Let it Be

I lean towards some mild depression – so when the shorter days and holidays come, it can really do a number on me. And life feels super-overwhelming this year for family and financial reasons.
Used to be, when I felt this way, I’d set these clearly unreasonable holiday workout, business and food “management” goals and IF I achieved them, I felt resentful that I hadn’t enjoyed my holidays and if I didn’t achieve them, I’d feel guilty.

So this holiday season, my theme was “Let it Be”

Whenever I felt down in the dumps, I said to myself “Let it Be”. If I thought exercising would make me feel better, I did it. If I thought laying on the couch and watching old Christmas movies would help, I did that. If I thought decorating the house top to bottom would help, I did that. If I thought baking cookies would help (a former “forbidden” action in my regimented food house), I did that. If I thought planning a five course meal for my husband and me for Christmas eve would help, I did that. I didn’t regiment my exercise. I didn’t create “holiday food rules” and go to parties having filled up on crudite (ha – like you can ever fill up on crudite).

I simply looked into my heart and said “I don’t feel great and I’m not going to beat myself up for that, I am going to do the first thing that comes to mind that might make me feel better and ‘Let it Be’ – let it be anything I want, let it be anything I think will bring me comfort, let it be anything that I think will make me feel happier, let it be anything that will help me get through.

And what was strange about it was there was one OTHER really important thing I didn’t do. I didn't go haywire with my eating.

You see, it used to be that by setting up my "food rules" of the holidays – I always set myself up to fail. By not baking or cooking, or only cooking “good” foods, I would put myself in “food sneaking” mode. I would go home to my family and eat healthfully in front of everyone, only to sneak into the family pantry at midnight and shovel down as many chips as I could get into my mouth. Or, I’d fill a sweatshirt pocket with cookies that weren’t “my” cookies while no one was watching to eat later. Or, I’d offer to clean up so I could sneak extra handfuls of stuffing as I filled the leftover containers. And I’d also watch others eat and resent the h*ll out of them! What a way to spend my holidays, right?

But I didn’t do ANY of those things this year.

Because I said “Let it Be.”

And in the process, I ate like a normal person. I over-indulged one day, and then under-indulged the next because my body BEGGED me to not eat any more and I said "let it be". I made cookies and didn’t feel the need to lick every bowl or sample every piece while they were hot. I’m not a big sweets person, so I had a few. There are still over 3 dozen in the freezer and I feel no desire for them. They’ll be broken out on occasions, parties, etc. throughout the year – without fear!

I cooked a NEW Christmas Eve Dinner and Christmas Day brunch, trying new recipes to start new traditions with my husband (we’re just 16 months married – this was our first Christmas with just us). Some recipes were healthful (like a TOO DIE FOR carrot soup that I will make again and again), others were festive and not particularly “light” but I was able to balance the meal with fresh vegetables we both love.

And I did all this because my mantra was “Let it Be” This was not going to be the best holiday ever – no matter what, but I wasn’t going to try and make it something its not or try and overcome by pushing myself to be “perfectly healthful.”

And now, I feel okay. I feel like I WANT to pick up on my exercise and eat a lot more fresh foods not because I have to, but because my body wants that.

And most importantly, I feel like I made it through the holidays without doing anything worth beating myself up for and can approach the New Year without having to feel like I “must get back to perfection because I’m such a loser”. That’s how I would have felt in years past.

I am going to work today on my New Year’s Evolution plan, re-set on my P90X (http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/iofitwithang ) for 90 days, and prep to paint my workout/BeachBody Business room. Because today, I’m going to “let it be” as well, and this is where I want to be!

Gettin' Busy

One of the things I find deeply "de-motivating" for me is not being busy enough or maximizing my time. You see, when I have to juggle a million things, I am far better at getting things done. When I'm "slow" in business, personal to-dos or volunteer work, I find FAR too much time to neglect the health to dos (as well as everything else).

By the same token, when I have all these balls in the air, it's sometimes hard to figure out what to do first.

So I am applying a few helpful tools I have learned from Renee Stephens' "Inside Out Weight Loss" MP3s (find them on ITunes) and from the Franklin organization system.

The first is to dream big. Really big. What would you dream of having, who would you dream of being, what would you dream of doing if you had no limitations.

Now this is easier said than done -- really it is -- because we all have limiting beliefs and inner critics and pasts that seem to gang up on us to stop us from dreaming those dreams. So it takes some work. I recommend looking at ITunes for Inside Out Weight Loss OR, if weight loss is not your issue, you can find many guided mediations to help you quiet the limiting beliefs, inner critics and voices from the past.

Do them! Find a way to dream big.

My dreaming big led me to this list:

5 YEAR PLAN

INCOME

• $5 million cash in a working, accessible, money earning account
• Income of $250,000 per year: 80% DKD, 20% BeachBody ($175,000/$75000)
• $16,000 for creating final step to cash only lifestyle!!
• Investment in real estate:4 properties, 2 domestic, 1 international

REGULAR EXPENSES/INDULGENCES

• New Audi: paid for
• House: new floors and painted inside
• Regular maid service
• Regular dog walker and sitter
• Boat and mooring for DH (if I buy it, I get to pick mooring location, if he buys it, he gets to pick :-) )
• Two planned trips per year and ability to take four weeks off

PHYSICAL & MENTAL HEALTH

• New relationship with family on MY terms
• Comfortably maintaining size 8 body
• BFP of 23-25%
• Waist at 28 inches or less
• Weight at 155 or less (I'm 5'10")

PHILANTHROPY

• Foundation for OCJM established; Production chair only, new chair in place
• 5% of Income to JM
• 10% of income goes back into Children's obesity elimination/drinking water initiatives or other health-related charities or SPCA

But the dreaming big is only half the practice (because it is a practice, you will have to keep dreaming and refine and adjust your dreams as you grow and change).

The "creating the plan" to make the dream happen is the next practice. And you have to do that by looking at your "to do list" and figuring out what actions will be the most beneficial to achieving your dreams. Those become the priorities so you can maximize your time.

So I'm doing that. And that's why I am here. You see, a wonderful friend has invited me to become a BeachBody coach. Now, this will ADD to the things on my "to do" list in some ways, but, more importantly, it will make things I already DO work in my favor.

I have been "blogging" on chat boards about my new found discovery of how to learn to be "naturally slender" for about four weeks now. I've been "practicing" the tools to become naturally slender for about the same time.

In the process, I've lost 11 pounds and 1-2 inches each off my chest, waist and hips.

But I was feeling a little guilty about all the time I was spending on this (the hardest thing to do is to put our own health first, right?).

Well now, I have found a way to overcome that guilt. By being a BeachBody coach http://beachbodycoach.com/iofitwithang , I have created an opportunity to combine my fitness practice with the practice of making my dreams come true by increasing my income.

And every second I spend now blogging, encouraging others, encouraging myself? --ALL THOSE MINUTES not only support my health dream, but my income dreams and my philanthropic dreams.

How cool is that??!

Now I promise, this blog is not going to be one huge "BeachBody" sale pitch. We are going to focus on the emotional issues and the limiting beliefs that keep us from reaching our fitness dreams and goals. But I will offer everyone the opportunity to join me from time to time by using the BeachBody tools or becoming a coach like me -- and if that works to support your dreams, JOIN ME!

For today: take some time and figure out what your BIG DREAMS are so you can create a plan to start making those dreams reality!