Step 4 Vision Board

Step 4 Vision Board

How often do you take off on a trip without some idea where you are going? And if we did then how would we know that we were "there" when we had not predetermined any sort of destination?

If there is one thing in life I have learned, is that without some sort of idea where we are going then we tend to just flounder around aimlessly never getting very far from where we started. A few years ago I heard of something called a vision board, this board serves as your road map for where you want to be in your life. This tool works hand in hand with the theory of the Law of Attraction. If you are not farmiliar with the Law of Attraction it goes a little like this; What you believe you will receive. Yes just that simple! If you believe you are a fat pig that can't get out of your way then guess what...you are a fat pig that can't get out of your way! On the other hand if you believe that you are a fit, strong athlete than you are one! Whatever your personal truth is, is what you will become.

How many times in your life have you thought a certain thought about yourself and it came true? Mostly we remember all the bad things like.."I am fat" or "I can't do that". I am here to tell you that whatever your mind believes becomes your personal truth. So change that inner dialogue to what you want for yourself and you will begin to shift into a different place where those dreams become reality.

For years I pictured myself being a runner, but I always said "I can't do that cause my breath won't allow me to do it" or "My boobs are way to huge, and it hurts to run". For quite some time I have had thoughts and pictures of me running in my head, I have even had dreams where I saw myself running. And now I find myself running, yes all 270 pounds! I am here to tell you whatever you believe you will receive, no matter how big or small or good or bad it is!

One way of bringing these thoughts into reality is creating a vision board, I have had a vision board hanging in my bedroom for years. It changes as what I want out of life changes. Whatever it is I want to focus on I paste it on the board and place it on the wall so I can stare at it a few min before I go to bed and it is the first thing I see when I wake up. The most important thing I do is put out the feelings of already being in that moment of time where I have reached my goal. If you picture yourself at the finish line and feel the feelings that you will feel at that moment you are drawing them to you with the laws of attraction.

Whether you believe in the law of attraction really makes no difference, what do you have to lose by picturing yourself where it is you want be in the end. Putting these feelings out in the universe can do you no harm I assure you! The more you feel them the more you crave them and that feeling is the fuel that pushes you closer to your goal.

Tips on how to make you vision board:

1. Go get a bunch of old magazines you love to read and look at. As you turn the pages cut out what catches your eye, Pictures, Words, whatever jumps out at you. Once you have a bunch of things cut out start pasting them on the paper. Start in the middle, put your ultimate goal in the middle and surround it with the thoughts and feelings that will help you to reach this ultimate goal.

Now this vision board is not to share, unless you want to share. Allowing others to look deep into our dreams and goals sometimes is not a good thing. Other people tend to be a tad bit pessimistic and if we are not careful then we will give them the power to plant the seed of doubt in our mind. By allowing this to happen we are putting our goal much further away. Remember YOU are the one who has to believe, some of the greatest people in history were terrific dreamers and they did not accomplish great things by letting the opinion of others stop them. So keep this vision to yourself until you have a strong sense of it becoming your reality. I will share my vision board with you as it does not matter what anyone says because it is my current reality and no one can take that away:)

Step 4 Moving into a New Space

Step 4 Moving into a New Space

Over the last 13 weeks I feel as though I have moved into a new space, not just with my physical body but most importantly with my mental status. I remember just a few short weeks ago as I would workout, my feet and legs hurt so bad, with every step I just wanted to stop but my mind kept me going with the thoughts of where I would soon be. In my mind I felt like I could just take off running but my physical body just did not allow that to happen, every time I worked out there was a sense of disappointment that would surface because of the limitations I was faced with. I quickly had to push those thoughts aside and keep telling myself that this soon would pass and my physical body would catch up to the body that I envisioned in my mind, the body that I knew was there.

I realize I have only lost 30 pounds, but I am telling you I feel as though I am walking with a new set of legs. I am running on the treadmill for goodness sakes! There is an amazing feeling when your body catches up to your mind, a feeling that is indescribable!

Now for my mind, I am not going to sit here and tell you that every day is filled with joy because I have mysteriously solved my emotional eating issue, and it has vanished with each pound lost, because that would just be a lie. I still struggle with this at times, but there is a few differences 1. I acknowledge my behavior  2. I fix the problem rather than drown it in food  3. Most importantly, when I am faced with one of these moments I make better choices because I believe that I deserve a better life;)

“When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach your goal, you do not change your decision to get there.”
Zig Ziglar

Step 3 Assign 15 Surviving the Holidays!

Step 3 Assign  15 Surviving the Holidays!

It has been 11 weeks since the beginning of this journey, I am so glad that I have had a few weeks to get into my routine before the holidays rolled around. Note to self: never begin a plan in the middle of a holiday season!! Having a few weeks to settle into a routine and some success on the scale has given me the confidence to know that I have the strength to get through this without disaster.

My entire family loves food, we center our whole gatherings around it. There is one Thanksgiving I remember in particular, it was the first one I had after my 100 pound weightloss. The last time I lost my weight was very different than this time. Last time there was no room for error, I put restrictions and limitations on everything I did. If I ate one thing that was considered "indulgent" I would pay with the imminent guilt that would follow for days.  Yes, actual days of punishing myself for allowing myself to be weak, (I know now I wasn't "weak" I was only being "human"!) Sad isn't it? The saddest part about this is, many of you know exactly what I am talking about because you have lived it or you are still living it right now.

That particular Thanksgiving I did not indulge in anything I shouldn't have, so there was no guilt, but the reason I didn't indulge was not because of the fear of guilt that would follow, it was because of the promise I made to myself. I made myself a promise to put my focus on the conversations and the people that were around me. Really focus on listening and being present with my family, afterall we don't get a chance to see each other very often, so it is important to spend time REALLY listening and enjoying the conversation.

The next thing I promised myself I would not do, was stand and eat, I have a habit of snacking at the food table and not even realizing it. I would only eat from a plate while sitting.

In the end I had the best Turkey day ever! I felt as though I really connected with my family and at the same time I ate far less calories.

So this year I vow to do the same things, only I am releasing myself of any guilt that may follow my dinner choices. Not allowing the guilt is the hardest but most rewarding part of this journey for me.

Assignment:
1. Only sit and eat from a plate, do not hover around the snack table.

2. Eat everything you really want, just cut the portion size in half of what you normally would eat.

3. Focus on the conversation and less on the food.

4. Exercise, Exercise, Exercise, there is no better way to get ahead of those holiday pounds then to burn them off! By adding in extra workouts you can increase the chance of staying the same or losing more, even if you allow yourself a few peanut butter balls;)

5.Thanksgiving is only one day, there is no need to overeat the entire weekend! Contain your indulgence in one day if you must do it! Any damage you do on the scale in one day can be taken off immediately with 2-3 days back on your plan. But if you partake in 4 or 5 days of crazy off the wagon behavior then you will see the result when you step on that scale next Thursday.

6. Lastly, don't deprive yourself and most importantly don't allow the guilt to seep in!

I am so grateful for each and every one of you this year, thanks so much for taking this journey with me, Each and every one of you inspire me!!! Gotta go I have a date with the treadmill and a beautiful turkey later on!! xoxoxoxo to you All!!

Step 3 Assign 14 Safety Zone

Step 3 Assign 14  Safety Zone

Remember when you were a young child, the world seemed so scary and terrifying at times? Do you remember what you would do when you felt this way? I do, I would run and find the place that made me feel safe, my mom's arms. I knew that no matter what happened I could count on the safety of my mom's arms, she would some how make everything alright, as a matter of fact I still believe that :) Love you mom!!

This thought was brought to the front of my mind the other night as I felt the feelings of overwhelm sink in. Being so busy and not receiving adequate rest I had become sick, it was the sickest I had been in a very long time. Being so sick for so many days it started to effect my mood and emotions bringing me down to a place where I would normally have a nice binge eating frenzy and move on to the next batch of feelings..guilt...for binging!! So this time I noted my feelings and decided I would do something different, I would go to my "safe place." No, I didn't run to my mommy, lol! I went to my bedroom, I have set myself up with a "safe place" I call it my "no food zone." I don't eat in my bedroom, it is just that simple! I have created a place that when I go there I don't have to worry about what I eat, when I eat it or how much I am going to eat, because I just don't allow it to be in this area.

Assignment 
Everyone needs a place that is a "no food zone" so when you are feeling weak, you can simply go there and feel the safety net of sweet freedom from all the hard choices that we make when faced with temptation.  Create your "no food zone" it may be your car, your bathroom, your bath tub, your basement, or like me... your bed! Where ever it may be just remember when you enter that zone it is safe to release all your fears and breathe easy because food will not follow you into that space. 

Step 3 Assign 13 When your body Talks to you... listen!!

Step 3 Assign 13  When your body talks to you...listen!

Now that we are eating better and moving our bodies, it brings us closer to them so to speak. Bringing all these things into awareness allows us a closeness so we can be aware of all it's needs.

As you know recently I have been very busy, running at a faster pace than normal. My mind kept saying "Nikki slow down, slow down or your going to pay the price." I didn't listen and...well I woke up this morning paying the price, I have a terrible cold. I did not listen to it's warnings and came down sick. This can also happen with exercise or your diet.

If you are dieting and your body craves a certain food then you need to listen to it, even if it is sweets! In the case of sweets, your body is used to having them so cutting them out all together sets it into "SWEETS DT's"!! The best way to fix this is to feed it some sweets..now I mean fruit...not chocolate!!

As for our physical body, when you first start exercising you may feel tight and sore, yes you are going to feel these feelings if you have been living a sedentary lifestyle, this you need to push through. What I am talking about is pain, if you feel actual pain then you need to listen to the warnings and either find a different exercise to perform or seek a professional opinion on what is causing it before you suffer permanent damage.

Assignment
The most important thing here is listen to your body, it will give you signals that you need to change what you are doing, and if you listen and change your behavior then you can avoid a lot of unwanted circumstances.

Step 3 Assign 12 Chris Powell is a genius

Step 3 Assign 12  Chris Powell is a genius!!

 Have you ever seen the show with Chris Powell, Extreme Makeover, Weightloss Edition? Chris is the fabulous trainer that specializes in extreme cases of obesity, oh yes and he is easy on the eyes..lol! I have always admired the way he saw people for who they were on the inside, he cuts through all the outside layers and draws out the inner strength of people, a strength that people did not even know they had. Not only is he one of the most compassionate, motivating, sexy..oops did I say that...person I have ever seen, he has stumbled onto a secret that every person should use when losing weight.

Now I am going to assure you this is so simple that you will not believe that it will work, but I am living proof it did, I practiced it for one week, which was one of the hardest weeks I have had and I still pulled a 3 pound loss!

Keep in mind I am still on Weight Watchers...and loving every moment of it btw...so I am sticking to my points but I have switched it up a bit. Chris says that you should alternate high carb and low carb days. Now, I must clarify here VERY IMPORTANT, when I say high carb, I mean, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, maybe a baked potato, not a cheesecake or a snickers bar! And when I say low carb, I am referring to a protein shake, or lean meats and beans and lots of veggies filled with protein, I am not talking about firing up the grill and eating loads of steak and bacon for supper!

What happens to your body you ask? Very simple, on your higher carb day , you are feeding your body and this kicks your metabolism into high gear. Then the next day is followed by a low carb day which switches your body into fat burning mode! Yes it is actually that simple, high carb, low carb, the science makes perfect sense. I don't know why it didn't occur to me sooner because it is essential to have fast metabolism to burn calories and doing this cycle will do that. All week I practiced that method even knowing that my choices were "ok" I honestly was not expecting to lose, I was at best hoping to stay the same. If you look back my last two weigh ins had decreased to 1.4 pounds, this is a sign that your body has gone into starvation mode due to dieting. Changing my behavior to Chris's cycle gave my metabolism the boost it needed to burn fat once again.

Thank you Chris Powell!! Muah!!

Assignment
High carb day low carb day. I am not talking adkins here, I am talking sensible foods here and if you are on Weight Watchers continue to count your points and I know your will be successful!!

Step 3 Assign 11 Hanging on By a Thread

Step 3 Assign 11   Hanging on By a Thread!!

That is exactly what I am doing...hanging on by a thread right now, it is a strong one cause my eye is still on the prize but I am not lying when I say it is tough for me right now. This is when I would have totally cashed in my chips, given up for good. My life has hit a very busy time, a time when there is so much to do that I can barely think. At times like these I would usually make negative choices due to the lack of time and the need to relieve my stress.

My behavior has not been by no means perfect over the last week but I have not reverted back to my old ways which makes me feel very successful. I have not had much time for meal preparation and my exercise routine has been mildly interrupted making me a bit nervous to get on the scale tomorrow. On the other hand I think about all the extra muscles I have been using while building the wall at work and moving my office. Then I think about the food choices I have been faced with and realize that I have been making smarter decisions despite the circumstances. So all in all, I think things will be ok, and if it isn't then I am determined to be ok with it. After all I was the one that told you all that the scale is just a number it is not what defines who we are.   The only thing that had changed since the last time that I told you that is...I really believe it this time...I call that progress!!

Assignment
When faced with a tough situation don't run the the fridge, pat yourself on the back and make a smart decision, one that will make you feel really good about yourself in the long run.