Now, I know what you might be thinking.

“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.

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,

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

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.

Posted under Body Mind and Spirit Balance

We all have a story.

When we are talking to someone for the first time, trying to get to know them better, we tell our story.

If you are speaking in front of a group and use life experiences to help with a point, you’re telling your story.
When we are in the moment and have a major decision to make, we feel like that’s the world, right then and there.

But, if we a take a step back and look over our entire life, this is just one chapter in our story.

For example, when telling folks about my education, I might say, “I went to high school at Springs Academy and I graduated in 1993.”

But, is that it?

No.

There were 4 long years in high school. Major decisions were made.

Like who to hang out with,

Finding a job,

High school romance,

Tests,

Parties, etc.

Do you see my point?

A lot happens in high school and at the time it was the focal point of our story, but now it’s usually summed up into one or two sentences.

Same holds true with college. There were four, five or more years spent in college.

Again, you had to make major decisions. Decisions that felt almost impossible to make at the time.

What major to choose, do I stick with a particular major?

What company should I intern with?

Do I join a fraternity/sorority? Which one?

But, right now, when talking about college, we can sum it up in one or two sentences.

Right now you may be facing major decisions.

You’ve been laid off and would like to find a job. You keep telling yourself, “man, if one good job would come my way.” Instead, you have three to choose from.

Which one do you choose?

May be you’re in a relationship that isn’t going well.

Do you stay and try to “work it out” or do you part ways so both of you are happier?

What about this year?

Did you have a New Year’s resolution to lose weight, get in shape, or live healthier in 2009?

Is it happening for you? Are you taking the steps to make it happen?

What will this part of your story be like?

Will it be five or ten years summed up into one or two humdrum sentences or are you finally getting to the good part of your story full of action and excitement?

Major decisions are a part of life and they always will be regardless of the path you choose. It’s the direction you choose now that makes the difference in the next chapter of your life story.

Will you feel like a success at the end of your story, weaving into it details of struggle, lessons learned, and a triumphant win in the end? Or will it be another tragedy, like so many others, that choose to tip toe till the end and say, “should a, could a, would a?”

If fitness was one of your goals and you’ve let it slip up until now, you have a major decision to make.
Will you take action on the long and exciting journey to a healthier more productive life or will you choose the gloom and doom of your comfortable existence?

Either decision you make, it will have its struggles and challenges, but in the end, what story will you tell?

Posted under Motivational, Uncategorized

Have you ever thought about something you wanted before you received it and imagined what it would be like if you already had it?

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!

Posted under Motivational