By Erika Smith
Weight Loss Coach, Personal Trainer Food
In these current times, one way to help with stress and anxiety you may be experiencing is to focus any potential negative energy on something positive. With everything going on, it is especially important to spend some time each day focusing on yourself. You cannot pour from an empty cup.
Whether you are at your health goal or not, we have three ways to improve your life and stay on track.
Best of all, they are so easy, you can apply them this minute and see results right away.
Tip #1: It’s Like Riding a Bike
When you first learned to ride a bike, you fell a time or two, didn’t you? What did you do next? You got right back on the bike as soon as you could. Yes, maybe you had some tears and a road rash, but every time you got back on the bike you came that much closer to NEVER falling off of it again.
If you are facing the reality that you have fallen off your diet or need a little dietary correction, you can pick yourself back up again— this very moment. There is no reason to live with regret another second.
Here is what you can do right now: You know that you are going to eat or drink something in the next few hours or minutes. Ask yourself: what is my next meal going to be? What is my next snack? What is my next non-caloric beverage?
Focusing on these short-term goals on a daily basis will get you off to a great start. Literally in no time, you will find yourself on track with your goals and feeling great, much like the first time you rode your bike without falling.
Tip #2: Text a Buddy
The other day, I just briefly mentioned to my husband Tony that I wanted to tune up my diet, and starting on Monday, I was going to fast for 48 hours. He turned to me and said proudly “I’m going to fast and diet with you!” I was unsure if he would really diet with me, after all, this is something he has never shown interest in before.
The next morning, my phone lit up with a text reminding me not to eat. I stared at it, irritably thinking “wait a minute, I’m the one who said I was doing this fast, of course I’m not going to eat!”
But the cute smiley face that followed it told me that this was actually a sweet note of encouragement. And so began our fasting. Each day of our fast, we sent texts back and forth sharing humorous thoughts together. As the days went on, we continued sending each other words of encouragement.
I couldn’t get enough of our conversations! While I thought I would do this all by myself, the truth was that I would not have done as well as I did without the support we gave each other.
Here’s what you can do right now: send an encouraging text to one of your friends, a colleague, family member or spouse. Who is struggling a little with their weight loss goals, needs a little push in the right direction, or even just a kind word? It really doesn’t matter what the text is about; when you give someone good energy, you get that back 10X over.
You can tell them that it is never too late to get back on the bike. Share the Power Question technique below with them, too. Invite them to give Personal Trainer Food a try if they need help with weight loss.
Tip #3: Never Stop Asking Powerful Questions
It seems like the older we get, the fewer questions we ask, and we start accepting things as they are. In other words, we “settle.”
Remember when you were a kid and you wanted to know everything about everything? You drove your parents crazy with questions, didn’t you? (As a mom of three I find myself snickering “If you ask one more question, I’m gonna…”) But those are important questions because they lead to more, even better questions. Eventually, after asking enough questions you were able to comprehend the big picture, right? You learned and changed a lot doing that!
Now, as an adult you know a lot of stuff, but if you have not yet reached your goals you need to know something more. The problem is that when most adults ask themselves questions about weight loss, they end up paralyzing themselves. For example, a typical question sounds like this: “Why can’t I lose weight?” or “When will these cravings stop?” Can you hear the self-defeat in those? Those won’t get you anywhere.
Here is what you can do right now: use this technique to ask questions that will get you POWERFUL results. This is something I do every single day. Even several times a day. I promise you that these questions will change your life!
Step One: Ask a question that sounds like this—you can swipe these questions for yourself if you can’t think of any, they will work!
- How can I lose more weight right now?
- What can I do today that will propel me towards my goals?
- What one thing can I change in this moment that will help me get what I want in life?
- Who can I talk to today who will help me to stay on track?
- What can I do right now to slide back into my favorite jeans?
- Where can I find the next step I need to take to get to my goal?
Step Two: Don’t TRY to answer your question! Let your subconscious work on the answer for you. If an answer pops up, that’s great! If it doesn’t…just wait for it, it will come. Asking questions like these put you in an immediate mind-set for success; it is like putting your goals on auto-pilot.
…and just like a kid, keep asking your Power Questions! As you learn more, ask even better Power Questions, and you will get to where you want to be in life.
Go ahead, ask yourself one of those questions right now!
P.S. If you have any questions about Personal Trainer Food, you can always call our Weight Loss Coaches at 1-800-273-1686 x4 or email [email protected] (See? I told you that Power Questions work!)
About the Writer
Erika Smith joined Personal Trainer Food™ with seven years of combined experience in public relations, radio and sports management. Aside from being a fitness and sports enthusiast, she is a busy mother of three young boys. If she’s not at a hockey rink or soccer field cheering on her kids, you can find her on a running trail training for her next race.
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