Decisions. Decisions.  All day long! Depleted and drained. On the way home grab some fast food and settle in front of the TV. Seems familiar?

In this message,  I want to share the silence, power, and hope that sits beyond Decision Fatigue. 

On my journey to my Weight Loss Specialist Certification by NASM (National Academy of Sports Nutrition), I came upon this material that I'd like to share with you. 

It has been estimated that the average individual makes as many as 35,000 decisions per day (Sahakian & Labuzetta, 2013), of which about 226 are on food (Wansink & Sobal, 2007). The increasing number of decisions an individual is required to make over the course of the day is mentally exhausting and depletes one’s cognitive abilities to exert self-control, especially in the face of temptations. The mental drain due to the demands of making multiple, complex decisions is referred to as decision fatigue (Baumeister &...

Have you ever felt like you should be able to handle emotions that come up, but just don't seem to be able to?

May I let you know that it even happens to coaches?

The difference for me now is that I have tools to help me though tough times so I may temporarily feel stress, but I don't take it in and make it a part of my emotional landscape.

Why is that important? Because chronic stress has such a profound effect on our health, and not a good one!

Read on and you'll see why it is so important to have strategies to deal with stress.

In fact, if you want to know more, just click here to set a time for us to talk.

Here is information that will help you understand the widespread impact of stress on the body and how you can start to manage it more effectively.

The Effects of Stress on The Body

Increased cortisol production: Associated with weight gain (especially in the belly), inability to lose weight or gain muscle, and premature aging.

Decreased nutrient...

Life is busy. Business and household demands. Maybe even babysitting grandchildren.  Too much on our plates. I know we feel we can't put anything else on top.

And here is the deal … we cannot run on stress and cortisol and be healthy for a long time. 

The good thing is we gotta breathe, move, think, and use other senses anyway, right? It's not conditional and not voluntary; the body does it automatically. 

What I am inviting you is to tap into what you are already doing anyway and use 2 minutes of intentionality. 

• Intentionally noticing breathing 
• Intentionally noticing your sences 
• Intentional movement to energize and cut through negative energy 
• Intentional positive thinking 

Each of these tools takes 2 min. These are some of the most effective tools I learned that help me relax on demand and be effective as possible. They teach us to be mindful of every moment and use these moments to help ourselves. 

If you want to...

Want to look forward to exercising? Listen to this message or keep reading.

"I don't like exercising" is the comment I get A LOT.

And we obviously understand we have to exercise to keep our bodies healthy.

The question is

how do we change our minds so that we can look forward to exercising and actually enjoy it?

Allow me to offer you the Tool. It works for most but here is the disclaimer: I don't know if it will work for you. To check it out,  give it an honest effort for a week.

Ready for the tool?

SMILE

When we smile, we trick our brain to enjoy the current activity. The same goes with exercise. The brain is gonna say: ah, she is smiling so we must be enjoying exercising; let me release happy hormones for her. You will naturally start feeling good; emotionally,  physically, and  mentally. 

Let's dive deeper: choose joy. 

Here are three strategies to choose joy in exercise:

Before.

Before you...

I wanted to take you on an actual client journey, a short story of how I take my clients from being overwhelmed, in pain, intimidated about stepping into their strength, power, and confidence. 

Once upon a time, I had a client named Mary.

She was a creative entrepreneur. We had known each other for for about three years. Once she mentioned wanting to talk about weight loss. And it took her (with my reminders) almost a year to finally make an appointment. 

She felt intimidated.

She felt like a failure.

She wanted to lose weight and feel better.

So we sat down for a conversation. There was a history to unpack. From abusive childhood experiences to an authoritative ex-husband and a mother who disapproved of her choices. She had accumulated a lot of guilt and lost her confidence. 

I could hear her pain and despair. It was an authentic voice. I heard her sincerely asking for help and to have a chance to express who she really was. 

For the outside...

Life can be either a fun adventure or a miserable experience. 

Accountability is a part of life. Therefore, we can treat it as either adventure with fun or experience with misery.  It's really up to us.

When I first talk to my potential clients, I often hear how dreadful accountability is for them; though, they know that's exactly what they need to help stick to the journey and be consistent. 

So, 1 do we make accountability not so dreadful and miserable? How do we make it as something we look forward to vs running away?

Before we jump in, do you know what you need an accountability for? What are your goals? What daily actions you want to commit to be accountable to?

The answer is MAKE IT  FUN!!! 

Our critter (survival) brain is like a little child (your inner child). It doesn't like boredom or none pleasant experience. It wants to have fun and play. 

So ask your inner kid, what would make this experience fun?

So...

How to stay focused while doing the most important task of the day?

Often, we tend to procrastinate when faced with challenging or emotionally charged tasks, so we tend to leave them for later while doing other 'important" tasks...like washing the kitchen floor.  Believe me, I am speaking from personal experience. 

This technique will help you stay focused for a short time but in that time you can often accomplish than in an hour of focused work. This technique will help you move the needle towards the life you want.

Let's dive. 

The SPRINT Technique: 

short bursts of time (10 -30 min). No distractions. No stopping and talking. No side conversations. No sharing. No snacking. No bathroom break. Stop when it’s time to stop.

FRAMEWORK OF ACTION:

Do it now. 

Step 1.

Look at your next week's calendar and decide which action is the needle mover.  Have scheduled/blocked time on your calendar (10-30 min)....

I am too busy. Can't put anything else on my plate.  Maybe after… 

Do these words sound familiar to you?

Today's message is about how to get ahead and beat procrastination so we have time.

How many times do we postpone something that is important to us? How long do we procrastinate?

For some of us, years. 

Relationships, health, business. What is your story? 

We say 'later, after'. We procrastine. Then one day we realize we simply cannot continue putting it off; we have to change something. 

And even then, do we take an action or just think and talk about it?

And when we take an action, how do we know it it's the right one?

In the recent live in our Friends in Health group, I shared three tips on how to get ahead and beat procrastination. Allow me to share this framework for you here. If you know you want more tips on effective time management, join our Club and register for the upcoming training on Saturday, August 27th.

Allow me to re-introduce myself. In this message I want to share what I truly value, in my life and my business. 

The bottom line is that I truly want the World to be The place for us to live and enjoy. Enjoy our experiences, enjoy each other, enjoy safety, enjoy life! 

 I believe that this is possible when we are internally happy. 

This fuels my passion to wake up in the morning and make small tiny steps towards my goals. I do it by having conversations and sessions with my clients during business hours. I also do it while talking with my children.  I also do my best to live what I teach, to walk my talk. 

I believe that creating a ripple effect is a thing. My heart longs for health; physical, emotional, mental. My soul leaps to fill myself and others with the light of happiness. 

I believe in peace for our world. I believe it is possible because each one of us owns the potential for internal happiness. 

I channeled my...

I eat because I love. And I am a lazy cook.

I often get asked what and how I eat.  As I sat down to journal my reflection, allow me to share with you my current meal situation.

I start prepping my meal when I am about 30% hungry. 

To prep, I ask myself, how can I feed my body with love? What can I make to nourish my body? 

On days I feel a lack of energy, what can I make to lift my energy?

On days I feel down, what can I eat to feel good?

When I am tired, what can I eat to relax?

I make my meal accordingly.  I cook like I would feed someone I love. 

Hey, I am still on my way. I still sometimes struggle to give myself time to cook. I do not want to stand in the kitchen and cook!

So I prep.

I find the time on the weekend to pre-cook for the week. I prep the foods that may take time. On some weeks, I make brown rice, on some, red potatoes. I may even chop veggies and place them into Single serving containers. I am also not...