What is Sabotaging Your Weight Loss?

I have just lost my entire post.  I've spent an hour or more flip-flopping my sentence structure before it had made sense.  Then, while typing, at a mindless speed, the post vanished.  How did I lose it?   I tried everything I knew to retrieve it.  I am just a bit frustrated!

How is it we can't lose weight as easy as we lose a document, an engagement ring or a pair of designer sunglasses?  Then we are frustrated when we can't lose it as quickly as we desire.  Similarly, we are frustrated when we lose our car keys having just had them a moment ago.


Weight loss, for most of us, is more of an emotional endeavor than a physical one.  Have you ever stopped to ask yourself what your motivation is for losing weight?  I have asked each and every client who desires to lose weight what their motivation is.  Here are the two most common answers:




     1.  "I want to look better and have more confidence."  
I'd say, when my client finally is truthful, that this is the most common answer given.  We feel better about ourselves when we can fit into our clothes.  And, there is a sense of achievement when we can maintain a size that is enviable to our peers.


     2.  "I want to be healthier."  
There are a number of people who really do not seem to care whether or not they look better, they want to be able to feel physically stronger and have a better quality of life.  Often this person is dealing with some kind of health issue.


    Let's face it,  we care what people think about how we look or how disciplined we are.  In the world we live in today we are bombarded with perfect looking bodies everywhere we turn.  It can be downright exhausting to try to compete with all we are exposed to.  Stop competing, and move towards a leaner, healthier body right now by giving up the diet mentality!


This is easier said than done.  I am sure all of you would love to never have to think about dieting again as long as you live.  Well, then do it!  Let me guide you!

For today, give yourself permission to simply observe how you eat and what your true desire is when it comes to food.  If you are a sugar junkie, getting your appetite under control can be difficult.  Once you eat sugar, your blood sugars elevate , but, will drop quickly. This process can make us feel hungry, even if we aren't truly hungry.  When we diet we feel deprived and hungry and our blood sugars drop.  This is when we will eat anything that will fulfill us.  Usually, it is the high octane carbs, such as cookies, chips and breads, that we will jump on when given the opportunity.

Marchelle, Bodeci Body of the month.  She lost the weight she gained vacationing by doing the "10 minutes, 100 less and 5 more"  program.   More on Marchelle and her fantastic achievements to come!

Once you have openly discovered your patterns, make the choice to eat healthier; more vegetables, more fruits, legumes and whole grains.  When you want a special treat, allow it, but only if it is a treat you truly desire and find extraordinary in it's appearance, texture and flavor.  Do not settle for less!

I have seen time and again my client's disciplined weight loss plan begin on Monday.  Then it's the weekend and Friday through Sunday is a buffet line in Vegas.  I know, you are human.  Deprivation and suffering doesn't work for more than a few days.  (You'll only put on more weight because you make up for the dieting deprivation by eating whatever and whenever you can from Friday through Sunday.  Huh..)

If you want to feel unsuccessful, diet, if you want to feel strong and powerful,  don't diet, be mindful.  A great book on the subject is Brian Wansick's "Mindless Eating".  Read it and understand what is behind FAT!  You are not to blame for your ignorance.  You have been fed a bunch of junk!  (No pun intended!)


No more frustration!  Today you are a human being.  So, be human!

Stories: The Unknown Woman

One lovely summer afternoon my boyfriend, Randy (who is my husband today but we were not yet married) and my two boys, Gian and Jordan, went to a fundraiser at our local church.  It was a community affair, but there were a whole lot of folks I didn't know, which is really different for me as I was raised in this small community.

We had already gone through the "buffet" line (they were serving hot dogs and potato salad) when we plunked ourselves down at a picnic table to relish in the old fashioned fare.  As we began to eat, a family (dad first then two boys then mom) walked by our table.  We smiled and said "hello" and they did the same.   

The "mom" was, by all accounts, hefty, and she was beautiful!  But, what I noticed was her attention to detail.  She wore an attractive and updated version of the "moo moo" in magenta colors.  Her hair was long, black and gorgeous; very Polynesian.  Her skin was luminous, a rich nut color and moisturized with care.  She wore a shimmering shade of magenta on her lips.  When she smiled at us and pulled her sunglasses down (flirty), and said "hello" in her husky voice, it was transformational.   To have seen this woman in all her glory, changed my idea of 'beautiful' forever.

I couldn't stop thinking about her drop dead gorgeousness as the day went by.  Later, when the boys were asleep, I asked Randy who he thought was the most beautiful woman at the gig.  (Thank God he knows to say, "you, dear" first.)  

"This may come as a surprise, but remember that woman who flipped her sunglasses down when she said 'hello'...?"  How could I forget? 

The "Unknown Woman" taught me the best lesson of my life.  Smile, laugh, have joy, be present with others, love yourself, love others, show off your best attributes and be real.  This is to live BODECI!

What is beautiful?  To be skinny?  To be more curvy?  No!  To be real!


Move away from the mirror that makes you feel ugly!  Take back your individuality and show the world  a new and loving person!  You can change an attitude in an instant with a look and a smile.  She did!  

Now, YOU do it!  Be beautiful!!!  Let me know...

B stands for: Begin! Then Believe!

"What does BODECI mean?"  I have been asked this question a lot lately.  It's time to share the secrets behind BODECI!  "B" stands for begin, or at least it did.  After today, it stands for believe.  So, let's begin!

We’ve all heard the statistics…more than half of Americans are overweight or obese, not to mention unfit. We also know that a sound diet and regular exercise can make a huge difference in regard to changes in the body. Exercise has many benefits such as strength and endurance, better appearance, better quality of life, stress reduction and weight management, to name a few. Now, with all these fantastic benefits, why is it so hard for so many to make the commitment to exercise and to eat nutritiously for weight loss?  I can think of three reasons: 

1) Low priority in hectic day/week

2) Bombarded with too much diet/exercise information

3) Misinformed about diet and exercise

I want to focus on number two for a moment. How many diet books do you own or have you purchased? There are so many “experts” out there, it is no wonder you might be confused as to how to lose weight and/or get in shape. Some of the latest “diets du jour” contradict each other; The Skinny Bitch, My Diet Diva, The Perfect Ten, The Biggest Loser, Dr. Siegel’s Cookie Diet Book, Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, Quick Weight Loss Action, Super Fast Weight Loss For Women and the list goes on and on. There are over 100 selections in diet book best sellers right now on Amazon.com!  (Notice the negative connotations in most of these title's?)

Though finding the ultimate “thruth” about diet and exercise is nearly impossible to uncover, what I know for sure is that everyone begins at a different place. I love this word, different, and this is where the CASH COWS (the diet industry) make big money with the diet books they are throwing at you.  How dare they suggest that you eat according to their dictate.  STOP the cycle!!  Get off the diet bandwagon!  (Eat food!  Just eat less of it if you want to lose weight.  Always eat MORE vegetables, though!)

One of my favorite breakfasts:  the bodeci fistada.  

You must know what you really want.  Do you ever think about how much better your life would be if you were only this or that?  (“I’ll go hiking when I get in shape,” or “I won’t wear a swimsuit until I’m a size much smaller than I am now.”) What is needed is a desire to change your body because of very specific reasons. It could be for health reasons or simply to look better in your clothes. Desire for change compels us to reach out and at least try. So ask yourself, “Do I really want to make physical changes?” and “Am I willing to change the way I think in order to make those changes?”

It may be you need to go from having a diet mentality to one who enjoys delicious food judiciously.  Or, it may be you need to stop thinking exercise is having to go to a gym or jump on a treadmill for an hour (boring!) to that of moving for a simple purpose (cleaning  your house) or that of joy (dancing,hiking, biking playing).  

Bodeci means moving with purpose!

When beginning to create your authentic body, your attitude is very important. There is no use for those old pitiful or angry thoughts, for they will only serve to derail you while you are shifting away from "I need to be deprived and overworked in order to have the body I want!"   An attitude can be adjusted quite easily by understanding what your true motivations are for getting healthy, lean and fit.  Never forget the years of negative thought and pain you have endured until today.  Are you ready to stop the cycle of self loathing and confusion?
  

Because there is only one of you, there is only one plan. The one designed for you with your lifestyle in mind; one that you can live with, because it’s not just a strategy to get you somewhere; it’s one that you will live with for life. 

Now, go explore!

Bodeci Fristada

Saute' veggies in a small frying or omelet pan.  (I used onion, zucchini and mushrooms).

Crack an egg in a bowl, add a tablespoon of water and whip until just blended.

Pour egg mixture onto veggies and turn heat down to cook slowly.

In about a minute or two, add a small handful of shredded cheese of your choice.

Cover another minute then top with a corn tortilla.

Cover for another minute then flip the whole thing over and cover again.

A minute later, flip the fristada over onto a plate.  Optional:  add a dollop of  sour cream and salsa.

Bodeci means live life with joy and enjoy a lifestyle that keeps you moving and eating well!

Eat to live and live with passion

What you’re about to read may contain inappropriate content for some individuals.  Viewer discretion is advised.

My sweet kitty, Tickles, is a passionate hunter.  She loves to kill and dismember voles (a mouse-like mole capable of destroying gardens) and leave me a “trophy” of blood and guts on my beautiful wool carpet in the office.

I have my own passion.  I love being part of my clients’ and students’ positive body transformations.  It isn’t just the body that benefits from these changes, their whole being becomes more positive.  And, most often it results in them finding their passions!  (Pictured above:  My passionate client and friend, Nikki, who started with me in April '08 and a year later lost 84 pounds and ran her first marathon.)

We tried to keep Tickles from hunting by keeping her inside at night.  But, in the morning when I woke and put her outside, she’d resume the hunt.  Hunting is her passion. There is nothing, except keeping her in the house day and night, that will keep her from killing vermin.

When we honor our passions, we are living our authentic life.  And when we live with this kind of authenticity we do not need to stuff our desire to live our passion with food.  When engrossed in your passion you eat when you are hungry; an ‘eat to live’ mentality.  

Think about it, if you lived passionately there wouldn’t be enough hours in the day to do what you love. Time would be more precious.  You wouldn’t think to take time away from your passion to mindlessly eat!

Now, go find YOUR PASSION!