What Masks Do You Wear?

Halloween. It's a time when we celebrate and exploit fears. We dress up in costumes and decorate with monsters and witches and other made up scary things. For many of us, fear isn't just something that comes up once a year, but a very real thing.

Fear takes many different forms and faces. It becomes the mask that shields us from getting hurt, but it also stops us from being our true selves and realizing our full potential. Letting go of fear takes courage of course. It isn't easy to step to the edge and let your toes dangle. But do you ever think about what could happen if you did? The possibilities are boundless. When you release your fears, you find freedom -freedom to be exactly who you want to be and do what you dream of doing.

Who do you want to be? What do you want to do? Figure it out, move past the fears that have stopped you up to this point, and you can save the mask for next year's Halloween costume.

Eating In

The majority of people who lose weight and keep it off prepare nearly 90% of their own meals. Preparing your own meals gives you the control over the unhealthy fat, empty calories and other not-so-healthy stuff that go into your food.
If you like to cook - wonderbar! Explore your kitchen. Find healthy, whole food alternatives and ingredients for the foods you like to prepare and eat.

If you don't like to cook or can't find time to do it (which is the case for most of us), keep it simple. Organize your week so you have time to prepare healthy meals at home instead of falling victim to what's fast and convenient. Try cooking your meals ahead over the weekend. If you don't like to cook that probably doesn't sound like the most exciting thing on your list of weekend plans. However, the biggest sabotage to our healthy intentions is lack of planning.

A couple of ideas to stop you from mindlessly nibbling in the kitchen: chew sugarless gum while you're preparing your meals and try to avoid cooking when you're hungry.

Your Very Important Date

We all lead busy lives into which we try to cram as much as possible. Most of the time, you wouldn't dream of skipping a work-related meeting or your child's doctor appointment. Do you think of your health in the same way - an important, not-to-be-missed appointment?

If you put many other things before your health, you're not alone. In many of our busy lives, convenience oftentimes wins out over healthy (McDonald's drive through anyone?). And the couch usually looks a lot more inviting than the gym after a long day at the office. So, what if you actually put the time it takes to prepare a healthy meal onto your schedule? What if your workout was written onto your schedule just like any other appointment? You might start to think differently about these veeeeeery important aspects of being healthy.

You make space for everything else that demands your attention. Don't you deserve the same attention?

What's the Secret?

Do you ever wonder if you'll ever be successful at this weight loss thing? If you'll ever stop hearing yourself say "I need to lose (fill in the blank) lbs..."? It may sometimes seem like you've been working at it for years and nothing ever changes. So what's the secret? With so many different ways to do it, how can you achieve a healthy weight once and for all?

There's no easy answer, of course, because there's so much involved. By now you probably know it's a mix of figuring out why you want to get healthier and getting your head on straight to actually make it happen. Some people figure it out sooner in life, others take a bit longer. Some folks stay successful by religiously journaling their daily food and exercise. Others have support groups. And still others have their own personal plan that works for them. There are so many options. There are services, people and facilities to help you achieve your goals. Not one thing works for everyone, but there is something that will work for you.

Everybody struggles at something sometimes. Even those people who make it look like they don't. You don't have to struggle anymore. Just open your heart and mind to your own innate, unique ability to succeed.

You. On a Diet. Forever?

Atkins. South Beach. Blood Type. Grapefruit, or wait, was it GrapeNuts? Ack! What IS the best diet to be on? Do you have to be on a diet constantly in order to stay at a healthy weight? The answer to this is yes and, well, no.

Not to be confusing, but the answer depends on your definition of diet. If you think being on a diet means eliminating an entire food group from your regime or eating only one food all the time, then no, you don't have to do that to be successful. If however, your definition of diet means changing your eating habits, then the answer is quite possibly yes. Think about it. In order to get different results, we have to change the way we do things. If you want to be and stay healthier, then making healthy adaptations to your diet and exercise habits has to happen.

So you have a girls' night out or a birthday party or some other special occasion coming up? You want to make an exception for this occasion and be able to eat and drink whatever you want, right? You can do it and stay healthy - as long as it's the exception and not the rule. Just keep in mind, the rule gets easier the more you practice.