Bikini body

Dear Energy Lady,
Is there a way to use energy to lose weight fast?   I want to have a bikini body by July 4.

Signed,
In a Hurry

Dear Hurried,
Yes, there are some things you can do energetically to lighten up in a short period of time.   Because this is an important topic, I'll cover some of it here, and then address it again in future blogs.

The first thing is to remember that your body does not know the difference between something you're merely thinking about and an actual experience.  So if you imagine eating a warm, fudgy brownie, you will start to salivate and you will release insulin, even if there is no brownie available.   And here's the problem:  in the absence of sugar, insulin stores fat.  So the more you think about and resist that chocolate brownie, the harder it will be to lose weight because you're actually storing more fat just by thinking about it.   So it's really true when people say,  "I gain weight just thinking about food."

So try this:  Instead of resisting the foods you want, eat them in small amounts, but really stop and savor every bite.  Let the food fully satisfy you.  Take in its aroma, its flavor.  Really, truly let each little bite sink in.  In other words, use your energy to fully enjoy its energy.  You'll probably find that it doesn't take much to make you happy, and then you stop thinking about it entirely.  This allows your metabolism to do its wonderful work, and the impact of the so-called "bad" food is transformed.
(This doesn't mean, though, that you can just eat a bunch of junk food and expect to lose weight.  But you should discover that if you stop eating mentally and start eating and enjoying for real, you eat less and get more energy and pleasure from what you're eating, which makes the energy exchange between you and the food work better.)

Along with this, examine your self-talk about food so you can see what you're creating with your thoughts, feelings and words.  In my "Fullistic Weight Loss" workshops, I've had people say things like, "I gain weight the second I go off my diet"  or "Weekends always make me fat"  or "I can never lose weight."  It's not surprising that their experiences mirror these beliefs.  

So change your self-talk, and practice it often throughout the day.  Try things like, "I enjoy food that empowers me and my life"  or "I feel great after I eat"  or "I have plenty of energy to use for whatever I want"  or "I am satisfied with my choices at the table and everywhere else."

Finally, remember that people HATE to diet.   We are not designed to be losers, and evolutionarily, we are designed to hold on to resources that keep us alive.   So stop focusing on food and start focusing on gaining happiness in your life.  Because here's the surprise:  the more happiness you gain in life, the more weight you'll lose. 

More on this later this week.

Love,
EL

Speeding up weight loss

Dear Energy Lady,
I saw your earlier blog about gaining happiness to lose weight, but I'm wondering if there's anything else I can do to speed up the process.  My best friend is getting married in August, and I'm the maid of honor.  I'd love to fit into a size 6 dress!

Signed,
Trying for skinny

Dear Trying,
Let me tell you a true story that can give you another idea.  A friend of mine was always struggling with her weight, and she, like you, wanted to be a size 6.  She dieted and exercised, but nothing worked for long.  She'd lose weight, only to gain it all back.

Then one day she was at a seminar, and the facilitator asked each participant to select a partner.  So she choose someone she thought was a size 6.  But when the facilitator asked the group to hug their partner, she thought, "Actually, she feels a little bony to me."

Then the facilitator had them switch partners.  This time, she found herself with someone more "ample."  When she hugged this partner, she thought, "Ahh!  This feels much better."

Suddenly, she heard a question pop into her head:  "Why is it so important to me to be a size 6--esp. when I have to beat myself up to do it?"  So she stopped agonizing over every single thing she ate, and  exercised to please herself, not others.

With all her resistance to her own state of being gone, and with the love of herself clear, the weight started to drop off.  She lost about 30 pounds, and found herself at a comfortable size 10.

The point is that resistance of any kind lowers your vibration, which can contribute to the weight sticking to you.  So ask yourself:  why do I want to be a size 6?  Explore what you want and what you're resisting, and you'll likely sense where you've been blocked.  Remove the blocks in your thinking, and whatever else you're doing to lose weight will likely work better and faster.

Love,
EL

Learning from The Biggest Loser

I was sitting at the kitchen table tonight, doing some email while "The Biggest Loser" was on TV. This is only the second time I've ever seen the show, but I was taken with one 200+ pound woman whose trainer had her running at 8.5 on a treadmill, and wouldn't allow her to touch the rails as she did it. She kept saying (crying really), "I can't! I can't!" as she was doing it. The trainer got mad at her and made it her do it again...and again. She kept saying that she couldn't do it, as she was doing it. So finally, he said, "don't ever tell me you can't do it" and let her stop. And if she had realized it, she would have said, "Look, I'm not having any fun here, but fine--I'll do it because I am doing it which obviously means that I can." (and P.S. she lost 5 pounds in a week)

And I started thinking about places or things in my day or week where I say "I can't," when I really mean, "I'd prefer to do something else." But then comes the big question: If I preferred the other, then how come I'm not doing it? If I have to do something I'd prefer not to, then I have a choice: I can do it while saying that I can't or I won't, which is really ridiculous, or I can simply do it and get it done as quickly and simply as possible without the resistance.

Here's what the Energy Lady would say:

"Dear Energy Lady,

I'm getting tired of people telling me what I should or should not do. But a lot of the time, I do what they ask just so I don't have to hear them whine. Any advice? Signed, Tired"

Dear Tired,

Yes. Get an alarm clock and set it for every moment when you hear whining...not from others, but in your own head. As you're doing the thing you're saying you don't want to do, let the bells go off so you can realize that you're already doing it, so why make it harder on yourself? Or--and here's a novel idea--say no or ask someone else to do it who wants to do it. That'll energize everyone!