Do you want to increase your success with weight loss and other goals? Detox your brain. In a world where wellness is a billion dollar industry, it should be safe to say the importance of detoxing your body is common knowledge. There are so many options for detoxifying your body; special diets, fasting, and supplement use to name a few. Detoxing your mind is just as important and as easy as cleansing your body.
Toxins in our foods can collect in our bodies like negative toxic thoughts can collect in our brains. It is crucial to cleanse your mind of self criticism and negative thinking. Our thoughts and personal beliefs represent the core foundation of our health and general life experience. Flushing a poor self image and negative thoughts cleanses our mind for optimal health. Self critical thoughts diminish our motivation toward success. Repetitive thoughts like, ‘I am always going to be fat,’ or ‘I am never going to be thin,’ help to create a self fulfilling prophecy that affects our daily decisions and motivation to make healthy choices. Negative self beliefs result in poor food choices resulting in a thicker waist fulfilling the critical self belief. Does this sound like a familiar personal experience?
Eliminating negative thoughts is easy to accomplish. The key to success is giving yourself enough time to achieve the goal. It took time to develop negativity; it will take time to create positivity. Be patient and stay the course. I have yet to meet a person who suddenly woke up one day with negative and self critical thinking. In fact, we are all born with a blank slate. The negativity is conditioned for us as we grow and develop. Do not blame your family; negativity bombards us from many environmental sources. Think about the last time you saw an upbeat breaking news feature. I am betting that you cannot think of even one example. Recondition your thinking and detox your brain with three easy techniques.
Repetitively use these easy techniques to change your thinking, change your life!
Detox your mind of negative self talk. Eliminate negative and self critical thinking by converting negative thoughts into positive thoughts. This might feel weird as you get started, especially if you have been self critical for years. Continue the practice regardless of how you feel. Repetition creates comfort with the process and comfort accepting that you are successful, healthy, smart, thin, etc.
Continue the mental cleanse by protecting your brain. Avoid negative environmental influences that create toxic thoughts and roadblocks toward success. Television, radio, print media and social settings can represent a negative influence on your thinking. Removing negative information allows your positivity to take root. Minimize time with negative people. Be rigid with this technique during the vulnerable first days and weeks of this new process of protecting your positivity. Daily use of this technique can quickly create a new successful and happy habit if simply stick with the plan.
Grow your positivity and success with positive influence. Adopt a new mantra of ‘good things in, good things out.’ Put good things in your mind daily that will keep you on track and motivated toward your goals. Read positive and success oriented books or stories, watch positive videos, and most important spend time with positive people. Seek out positive people to influence and grow your positive mindset. A positive minded person will talk you out of eating that afternoon sugary snack and influence you with other tasty options that support your physical fitness goals. Positive relationships act as a support system to help keep you on track during stressful times.
Make these changes and stick to them even if they feel foreign or silly. You will see a significant boost to your mood, self esteem, and successful goal achievement with repetitive long term use. Thoughts affect action. Actions create reality. Utilize these skills and think thin to live thin.
Kelly Stallings
www.LifeIsMental.com
http://twitter.com/lifeismental
Monday, April 27, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Managing Stress and Your Weight
As women, most of us are really good about taking care of our outside appearance. We are good about doing things to enhance our outer health. It is important that we realize the need to spend just as much time and effort on the inside for a healthy mind and mood both of which relate to a healthy body. Unnecessary eating and emotional eating can develop from stressful situations. Managing your stress can significantly assist weight goals. In a world where most women work outside of the home as hard as they work inside the home, mental stress is at an all time high. Do you recognize the stress in your life?
Stress comes in four forms: environmental, social, physiological, and personal thoughts. While you can control some of these sources to minimize stress, everyone has to learn to live with some level of stress as a part of being human. Some physical signs of stress include: weight gain or loss, muscle tension, negative mood, hair loss, sleep disturbance, high blood pressure, shallow breathing leading to anxiety, and digestive problems.
Regardless of where your stress is coming from, work, family, self induced perfectionism…here are three easy cogntive techniques to manage stress effectively and maintain a healthy body.
1. Laughter and positivity. These are the most important stress releases you can use. Both are easy to use and offer immediate relief. Laughter has been found to release natural ‘feel good’ endorphins in our brains. When stress levels are high, think of a really funny memory or movie that will make you giggle. Let yourself laugh out loud. This breaks the tension of the moment and creates cognitive dissidence (a psychological term meaning that you cannot experience two opposing feelings at one time). Maintain positive thinking at all times and surround yourself with positive minded people. When you notice negative or critical thinking creeping into your mind…turn it around to improve your mood and coping skills. The majority of our experiences are manifestation of our thoughts and expectations. Keep positive expectations to improve your reactions to life events. If you doubt this idea…you are probably in a negative rut…test the theory for yourself.
2. Deep Breathing. This is the easiest and most overlooked stress management technique. Do not let the simplicity of this technique fool you…deep breathing powerful and very effective. Again this skill is portable and can go unnoticed when used in public. Practice in private to get proficient with the skill. Breathe deeply so that your stomach moves instead of your upper chest. If only your upper chest moves, you are breathing shallowly which increases anxiety. Practice breathing deeply and take 3-4 slow deep breathes before, during or after a stressful situation to keep yourself calm and in control. Keep control and avoid mindless eating.
3. Drink and Eat. Stress directly relates to physical health and weight. A major symptom of stress is over or under eating. If your weight or body image cause you stress, you might be tempted to reduce your calories to an unrealistic level. Hunger and dehydration are unnecessary physical stressors that affect our behavior and reactions to life situations. Maintain a healthy balanced diet drinking plenty of water daily. Staying hydrated and satiated keep your thinking and behavior leveled in stressful situations.
Manage your stress and maintain your healthy body!
To your thin thoughts,
Kelly
http://www.lifeismental.com/
http://twitter.com/lifeismental
Stress comes in four forms: environmental, social, physiological, and personal thoughts. While you can control some of these sources to minimize stress, everyone has to learn to live with some level of stress as a part of being human. Some physical signs of stress include: weight gain or loss, muscle tension, negative mood, hair loss, sleep disturbance, high blood pressure, shallow breathing leading to anxiety, and digestive problems.
Regardless of where your stress is coming from, work, family, self induced perfectionism…here are three easy cogntive techniques to manage stress effectively and maintain a healthy body.
1. Laughter and positivity. These are the most important stress releases you can use. Both are easy to use and offer immediate relief. Laughter has been found to release natural ‘feel good’ endorphins in our brains. When stress levels are high, think of a really funny memory or movie that will make you giggle. Let yourself laugh out loud. This breaks the tension of the moment and creates cognitive dissidence (a psychological term meaning that you cannot experience two opposing feelings at one time). Maintain positive thinking at all times and surround yourself with positive minded people. When you notice negative or critical thinking creeping into your mind…turn it around to improve your mood and coping skills. The majority of our experiences are manifestation of our thoughts and expectations. Keep positive expectations to improve your reactions to life events. If you doubt this idea…you are probably in a negative rut…test the theory for yourself.
2. Deep Breathing. This is the easiest and most overlooked stress management technique. Do not let the simplicity of this technique fool you…deep breathing powerful and very effective. Again this skill is portable and can go unnoticed when used in public. Practice in private to get proficient with the skill. Breathe deeply so that your stomach moves instead of your upper chest. If only your upper chest moves, you are breathing shallowly which increases anxiety. Practice breathing deeply and take 3-4 slow deep breathes before, during or after a stressful situation to keep yourself calm and in control. Keep control and avoid mindless eating.
3. Drink and Eat. Stress directly relates to physical health and weight. A major symptom of stress is over or under eating. If your weight or body image cause you stress, you might be tempted to reduce your calories to an unrealistic level. Hunger and dehydration are unnecessary physical stressors that affect our behavior and reactions to life situations. Maintain a healthy balanced diet drinking plenty of water daily. Staying hydrated and satiated keep your thinking and behavior leveled in stressful situations.
Manage your stress and maintain your healthy body!
To your thin thoughts,
Kelly
http://www.lifeismental.com/
http://twitter.com/lifeismental
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