Last month Frederic and I spent a beautiful Saturday together at the zoo.  All of the animals were so beautiful and amazing to me.  We walked by the elephants and I was in awe of these divine creatures.  Frederic and I were discussing how powerful and strong these elephants are, and how amazing it is that they don’t break out of their environment.  I then remembered the story I heard about elephants.

When elephants are very young and not as massive and strong, the trainers at the circus will tie them down with a very strong chain.  They struggle and struggle trying to get away, until they come to the conclusion that there is no way of breaking free.  As the elephant becomes massive in size and strength, it could easily break away from the chains, but it doesn’t bother.  It only remembers how much it tried in the past and how painful the struggle was.  Therefore, the elephant never even attempts to escape again.  It completely gives up.  The elephants can then be tied down with a very small and thin rope, because it has already been conditioned that it is futile to try to get away.

Do you do this in your own life?  As a young child, you may have felt tied down by your parents and their expectations of you.  You may have attempted to try to make them happy and gain their approval.  Since you couldn’t make them happy, you may have conditioned yourself to believe that you were a failure and therefore powerless.  You were conditioned to believe in your limitations and that there was no breaking free.  Maybe your thick chain was your struggle with abundance and success.  Maybe it was a struggle with relationships.  Whatever chain held you back, and then you can make a decision and free yourself today.  You forgot the massive power that you have and that you can break free from what binds you.  We can’t explain to an elephant how he can easily break free from what is holding him back, but as humans, we have the capacity to become free of our past conditioning.

I have included an activity sheet that will really allow you to get in touch with the part of you that is already powerful and free.  With the Law of Attraction, what you focus upon expands, so focus on breaking free from the limiting conditioning.  It really is time to realize that there is nothing holding you back anymore.  You have the power to create your life the way you want it.  If you want more abundance and success, you can have it.  If you want to create your ideal relationship, you can!  Whatever you felt held you back in the past, was just the past.  This moment right now is the first moment of the rest of your life.  You get to choose and start over right now.  What are you going to choose?

Christy Whitman

Best-Selling Author/Speaker/Certified Law of Attraction coach

Focus 28 Empowerment Expert

www.christywhitman.com

Best Seller of Perfect Pictures:  An Inspirational book for Those Who Like It Perfect, The 7 Essential Universal Laws: www.7essentiallaws.com

Founder of the Quantum Success Coaching Academy, Co-Founder of The Mother Daughter Empowerment Summit

Have you ever had someone judge you?  Of course you have.  You are human!  Have you ever had someone judge you for the something that you did?  Again…human!  Maybe you made a mistake, got angry and raised your voice, did something inappropriate, or didn’t do something that someone else expected of you.  What did you do with that judgment?  What did you do with that self-judgment?  I know in the past whenever I made a mistake, or raised my voice out of frustration or impatience and I would be shamed or judged for it, I would turn on myself.  I would criticize and beat myself up.  It would affect myself esteem, and I would feel totally disempowered (one of the lowest vibrations on the planet!).

I recently had a situation in which I was judged for something by someone really close to me.  This time, something was different.  I caught myself starting to shame myself for not being perfect.  I heard that inner critic start to beat me up and I said “No!”  I took a stance and said, “I won’t go to shame and guilt!  I am a human being and sometimes I will make mistakes, or do something that is not ‘typical Christy’, but the beauty of me is that I am always willing to take responsibility and apologize when I am wrong.  I am human and I will probably make more mistakes in the future.  But I always learn from each and every mistake that I make.  I choose to learn through joy and not pain, but no one is perfect, and neither am I!

It is unrealistic to think that you have to be perfect all the time.  When you find yourself in a situation like this, instead of judging or criticizing yourself, forgive yourself.

What is judgment?  Judgment is when you want someone or something to be different than it is.  When you are judging yourself or others you are not practicing the Law of Allowing.  Judgment is the opposite of the Law of Allowing.  When you are judging, you are in resistance.

Practice judging nothing!  Catch yourself when you are judging yourself, another, or a situation.  Ask yourself, “What do I want to be different about this person, situation, or myself?”  Then focus on what you would like the situation to be like.  Focus on how you would like a person to relate to you.  Figure out what you want to be different about yourself, and then focus on what it is you do want.

Judgment is painful for everyone!  Practice allowing instead.  You will be much happier and you will feel free!  Freedom connects you to your Divine Self where true joy exists.

Christy Whitman

Best-Selling Author/Speaker/Certified Law of Attraction coach

Focus 28 Empowerment Expert

www.christywhitman.com

Best Seller of Perfect Pictures:  An Inspirational book for Those Who Like It Perfect, The 7 Essential Universal Laws: www.7essentiallaws.com

Founder of the Quantum Success Coaching Academy, Co-Founder of The Mother Daughter Empowerment Summit

How reliable is your source of spiritual strength?

This is a question that I had not considered until I coupled the event of writing this article with losing my Internet access. My daily activities of work are dependent upon a functioning high-speed internet service; when it is unavailable my workday can come to a screeching halt. It’s something that I usually never give a second thought to. When I need to send and email, I open my Outlook and compose a message. When I need to contact someone in my office, I open an Instant Messenger dialogue box and begin typing. I place and receive calls all day on my voice over IP phone and have grown to trust that it will be available when I need it.

Come to think of it, I very rarely think about my access to the outside world until it is not available. Then I frantically begin the troubleshooting process to determine if I have lost a connection internally or if this is a bigger problem.

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Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking at a support group meeting. There was a lovely lady that attended the meeting that has been beating up on herself because she had not lost her weight as fast as some others who had surgery. To add fuel to the fire, even some of her friends had been telling her that she should have lost more weight by now. Can you imagine how you would feel if this happened to you? Perhaps it has!

Please know that everyone loses weight at a different pace. Having a strong support system is very important. You need people around you who will encourage and support all that you do; not only about bariatric surgery, but with life in general. This is one of the reasons we like to encourage you to go to support groups in your area to find like-minded people who can understand the highs and lows you may be going through.

Unfortunately, people tend to get their mind focused and stuck on what they do not want, instead of keeping their focus on the end result that they do want. I know you have heard it said many times, many ways, and it is true…your thoughts do become your reality!

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Food is a mood-altering, mood-creating, and mood-fixing substance. Hardly anyone in our culture eats simply to live. Further, since we are creatures of habit, if some smart person were to follow us and record when and what we eat, this person would observe definite patterns governing what, where, when, and why we eat. In other words, our food patterns, like other important behavior patterns in our lives, are not random. They are well-ordered and predictable. All important behavior patterns in our lives are supported by neurons in our brains and these patterns constitute mental default settings.

Triggers are biological, social, and emotional circumstances that send signals to our brains, which activate our mental default settings to repeat an already-established pattern or behavior. In order to be successful in our efforts to lose weight, we not only need to follow nutritional and exercise regimens, we also need to identify food triggers and food patterns in our lives to create new behavior strategies for eliminating them. In other words, we need to create new default patterns that sabotage the old ones. Here’s the exciting part: In doing so, over time you will actually be creating new neurons to support your terrific intentions and goals!

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The lifestyle changes accompanying bariatric surgery are tremendous. A strong support system is highly encouraged. Setting yourself up with a good team, including your surgeon, nurse, dietitian, exercise physiologist and psychologist to help support you on your journey is key to your long-term weight loss success. Many of my pre and post-surgery patients who struggle with eating disorders, obesity and weight issues in general, actually have a greater understanding and knowledge base of good nutrition than the general population does. However, knowing something on an intellectual level does not necessarily result in healthy choices. For those of you who can relate to this, it can be beneficial to understand why the psychological component of successful long-term weight loss may just be your missing link.

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Let’s face it. Few of us really love to exercise. I’m certainly one of those people. I don’t even like the word exercise. So I’ve decided to pretty much banish that word from my life. I figured that if I didn’t like the word, it was probably making the activity less attractive as well. So I decided to replace the word with movement. Movement I can do. I have to move to do anything – make dinner, take a shower, give a presentation, drive, whatever. I can’t dislike the word movement because it’s something I need to do in order to do anything else. If I couldn’t move, I’d have a severely restricted life, and after all, this whole weight loss thing is intended to remove some of the restrictions from my life. So, I go with the word movement. 

I move everyday, but I still have to push myself to move even more in an efficient way to help me reach my goals. That requires rationalization – the positive kind, not the kind that results in skipping the treadmill in favor of grazing in the kitchen. I first try to remind myself that moving doesn’t hurt, and in fact it makes me feel better. It also builds and tones my muscle which helps to reduce my fat stores and allows my clothes to fit better. It oxygenates my system which helps my skin look brighter and healthier. It reduces stress, anxiety, and depression, and that makes me feel better too. It can lower blood pressure and cholesterol, help regulate blood sugar, and strengthen my heart. And, it makes me a little stronger so I can haul more luggage through airports. Everyday I have to go through this little litany of reasons to motivate me to move more. Some days it just doesn’t work, but most days it does, especially if I put on some rockin’ 80’s dance music. 

The moral of the story here is that you just have to move. Don’t think of it as exercise, it’s just movement, and we can all do that one way or another. Every burned calorie counts so find a way to move more each day, and rock on!

By Julie Janeway, BBA, MSA, JD, ABD/PhD

The dreaded plateau!
 

Ok, it is inevitable we are human beings …one’s weight is never stagnant. She did not loose 1 ounce this week…

It is impossible to maintain one weight number.  For example, if your weight is 156 lbs., your weight may fluctuate throughout the day 156 in the am, then 158 in the evening. This week my client hit a plateau, no weight loss. What I tried to explain is that although the scale is not registering your efforts, that does not mean the work and the loss of fat is not continuing on the inside.
       

I would like to compare it to a building. White Plains New York is about 5 minutes from my house. They most recently changed the landscape by adding a new high-rise apartment complex. What is so interesting is that the construction team worked on this project for 23 months, clearing the existing foundation, setting a new one, setting the beams etc. for over 1 1/2 years. Then, what seamed like magic they put up one floor a month. What is my point?  Well, clearing the old, paper work, getting permits, designing, and I’m sure other major obstacles all take place.  They reached a “plateau” and it made it feel like nothing was happening on the outside. But, in actuality, teams of workers were strategizing and moving mountains behind close doors.
       

Another very positive way to approach a plateau during a weight loss phase is to understand how our bodies are designed.  For example, homeostasis will educate and reassure you when the weigh in is a disappointment. Whether one is morbidly obese or under weight, the body is designed to maintain balance for your current weight.  Try to understand that it may be in your body’s best interest to slow the process so that all functions of the body have adjusted to the new lower body weight.  If one week you hit a plateau, then the next week you lose 1/2 a pound, then the next week you hit a plateau again, by the 4th week the scale registers a 4 pound loss, it does not mean necessarily that the weight was lost the 4th week.

Try to look at it from another perspective. Perhaps during a plateau phase, one is “under construction” and when the scale actually shows the new registered lower weight number, that is the equivalent to the floor being up, solid and ready to admire. Point is that all phases are important. The body is a work of art in progress. Even maintaining a weight range of 1-3 pounds is a victory.  So, the next time you hit the dreaded plateau, embrace it and celebrate the “under construction” phase. Do not use it as an excuse to overeat and start the diet Monday script syndrome.
     

Pledge to honor yourself, continue to make better food choices, exercise daily and always remember, “Patience is a virtue”.  The reason this became a saying is because it is true!!! Until the next update!! Happy eating, exercising, planning, construction, or___________(you fill in the blank)!!

By Lisa Avellino

Focus 28 Fitness Expert

www.focus28wellness.com

Growing up is a challenging proposition. Do you remember the Presidential Physical Fitness Award? The desire to meet the minimal standards was high. I wanted that patch. The pressure to excel above your peers was enormous. I don’t clearly remember all of the activities that were required to achieve this coveted award that was ‘actually signed by the President.’ I do, however, remember having to do pull-ups.

As I recall, the evaluation for the award was always during the hottest time of the year at the most humid time of the day, whenever that was. In theory it seemed so easy. Grab the bar, pull yourself up until your chin was above the bar, and repeat this six times. The PE coach was granted the honor and privilege of documenting the results and recommending the athletes for the award. On this day, everyone was the coach’s best friend. The evaluation to measure one’s fitness on a national level, event when the first score was tallied.

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We bariatric professionals have the good fortune to be involved in patient care at a very exciting time in the history of weight loss surgery and lifestyle enhancement.  I felt this positive vibe yesterday at the Walk from Obesity, Sunday, September 28, 2008 at Riverside Park on the West Side of New York City.  The event was attended by a variety of people, professionals and patients (or potential patients) alike.  There was excellent product and service support from many bariatric industry saavy businesses at the core of bariatric patient care and long term maintenance success.

Focus 28 Wellness has an incredible gift and force of nature named Laura Preston who was the keynote speaker at the Walk.  She is a gastric bypass patient of Dr. Philip Weber and our program, New York Bariatrics, from 2004.  Laura now travels the country as a motivational speaker and representative of Focus 28 and all of the products and services they offer that support a bariatric friendly lifestyle.  She had the crowded captivated by her energetic, yet graceful presence.  As the Walk began, the motivation and commitment was all around us and spurred us on, the hundreds of us at the event, to be one movement toward a healthier and greater quality of life.

Again, the bariatric community of professionals is providing better care and guidance than ever.  Do your research and find a bariatric program that is right for you.  Then be sure to follow up with bariatric positive support service, medical follow-up dietary recommendations with exercise and bariatric friendly foods and supplements that are found right here on www.focus28wellness.com/lori

Stay in touch!!

Lori Nevins, LCSW

New York Bariatrics

http://www.homanmd.com/index.htm