I started the Ideal Protein Weight Loss program in the mid summer of 2010.  I had been carrying about 25 extra pounds for far longer than I like to admit. So, I began the program as I was beginning the training to learn the system to operate as a Coach for others. 

Well, the first thing I will say is that I knew I loved carbs, but until I eliminated them, I had no idea how much!  I sat in observation, for the first 3 days, as the cravings tried relentlessly to sidetrack me.  Yet, instead of caving to them, I just observed them.  What I learned was that there were spaces of me that were looking for fulfillment, that I had merely numbed with carbs and other comfort foods - until now.  Being a person who relishes the idea of personal introspection, I was well entertained!  This is when reading "Women, Food and God" by Geneen Roth was so helpful.

Interestingly, once the first week and half passed, and I was well into ketosis, the metabolic state where the body burns fat as fuel, I was down 7 pounds - and then the miracle happened!  I realized one night that I had not had any cravings all day!  I quickly got on the phone to a fellow dieter to celebrate this milestone.  She too had noticed the change.  At that point in my process I knew this program was going to work.

At around the first week mark I noticed that my energy levels were higher than they had been for some time.  Also, my mind felt clearer and I was able to focus much better.  During the remaining weeks I was continually inspired to stick with the program because of all the great things I was experiencing.  I stayed on phase 1 for about 6 weeks all together and released about 20 pounds.  

What I have taken with me is a new found ability to make better choices - the cravings have not returned, I am eating better and much more aware. I enjoy offering this program so I can share it with others and help them to attain their weight loss goals.

As many of you know I have added the Ideal Protein Weight Loss System to the services available in my office and the office now has a new name - Uxbridge Weight Loss & Wellness - to more fully reflect the services offered. 

I am really thrilled with the Ideal Protein system - and so are the dieters.  The program is relatively easy to follow and dieters are finding that their motivation is enhanced as they see the pounds and inches coming off.  The program consists of 4 phases.  In the first phase dieters have 3 Ideal Protein foods a day plus vegetables and salad along with their own protein at dinner (beef, chicken, fish etc) and nutritional supplements. The second phase reduces the Ideal Protein foods to 2 per day and dieters prepare thier own protein and vegetables at lunch, like dinner.  Phase 3 sees the reintroduction of carbohydrates, gradually and phase 4 is maintenance, or life.  Dieters are educated how to food combine so that the weight is kept off.  This is the goal - to inform people so that they truly understand what is going on in their bodies.  This awareness helps to motivate healthier choices in the long term - and that is the ultimate goal, as I see it.  

Yet, it is important to know that weight gain is not always just a result of over eating and under exercising.  Every pound has a story.  The reasons that we tend to over eat and make unhealthy lifestyle choices are many.  Often times we eat to deal with emotional and mental stress and trauma.  A book that I would highly recommend to begin looking at these issues is "Women, Food and God" by Geneen Roth.  I read this book as I began doing the Ideal Protein diet myself.  It brought wonderful insight to what really drives much of our eating. (I certainly had a compulsive streak to my eating at times).  I felt so inspired as I got deeper and deeper into the book.  The areas the the author takes readers are those that (in my own experience at least) are yearning to be addressed.  I would strongly urge you to check out this book as you start any weight loss program so that you are addressing the physical body and the emotional, mental and spiritual aspects that relate to the compulsive eating habits.  

Releasing weight can involve releasing the stress that contributed to putting on the weight in the first place.  This could be stress from daily life, past traumas, environment or toxicity, etc.  Coaching and biofeedback can assist in the process to help release the stress and learn new strategies to deal with how we perceive and respond to stress.

If you are interested in learning more about this fabulous program, go to www.uxbridgeweightlossandwellness.com  There is a sign-up for the next  free Open House (May 10th, 2011, 6:30pm) and several links to learn more about Ideal Protein.  For more information on biofeedback go to www.susankern.com

 I find it so satisfying to assist people with their goals to reduce weight and establish healthy lifestyle routines. People are seeing their blood sugar stabilize, inflammation symptoms decrease, blood pressure return to normal and overall outlook on life improve.  How awesome is that?!

 A New Year is upon us yet again and with it, come the resolutions to make this the year that we will Do It.  We each have our own “It”.  They may include such things as loosing weight, developing exercise routines, healthy eating, facing an addiction, clearing cluttered closets and the list goes on. 

There is something inspiring about tackling a bad habit or pattern at the start of the year; at least for a while.  Unfortunately, many of us end up a week or two into the year feeling, well, defeated.  Why do we continually build our expectations only to find reasons why maybe this isn’t really the best time to follow through?  Well, consciously we may say we want to tackle our demons, yet there can be deeper reasons, unconscious reasons, why these habits etc… need to hold on.  It has been my experience that each of the self-sabotaging habits and patterns actually served a valuable purpose at some point in our lives.  Things like compulsive eating and smoking may have at some point given us comfort and acceptance when there was none to be found elsewhere.  These became copping strategies that helped us to survive another day.  But that day was likely long ago. 

Facing the New Year, determined to emerge victorious over our habits, may require that we acknowledge the service the habit provided us and assert that, while it was once necessary, it is no longer needed.  Instead of waging a war against ourselves and our habits, perhaps this could be the year that we experience gratitude to ourselves for making it this far, warts and all, and make peace with the inner voice that holds the habits in place.

Have you ever noticed the little voice that says things like, “Oh its okay, just have one, it won’t matter”?  That is the voice that will sabotage your best efforts.  By listening for it, becoming aware of its tactics (they are tricky) and realizing that this voice is not you, you are in a position to make an empowered choice.  Make peace with the voice; thank it for trying to assist you.  Remember:  this voice was born at the time when this habit helped you cope.  Inform it that while the strategy it recommends was once helpful, that is no longer the case.  This type of approach can elevate our self-esteem and self-confidence and allow us to make positive, supportive choices for our lives. 

Wishing you well in a New Year of personal mastery!

Susan

It is that time of year again.  The Holidays.  So much to do, so many things stressing us out. It is a facinating time.  Each year holds new promise to reach out to family, friends and those in need. It is a given to many people that the Holidays are a stressful time - seeing family with whom you may have unresolved issues, the financial strain of overspending and the expectations - can be simply overwhelming.  We often try to create the ideal version of the holidays for ourselves and our family and end up creating more stress in pursuit of an unattainable vision. Ultimately, a sense of letdown or disappointment can result, which too often may be expressed as frustration or anger. 

I have reflected on the Holidays from my youth, and observed how they have painted the expectations I carried into the Holidays of my adult life.  As a child I enjoyed getting together with family, yet there was often a disharmonious energy that arrived with us at my Grandmothers house.  I could sense the tension between the adults but didn't understand it.  Often, as the tension built it would be time for the presents.  As if somehow the presents would bring the harmony I longed for; I would be excited and have high expectations that this year I would get something really great.  I could ignore the tensions for this little while, but no present could ever bring what I longed for.  The disappointment I felt wasn't really about not getting the great gift, it was about not sharing the harmony and joy that my heart was missing.  Of course, I didn't understand that, until many years later. 

When I look at Christmases in my early adult life I realize I was driven to "get and give" it all.  Surely then I would be satisfied.   Well, guess how that worked out!  Not.  So now, many years later, I realize that for me the stress of the holidays came from this longing in my heart to truly connect to myself and to others.  I expressed that by shopping for all the perfect things to give to those I loved; as if the gift would hold the space for my heart to connect to theirs.  Of course the void persisted.  It was only in allowing myself to really step into the feelings of disappointment that I was able to realize that the only person responsible for my joyfulness during the Holidays (or at any time) was me.  No gift was going to declare me "Loved", nor "Worthy", nor "Good Enough".  No gift would transform my family into the "Harmonious Unit" I wanted it to be.  Gaining the understanding of how I had tried to compensate for the Christmases of my youth opened the gateway to connect to the feelings of my child-self.  All she really wanted was to experience love and peace and joy - the very things we are told the season is about.  The best part is, now that I know that - it is possible to create it! 

Now, I focus on staying in touch with my heart and allow myself to be true to it.  I have learned that I am enough.  I am able to experience love, joy and peace within myself and share them with others.
 
I share these perspectives with you in the hopes that if you are stressed, frustrated or disappointed during this season that these words may open a window for you to reflect on the true source of your feelings.
As we each take responsibility for our feelings we learn to stop blaming others for how we feel - and this certainly brings Joy to the World!

May you share many heart-felt moments with yourself and those you love this holiday season,
With Love,
Susan

When we have times of stress in our lives it can become increasingly difficult to remember that we have the ability to make choices about our thoughts.  Our minds swirl with the litany of "to do's" and the anxiety builds.  When we are in this space we can feel out of control and helpless to bring ourselves out of the cycle.  There are things we can do, however, to begin to gently coax our resistant minds’ to see a different path.

The first step is to realize that we are under stress.  This simple awareness offers the opportunity to make change; after all, how can we change something if we don't know it exists?  We can't.  So, if you find yourself realizing how stressed you are, give yourself a pat on the back - you have made the first positive step!  This may sound silly because it is easy to judge ourselves harshly for being stressed-out in the first place, but consider how much more likely you will be to take the next positive step if you feel good about having taken the first one.  Celebrate each success.

So, we know we're stressed, now what?  Well, now we get to make a choice.  Ask yourself this question:  Do I still need this stress?  Again, this may sound silly, but we are in this situation for a reason.  Sometimes stress can be a motivator and drive us to accomplish a goal.  If, however, the answer is "no, I don't need this stress" then we can make the choice to step out of it.  The choice is the point where we reclaim our power to live consciously in each moment.  Once we make a choice and actively support it into manifestation change has begun.  One of the simplest means of taking this power back is to stop and breathe.  Sit down, wherever you are and breathe. Focus on this action.   Feel the air move in through your nostrils and down into your lungs, and back out again.  Imagine that the air going in is peaceful and calm and that it will wash away all the stress in your body and mind.  Allow your mind to slow down and your body to relax.  Just let it all go.

The thoughts that we think are not who we are.  They are just thoughts, yet they are often the number one reason that we are stressed in the first place.  For example, focusing on thoughts of worry, fear, conflict and inadequacy serve to hold us in those very energies.  By virtue of spending our mental energy on those things we create a field of worry, fear etc… around us.  What types of things do we draw into our lives from this place?  You guessed it - more of the same.  
Any type of activity that relaxes us will support the process of managing our thoughts.  Meditation, yoga, tai chi, walks in nature are all good options.  Our focus needs to consciously be on "what am I thinking and does this support me in a positive way?"   If it does not, we have the power to change it through a new choice.  Making a decision to think in a new way can be assisted by using an affirmation.  An affirmation is a positive statement of the new choice.  For example, "I now choose thoughts that support me" reminds us of our intention and keeps us focused on it. 

What we think is directly related to what we feel.  In fact, our thoughts create our feelings. The field of Psychoneuroimmunology has demonstrated that our body’s biochemistry changes in response to our thoughts.   Happy thoughts lead to happy feelings.  Crappie thoughts lead to crappie feelings.  (This is an area I will write about more in future blogs.)

The ability to be aware of our thoughts, and choose different ones when needed, is something that requires practise and a willingness to accept that we may not be perfect at this.  It also requires that we be willing to take responsibility for our thoughts.  What does that mean?  If we let someone else tell us what to think we have given our power to them.   Taking responsibility for our thoughts means we don’t make excuses or blame others:  we are the only ones with the power to choose our thoughts. 
If our thoughts lead to our feelings, then we can also be responsible for how we feel.  

Can you imagine a world where people were responsible for their thoughts and feelings?  

I will explore this next week.

Until then, may you find peace in every moment.

Susan

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