Drink Less, Live More

The invites are coming in for all the holiday parties - how exciting one may think. For some however, the holidays may be more the season of reasons to drink. I’m not talking about addiction/alcoholism, but if you are trying to cut back, have you taken the time to question your reasons? Do you drink to feel better about losing loved ones during this time of year, or perhaps you think over drinking makes every party more fun? The answer my friend is - you over drink because you have learned to desire alcohol. Fantastic news if you ask me - you have learned how to do this, and you can also unlearn it if you want. The reason some people believe desire is innate is because we seem to do it involuntarily. But really, the way the brain works is, we learn something, repeat it many times, and it is moved from the pre frontal cortex (managing part of the brain) to the low brain, which turns it to a habit. Think about driving, brushing your teeth, picking up a glass - all automatic ...

How is December just around the corner already? Another year almost in the books, and the excitement of a New Year to come. The holiday parties, shopping, and possibly stress, in full swing - how will you deal with it all? This time of year can be a challenge for many who want to lose weight, but it truly doesn’t have to be. How do you want to feel during the holidays? What are your goals to get you through? The key is to not go unconscious during these times. The challenge comes from the thoughts you are having going into the season. The challenge comes from learning to tell a different story about how you enjoy this time of year. Do you find yourself saying things like - “I always gain weight this time of year”, or “It’s a party so I had to eat what they served”, or “I was stressed and wanted that cookie”? If you said yes to any, and if you want different results, I encourage you to consider a new way of thinking this year. We will use the Circumstance as - the holida...

Happy Thanksgiving! So yesterday we discussed the power in planning your food and sticking to your commitment. Today is the day - the food, the family - oh the fun. For some of you the family may drive you to drink - or so you think. I want to encourage you to pay attention to the triggers you find throughout the day which have you reaching for that extra glass, or two, of wine. The tools I share today are for people who want to drink a little less - not a solution to alcoholism, and not preaching abstinence - perhaps consider it the “Goldilocks” of drink plans. The reason we do anything is because of how we think it will make us feel. So here are a couple of questions: What motivates you into action? Your feelings. What causes your feelings? Your thoughts. Want to know a secret? All feelings are available to you at any time - if your feelings come from your thoughts you get to choose the thoughts you want - fantastic news! Now - we are mostly tau...

Tomorrow is the big day - feasting, family, fun. Our brain likes to tell us this is the ONE time of year we can enjoy ALL this food. But is that really true? You can’t get a piece of apple pie next Tuesday? Let’s be honest - it is a fabulous day to enjoy with the ones we love, but it doesn’t have to be ALL about the food. If you are truly committed to losing weight I offer you the best tool ever - and its free - management of your brain. I want to offer you four types of eating, and you decide, on purpose, what will serve you best tomorrow. Decide today - 24 hours in advance, with your pre-frontal cortex (the managing part of your brain) and do not let the primitive brain (picture a toddler throwing a tantrum) tell you you deserve the extra mashed potatoes, extra stuffing, and every piece of pie available because Thanksgiving only happens once a year. Fuel Eating - You eat food that provides your body with high grade nourishment and energy. Most of the time this eating re...

Welcome to Thinking About Drinking Thursday! This is a new topic I will post on for those who are interested in learning the tools to help you drink less. This is not an area of discussion about addiction and/or alcoholism, but instead for those who have decided they have certain goals they want to accomplish in life, and in order to do so, they want to drink less. Who doesn’t love a glass of wine - or two? What are your thoughts when leading up - they may be as simple as - it’s finally 5:00, or - I just want to take the edge off, I’m not comfortable in my body, or - I deserve this - it’s been a long day. But do you ever have those days when you wake up and wish you just didn’t have that last one? What are your thoughts at that point? Perhaps - did I really say that to that person, or how could I have had that much to eat? We drink as a culture - weddings, sporting events, happy hour, wine tastings - so the question to start with is - why do we enjoy is so much as ind...

Welcome to Mindful Weighs Wednesday! Thanksgiving is right around the corner and for many of us the day includes feasting, four day weekends, football games, floats, family reunions, shopping, and more feasting. Isn’t it fascinating the amount of time and energy we put into the feasting part of such a grateful day? And at the end of it all we are usually overtired and stuffed, just like the turkey we put in the oven at the start of the day. As you enter the upcoming week I want to offer an amazing tool you may find helpful. It’s free and you already have it - your brain. Let’s look at what you are thinking when you discuss the holiday. Perhaps some thoughts include the following - - I’m allowed to eat and eat - Everyone eats all day so its acceptable - This food is about family tradition - It’s a holiday All perfectly acceptable thoughts right? But do they serve you in your goal to lose weight? How do you think you would feel when you think each thought? I...

Welcome to Mindful Weighs Wednesday team! Today I would like to take a fresh look at the way you view your current weight - is it through the lens of math or drama? Math is facts - there’s not a lot of drama around a math problem. Losing weight is math - you weigh a number and you want to lose weight. It is simply a number - a fact. The drama comes into play once you start having thoughts about this number, which leads to feelings - perhaps something like shame - that may cause you to engage in activities such as overeating, leading weight gain. You create evidence to prove this thought correct. In order to lose weight you must change what you have been doing, you must change your thoughts. This program is not a diet mentality. It is not about willpower, or resistance - it is about living a conscious life, and becoming aware of the thoughts you choose, learn how the thoughts trigger emotions, which lead you to act in ways that may, or may not serve you. The scale is jus...

Hopefully you remembered to “Fall Back”! The activity of changing back the clocks started me thinking about how we look at time, and how we choose to spend our time. When we are young we are typically very future focused which brings fun and exciting times. We look forward to graduating high school, getting into the college of our choice, finding our dream job, getting married, having kids… and then what? Many of us hit a point in life where we become past focused. We look back to where we’ve been, think about what we missed out on, and stop thinking about there we are going. Time flies and you are the pilot - how do you want to spend it? Did you ever notice how an hour of time in traffic seems so different than an hour enjoying dinner with family and friends? How do you approach the time you have? Do you spend it? Waste it? Lose it? Imagine if you approached time purposely deciding what you want to create. Here is a question to consider - what outcomes to do you want...

Welcome to this weeks Mindful Weighs Wednesday friends! You’ve had a long day at work, the kids still have practice, and you have no idea what is for dinner. You think you are starving, or you “deserve” that cookie. Often times a default to a stressful day is food. A key to losing weight is becoming more aware of knowing the difference between true physical hunger, and eating as a means to feel better. There are sensations of hunger, and feelings of hunger. Do you know the difference, and how often do you take the time to tune in to your body to even pay attention? Sensations begin in the body and send signal to the brain. Examples of sensations include burning, cold, stomach grumbling or body feeling weak. Emotional feelings of hunger start in the brain and send a signal to the body. Emotions are feelings, or vibrations, like lonely, angry, bored or happy. We eat for both reasons, and there is not judgement around this, but in the quest to lose weight it is important t...