So we talked about everyone reading a book I feel is extremely important to becoming in charge of your life. It is Are You Ready! by Bob Harper. I have started reading it again and have learned more just in the first few pages. We truly need to love and accept ourselves for who we are now, so that we can move on. He helps us make the mind--body connection so that we can get the weight off and keep it off. Everyone, please try to read this book. I feel it will help you in more ways than you know. There is freedom in following his plan.
Also, I am so happy to hear that people are trying to make changes. Remember, small steps lead to big changes. I recently hit a plateau and was trying hard to break it. I kept fluctuating up and down a few pounds, which was so frustrating. So I became more diligent in my food journal, and put more effort into my workouts. I tried to keep my stress down and feel my feelings instead of eating them. I finally broke through that plateau and dropped the 6 pounds I had been trying to lose for 4 weeks. It finally just came off. I tell you this, not to make you upset, but to let you know that it is truly possible. We can do this! If you guys have any questions, please ask me. I love to help people and to talk about it.
In this book does Bob tell you how to fix the way of thinking? I have turned to food for as long as I can remember to comfort me. With everything else in my life that I can't control, food has been the one thing that has never disappointed me, (until I step on the scale). What can I replace food with?
ReplyDeleteCamille,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great question. We all feel anxiety when we start something new and so we tend to need familiar comforts to try and make the transition go smoothly. But Bob wants you to connect your heart and mind so that you can make a permanent, lasting change. Food isn't the enemy. We have to face our baggage, otherwise we are just giving it power over us. I found in my life, that I had to face some scary stuff in my past and overcome some things I didn't even know was wrong with me because I kept telling myself everything was fine. I had to have a 3rd party look at my life and tear it apart. That was a huge turning point for me. My weight was a battle scar I was carrying and I wasn't going to wear it anymore. We have to move beyond our fear and not blame others for where we are. We have to take responsibility for ourselves and put us first. We are going to make this big change gradually. You can still eat the foods you love, but in smaller portions and add in our fruits and veggies, plus make sure we are drinking enough. When you get in a situation where you find yourself reaching for food and you know it's not a meal time, you need to stop and think about what you are doing. Then we need to NOT react, just feel those feelings. Then you need to connect to that place of power. Remember why you are doing this. We all reach for food when we're bored, tired, scared, anxious, frustrated, etc. So you have to acknowledge why you are reaching for the food and then face those feelings. You replace the food with something that will help you. Drink some water, walk out of the kitchen, count to 10, read something, ask yourself if you are really hungry or if you are just mad because of something that just happened. Journaling is a great way to get your feelings out. You can always burn it later. This book will walk you through the steps of figuring out what is holding you back and then facing some of your past and moving forward. Letting go of anger is a wonderful way to bring power into your life. No longer will the anger have power over you. I hope this helps. It is hard to condense what I want to say, so let me know if this didn't answer your question.