Introduction
Last week I was so “busy” looking for inspiration, looking for answers. Trying to figure out what my next step should be was driving me a little nuts. I currently have several projects that I’ve been working on; however none of them seem to excite me to the point of progress. My “aha” moment came while I was working on one of my other blogs
Life Lessons. The lesson I was working on had to do with inspired action, how it relates to the Law of Attraction and how you can recognize inspiration. One of the sugestions the lesson makes is taking a step back and quieting the mind in order to get in touch with your intuition. Remember you cannot force inspiration, it comes in it's own perfect time...but it will come.
At first nothing seemed to be happening. No inner voice. No inspired ideas. I wasn't really sure what to do so I just let go of all of it all, took the night off. Did nothing. That evening while chilling out I heard a little voice whisper “show yourself, share the challenge”. I didn’t need to ask the question, I knew which challenge it was referring to, my biggest...my weight. The thought of sharing this particular challenge was a bit frightening to say the least, but part of me could see the benefit of opening up and letting it go...the other part of me thought I was crazy.
Inspiration doesn’t always make sense at the moment you receive it. You may not understand how the inspiration fits in with what you want to achieve. However I know that when I tune in and listen to it, my intuition won’t steer me wrong. But knowing it didn’t seem to stop the gremlin from attempting to convince me that exposing myself in this manner isn’t a great idea. I must admit that this is not the first time I’ve had this idea. The difference is I’ve decided to tell my gremlin to shut up.
The next day I was updating my face book page and reading through some of my friends posts, when I came across a post that spoke to the Life Lesson on inspiration. It seemed I was not the only one struggling with inspired action. As I wrote my response my gremlin started to quiet down…a little. The following day the same friend wrote about “being human” and that was the moment I understood. That was the moment I thought “ok, so you’re scared big deal. I’ve been there before. It’s ok to be human. This could help someone. This could help you.”
After that realization I knew I needed to move on the idea before my feet got extremely cold. So after committing to the followers of my
Life Lessons Blog that on Monday I would share my inspiration and what I did to move the idea forward. So I took a few days off to take action.
Before we begin let me just say that I am not a Doctor, Nutritionist, or Trainer and that if you choose to try any of the methods I mention you should consult your physician before you begin any diet or exercise program.
One of the biggest misconceptions about coaching is that a coach has to “be” where you want to “go” in order to help get you there. This is false. In coaching the answers come from you, not from the coach. The coach helps you see possibilities, identify opportunities, and leverage attitude and actions so that you can achieve “YOUR” goals. Coaches support, guide, and hold you accountable. You do the work, we help you stay on track and although sessions can be therapeutic we are NOT therapists.
So Welcome to my blog. My name is Barbara Brooke, I’m a Life & Business Coach. And I am human.
Background: (I’ll try to keep this short as possible while still giving you a strong foundation for understanding).
As you can see for yourself, I wasn’t always heavy. I was very active when I was young. Between school activities, helping around the house, cheerleading and work I didn’t have nor did I want a lot of time to just sit around and do nothing.
Even when I was seven months pregnant with my first child I was still fairly thin, so much so I received a lecture from my Doctor to start eating more bread and pasta…he was a little worried that I wasn’t gaining enough weight…who was I to argue, after all who doesn’t love pasta and fresh bread! But by the time I was into my eighth month the weight gain thing was no longer an issue and the Doctor told me to ease off the pasta…he give-ith, he take-ith away.
My Brother Phillip, Kelli and I
Myself, Jessica and Kelli
Still I was fairly thin, even after my second child. So when did it all start? I’m not really sure, my guess is little by little and by the time I was 28 I was carrying 50 extra lbs. When my first marriage ended I had so many issues to deal with. My husband was emotionally abusive; he had informed me that through-out our marriage he had eight mistresses, the last was with my brother’s wife. I was out of work, he had cleaned out our bank accounts (including my kids college funds), filed bankruptcy and listed my home and anything else he could to make life as tough as possible for me.
It was a lot for anyone to cope with, but cope I did. I found strength in my girls. I realized if I couldn't do it for me I would do it for them until I could. I got strong, lost 50lbs, and didn't allow his behavior to strip me of my values. I gave up soda, started walking every night from North Beach in Hampton to Seabrook and back. It didn’t take long, to drop the weight that is. Anyway over the next 18 years my weight has fluctuated up and down…more up than down. It has been a constant struggle, one I am ready to change.
In 2007 my weight was the highest it had ever been…196 lbs. I was in shock (but not really, let’s face it we know when we’re packing them on). I felt like crap. My clothes didn’t fit. I was depressed and enough was enough. I wanted answers, not just for me but for everyone who felt like me. We all know the simple formula; calorie reduction + calorie burn. Simple yes, easy…I guess it’s all in how you look at it. Have you heard the saying “Diets Don’t Work”? Well I have some bad news for you (or if you’re a positive person such as me, some good news)…They do. A particular diet may not be right for me or you, but most of the diets out there have worked for someone, so they work.
Prep Work
One of the things my deiting taught me was that before I would have any success at loosing this weight I would have to face myself and admit that it wasn’t the diets that didn’t work it was me who didn’t work them.
1. Face myself & take responsibility. (Taking responsibility put’s the power to change the situation in your hands). Done, and I do.
My next step was to define what I wanted and why I wanted it (what is the benefit, what do I get from losing the weight).
2. Define what I want (goal) and why (what is the benefit).
a. I want to lose 52 more pounds, because I want to feel better, improve my health, go into a store and be able to easily find something that fits, look good, and gain more confidence in my appearance.
Next was to review the long list of diets and exercise programs I tried and figure out which of them I worked best and why. I also needed to know what problems I had with some of the other’s and decide if they were an option for me or if I could check them off my list once and for all (some of the diets I have tried three and four times each).
3. Review the list of diets I’ve attempted. Identify which of them worked best for me and why.(in no particular order).
a. Weight Watches-(Points, counting weighing, time consuming)
b. NutriSystem ( too restrictive and costly)
c. Jenny Craig (costly and wanted you buy “extras)
d. Hypnosis Diet(Liked)
e. I Can Make You Thin (Liked)
f. Six Week Body Make Over (Liked)
g. Flat Belly Diet(A pain)
h. Atkins(couldn’t manage, my picky food habits made it difficult, also beginning tough)
i. South Beach (couldn’t manage, my picky food habits made it difficult)
j. Negative Calorie (Liked)
k. Skinny Switch Secret (expense)
l. Let’s Do Lunch( just didn’t get into it, never really gave it a real shot)
m. Small Steps (Liked)
n. Soup Diet(get sick of the food, had to leave a lot out because I don’t like it)
o. Grapefruit Diet (Have you tried this one)???
p. Carb Switch (ok)
q. Belly Fat Cure (Like)
r. 2 Week Total Body Turn around (Pain)
s. Supplements/Pills (too, too many to list)
t. And many more
Ok this list is just way too long, but I am sure you get the idea. Also note that just because some of them didn’t fit for me doesn’t mean they won’t fit you, some of the ones I did not like may make great plans for someone else).
4. Look at the diets that I did not like and ask why, and if they are not an option cast them aside and don’t waste any more time or money on them. (Done see above)
5. .Review the diets I liked and decide what I like about them.
This is a combined list, not all of the diets that I like have all of these qualities.
a. Tons of choices I can deal with
b. Easy
c. Easy to incorporate
d. Can work with family
e. Can eat out easily
f. Don’t feel deprived
g. Results
h. Lasting results (Best; Small Steps & Belly Fat Cure)
Once that was complete I listed exercises I enjoy enough to do on a regular basis.
6. Exercises I find enjoyable
a. Boxing
b. Tae Bo
c. WII. Fit, Fit Plus & Active
d. Walking
e. Lifting
At this point I can begin to see a plan taking form. I know what I want & why. I know and understand the simple formula (reduce calories in & increase calorie burn). However I also need to know what my challenges are; in some cases my challenges became my excuses so I need to identify them and plan ahead. I also need to honor my favorites and find a way to work them in, not as a reward but just because I love them, no deprivation, no guilt.
7. Challenges
a. Right Arm Tendonitis (Bowling)
b. Left Shoulder (Dog)
c. Left Knee (from car accident)
d. 3 Damaged disks in neck (From car accident)
e. Fibroid Tumors
f. Headaches (mostly from neck)
g. Time
8. Honor my favorites
a. Pasta & Sauce
b. Fresh Bread & Butter
c. Chocolate (milk, cake, frosting)
d. Dove ice cream bars
Well where are all the photos of me as I gained the weight. As I gained weight I hid from cameras. I was almost always the one taking the picture or hiding, but I will keep looking and will post one as soon as I find it.
About nine months ago I lost 23lbs and was down to 173…but I put it back on quickly. Since then I have combined a few aspects of some of the diets I like and have since lost 12lbs. My current weight is 184 lbs. The combination that I chose has allowed me to hold steady at 184lbs very easily.
The two Diets with aspects I combined are:
Small Steps & Belly Fat Cure
I will be using aspects from both of these diets and will be sharing those with you along with any and all supplements I am taking in upcoming posts.
So how is this going to work? Although I will not wait until next week to begin my new program it may take a few days to get all the start up work posted. Once I have posted all the aspects I will start posting weekly updates on Monday mornings (my week will run Monday through Sunday night). My updates will include weigh ins, challenges, wins, feelings, measurements, and activities. My starting weight 184lbs…I can’t believe I am sharing all of this, it’s not easy but I feel…free.
My next post will be Tuesday the 23rd. I will be going over my lifestyle plan as well as post the starting measurement that matter most to me.
Until then please share my blog with everyone. I also encourage anyone and everyone to post comments and questions as often as possible. The more accountability the better, and the feedback will help me not only stay on track but also know if what I am doing is helping anyone in any way.
Thank you for taking the time to read about me and my struggle. I hope that you will return and/or become a follower
Until Tuesday, Smile Often
Barbara
; The easiest plan by far (for me) for dealing with what to eat and how much. A simple formula that I can incorporate easily with the above method and my life.
; There are several things I liked about this one and all you need to do is follow 4 simple rules: Eat when you feel hungry!, Eat whatever you want!, Eat consciously!, Rule 4. Once you feel full stop eating! Sounds crazy I know, but when you follow these rules you will be amazed at how much less you eat.
