Drink Less, Live More

As I was driving home last night I heard this song from Kesha and Macklemore - the lyrics really caught my attention - "I wish somebody would have told me, babe that someday, these would be the good old days".  SO true!  How often are you either thinking back to your past, or thinking to your future, but not really staying present in the moment?  I would like to take a look at the three options. Your past is over.  In this moment, it only means what you make it mean - today.  Do you even remember it accurately?  I bet there is a story or two that you may be telling about an event that occurred, and somebody else who was there recalls it entirely differently.  Do you tell the story of your past about how it happened to you - or have you ever considered telling it in a way that you find evidence of how it happened for you ?  Do you look to your past as evidence for what you can or can't do today?  For example - do you tell yourself you h...

It's been one of those weeks.  You see - even though I've been doing this work for some time, and people ahead of me much longer - it never ends.  Well, I guess it ends if you want to stop growing and evolving, but in order to move to the next stage there is always something.  What I mean is - let's say you are setting a goal to begin drinking less.  So you are where you are now, and you have in your mind where you want to go.  We can consider where you want to go the land of rainbows, and butterflies and where as a fellow coach mentioned - where the unicorns have glitter coming out of their booty. But here's the thing - the path there is the work.  Our brains like to be efficient, so any change is  usually uncomfortable.  Its totally ok though, because you can tell your brain you are heading to get yourself some glitter.  You keep taking action, learning, succeeding, taking more action and along the way reminding yourself of the reason...

Are you buffering your life with alcohol?  What I mean is - are you using it as an escape from perhaps the parts that seem to suck.  The long crazy days at work, the kids that just won't stop, the partner that doesn't seem to understand all you do, or certain relationships you just need to make more tolerable.  The question really becomes - do you want to have a life that is only sustainable when you are drinking? Maybe you think you will be deprived if you aren't drinking... or did you ever consider maybe you are feeling deprived because your current experience with life is not what you desire.  We often think we are entitled to always feel good, positive feelings, and so when any feelings of stress, overwhelm, frustration, or anxiety come along we want to escape them.  We don't want to have to feel the negative feelings so we head to the wine bottle.  But the crazy part it is - this doesn't change the cause of your negative feelings.  Your life...

What is the story you tell of your life?  We all have one - some more entailed than others.  How you tell your story of weight loss is important because your brain is very sophisticated, and will always look for evidence to prove your thoughts correct.  So many of us go through life living on default, living unconsciously.  Losing weight is not simply telling your brain how many calories and exercise minutes you need each day.  If that worked we wouldn't have so many people struggling.   Long lasting weight loss comes from telling your brain how to think on purpose, and instruct it on what matters most. Your brains motivation is to avoid pain and seek pleasure.    Remember, I teach your beliefs are simply thoughts you've thought over and over, and now you believe them to be factual.  Your thoughts always trigger your feelings, and you act based on how you feel.  So in order to make changes we need to know what your story is, what y...

Do you wear the "Busy Badge of Honor" ?  The more I learn about being "busy" the more I'm working on deleting the word from my vocabulary.  Everyone's definition of busy differs, but the one thing it has in common is at the end of the day it is simply an optional thought, and one that really serves no upside. I have clients that talk about coming home after a "busy" day and needing a drink to unwind.  Keep in mind - what is busy for you, may not be busy for me, and therefore is a mental construct.  It is simply what you are thinking - "I have to to get x,y, and z done", "After work I need to get dinner and the kids", "My list of things to do includes..", "I'm so busy with everything going on around me".   Being busy does not mean you are being productive.  I encourage you to pay attention this week.  When you find yourself thinking about how "busy" you are pay attention to how you ...

I recently asked "the Googles" what the easiest diets were.  A long list returned - "top diets to follow", "easiest diets ranked", "lose weight fast" - in fact there is even a diet named the DASH diet.  How funny.  So many diets claim to be easy and fast yet we are a society full of people struggling to lose weight and keep it off. What if you thought weight loss was not supposed to be "easy", "fast", or "comfortable".  Our brain doesn't like change and when you are working on losing weight it is about change, it will be uncomfortable, and what if we thought that was ok?  I know, I know, that doesn't sound as fun to sign up for.  Changing your thinking about needing fast, ease, and comfort will be the answer to feeling comfortable in the body you dream of. Your ability to be uncomfortable is directly related to you ability to lose the weight and keep it off. When you are willing to experience what c...

I had a bunch of catching up to do in our garden this weekend, and as I was weeding I was thinking about the work I've done here, and all the gals I'm teaching along the way.  Getting growth from a garden takes work.  It is not always easy, but the bounty is so amazing at the end of the season.  Not only that, I look back on what we've accomplished and feel such pride.  That my friend, is what doing this mind management work is as you move towards feeling more in control of your drinking, and peaceful in your life. Here's how I thought about it this weekend.  Last week was busy at work and I just let the garden go. There were storms and rain and I just didn't pay any attention to it because I allowed work to be a priority.  It became a pattern all week - work trumped the garden and towards the end of the week I didn't even think about it.  Finally on Friday I caught a glimpse of what now looked like a jungle, and  knew if I didn't do somethi...

I just completed the Mindful Eating pack from my Headspace app ( headspace.com ), and it was so interesting to see my level of awareness change throughout the week.   I love all the different packs, but what was interesting about this particular one, was how in line it is with what I teach clients who want to lose weight, and yet I still feel like I learned something new. How often do you actually pay attention to what you are eating?  If I’m keeping it real here, I’m usually shoveling down a salad in my car between appointments.  It is a healthy meal, but not always super mindful.  If you are struggling with losing weight, becoming more aware of your eating, and how you feel, is so important.  So often we just mindlessly eat and then wonder why the scale isn't moving.  I'll let you in on a secret - the reason it is not moving is when you are not eating on purpose to fuel your body you are likely over eating, which is one of the top reasons y...