8 Tips to getting Fit! Week 6 – Self Appreciation

This is where we start to get into “beyond diet and exercise”… Loving yourself is one of the keys to weight loss. The reason is this, when we engage in negative talk we are actually activating our fight or flight response – we are attacking ourselves. The fight or flight response produces cortisol in our bodies, which is meant to give us extra energy to escape a harmful situation. Cortisol also creates belly fat and so much more – this is where things really start to get interesting, but more on that another time. This week I want to focus on self love and appreciation. This will be a 2 part challenge…

Part 1 – which I found very difficult, is to write down 5 things you like about yourself.  It amazes me how much we beat ourselves up on a daily basis. As I started to do this exercise one of the first things I noticed is all the things I don’t like about myself came flooding into my mind. Honestly for days I was racking my brain to find anything I liked about myself. Then one day as I’m getting a pedi, it came to me. I had to start by looking at things I appreciate about others before I could see my own gifts… I started with my daughter – who is kind, caring and compassionate,  my brother who would give you the shirt off his back, my sisters – fun and funner! The first time I did this exercise was a few years back, today I know and appreciate who I am fully and unconditionally.

Here are my five and are still true today:

1. I am a kind, caring and compassionate person
2. I am fun and sometimes funny
3. I am a GREAT friend
4. 9 out of 10 times I do the right thing
5. I do like who I am

Whew – glad that part is over…

Now onto part 2 – I want you to write down 5 things you did right today, again watch for the negative self talk. It is so easy for our minds to go directly to what we did wrong. For example:

I just ate 10 cookies!  I am so disgusting; I have no self-control, no wonder no one – blah, blah, blah … STOP – take a deep breath… now be positive. Ok, so I ate 10 cookies, it’s done with. I need to move on and focus on my next meal and get it right and maybe think about how to avoid those darn cookies next time. Or Ugh! My pants are getting too tight again! What is wrong with me, why can’t I have more self-control, yada, yada, yada – STOP – breath.  Ok I know why my pants are getting tight and if I don’t like it I should do something about it right? But what? I need to get back on track, make a plan, and take some action ….. etc., etc.

Here is an example of 5 things I did right today – ha, had to do this real time and it was a tad uncomfortable…

1. Prayed for someone who is doing the best they can, even though I didn’t want to
2. Gave a friend a ride because she doesn’t have a car
3. Made someone smile, which made me smile 🙂
4. Stopped some negative self talk
5. Took care of me

Can’t wait to see what you come up with!!