You may have thought that the one week challenge was just a fun little list of things to do but I had some reasoning behind the challenges I issued. This one week alone has given you the tools needed to get healthy.
Day 1 - Facial: My intent was to start off with a little pampering - taking a moment only for yourself. Losing weight means you will have to be a little selfish at times. Over time you will need less and less time and energy to get healthier but at first it will need to be a top priority and that is ok. You are worth it (no quoting of make up commercials intended;)!
Day 2 - Read something uplifting: Elevating your mood (emotion) is so helpful when losing weight. There are no good words tied to "diet" but that doesn't need to be your experience just because it is the accepted experience. Whatever you can do to lift your spirits while losing weight will be returned a hundred times over.
Day 3 - Write: Writing down your food or your emotions or whatever seems to be everyone's least favorite part of "dieting". I guess, for now, rummaging through our emotions and feelings is considered unnecessary. We should just be able to discipline our way through the weight loss. But, I am convinced that this part of the process will someday be normal - kinda like how doctors used to do adds for cigarette companies before we all knew better.
Day 4 - Compliment: When you complimented a loved one you did something a little hard but that had a big impact emotionally. When you exercise you should get the same hit of emotion that you got when you blushed - maybe not every single day but more often than not. If you are just going through the motions you are missing out. It is like eating your favorite dessert right after a big chug of scalding hot chocolate. Work out to get that rush. Make this part of your life exciting not drudgery and your likelihood of success increases.
Also, looking outward helps the process. When you are so self centered (rightly so at first), it is easy to go a little cookey. Lifting others is a great way to lift yourself.
Day 5 - Download a song: If you can download a song you can log your food on the computer and studies say that logging alone increases your weight loss. Also, a new song to pump you up is the recipe needed for the exercise blahs.
Day 6 - Smell: The point to this challenge was two fold. First, I wanted you to take some time and think about what you really like. I think sometimes we go through life without really understanding ourselves - especially when we wear our mom hat the majority of the time. The simple act of mindfully picking out a scent works all kinds of magic inside your head. Memories can't help but flash through your mind and a physical reaction happens as well - which leads us to point two. When scent memories were created there was not a lot of work involved yet their imprint is rock solid. The mind has power and if we can tap into that power to help us lose weight than all the better. Chances are the memories that a scent created happened by chance but it doesn't have to be that way to be effective. We can create them. We can "manually" create a good feeling tied with healthy foods and exercise. We can manually create negative feelings tied to foods and activities that are not so good for us. It really does work.
Day 7 - Outfit: No matter who you are or what you look like or how much you weigh, you have assets that are unique to you. You are a one of a kind and at some point (when you bought that item) you knew it. Again, you may have to tap into that feeling manually at first but practice makes perfect. More than a skinny person, we are drawn to people of character and confidence. Taking whatever you are blessed with and "workin' it" is the key to a happy and successful life!
Good luck to all you weight loss buddies. May 2011 be a year you never forget!!
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