Thursday 12 January 2012

Inspiration 365: Day 12

Do you remember reading in Day 1 about my proposed workshop “Nutrition for the New Year”? Well, tonight was the night, and it was wonderful!

Five ladies gathered around my dinner table to discuss nutrition and its effects on weight management. What they weren’t expecting was that for the first 2/3 of the two-hour session, we would hardly talk about food at all.

We all know how to lose weight (or as I like to suggest we say, ‘release weight’, because what do we automatically want to do when we lose something? We want to find it. I digress.) So, we all know how to shed the unwanted pounds, but more often then not those pounds find their way back. We stop attending Weight Watchers meetings, the cleanse is over, the bootcamp wraps up, the holidays arrive, and so on, and so on.

So, what needs to change to promote lifelong, sustainable results? We must analyze our existing blueprints (beliefs, habits), determine if they promote or prevent our ideals, reprogram the ones which prevent, and replace them with ones which promote. Easier said than done.

We discussed cultural, generational, societal, religious and other beliefs which may be holding the realization of our goals at arm’s length. For example, Miss K is Mexican. Her culture, as she expressed, is all about the “Manga! Manga!” Food is Fiesta! Then there’s the whole meat ‘n potatoes way of thinking. Which habits, you may not even be aware of, are holding you back?

We discussed goal setting and goal management, self talk and affirmations, and a favourite suggestion from Dr. Wayne Dyer, how to “Change the way you look at things, (so) the things you look at change.”

We discussed how all emotions are based on either love or fear. When you procrastinate, are feeling guilt/anger/envy… ask yourself “Why am I afraid of this?”, then deal with the fear, not the superficial emotion. Powerful stuff.

Then we began to talk about body composition versus body weight. Would you rather be 140lbs and 30% body fat, or 140lbs and 18% body fat? The scale says the exact same number, but these two bodies look and feel completely different.

Finally, we learned about carbohydrates, proteins and fats, when to eat them, and how to combine them to avoid creating and storing fat.

And we talked about life. These five ladies all came for different reasons. Their motivations for wanting to shed pounds were all unique, and all fascinating. Their questions prompted lively conversation, resulting in many ‘a-ha!’ moments.

As much as these women came to me for guidance and information, they in turn offered me many lessons and much inspiration. What a thoroughly enjoyable experience. One I am certain to repeat in the weeks, months, years ahead.

…What inspired YOU today?

{ Psst… I love to receive feedback on my posts. Please leave your comments whenever you feel inspired to do so! }

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