Why a Client Nearly Lost Her Pants

October 24, 2012 by 2 Comments

I was thrilled when a client told me she had put on a pair of pants she hadn’t worn for a couple of months and as she walked out the door, she noticed they were very loose. She took a few steps and they dropped about four inches and she had to quickly pull them up.

Why was I thrilled? Because she wants to improve her health and has been working very hard to lose weight. This story told me that the results are truly beginning to show…BIG time!

How has she done this?

Mainly by being aware of and slowly changing her eating habits.

I don’t believe that diets work because most weight-loss diets are too restrictive. Given this belief, we used a different to approach the problem; that is, we worked on changing beliefs, ideas and habits that result in unhealthy eating and an unhealthy body.

What I know to be true is that losing weight gained over a long time can’t be fixed in a few weeks! Yet I see women who don’t have the patience to stick with a program, especially when they have a few setbacks (and there WILL be setbacks) revert to fast fixes, a sure path to a downhill slide and even more weight gain.

Other dangerous times are when we hit that dreaded plateau and the scale doesn’t move. We can feel we’ve failed, the process isn’t working, and many simply give up.

If you’re thinking of losing a few or a lot of weight, here are some questions to ask yourself before starting a steady, lasting, weight-loss program.

  1. Why do I want to lose weight?
  2. What will losing that extra weight do for me?
  3. What will not losing the excess pounds do for me?

The most important of these questions is the “why.” If you want to lose weight and don’t know the “why,” then a commitment to the process will be fleeting and possibly a failure. This is the key to overcoming setbacks including the patience to work through the plateau.

With Halloween and the holiday season coming up, this is the time to decide how you want to look and feel during and after the holidays. Perhaps this is a good time to decide how you want to be at the start of the year. Remember, it starts with those little Halloween treats that look so tiny they couldn’t possibly harm you…you know the tempting little “bite size” Snickers, Milky Way and Baby Ruth kind.

Final thought: Love yourself no matter what your weight is. Love your body. It’s the only one you have.

How have you handled the holiday eating whirlwind? I’d love to hear from you.

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Happy Holidays!

December 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I love the holiday season! It changes our everyday lives into a time for lists filled with to-do’s, spending, remembering loved ones, and mailboxes filled with something other than junk mail. What I especially like is the surge of human energy that surrounds us. It’s a temporary escape from reality before plunging into the real world of 2012 which could be much like 2011.

It’s also a time when there’s a lot of creativity in making others feel in a holiday mood. Here in Alameda, CA, although it’s a small town, Christmas Tree Lane is always popular and fun to walk up and down. My favorite is the parents trying to answer the endless questions the little ones have. Click on either photo and it will take you to another version where if you click again, you can see a larger photo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was so impressed with the following creative Christmas lights display found on UTube, in case you haven’t seen this.

From what I understand, the creator of this display is a computer genius as well as a fabulous designer. Open the link and see if you agree:

Best Christmas Lights Display

Then there’s the husband who is in a hurry to play golf and is definitely not a designer (yes, honey..I did hang the lights)…

A wad of Xmas lights hanging from roof

That's one item off my Honey-Do list!

One of the highlights of this season is the shopping trip with my grandsons (twins 14 and their little brother 10). While shopping for their dad, they really thought I should have this piece of furniture. (It’s bigger than my living room).

Three boys after shopping for Dad

This is an awesome piece of furniture

Whatever you’re doing, wherever you are, I hope you will savor each moment of the rest of the year and that the coming year will filled with joy, love and abundance.

With love and good wishes,

Dolores

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10 Tips to Help You Enjoy the Holidays

December 1, 2010 by 3 Comments
Christmas Tree

Lighting the Tree in Puerto Rico

Do you enjoy the holiday season? Sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t. How about you? What I love is getting together with friends and family, the wonderful decorations, the music and the memories of past celebrations.

What I don’t like that last-minute shopping, too much food, lots of cleaning up after marathon cooking and spending too much money on things people don’t need or want.

Here are some tips that may help you enjoy every minute of this wonderful season. From all I hear, read and do, I believe that planning is the key to a stress-free season.

1.     It starts with a decision. Decide you’re going to enjoy every minute of the season, even the stressful parts.

2.     If you’re hosting a special event, create your plan and write it down! A lack of planning can be distressful. Plan everything…shopping, menus, seating, etc.  I love cooking with my daughter-in-law because she plans her menus, shops for the ingredients and always keeps the youngsters in mind. The best part is that if I’m assigned to make something; i.e., a pie, she has all the ingredients measured and set out for me so that it’s easy to put the ingredients together. She knows her kitchen and pantry and I don’t.

3.     Set a budget for gifts and stick with it. Some families draw names and have spending limits for gift-giving. Others buy gifts only for the children. It’s nice to have a package or two to open on the special day, so we do give small stocking-stuffer type gifts. I wonder if everyone did this, would we be able to stem the blatant commercialism that surrounds what are meant to be religious holidays?

4.     Buy the important gifts first…children, spouse, partner, etc., and then purchase the smaller gifts. Some you may want to make. Last year I gave a few friends who don’t really need anything, a jar of my special chocolate fudge sauce and attached the recipe for it to the jar. It was a big hit.

5.     Use cash and leave your credit cards at home when shopping. If you don’t like carrying around a lot of cash, your bank can issue a prepaid gift card and use that for your shopping. Not only will you limit your spending but you will have a record of what you have spent and what you have left.

6.     My least favorite shopping is looking for a special outfit for the holidays. If it was purchased much earlier, it can be a pain to shop when stores are crowded and service is not available. What do you have in your wardrobe that adding a bit of bling to will create a new look? There are lots of inexpensive baubles that will dress up the basic outfit to create a holiday flair. The truth is that most people don’t remember what you wore last year unless it was over-the-top spectacular. Do you remember what you wore last year? I certainly don’t, and if someone else remembers, well, they can enjoy it again.

7.     One of my favorite things to do is to carry around lots of one-dollar bills when I’m shopping. That way I can put money in the many Salvation Army buckets and I know that the money will be well spent. Maybe I’m selfish but I like to encourage these volunteers because I receive more joy from the smiles I get from the wonderful people ringing the bells.

8.     Give up the idea of being the chief ant and get help from your colony. Younger hands and ideas can fill in to make your tasks lighter. And remember, if you’re a guest at a daughter or son-in-law’s home, praise their efforts sincerely and nix the advice unless it’s asked for.

9.     Plan relaxation time. There’s nothing beautiful about being harassed and overwhelmed. Taking a brisk walk, indulging in a warm bubble bath or treating yourself to a pedicure will go a long way toward looking relaxed and sensational.

10. Finally, we can be grateful that we have the freedom to shop, celebrate, and give. Take the time to contribute a toy, canned goods, a bag of groceries, or money to your favorite organizations. I’m grateful that I’m able to give as well as to receive.

Here are some of my favorite resources for gift-giving.

Give a Gift. Change a Life.

Toys for Tots

Food Banks

Enjoy!

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