Resolutions and affirmations
Ok, hands up, I need to lose weight. I lost about 3 stones
in 2010, because I dieted for 9 months, eating those ready meals by a
well-known weight loss company. I don’t want to do that again - for a start,
they are full of saturated fats, so my cholesterol levels went up. Secondly, it
wasn’t the lifestyle change I was looking for, because I put all the weight
back on again. Granted, last year I gave up cigarettes, and one would expect a
bit of weight gain, but frankly I have bulges now where I shouldn’t, and I am
far too mean to buy a newer, bigger wardrobe! But I definitely want to change
my lifestyle for the better. And I know I am not alone in this - lots of you
reading this want to make changes too. I suggest you carry on reading, but
pause now and then to consider what you want to change. It might not be weight
or fitness for you. Think about what you want to change about yourself, and
read on...
So, what’s a girl to do? I know that one of the first things
I need to do is to decide on what I want. From past experience, I know that my
resolutions need to have certain
features if I am to succeed.
1. I need to know how long I am going to keep
this resolution. Six months, or a year? Six months to lose this weight is
not enough. So it needs to be a year. Hopefully by then my eating habits, and
my relationship with food, will have changed
2. I need to have a clear idea of my goals.
Well for a start, I’d like to be in the 12-14 dress size, not the 16 I’m in
now. I don’t want my stomach to hang over my trousers any more. I also want to
be fitter - I’m tired of creaking and groaning when I get up from the sofa, and
running like my knees are tied together!
So, in a year’s time I will be a size 12-14, around 11
stone, able to squat and kneel without pain and will have re-discovered my abs.
That’s a good vision of my future. It has a time limit, is
achievable and specific, and is expressed positively. It’s a good start ! What’s
your vision like?
So I need to build that picture. I need to imagine how I
will feel, the nice clothes I will wear, how much less time I will spend
agonising in front of the mirror. The stronger my vision is, the more strength
I will have to resist extra calories and to take exercise. I’m a visual person,
so I need to build an imaginative picture of how I will look and feel, a strong
enough picture for me to concentrate on whenever I feel the urge to eat more
than I need.
Next, I have to think
about how I want to achieve my vision. I want it to be free (or at least
cheap!), and easy. I want the best information I can find, not crack pot ideas
- sound nutritional info from properly trained nutritionists. I want it as
simple as possible, so I can diet, detox and get fit without disrupting family
meals too much and alienating my nearest and dearest. This does mean
compromise. For example, my partner and I like to eat a cooked breakfast
together at the weekend when we can. And that means I will be eating boiled
eggs with toast and butter, and I will eat sausages and bacon now and then. But
I can limit the impact of that by portion control, and by eating less later the
same day. And we all need a treat now and then!
I’m a holistic therapist, so I know that my
diet/detox/lifestyle change has to be physical and emotional. I know that if
I do what I always do, I’ll get what I always get! So, things need to
change on the inside, if I stand a chance of changing the outside!
This means I need to think about why I eat as much as I do,
and why I sit around so much and don’t take the exercise that will make me feel
better. I need to read my friend Tamzin’s blog about food. (http://tamzinatwalkerandwood.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/why-do-we-make-these-choices-about-food.html).
If your resolutions are about changing aspects of yourself
or your life that you no longer like, then you need to think about the ‘why’ of
what you do too. If you need to talk about that then feel free to call me for
an appointment - I may be able to help you sort out what the problem is, and
give you a remedy to help you change. Remember, homeopathy is all about getting
healthier, mentally and emotionally as well as physically.
I also need to identify what stops me from succeeding and
make affirmations to challenge those parts of myself. If you want to know more
about affirmations, and look at some examples, try http://www.vitalaffirmations.com .
What stops you from achieving your goals?
I need to be able to assess my progress as I go along, so
that these positive changes spur me on. Losing weight is easy to assess,
because there are plenty of ways of measuring change. Getting fit is easy to
measure too. Mental and emotional change is harder to quantify, so keeping a
journal in which you record your thoughts can be crucial, as it will remind you
of how far you have come. You can use it to remind yourself of the affirmations
you have made, as well. It’s a good place to reflect on what gets in your way,
and to evolve strategies to help you.
The next bit is the nice bit. Don’t beat yourself up when you go off course! I need to remember
this, because usually when I break my diet I am consumed by feelings of guilt
and despair, and I want to give up. What I need to learn to do is to forgive
myself, and get back on track - taking care to notice what it was that made me
go off course in the first place.
And lastly, I need to do this one day at a time. Otherwise I
might be overwhelmed by the enormity of the task (let alone the enormity of my
muffin top!) and give up. One day at a time, and a weekly re-assessment of how
I am doing too.
A summary then:-
Resolutions need to
be:-
- · Achievable and worthwhile
- · Specific and clear
- · Easily assessed on a week by week basis
- · Stated positively
- · Kept to a minimum
- · Within a time frame
To achieve your resolutions, you need to :-
- · Not give yourself a hard time if you go off track - just look at what made you do it, learn the lesson, and then get back into your routine
- · Develop strategies to help you avoid situations that get in the way
- · Pat yourself on the back with every improvement you see.
- · Take it a day at a time
- · Treat yourself for even trying to change - some people give up before they have even started!
So I’m sorry. This is a really long blog for you to plough
through, and we all have busy lives. But I wanted to share with you what I have
learned about personal development, and to summarise the major points. I’m
hoping to keep bringing you up to date with my progress as the year goes on,
and maybe you would like to email me and let me know how you are getting on
too? If you find things that work for you, please let me know because I can
pass that on to others.
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