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End Self-Sabotage and Get Everything You Want

Why is it that we are motivated to change, and we work hard at it, and yet we do not succeed at attaining our goals? It’s because we sabotage ourselves. We sabotage our best efforts. We procrastinate. We resist. We don’t follow direction. We don’t follow through. We allow ourselves to be distracted and derailed.

We sabotage ourselves in a variety of ways, such that we perpetually withhold from ourselves all the goodies the universe has to offer, blaming it all the while on bad luck or it being someone else’s fault, rather than acknowledging that we are the Prime Movers of our destiny, that we are responsible for the lack and limitations in our lives, and nobody else.

On a conscious level we want to win, but on a deep, unconscious level, we are filled with guilt, shame, self-condemnation, and self-loathing, such that, rather than believing that we are worthy of winning and deserving of abundance and success, we believe that we are sinners deserving of punishment, suffering and failure. All of this is below our conscious awareness.

Our subconscious mind, intent on manifesting what we believe about ourselves at a deeply-embedded, unconscious level, believes our own harsh judgments about ourselves, and punishes us for our “sins.” It does this by sabotaging our conscious efforts.

It generates resistance and roadblocks. It attracts inferior elements. It encourages miscommunication, chaos, and confusion. The end result is an external world that reflects our internal self-concept. The end result is our not getting what we want.

The only way to reverse this process, in order to generate success and prosperity, is to put an end to our guilt, shame and self-loathing by forgiving and loving ourselves. The only way to do this is to first forgive and love others. This is what Forgive To Win!’s Forgiveness Diet has been designed to accomplish.

The Forgiveness Diet is a structured program that trains our mind to engage in behaviors that will benefit us in the long run. More specifically, the Forgiveness Diet is a daily regimen of thoughts, actions and exercises devoted to extending unconditional forgiveness, acceptance, and love. It is a daily regimen of estimable acts of kindness and service to others.

When we have mastered the Forgiveness Diet, our subconscious mind will believe we are good enough and worthy of reward, at which point it will stop sabotaging our efforts and start constructing the synchronistic attraction of synergistic people and circumstances that will favor our prosperity and success in all realms.

The Forgiveness Diet is the ultimate prosperity principle!

The reason why many of us have difficulty believing this is true is because we’ve been trained to believe that nice guys finish last, that no good deed goes unpunished, and that love, kindness and forgiveness are for chumps and suckers.

Nothing could be further from the truth. These are self-destructive messages generated by our subconscious mind to support its self-sabotaging agenda to derail us from healing ourselves and attracting abundance into our lives.

Although it is obvious that many people who are loathsome, selfish, unloving and hurtful towards others have succeeded and prospered, for most of us who mean no harm to others, emulating people like that will not deliver us what we want.

If we repair ourselves by extending unconditional forgiveness, acceptance and love to everyone, under all circumstances, without exceptions, we can replace our self-loathing with self-loving, thereby putting an end to our self-sabotage, such that our subconscious mind works with us rather than against us to attract and manifest everything we’ve ever wanted.

The best part about the Forgiveness Diet is that we don’t need to understand it for it to work. We don’t even need to believe it. Additionally, we don’t need to gain any deep insights about ourselves in order to get results.

We just need to do it. We just need to implement a few basic behaviors and practices on a consistent basis until they become habits.

But don’t take my word for it. Take the Forgive To Win! 90-Day Challenge. Rather than rejecting the Forgiveness Diet as magical or wishful thinking without giving it a try, follow it rigorously for 90 days and find out for yourself what it has to offer.

Make the decision to put aside your skepticism, negativity, cynicism and doubt for 90 days in order to work the program as vigorously and as honestly as you possibly can.

What have you got to lose? What’s 90 days in the bigger scheme of things? What’s 90 days in the expanse and duration of your life? It’s nothing. So what if you spend 90 days being generous, esteeming others, and forgiving them their trespasses? What’s the downside? There really isn’t any.

If you decide after 90 days that the experience was not transformative and was a complete waste of time, which I guarantee won’t be the case, you will have the rest of your life to be angry, vengeful, withholding, thoughtless, selfish and self-centered, and to see where that gets you.

But if I’m right in encouraging you to devote a mere 90 days of your life to the Forgiveness Diet, you will greatly appreciate the experience you put yourself through, you will see fewer roadblocks and potholes appearing in your life, you will be happier, more productive, and more successful, and you will gladly continue to engage in the Forgiveness Diet program.

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Posted by Walter E Jacobson, MD on October 17th, 2011 in Career, Diet and Fitness, Health, Relationships, Spirituality | No comments Read related posts in forgiveness, happiness, self-esteem, self-sabotage, success

Thoughts by Tracye

Finding the “YES!”

Believe the universe is conspiring to support you,” my yoga instructor offered as the sweat poured from my body and my mind screamed “You can’t do this today! Child’s pose, just child’s pose! As a matter of fact, you’re crazy to believe you can succeed with any of your silly ideas.”

I was completely lost in the “No” moment that morning. I walked into the studio in the “No” mind space. Stuck! At least I thought. But yoga is an interesting thing. The more I focused on the breath, the more I focused on the flow of my body, the more I opened my mind to the possibility – to the “Yes!” that could be if I let it.

The moment was mine. I could give in to the ridiculous notion of fear and failure or I could flow right through it and know without a doubt that the universe truly is conspiring to support me! Which do you think I chose? Which do you choose?

Try turning your “No” moments into “Yes!” this year and see what happens.

1. Take mental (maybe written!) note of how often your mind goes to the “No” place in one day and possible reasons?
2. Write down all of the times that “Yes!” changed your life in a positive way.
3. Enlist the help of “Yes!” buddy to support your journey.

Trust and see yourself as the superstar that others do. Know that the moment is yours if you choose. Be well!

Drop that Dead Weight!

I think of my marathon running days. I can never carry all those gadgets, backpacks, water, sports drinks, goo, etc. It’s just too heavy. The race is way too long and hard for all that crap. I feel weighed down during a time when I need to feel like I could fly.

Drop it! In my first long race years ago, I remember tossing stuff along the roadside. I had to get lighter and keep moving to the finish line. Relying on my mental strength, my team and volunteers at the water stops was my only choice.

In yoga class, people arrive and set up “their” spot with the fancy mat, eighteen water bottles, special towel, and anything else they can find to get the perfect flow. Perhaps distractions? A little dead weight? I’m just saying. Drop it!
As you look at your life, ask yourself “How much dead weight am I carrying?” What’s got to go?

On a recent trip a beloved friend reminded me to question the value-add of the people, events, and possessions in my life. Is there someone, something, some place that is holding you back from your true self? Your destiny? Your peace? Your freedom?

So how do you know? Oh, you know! And if for some reason you’re not listening to your own voice or heart and still can’t figure it out, ask The Divine. Then listen and do –the hardest part being the “do.” I know this personally, so here are a few suggestions from someone in the active “Drop it!” state:

1. Get with your Real Team – Who are the people who keep it real in your life? Who will honestly and out of true love tell you when you’re wrong, someone is wrong for you, or something is wrong. Listen and do.
2. Be honest with yourself – It’s hard and exhausting to toss all dead weight at once. Take it a pound at a time.
3. Stay on the lookout for volunteers and water stops along the way – If we pay attention we will find that help and cheers are available everywhere.
4. Go to The Divine – Humble yourself and know that there is a greater source. Be guided.

The journey of living and being well is about releasing that which holds of from love, from freedom. Drop it! Drop it by the roadside and keep moving to the finish line! I know that’s my focus. What about you? Life is waiting. Be well!

Tracye Warfield is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) with Yoga Alliance, Certified Infant Massage Teacher (CIMT), and a self-taught accomplished chef. After a successful career in banking, Tracye decided it was time for a lifestyle change. She has been practicing yoga since 1999. She began her metamorphosis in the California Bay Area. Through the practice of yoga, a stronger focus on eating healthy and achieving a greater understanding of nature, her life and spirit have been transformed. Tracye feels it is now time to share her life alteration and all its responsibilities, with the world.

In 2007 she published a cookbook, Experience Dinner – Recipes by Tracye Warfield and embarked on a career as a personal chef with varied clients throughout the New York metropolitan area. Her success was nearly instant, her menus often provocative and her ingredients are always natural and when possible, organic.

She received her yoga-teaching certificate at the acclaimed Yoga Sutra studio in New York City with a focus on studies drawing upon the traditions and principles of Ashtanga, Vinyasa, and Iyengar yoga. She received her infant massage certificate with industry leader, Tina Allen of LiddleKidz in 2009 which provided a way to work with entire families focused on the healing powers of touch and the ever lasting love that touch draws upon.

She formed her company bytracye in November of 2007 with a focus on mind, body, spirit and food. What is bytracye all about? Well, Tracye says: “We want to create for each of our clients, a wonderful holistic experience in all that we do.” We want our love of life to be present either in studio or in the kitchen and our only measure of success is client happiness.”

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Posted by Tracye Warfield on August 3rd, 2010 in Diet and Fitness, Health, New Directions, Spirituality, Uncategorized | 1 comment Read related posts in personal support

Conditioned to Think You Can’t

A friend and I had a discussion this morning about what influences our perspectives. He reminded me of how a 5-ton elephant can be controlled with nothing more than a chain and a post.

When baby elephants are captured, they are restrained by a chain connected to a post, anchored to the ground. Because of their small size, they try to pull free but cannot. They then learn that when chained to the post, they cannot get away – and they remember this. So as they become an adult elephant, very capable of pulling free from the chain, they don’t think they can, so they don’t try. An early memory told them they can’t and now they never challenge it.

We are like elephants. We have early memories about something that influenced us and we bring that perception to today. It could have been a comment, a look or a response by someone that we knew or maybe didn’t know. It could have been an event that backfired like stumbling in front of others and we are now convinced we can never be on stage, in front of an audience, or lead a meeting. We are frequently chained to think we can’t – even though we can. Here is a personal example.

As a kid I had a terrible interdental lisp. When it was pointed out to me, I stopped speaking, tremendously worried that I would embarrass myself. As I started speech therapy I found I had an easy ability to learn a language and to articulate sounds – something I never would have known. I quickly learned a new way to pronounce an “s.” Today, I am a speaker. Imagine. If I had let the terrible events that introduce me to my speech impediment control me, I would have been like the elephant chained to a post, thinking I should be embarrassed about myself and stay out of the public. I would have never chosen my favorite work and my best fit – speaking to audiences about talents, passions and possibilities. I can imagine doing nothing else. I broke my chain. And I found a strength in the process.

Many of us remain captive to “I can’t” thinking, like the elephants chained to the post, because we don’t know ourselves well enough to know how capable and strong we really are. The more we connect to our unique talents, strengths and passions, the more we find our internal strength – the strength that helps us realize our futures are not dependent on our pasts. We are not limited by events that happened to us. True, they influence us, but we have attributes (call them gifts) that help build our courage and our confidence to break our chains and come through stronger, braver and better.

From my perspective, life events are placed as obstacles to help us stop, think about a better way, and get to know ourselves better. When we encounter an obstacle we can act like the elephant – to stand still and give in. Or, we can think our way through it and realize we are more capable than we imagined. And when you do this several times, you develop the courage to consistently do it and life becomes yours to invent.

To help you break your chains, consider the following:

- Think of one “I can’t” situations that currently limits you. Think back to the event that made you feel incapable, unworthy, unable, etc.

- Assess your talents and strengths. What attributes do you have that allow you to move past this limit – what attributes do you have that will help you break your chain?

- What is the first small step you can take to move past this limit – to see how capable you are and to develop your confidence?

- Try one, then another, then another. Then throw the chain away.

There are truly some situations where “I can’t” may be the right response. But we use “I can’t” significantly more frequently than we should because we are controlled or influenced by things said or done in our past. Today gets built today – there is no particular reason why it must be like yesterday unless you want it that way.

What is true for you today? What are your talents, passions and strengths, and how do they give you the confidence and courage to say “I can” instead of “I can’t.”

Jay Forte is a motivational speaker and performance consultant. He is the author of Fire Up! Your Employees and Smoke Your Competition, and the on-line resources, Stand Out and Get Hired, and The Hunt for Opportunities Success Manual. He has just completed his new book, The End of Average; Know Yourself, Find Your Fit and Transform Your World; chapter downloads will soon be available on his website. He works to connect people to their talents and passions to live fired up! More information at www.LiveFiredUp.com.

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Posted by Jay Forte on May 24th, 2010 in Career, Diet and Fitness, Family, Finances, Global/Social Change, Health, New Directions, Personal Stories, Relationships, Spirituality, Teens | No comments Read related posts in control life, elephant, inspired, owner, passions, possibility, purpose, strengths, talents

What Are You Waiting For?

“I’ll start going to the gym next month.”

“I’ll stop drinking after I get back from vacation.”

“I’ll call my parents on the weekend.”

“I’ll eat better next week, after this project at work is over.”

“I should really spend more time with the kids.”

So many of us talk about great things we should do, or things we should stop doing, then find some reason to put it off. I had a friend who would wait until the first day of the next month to start something new or to end a bad habit, regardless of the current day. Why wait? If it is important enough to do, start today.

As I travel and speak about connecting to your talents and passions, I constantly hear stories of people who live lives of regret. As we talk about discovering or rediscovering their talents and passions, many people tell me they kept their passions hidden, waiting for the right time. They wished they had developed their love of music, art, travel, reading, quilting, parenting…whatever. They sadly remember how happy they were doing something that activated them, but never made more time for it. And now, they feel they have missed out.

My eldest daughter gets married this week. I have written several times in this blog about this because you always write about what you feel, and seeing your first child get married is an amazingly emotional event. But more important is the realization of how quickly time goes by. I have spent time this week looking at the pictures of her life – as she moved through each stage. And I remember thinking many times in her life that this moment will not return – I have to be here, right now, to be part of it. Don’t wait. Don’t miss it.

And though these childhood moments have passed, I remember being part of them. I’m glad I made time for them. Even when work and a divorce took me away, I remember changing things to be there, to be present, and to be part of her life. And as I walk her down the aisle, I will remember all of these times. I will look back loving each moment of being her father, and will have no regrets.

So start now with the important things in your life. Don’t wait. What are the things you must do – to stay healthy, stay connected, live better, live more authentically, say what you feel, love what you do…. What are the things you must stop doing – eating the wrong foods, drinking too much, smoking, not exercising, working too much, fighting with others… How will you take ownership and invent your best life?

Here are some suggestions:

• Identify one thing you love to do, and do it today.
• Identify one person who needs to hear from you, and call, text, e-mail, write or visit today.
• Say something loving and supporting to a child, spouse, sibling or friend today.
• Identify one bad or unhealthy habit you have and end it today.
• Identify a good new habit and start it today.
• Identify one thing you will do to help the planet (stop using bottled water, drive less, recycle everything you can recycle, don’t litter, walk more, etc.) today.
• Identify a need your community has and volunteer for it today.
• Surprise someone with a compliment, smile or hug today.
• Create your life’s bucket list of things to do and places to see, today.
• Identify one thing that will bring your family closer, and do it today.
• Identify one thing you will do to get better and become more valuable in your job, and do it today.
• Identify one thing you will do to stay in better control of your finances, and do it today.
• Identify one thing you will do to become more connected to your spirituality and beliefs, and do it today.
• Identify one thing that you have always wanted to do, and find out about it, or do it, today.

Your life is as you make it. Your choices and actions determine its level of success, energy, passion and happiness. When you take ownership, not only do you improve your life, but you also inspire others to do the same. When you take ownership, you will look back, proud of your choices, and have no regrets.

There always seems to be a logical reason to put off what you need to do – not enough money, time, resources, energy, support, or something. Yet time goes by, day after day; you don’t get this time back. And soon large blocks of time have passed without making important changes, or living your passions and dreams. Know what makes you happy, healthy and wise – and do more of it. If it is important enough to do, then it is important enough to do today. Don’t wait.

Jay Forte is a motivational speaker and performance consultant. He works to connect people to their talents and passions to work strong and live stronger. He is the author of Fire Up! Your Employees and Smoke Your Competition, and the on-line resources, Stand Out and Get Hired, and The Hunt for Opportunities Success Manual. He has just completed his new book, The End of Average; Know Yourself, Find Your Fit and Transform Your World; chapter downloads will soon be available on his website. More information at www.LiveFiredUp.com.

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Posted by Jay Forte on May 15th, 2010 in Career, Diet and Fitness, Family, Finances, Health, New Directions, Personal Stories, Relationships, Spirituality, Things We Love | No comments Read related posts in be present, change, don't wait, lives great events, own your life, show up

We Are Not Our Bodies

I shaved my head again last week. This is the fourth time in the past five years I’ve done this. As has been the case for me before – it feels both liberating and vulnerable. My hair has been thinning for about ten years (most significantly in the past two or three) and, as I’ve written about a few times previously, this has caused me a great deal of fear, insecurity, and self criticism.

These feelings are not new and aren’t specifically related to my thinning hair (although it is definitely something that triggers them for me in an intense way). Being critical of my appearance and concerned about my body have been consistent themes throughout my life – as a teenager with acne and braces, as a college and pro baseball player battling years of painful arm injuries, as the natural aging process starts to affect my hair, skin, etc., and so much more – there have been and continue to be aspects of my body that I don’t like, feel ashamed of, and worry about.

The deeper issue here for me and so many of us isn’t about our bodies themselves, but how much we identify with them. I’ve lived most of my life as if I am my body, even though for a number of years I’ve been aware, at least intellectually, that this is not the case.

We tend to focus a lot of our attention on our bodies, at least superficially. We think about, talk about, and worry about how our bodies look, feel, and function all the time. Some of us clearly do this more than others – but if you just pay attention to the conversations, information, media, and advertisements around you on a daily basis, amazing to see how much obsession there is about our bodies and also how much we tend to equate our success, effectiveness, and well being to our physical experience.

While there’s nothing wrong with us wanting to look good and it’s vitally important that we focus on keeping our bodies as healthy as possible, in many cases, we place a disproportionate amount of our self worth and value (or lack thereof) on our bodies. In other words, we think that if we look good and feel good, we are good. And, we think that if we feel bad, get sick, feel tired, or don’t like our appearance, we somehow are bad (or at least not as good as we could or should be).

We also don’t often make much distinction between our physical state and our other states (mental, emotional, and spiritual). I remember hearing a story of a Buddhist monk who only slept two or three hours per night, because he was so busy tending to the poor, sick, and needy people in his community. When people asked him, “Don’t you get tired?” he responded by saying, “My body gets tired sometimes, but I’m alive and vibrant.” The story really struck me and illustrated the important distinction between us and our physical body.

Our bodies are brilliant, beautiful, and miraculous – even though we often don’t think of, treat, or talk about them that way. As my friend, Steve Sisgold, teaches in his wonderful book, What’s Your Body Telling You?, we can tap into the power of “whole body consciousness” and use the innate wisdom of our bodies to reduce stress, create peace, and attract success in our lives.

I’m not advocating that we disconnect from our bodies (which is so easy for us to do in our culture as we over emphasize the mental aspect of life and focus more on results than we do on experience), but I am suggesting that we disassociate ourselves from the notion that who we are is simply the flesh and bones we travel around in. Our bodies are an important aspect of who we are, but far from all of who we are.

Our body weight does not determine our worth. Our level of health (or lack thereof) is not an indication of our value as a human being. How much hair we have (or whatever other physical issue you obsess about) doesn’t make us a good or bad person. And, how we look and feel is not the ultimate indicator of our success, fulfillment, and worthiness in life.

We are so much more than our bodies! When we’re able to realize, remember, and live from this awareness – we can take back our power, transform some of our fear, and create a healthy, loving, and empowering relationship with our body that serves, supports, and enhances our growth and our experience ourselves and of life in general.

Mike Robbins is a sought-after motivational keynote speaker, coach, and the bestselling author of Focus on the Good Stuff (Wiley) and Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken (Wiley). More info – www.Mike-Robbins.com

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Posted by Mike Robbins on April 9th, 2010 in Diet and Fitness, Health | No comments Read related posts in appreciation, authenticity, body, confidence, gratitude, honesty, Mike Robbins, motivational speaker, self help, self-esteem, self-image

How To Lose Weight By Eating Breakfast

How To Lose Weight By Eating Breakfast

By Matthew Denos, Ph.D.

You may have been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but if you’re like most people you probably don’t give your morning meal much attention. If you’re trying to lose weight, skipping breakfast might even seem like an easy way to cut a few calories. In reality, it turns out that only about 4% of people who have been successful in losing a significant amount of weight and keeping it off report skipping breakfast. That’s right—you’re more likely to lose weight if you start your day off eating.

Why Does Skipping Breakfast Make You Fat?

1. Breakfast-eaters eat less overall. Studies have found that people who eat breakfast actually take in fewer calories over the course of the day. If you eat breakfast, you’ll be less likely to feel extremely hungry by lunchtime. This is important because people tend to be less satisfied by food eaten in the afternoon and evenings, meaning that it will take more food to satisfy your hunger later in the day. One study found that eating more of a particular macronutrient in the morning—carbohydrates, fat, or protein—led to eating less of that macronutrient over the course of the day. In the study participants, eating more carbs or fat in the morning resulted in eating 108 fewer calories overall—amounting to an 11 pound fat loss over one year just by eating breakfast!
2. Skipping breakfast leads to high-calorie cravings. An interesting new study has found that skipping breakfast actually leads to changes in brain activity that make you crave higher calorie foods. Participants in the study had their brain activity monitored while they looked at pictures of high- and low-calorie foods. When participants skipped breakfast, the brain’s reward center was more active in response to pictures of high-calorie foods; when they had eaten breakfast, there was no significant difference in the brain’s response to high- and low-calorie foods.
3. Fasting increases your insulin response. Skipping breakfast can mean going 16 hours without food, which your body interprets as fasting. Prolonged fasting can prompt your body to increase insulin levels, which increases fat storage and your likelihood of gaining weight.
4. No breakfast equals less energy. Your body gets its energy from glucose (blood sugar), and your glucose levels drop significantly overnight. In response, your body releases glycogen (stored glucose). When you skip breakfast, your body doesn’t have the fuel necessary to replenish your glycogen stores, and your energy suffers. You’ll have enough energy to make it to your next meal but not much available for extra activities—making it unsurprising that people who skip breakfast tend to be less physically active.

The Ideal Breakfast For Weight Loss

Now that you know eating breakfast can help you lose weight, you may be wondering if there are particular foods you should eat to maximize breakfast’s benefits. While common-sense choices are always a good idea—choosing oatmeal instead of a doughnut, for instance—some healthy meals do appear to be more effective than others when it comes to weight loss. In particular, studies have found that eating a healthy breakfast rich in carbohydrates appears to be most effective for long-term weight loss.

The popularity of low-carb diets in recent years has given carbohydrates a bad name, but in actuality carbs can play an important role in weight loss. Studies have shown that people who eat breakfasts rich in carbohydrates tend to have a lower BMI than those who skip breakfast or eat a high-protein breakfast. Another study suggests that a breakfast rich in both carbohydrates and protein may be ideal. In that study, obese women were assigned to either a low-carb breakfast of 290 calories or a 610-calorie breakfast rich in both carbs and protein. Big-breakfast eaters lost 21% of their body weight over the course of the study, compared to only 4.5% in the low-carb group. They also reported feeling less hungry and having fewer carbohydrate cravings. So instead of cutting carbohydrates out of your diet, consider eating them as part of your morning meal.

Not thrilled with the idea of fixing yourself breakfast every morning? The good news for you is that your breakfast doesn’t have to be elaborate to be effective. In fact, several studies have found that regular eaters of cold cereal have fewer weight problems than those who eat cereal infrequently, and children who eat breakfasts cereals that are high in carbohydrates tend to have lower body weights. Choose a cereal that is low in added sugar and high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

With scientific evidence so clearly in favor of eating a morning meal, there are few excuses left for skipping breakfast. Don’t be fooled into thinking that skipping the most important meal of the day is going to help you lose weight—as you can see, the opposite is true. Just making time for a bowl of cold cereal in the morning is a relatively simple lifestyle change that may have a significant impact on your weight and overall feeling of well-being.

A science freelance writer, Matthew Denos, enjoys presenting in an easy to understand fashion newsworthy research findings related to diet and weight loss. His passion for reading and learning more about obesity treatments and best rated diets for weight loss mirrors the content of his website; There you can find a discount code for BistroMD and a coupon code for Diet-To-Go.

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Posted by Susan Brown on April 1st, 2010 in Diet and Fitness | 1 comment Read related posts in blood sugar, breakfast, diet, eating, glycogen, weight loss

Can You Sleep Off the Pounds?

By Matthew Denos, Ph.D.

It may sound too good to be true, but a number of scientific studies are finding a relationship between sleeping habits and weight that suggests getting enough sleep may help you stay slim. This is good news for many of us, who have room to improve when it comes to our sleeping habits. Just a few decades ago Americans slept at least eight hours per night; today almost one-third of Americans report getting fewer than six hours of sleep. While there’s no question that diet and exercise are essential to staying healthy and trim, today’s obsessions with carbs, supplements, and fancy exercise equipment cause many of us to overlook a basic building block to a healthy life: a good night’s sleep. Placing a bit more importance on healthy sleeping habits may just be an easy way to lose a few pounds.

Studies Show Those Who Sleep Less Weigh More
Researchers in several different studies have found that people who get less than 7-8 hours of sleep per night tend to weigh more than those who get more shut-eye. One particularly large study found that a difference of just one hour per night was enough to predict weight gain among middle-aged women. Information collected from nearly 70,000 women over the course of 16 years showed that in every point in time, women who slept 7 hours per night weighed less than those who slept fewer hours. Those who slept 5 hours or less per night were 32% more likely to experience major weight gain (33 pounds or more) and 14% more likely to become obese over the course of the study. Those who slept an extra hour—6 instead of 5—fared a little better, but were still 12% more likely to experience major weight gain and 6% more likely to become obese.

The link between sleep and weight isn’t just true for women—it has also been found in men and even children. A study of adults 65 and older reported that men who slept fewer than 5 hours per night had an average Body Mass Index (BMI) 2.5 points higher than those who slept 7-8 hours and were 3.7 times more likely to be obese. Differences for women weren’t quite as great, but were still significant: average BMI was 1.8 points higher and they were 2.3 times more likely to be obese. And for both sexes, the difference in weight was a result of more fat, not more muscle.

The Role of Hormones
Scientists don’t know all the details about what causes this relationship between sleep and weight, but many point to the influence sleep has on hormone levels. Hormones are responsible for many of our physical responses, including appetite and eating behavior. Studies have found that being sleep-deprived affects ghrelin and leptin, the hormones responsible for regulating our eating behavior. Ghrelin is the chemical that tells your brain your body’s hungry, while leptin is the one that lets you know you’ve had enough to eat. Being sleep deprived causes your ghrelin levels to increase at the same time your leptin levels decrease. As you might guess, this leads to feeling hungrier.

Being hungrier might not make such a difference if sleep deprived people snacked on carrots and celery sticks, but it turns out that not getting enough sleep influences the kind of food we want to eat as well as the amount. When we’re sleepy, we tend to reach for foods that are high in fat and carbohydrates. Next time you get only a few hours of sleep, pay attention to the food you crave the next day—you’ll probably find that potato chips sound even better than usual. And even as you’re craving carbohydrates, sleep deprivation is interfering with your body’s ability to metabolize them, increasing insulin levels and promoting fat storage.

Combine higher levels of the hunger-causing hormone with a preference for high-calorie foods and decreased metabolism and it’s easy to see how sleeping too little can lead to weight gain.

Sleeping To Lose
It can be a struggle to fit everything into a 24-hour day, and too often a full night of sleep is one of the first things we sacrifice. But if you’re trying to lose weight, hoping to avoid the extra pounds that come with aging, or just want to maintain optimum health, you should make sleeping well a priority. This means getting at least 7 hours of sleep each night. If you have trouble sleeping, here are a few tips you can try:

• Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.
• Limit activities like computer use and television for an hour or two before bed.
• Keep your room dark and cool—sleep experts recommend about 68 degrees F.
• Use your bed only for sleeping, not for activities like reading, working, or watching television.
• If you get plenty of sleep but still feel tired, visit your doctor to rule out conditions like sleep apnea.

Of course, sleep is just one part of keeping your weight in control—diet and exercise are still important. But with a good night’s sleep, you just may find that you’re less inclined to make poor food choices, have more energy to exercise, and simply feel better during the day—all while decreasing your risk for becoming overweight or obese. You have nothing to lose except the weight!

Matthew Denos is a medical scientist and writer who provides valuable diet and weight loss tips based on studies from peer-reviewed scientific journals. His website www.weightlosstriumph.com offers a coupon for Medifast and a Nutrisystem promotion discount, two clinically proven weight loss programs.

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Posted by Susan Brown on March 29th, 2010 in Diet and Fitness, Health | No comments Read related posts in Body Mass Index (BMI), eating behavior, food, Ghrelin, night, pound, sleep, weight loss

Daylight Changing Time

Once a year we move the clocks ahead. We lose an hour. A priceless hour. This time of year reminds me of how precious our time is.

I was up in New England visiting family this weekend. Sitting at the table we were reminiscing about so many years – jobs, dates, schools, awards, detention, cars; we talked for hours. We laughed about good choices and were embarrassed about bad choices. We remembered the times in our lives. We built these lives, day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. Time allowed it.

In the last several months, Facebook has reconnected me to many people in my past – people from my grammar school, high school and college. In conversations with my grammar schoolmates, we realized it had been 35 year since we had spoken. Time gone by. Priceless time. Time we don’t get back.

Time, both vague and empirical, defines our lives. It is a unit of measure that guides us through our days and our lives. And we know from the outset, time for each of us will be limited. As Neil Armstrong says, “I believe every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don’t intend to waste any of mine.”

It is therefore up to each of us to see the value in our time – not to waste it – but rather to treasure it, celebrate it and use it to help us develop the best life possible.

Time is a critical component of the formula for a successful life:

• We must know ourselves – our talents, passions and interests (our true selves) – to know what makes us happy and what we are good at.
• We must know our world, to know the canvas we have available to create our lives.
• We use time to blend the two – our true selves and our world – to determine our unique fit – to create the best life possible.

Time allows this great life to unfold. Time is the enabler. But time is limited.

Consider the following ways to better use and treasure your time:

1. Plan your day; this will help you prioritize your life events and get to the things that are important.
2. Know yourself and know your world. Be constantly aware of what make you feel successful and happy. Build more of these into your day.
3. Pay attention to your health; eat wisely and exercise to feel well each day.
4. Build strong relationships; have loving and caring people in your life to share your time with.
5. Create a list of the things you want to do in life – a wish list. Do as many as you can. It adds excitement, anticipation and energy to your time.

Daylight changing time is a reminder that life is not a dress rehearsal; this is all the time we have. And we should respect, care for and treasure our time. Many may complain about losing an hour of sleep, but really there are so many other things lost in this movement to daylight savings time; an hour of visiting a loved one, an hour of fitness, an hour reading and learning, an hour of travel, an hour of meditation, an hour of walking on the beach, an hour of family time, an hour of thinking time – another hour of progress in building an exceptional life.

Time doesn’t return. When used it is gone. Daylight changing time is a wakeup call. Commit to valuing time, and using it to develop your best life.

Jay Forte is a motivational speaker and performance consultant. He is the author of Fire Up! Your Employees and Smoke Your Competition, The Hunt for Opportunities Success Manual and the on-line resource Stand Out and Get Hired. He works to connect people to their talents and passions to work strong and live stronger. More information at www.LiveFiredUp.com.

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Posted by Jay Forte on March 14th, 2010 in Diet and Fitness, Family, General, Health, Relationships, Spirituality, Things We Love | 1 comment Read related posts in bold life, daylight savings time, Family, know yourself, life formula, memories, time

A Healthy Diet for Life

Whether or not you are dieting for weight loss it is important that you consume a healthy diet for life. Never ever deprive your body from the delicious food once in a while. Instead do everything you can possibly can in order to stay healthy through following certain guidelines and instructions as recommended by your nutritionist or dietician.

Be very meticulous about the food you take. Remember to avoid those types of foods that can trigger or add up to problem later. Being choosy with foods does not mean you can’t eat delicious and sumptuous meals; all you have to do is to compliment these foods with healthy ones like fruits and vegetables in order to have balance.

So if you are keen to lose weight or simply maintain a healthy body, here are few tips that you can apply to your day-to-day living and achieve your goals:

1. Taking in enough calories for your body to burn. Too much or too few calories intake is not good. You should always remember to take in just enough calories to keep you up the whole day and do your routine. In order to know what the recommended calorie intake is you should ask a nutritionist about this matter. Since, every person’s calorie intake differs.

2. Eat in moderation. If you think eating one whole meal will give you what you need, then you are wrong! This will just trigger your body to crave for more and experience hunger much longer. If you eat in proportions and in a slow manner, then you are going to train your body to get full easily and not crave for more food.

3. Daily servings of fruits and vegetables. You would probably have remembered the saying, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Well, this is very well true to this present day. It might sound a little bit childish but this can go a long way. There are a lot of nutrients and vitamins found on every fruit and vegetable. It does not hurt if you are going to add up couple of fruits and vegetables on your diet.

4. Slow down and don’t rush in. Like any other things in life, you need to slow down the process in order not to ruin the momentum. In this way, your body will get attuned to the change that is going on and show certain symptoms or signs of bad effects of drastic diets.

Treat your body as a temple. Be sure you are giving your body all it needs in order to keep up with the daily routine without having to show signs of weakness in the long run.

Whether you are dieting for weight loss or just want to maintain a healthy lifestyle, the above-mentioned tips will definitely do wonders for you.

Posted by Susan Brown on January 25th, 2010 in Diet and Fitness | 1 comment Read related posts in calories, weight loss

Mental Shift

“The major adjustments we need to make are mental.” Price Prichard from “The Fourth Level of Change.”

To be great at work and in life requires a mental shift – a change in attitude that accepts the world on its terms, welcomes change and focuses on possibilities.

When we slept last night, the world changed. Technology has advanced our methods of communication. Science has changed our understanding of our beginnings, our development, our health and our world. We can watch all this happen around us and quickly be left behind. Or, we can realize that change and growth are what propels us to work strong and live stronger. We can realize that by embracing the new constant known as change, we can expand our understanding of ourselves and live and work in the most significant way possible.

Many of us are frozen by change because most people feel change will lead to loss instead of gain. We are convinced if change happens we will not be happy, safe, rich, or some other adjective, so we hold steadfastly to what we know. We freeze. We idle. We hide.

This creates the need for a mental shift. It is our choice to welcome change or fight it. We choose to advance, allow and augment, or whine, wince and worry. We control our perspective – we control our mental outlook. Indeed, we are constantly influenced by the information we receive and process all day, but it is our mental attitude (our outlook and approach) that determines how we process this information. If our outlook is pessimistic, resistant and reluctant, we will find things in our world that support this outlook – we become cynical, distrustful and suspicious. If however, our mental shift brings us to an outlook that is optimistic, upbeat and positive, we become more open, aware and responsive. We set the tone and the world will respond.

Here are my four steps for a mental shift to optimism and improvement

1. Start today. True, a new year is upon us and people seem more committed to making improvements at the start of the year. Great. But as you build a year-round mental shift plan, commit to starting what you choose to do as you choose to do it. Don’t postpone. I had a friend who would only make changes on the first day of a month – even if he identified something needing changing on the second day of the month. Crazy. If it is important enough to do, do it now.
2. Just a bit. Most people bite off more than they can chew. They try to make improvements that are too significant all at once. We are segmented learning creatures – we best handle things in “chunks.” So instead of trying to end a habit of poor eating, start one small new habit, such as eliminating dessert during the week, or eating 2 additional pieces of fruit a day. Just a bit. Small gains. And soon the accumulating small gains lead to significant change.
3. Call them “improvements.” Stay away from the language of “ending bad habits.” Instead, focus on “doing things that improve.” Mentally, we are more supportive of events that are seen as positive; we are more likely to succeed when we focus on improving. And along with #2 above, make “just a bit” improvements to be more successful. I grew up in an Italian Catholic family. In the period prior to Easter (Lent), most people I knew gave things up as their Lenten resolutions. In our family, we focused instead on adding (new habits) instead of giving up – we added things of value; we used Lent as a period to “improve.” This lesson remains a good one.
4. Celebrate your success. When success happens, applaud your effort, your achievement and your commitment. Start to change the internal voice from the critiquing old “grandmother”(the internal voice most of us have), to a supportive “friend” (the voice that allows us to improve, adjust and feel successful). Be kind to yourself. You are one brain and one heart in the middle of a large, often cruel and complex, world. Sometimes you will get it right; sometimes you will won’t. So, when you get it right, dance, sing, clap or do whatever helps you celebrate. Then move on to the next “little bit.” And when you don’t get it right, forgive yourself and start again.

I know today’s world moves much faster than I would like – sometimes it seems to give me more than I think I can handle. Despite this, I also know my attitude is the key to understanding myself, my world and to living and working in the most significant way possible. It is up to me to make this mental shift – to be positive, optimistic and to see possibilities – no matter what the world brings my way. And in the process, help to inspires others to do the same.

Shift happens – but only when we make it happen. What mental shift do you need to make to ensure you work strong and live stronger?

Wishing you a new year of mental shifts, small improvements and greater happiness.

Jay Forte is a motivational speaker and performance consultant. He is the author of Fire Up! Your Employees and Smoke Your Competition and the on-line resource, Stand Out and Get Hired. He works to connect people to their talents and passions to work strong and live stronger. More information at www.LiveFiredUp.com.

Posted by Jay Forte on December 27th, 2009 in Career, Diet and Fitness, Finances, Health, New Directions, Spirituality | No comments Read related posts in act now, change your attitude, happiness, improvement, make small changes, mental shift, own your life