different or better than any other diet book.
You already know everything you need to know to lose all the excess weight you have gained. It may not feel like it to you now but it is true, and it is a good thing.
If you are serious about wanting to lose weight, then before you spend time reading this blog, I'd rather you spend a minute figuring out which of these foods you have in your house:
Fruits
Apples, bananas, oranges, grapes, or any other fresh fruit you love.
Vegetables:
Lettuce, carrots, celery, cucumber, kidney beans. broccoli, tomato, asparagus, or any other vegetables you love.
If you have none of the above... you would be willing to add them to whatever you are currently eating? Once you have these foods in your fridge begin at your next meal or snack trying one of the following two suggestions.
Option One: Prior to eating your normal breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or eating your next normal snack... Eat an apple.
Or you can substitute a banana, orange, grapefruit, plum, pear, strawberry or any other fresh fruit you love. By fresh fruit I am suggesting that you don't pick a dried fruit or canned fruit.
Option Two: Prior to eating your normal breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or eating your next normal snack... Eat a salad.
Eat at least one cup of lettuce and any of the other raw vegetables you'd like on it. Don't use a store bought dressing. You can pick either balsamic or red wine vinegar or lemon juice. Skip any of the non-raw vegetable toppings like croutons and olive oil.
Once you are doing these two things, you can continue to read on.
Ok, if you are anything like me, you checked off the items as I listed them, contemplated going to the store at the next convenient moment and continued to read on so you could see what else I have up my sleeve for you.
Well, I offer hope. I know you can reach your goal. I lost 100 pounds. I wish I hadn't had 100 pounds to lose, but I did, and now I am putting everything I learned to the best possible use by sharing it with you. I changed my definition of healthy food and re-calibrated my idea of what it means to eat "a-lot" or to walk "far".
It is easy to read a book on weight loss in a day or two. I am a speed reader, so I can breeze through a whole 30 day plan in about two hours. All the while I am thinking, this is it, this time I can follow the plan perfectly and reach my goal. But whether you fail or succeed is something outside the pages of the book.
Any plan has the potential to help you lose weight.
I've re-read books on diet, fitness, and nutrition having lost over one hundred pounds, and amazingly though the words are the same -- the recommendations that were so unhelpful to me at that heavier weight make perfect sense to me now.
I have spent thousands of hours, whole decades of my life thinking about how to lose weight. It is tempting to try to come up with a catchy hook, some way of organizing my thought that follows a neatly outlined step by step path. But losing a lot of weight happens over many months and sometimes over many years, and this book will be just one of a thousand of sources you draw on to reach your finish line.
With that in mind, I recommend flipping through the pages with the intent to find the truth that speaks to you. The truth that sparks something in you that says, "I could do that." or maybe just, "I'm not alone."
For me, I am constantly looking for new ways to re-ignite the spark.
Sometimes I come across an idea in a magazine article, a conversation. Today, I found the spark in a book. It was actually a spark of anger because there was a skinny guy asking me all these questions about why I am over-weight, and I'm not. I am at a healthy weight but I was curious about his plan. If I had read it at a heavier weight I might have felt bad about myself. Having already attained what he was offering, I was able to just tune into his voice. I am sure there are people who are just waiting for his message, and they are hearing something hopeful in it that I am deaf to.
Tonight we ordered a pizza for dinner and I was starving. I ordered a medium thick crust pizza half cheese (for our very picky four year old) and half pepperoni, black olive and mushroom for my husband and I. One look at the pizza and I went straight for the fridge. I pulled out the medium size box of mixed greens, a can of kidney beans and the bottle of balsamic dressing. I grabbed a large plate and piled over half of the 5 oz box on the dish (for those of you who aren't able to visualize five ounces of mixed greens, it would fill a large measuring cup). I added half a can of kidney beans and a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. Once I had finished the salad, I took a half slice of pizza and ate it. Then, still hungry I finished off the rest of the salad. I feel satisfied and proud of myself. I know myself, and I have no willpower when I am super hungry. But I don't need willpower when I have good habits to draw upon.
Back at my heaviest, I could have (and did) eat a whole medium pizza all by myself... and still want more. Now 1/2 a slice and I am content?! How is it possible? Well, I learned a lot about how my mind works and I have written down my experiences and observations with the intention of helping you.
Weight loss is a winding road - but each step is a chance to make a better choice.
With every bite you are building who you are.
If you are starting by making a commitment to eat more fruit and vegetables then you are already moving in a better direction.
You were able to gain weight - you are able to lose it.
There is no question in my mind; you can reach a healthy weight.
That is my wish for you... and with that let's begin by dreaming.
Your Friend,
Jennifer Johnson
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