“Duh, of course I am! I don’t need you to tell me that.”

But, the obvious: eating fast food every day, not working out on a regular basis and skipping meals, isn’t exactly what I’m talking about.

I mean, what if YOU (your body) are making you fat.

The infomercials tried to address this issue several years ago, but did a poor job explaining it.  On top of that, they blamed your body and told you the answer was in a pill that cost $150 per bottle.

Save your $$$ it's not worth it!

Remember this infomercial?

If you’ve attended any of Trinity’s seminars on nutrition and fat loss, you’ve been introduced to the idea of you and your body making you fatter.

What I’m talking about is Cortisol.

What’s that? Cortisol is a hormone in your body. A stress hormone.

When you are stressed, Cortisol is released.

Why? (I’m glad you asked)

“Back in the day,” when cavemen were roaming the earth they would have an occasional encounter with a dinosaur or another animal larger than themselves.

Have you ever heard the phrase “fight or flight?”

Cortisol plays a part in it.

Cortisol and Adrenaline are released to give a short burst of increased strength and endurance.

You can either stay and fight of the attack or run really, really fast and leave the danger far behind.

And that is where “fight or flight” came from.

Now, if there is a threat and you do have to run then everything in the body is normalized again after the excess of both the Cortisol and Adrenline are used.  However, if there’s continued stress on the body and no signs of an outlet for the two hormones to work properly, YOU will store the excess as fat.

For example,

Stressed Out!!!

YOU are late for work due to traffic…. STRESS

YOU spill coffee on your dress and have an important meeting…. STRESS

YOUR boss is angry because YOU didn’t have the report completed on time…. STRESS

YOU don’t know if you will have a job tomorrow or the next day, or the next…. STRESS

YOU’RE fighting with your significant other… STRESS

and on

and on

and on it goes.

These aren’t considered life threatening events so Cortisol will not be used properly. It will cause more stress on the body and cause you to store fat.

So, YOU are making yourself fatter!

But, there’s an easy fix for this too.

There are tips and techniques that will help you to use these hormones in order to keep them from having negative effects on your body.

The easy answer is relax, breathe and unwind.

Here are some ways to accomplish that…

Slow, deep breathing. Usually 10 – 20 repetitions work great.

Listening to soft music (or any music that helps you relax)

Meditating

Relax

Laughing

Taking a short nap

Closing your eyes (no interruptions) and visualizing the events (past, present or future) the way you intend for them to happen. It only takes 2 to 5 minutes.

Taking a walk

Lifting weights

Cardiovascular exercise

Yoga

Proper nighttime sleep

Taking a hot bath

….do you get the point?

You need to find things, simple things, you can do (the more the better) to relax. Then when times get tough, call a time out and do one of these to get you back to a relaxed state.

Have you noticed that New Year’s Eve makes liars out of many normal, honest, upstanding citizens?

Close to the end of the year, you’ll catch them say things like,

“This year will be different” or “I’m going to do better this year.”

Perhaps I’m talking about you.

The clock strikes 12:00 am and for a brief moment you believe it will be different; this will be your year!

Maybe it’s the champagne?

January 1st rolls around and you start thinking,

“I don’t need to start right now.”

Besides, you might have a hangover from the celebrating you did the night before. By January 2nd the New Year bells are silent, and now those big plans are starting to fade.

Reality sets in and you start saying things to yourself like,

“Those were silly thoughts. I can’t do that.” At this point, you begin making changes to your goals. Some you might scratch completely.

Others you modify to make them fall within your comfort zone. Next you experience procrastination. It’s the first of the year, and you convince yourself you don’t have to start right away. You’ll get comfortable with the beginning of the year and get settled, and then you’ll start on your goals.

Does all of this sound familiar?

Why do you think it will be different this year?

It’s starting out just like the last one. And if you don’t do something fast, you’ll end up at the end of 2010 feeling just like you do right now.

In order for your life to change, you have to change.

The bigger the changes, the bigger the commitment, and the bigger the commitment the bigger the results!

There’s no quick and magical way to get out of life what you want unless you have a plan to get it.

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, he will achieve.”

Napoleon Hill

There is absolutely no thought or idea that you have that cannot come true.

We are born with the ability to think and create anything. From airplanes and space ships to electricity and automobiles, there isn’t anything in our life that wasn’t first created in someone’s imagination first.

2010 - The starting line... GO!

Starting today, make the effort to set, track and achieve the goals you have for this year and your life!

You’re going to live out this year just like 2009, this time why not be, do and have more!

“When you develop yourself to the point where your belief in yourself is so strong that you know that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to, your future will be unlimited.”

Brian Tracy

As birthdays and holidays grew near I remember flipping through catalogs and picking out the gifts I’d like to get for my birthday or Christmas.

I remember sitting up in bed at night pretending as if I already had them. The feelings were so real, sometimes I’d forget in the morning that it was only pretend and look to see where the toys were.

My birthday would come and as I unwrapped my gifts, there it was, the toy or toys I had imagined receiving!

Since we’re older now, toys may be a far illustration for some of you to grasp.

So, what about being a millionaire? Being able to say, “I am a millionaire!”

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to have millions in the bank?

How it might feel to never “have to” work again?

How you’d walk?

What would you feel on the inside? A sense of accomplishment that you can provide everything your family needs?

Where you might take vacations?

What would you do with all the free time you would have if you decided not to go to work?

If you really got into this exercise, did a smile spread across your face? Did you sit up taller or feel a sense of joy or control?

If so, now take this exercise and apply it to weight loss.

So, many people ask me, “How do I lose weight?” The simple answer is eat supportively, exercise efficiently and get plenty of rest.

But, what about when that’s not enough?

I understand many people have no idea what it would feel like, look like or how they’d act if they were at their ideal weight, but what if you did know?

What if you were able to close your eyes and see yourself there? On the beach, at a party or wherever/ whatever you would be doing if you had the body you dream of?

Start right now!

Take action now!

The action I’m referring to isn’t a workout or and exercise class. It’s visualizing in your mind what you want to look and feel like when you achieve your fitness or weight loss goal.

Start by taking the next 5 minutes, sit quietly and bring into your visualization as much feeling, color, brightness and action as possible. The more senses you can pull into the visualization the better.

It may be difficult at first. Especially, if you haven’t done this type of thing since you were a kid, looking at toys in a catalog. It might take a little time, but it’s worth it right?

5 to 10 minutes a day is all you need!

Good Luck!

Have Fun!

and

Finish Strong!

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