Weight Reduction Tips & Tricks

[Ilana Wolfson]

The bottom line to shedding excess fat is burning more calories than you consume. There are many, many ways to accomplish this. In general one needs to either eat less or exercise more, or most likely, do some of both. Luckily, there are plenty of tricks and tips to be found in the details.

We believe it is in these details that success and changes that will last a lifetime are created. This list is intended to be a source of ideas to help make your journey easier. You want to succeed, and we want you to as well.

We also invite you to join in the tip-fest by adding your own great tips and tricks.

Here’s my suggestion for optimal use of this list: pick only one of the tips below, set an easily obtained goal, and meet your goal for at least a week.

For example, using the tip “Drink a glass of water before beginning a meal,” you could set the goal: I will drink a glass of water before one of my meals five days this week. This is doable and easy enough that you can be certain to achieve it with minimum effort. Of course, if you to find yourself drinking water at more than the five planned meals, well, that’s better yet (but not required).

Remember, set your goal light enough to be certain you can achieve it (not setting your goal too high is the key). In this way, you will move yourself to a positive vibration. As time goes by (not sooner than weekly), either raise your goal, or add another single appealing item at an easily achievable level.

There are 5 important areas for us as we progress and we have tips for each of them:

Goal related: Both long and short term goals are important. Why are you losing weight? What will you have when you achieve your goal? What will be your goals along the way? How will you renew your goals to renew your enthusiasm? See the Fabulous Goal Setting Formula Worksheet at: http://tinyurl.com/Goalsettinghelp (Expect to take 15-30 minutes to complete)

Visualization: Before we can get somewhere, we first need to imagine ourselves there. Being able to imagine having the body we want, the health we want, and the lifestyle we want is our first step, and one which will help sustain us through the rough patches.

Food related: What to eat, when to eat, how much to eat, what to buy, what to have on hand, restaurants, celebrations (e.g. weddings) and more.

Exercise related: What to do, when to do it, how much to do it, equipment, trainers, clubs, and more.

Mood related: Mindfulness, self talk, sleep, supplements, taking action/responsibility, emotions, things others say that effect us and more.

Miscellaneous: EFT, developing habits, etc. When your great idea just doesn’t fit anywhere else!

What tips and tricks have you used that helped you? We’d love to hear them!

Goal related tips:
• Begin with your ultimate goal and make intermediate goals from that. The ultimate goal may feel too big but breaking it down into bits that feel possible will help you believe in your ability to succeed.

Visualization related tips:
• Take fun, mini "visualization vacations" frequently. See http://tinyurl.com/Visualization-Vacation. It's called daydreaming! Let yourself enjoy it.

Food related tips:
• Write down every thing you eat. Barbara said this one tip was the difference between success and past failures!
• Drink a glass of water before beginning a meal.

Exercise related tips:
• Do some!

Mood related tips:
• Do something you love!
• Get enough sleep. This makes a big difference to your health, mood and metabolism. Getting enough sleeps helps us lose weight!

[Ilana Wolfson]

Some more Goal related tips:
• Look for short term goals that motivate you, like losing 5 pounds before the big family event in a month.
• Reward yourself with a non-food related item when you reach a goal. Things like manicures, pedicures and massages are wonderful self presents.

Any body else have some tips to share?

[Ilana Wolfson]

Food related tips:
• Keep track of your foods with FitDay http://www.fitday.com/ . It’s free and fabulous.
• Drink water with a squeeze of lemon or lime.
• Sprinkle cinnamon on anything, when you are craving something sweet/dessert. Susannah puts it on porridge in the winter to help her not add honey.

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

Keep track visually with a free weight ticker like this:


from http://www.tickerfactory.com You can track current weight or amount lost or waist size.

[Ilana Wolfson]

Food related tips:
• Eat 5 or 6 meals a day, evenly spaced out.
• Don't "drink your calories." If you decide to drink a regular coke, a cup of coffee with sugar and cream or a beer you are taking in a large amount of calories which don't fill you up. You will be hungry sooner and tend to overeat.

[Ilana Wolfson]

Exercise related tips:
• Walk
• Park at the far end of the parking lot. It's easier to find a space and you will get a little exercise.
• Jog
• Alternate walk and jog, one block each.

[sue tiritilli]

Lots of great tips here Ilana and Nili. Mine fits more into the category of visualization. (Those who know me will probably smile a knowing smile that I would have more of a mind/spirit tip.) I have a firm belief that our spirit has a lot of power in our life and our results, so I enjoy pulling that part into the program, more and more lately. I also firmly believe that we must maintain our physical body, it is very important to our spirit because it is our vehicle to accomplish while we are here on planet Earth, so I am grateful for the 'physical' tips too.

This game has to do with visualization, using the minds eye. I will call it the 'Slide' Game.

You know how photos can be created onto slides that one can place into a lit box to be viewed? That's the slide I am referring to here and this is how I am using it, with interesting results so far I might add.

1) Look at self in mirror. See, sense, feel, then STOP. (Use the straightarm / STOP technique for any unkind remarks.)

2) Close your eyes and imagine that your head is the 'lightbox' and that the image you just saw in the mirror was a slide.

3) Imagine removing this slide from your head so that now you see just a blank screen.

4) Insert a new slide, a slide that depicts you as you desire to look and feel.

Do this every time you see, feel, or sense the undesirable picture of yourself, either in a mirror or in your mind's perception.

See what you begin to notice after about two weeks of this. If you want to hear my story of how this is working for me...see my blog post. Have FUN!

[Ilana Wolfson]

More Visualization related tips:
• Write out different scenes as they will be when you've achieved your goals
• Use all your senses when you "visualize" making the experience richer.
• Talk to yourself out loud about what you will see, feel and experience when you've reached your goals; use present tense language as if the results already exist.

[Ilana Wolfson]

Tips from our live session Saturday:
• When you can’t find a food to satisfy your craving, try chewing gum. It may not be hunger, but a neurological need driving you. Or try fiddeling with 'worry beads'.
• Drink more water.

[Ilana Wolfson]

With the weekend almost here, some exercise related tips you might have time to act on:
• Do Fidgetsizers. Begin with as little as one each day; get used to the first one and add another. They really add up!
• Dance. Alone or with friends, at home or elsewhere. Put the music on and have fun.
• Do WiiFit.
• Zumba dance.
• Use a mini trampoline to walk or jog on while visualizing, daydreaming, looking out the window, in your yard, or watching TV or a movie.
• Challenge yourself to racewalk. It's harder than it looks so it burns calories and its fun.
• Hula hoop!
• Skip. Remind yourself of being a kid again.
• Do Dance, Dance, Revolution (DDR).

[Rachel]

Hi Ilana
I really liked what you wrote about having mini goals. I had a friend who has a lot of weight she wants to lose say she used to love horse riding the other day. I never even knew that she had ever been on a horse. She now has a goal of getting back on a horse in the new year at the stables near her. Previously her problem with goal setting has always been simply to far away in future. This one she really believes she can do and is already dreaming of horses!

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

This is great Rachel! I love your friends goal and her looking forward to it.

I have a number of goals, short, medium and long term. My short, short term goal is to do and complete the Master Cleanse aka Lemonade diet which I'm beginning in a few hours. (I'll write about it in my blog.) A six month goal I have is to fit comfortably in the airplane seat when I fly to Manchester England this coming October.

And what are your short term goals Rachel??

[Ilana Wolfson]

To go along with today's live session:
Mood related tips:
• Notice your moods. Tap when you feel "yellow" or below
• Pay attention to what you are saying to yourself. Let go of being your biggest critic and become your own biggest fan! Let your self talk be loving, gentle and supportive.
• Use a recording of EFT that you know brings up your mood.
• Find little ways to let go of stress during the day to avoid stress build ups.