BETTER BODY LOVE/10-DAY CHALLENGE.

I will be completely honest I feel a little self-absorbed sharing all this Better Body Love for the next 10 days here with all that is going on in our world. But, heck time is on my hands like most of us with our Covid-19 Stay at Home orders in place and actually I feel more strongly than ever that we, who struggle with Body Image need a beautiful boost reminder of Body Positivity right now.

And I found it in @AshleyRoseReeves Free Better Body Love 10-Day Challenge on Instagram. Today’s post is a introduction to it all in hopes that you will join along with me and also a way of letting it Better soak in as I write and share each day.

@AshleyRoseReeves

So, if your not familiar with Ashley Reeves and her Groundbreaking tried and true Better Body Love Method, here’s a mini breakdown.

Ashley is a Body Positivity Advocate, Mother, Entrepreneur, Speaker and Creator of the Self-Guided Audio Better Body Love Program. And she knows what she talking about! This isn’t a Diet or a Meal Plan.

It’s a Honest Method to findIng Love and Care for your Body from the Inside Out.

I initially came across Ashley via her friend Alison Faulkner of The Alison Show. I just loved Ashley’s on-line honesty and energy. Always enjoying her IG posts about Body Acceptance and her super candid sharing of her own struggles with it over the years.

So, when I wrote THIS post in my blog drafts April 10th… I definitely opened a unattended observational can of worms with what I kind of eater that I am. Then even further cemented those worms the following day being a-ha’d (not the band;) by this IG live of Untamed Author Glennon Doyle’s Honesty about truth-love-body. I took pen to paper creating a POST with these questions, Do I Love My Body? Do I Trust My Body?

The answers startled me, for the first time in my life I realized how much I do Love & Trust My Body and how I’ve also spent nearly a lifetime punishing it with awful ingratitude and horrible self-talk.

After answering I honestly sat at my writing kitchen table for it least a hour with all of this… I consider myself a pretty intelligent person and well versed in all Self-Help😂. But how in the heck had this not clicked before, I had made connections (remember Oprah’s Book with Bob Greene in the 90’s?!?) about my emotional eating. But, never how much time I had spent being so Body Hating.

I knew that I needed to keep delving into this and somehow finally rectify this and find a better way. I even prayed about it.

Then the next day this showed up on my Feed:

An invitation that gave me goose bumps and that I couldn’t miss!

So, Monday, April 13th I showed up with many other amazing woman. Taking Notes, Doing the Work and even making this logo for these posts. I do hope Ashley doesn’t mind?!?! 😊.

Have I lost weight? I don’t know and for the first time it’s not all about that. But, my ♥️ is filling with more love and gratitude for this precious body of mine again.

I’m finally not berating myself as much for it’s flaws. I’m walking more purposefully and looking in the mirror with less criticism and more kindness. It’s a darn miracle if you ask me:)

So, tomorrow “self-absorbed” and all 😜. I’m sharing my Day 1’s Notes and thought work from Ashley’s Better Body Love. I truly hope you join along and share it with others as well ♥️. And maybe grab a notebook or journal too.

See you tomorrow!

Love, C.

WHAT KIND OF EATER ARE YOU?

Grace Kelly. Round Hill, Jamaica. 1955. Howell Conant.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this… more than I probably should during this Covid-19 lockdown. But, as a nearly lifelong emotional eater. Obsessing over food is a pretty common occurrence.

So, instead of obsessing I’ve decided to do a observational check-in approach to see how I’m eating right now.

One thing I’ve learned over the years when it comes to Emotional Eating is reflection helps. Just for the awareness sake for sure.

So, here is the Questions I often ask myself:

Grace Kelly. Round Hill, Jamaica. 1955. Howell Conant.

What kind of eater are you?

Happy?

Currently am enjoying that I’m Meal Planning more and Home cooking is a part of my daily routine. I would like to see this habit stick around as in my new normal when lockdown is over.

Healthy?

Yes, more then the old usual of eating whenever I have a chance with my hectic schedule in the last 6 months. I’m consciously am buying fruit that I like and attempting to add a vegetable to most meals. I’m just not adventuresome eater. But, this is definitely something that I can improve more on and I’d really like to figure out when a Avocado is ripe and ready:)

Emotional?

Yes, Yes, Yes. This is where my honesty is the best policy comes in. I’ve been emotionally eater most of my life and like many of us our right now or that boredom factor too. I feel like I’m living to eat instead of eating to live.

I have a lot of guilt about this and see it has reappeared again long before the lockdown. This is where doing this check-in helps me to be more aware of how food can be great comfort for me. Is it Ok right now? For sure. Is the the healthy choice? Probably not. But, I’m trying to be gentle with myself in these answers.

Intuitive?

I just added this new question because I know a lot of people practice this. I’m still on the fence about it and need to do more research on this eating topic. If you know some good resources definitely share them in the comments below.

Morning or Night-time?

I’ve never been a morning eater. It just doesn’t sit well. Over the years I’ve done protein shakes. But, the last 8 months with a new relationship and new routines. I’ve gotten less regimented with my daily shakes. I’m getting better now with the lockdown again and my body seems to like it.

Night-time is a huge trouble spot for me lately with the re-entry of TV into my life over the winter. TV+Time = Binge eating. Sugary snacks, Nachos for supper as of late. Especially when I’m at home by myself. As much as I love this little luxury again. It has brought back some old habits that don’t serve my body well.

Feast or Famine?

Feasting definitely. It’s a free for all right now. Allowing myself to participate despite the mental backlash.

fast or Slow?

Fast always. Thanks Dad for teaching me that😂.

Observations:

Well, that wasn’t so bad. A mental reset in some ways, to not admonish myself. But, to realize I’m doing the best I can right now in a time that is so uncertain. Old habits of coping will show up and a awareness gives me a little hope to know that this is not a permanent state of existence.

Things will change and so will my coping as we all unravel this time in our lives later on. But, for now I’m ok sitting in this space and allowing myself to observe. Maybe, some answers will show up.

Love, C.

VISUALIZATION.

Hey, You gotta start somewhere and the head is the perfect place to begin.

Visualization over the years has been the beginning point for so many of my dreams/goals coming true. Yes, they might not turn out as exactly as I imagined. But, they often show up in ways that surprise me.

Now how does visualization work for me? It’s a formula I’ve definitely tweaked over the years. I always first begin with a goal in mind and work on any resistance to that change in my head first before even beginning. For example, my Health Journey.

Back when I was first diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. I had to make some serious changes for my health ASAP. I was 100+ pounds overweight and my Dr. initially recommended me to have a invasive weight loss surgery. I remembered going to the informational meeting and after leaving I sat in my Car crying. The surgery terrified me and I knew that it was Not a option for me.

In the past I had successfully lost weight and knew I could do it again. For about a month despite the urgency, I sat with everything in my head and on paper. Allowing myself the time to digest the diagnosis and come up with a plan and work through all the resistance to changing my current habits into positive ones.

I also began to allow myself to imagine and visualize a new wellness life for myself that would stick. I gave myself permission to dream. I remember watching this YouTube Video daily to help sink it in further.

I finally became comfortable with Starting, little by little like a walk around the block or feeding my body with good foods again. Reminding myself this health journey wasn’t a sprint, but a marathon. Visualization also helped me work through some other challenges that came my way like my emotional eating.

Eventually I lost the 100 pounds and also “gained” way much more like realizing my Imaginations can be the Birthplace of change. Then last year I’ve discovered their is also some pretty exciting big science behind Visualization.

VISUALIZATION 101

Last January I came across the No-Nonsense Motivational Speaker and the 5 Second Rule Founder Mel Robbin’s Mindset Reset 35-Day Free Training Program Series. On Day 6’s video Why Visualization is the Secret to Success. I was blown away. Realizing that all these years without knowing the science behind Visualization that I actually had been practicing it pretty spot on.

Below I’m sharing a little breakdown and cheat sheet per say. Let’s get started:)

RAS

Ok 🤓 Nerd Alert. Mel broke down something I had Never heard of before in her Talk called RAS. It’s some pretty power brain stuff.

The Reticular Activating System is our Brain’s information filter and it’s physically located at the base of the brain where it connects with our spinal cord and works like this…

First our Brain as we all know is a Information keeper and if we did let everything in we would go into overload Loco, Cray Cray:) Explode with Info and That’s where RAS helps us filter out the mass amount of unnecessary information we're exposed too every moment of our lives.

But, it also keeps us in a little cocoon of familiar ideas that our past has programmed. Making us stick to what is comfortable in thought and that’s why change can be so darn hard. But, Not impossible.

Training your Brain.

When your consistently and Intentionally Visualizing a Goal or Dream your resetting your RAS filter (subconscious). Another Fun Fact: The Brain doesn’t know the difference between what has happened or is imagined. The more you train your Brain with a goal scenerio it actually encodes as a “real” Memory in your subconscious. So, that’s where that Manifesting magic might be happening. It’s brain science baby:)

1-2-3 ACTIVATE

Mel also outlined a few simple steps to get real results from Visualization and I’ve added few of my techniques and insights in the mix as well.

1. Close your eyes. 😜. I know it sounds simple. But, you gotta get in a comfortable space. I do most of my visualization at night before falling asleep. Then I create a specific picture In my head and rehearse it over and over until I doze off into dreamland. I also revisit this same story night after night until it feels good and no resistance pops up. That feel good feeling is like a Alarm clock to work on a new scenario towards my goal.
   

2. Activate. This is the Biggie. I remember as a kid watching SUPERFRIENDS and two of my fave super heroes were the Wonder Twins. I loved how they would Exclaim, “Wonder Twins, ACTIVATE.” Then would transform into either something to do with water or animal. It was exciting! Hey I was 4 after all 😜.

   But, Activating your visualization with Positive emotions and Feeling might not turn you into a bucket of water or a eagle 😂. You are Activating your Subconscious to a new Memory. Remember your Brain doesn’t know if it is real or not:)
   

3. Writing It Down. I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but according to Marie Forleo’s recent Marie TV episode- How to Achieve Your Goals: 3 Science Backed Strategy’s That Work. She shares a pretty hefty statistic that if you write your goals down your 42% more likely to achieve them.

   I know over the years repetively writing things down has been a form of Visualization for me. A kind of Affirmation of sorts that gets deeper then a fleeting intention. Even writing this post helps remind me of the techniques I want to start doing again to go after some new and old goals revisited.

OK it’s time for me to sign off. Please join the story below and share your thoughts on Visualization. I wanna know and I promise I will keep you updated on my progress.

Love, Cynthia @storyboardc.