Embracing your inner rebel for weight loss

Most people have it.  That is the inner rebel who gets fed up with having to watch what you eat, exercise like a machine to be able to manage your weight and feel like you are on a diet most of the time.  Do you know your inner rebel who just wants to throw in the towel, prove you don’t care about what other people think of your body or prove to yourself that you just don’t care about what you look like anymore?  This is something that can be debilitating, lead to yoyoing and struggles with weight, body image and fitness.  With so much pressure to look a certain way these days, it’s hard to know when enough is enough and to find your balance that you can sustain for the rest of your life.  And then there are life phases of your weight fluctuating at a normal rate that can make it seem like the whole process isn’t worth it and it’s too much hard work – so you throw in the towel.  This just doesn’t work and the inner rebel who wants to cut loose needs to be tamed through these simple strategies to be able to find your groove and stay on track:

1. Realise you have an inner rebel and embrace it as part of the journey.

   The inner rebel wants to come out to play sometimes and trying to squash it and push it away will only cause it to rear its ugly head over and over again. You must acknowledge it, embrace it as part of the journey and allow yourself to understand it rather than trying to force yourself into overcoming it.  Your inner rebel will sabotage your success and it will cause you to struggle if you can’t tame it.  So, go about making sure you learn and grow from what it is trying to teach you and show you about yourself and move powerfully forward understanding it and knowing it is there but can’t get you or stop you.  You are stronger and better than your inner rebel and loving it while creating a path for yourself that is powerfully driven will assist you in gaining and sustaining your results.

2. Have plans and strategies in place so you can be disciplined and in charge of your health.

   Your inner rebel wants to throw in the towel when it comes to discipline and taking charge. Maybe you are tired of being disciplined and trying to take charge of your health.  Maybe you are seeking to find ways to avoid being those aspects that will bring you success.  Be very mindful of sabotage and your inner rebel trying to take you away from discipline and taking charge of your health because it will often try and you may feel like you are on a cycle of success and failure if you don’t have a plan, stick to it and stay true to your visions for your health and wellbeing.  Strategies and try new ways while being disciplined with your strategies but also free at the same time knowing that this is not about obsession, it is about creating long term sustainable results.  Take it slower and steadier if you don’t feel you can sustain it while strategies, be disciplined and take charge for the sake of your weight, body image and fitness.

3. Love your body at all phases while working toward what you want.

   The inner rebel doesn’t want you to be happy really. She wants you to rebel against society and expectations of others and yourself to prove that you don’t care what anyone thinks.  The inner rebel will not want you to love your body now and may resist exercise and eating healthy because you may think that skinny equals success and you may fear success or the attention being thinner might bring.  When you love your body at all phases, you are less likely to throw in the towel and allow the inner rebel to come out to play.  By loving your body now, while using the right planning and strategies to move forward you are better able to rise to any challenge, overcome the inner rebel and shine brightly in a world where you deserve and are worthy of all that health has to offer.

The post Embracing your inner rebel for weight loss was first published on Anna Maria Lang's fitness blog

3 ways to overcome overeating healthy foods

 

Let’s face it, most of us have done this at some point in time.  That is overeating healthy foods.  It can be so easy to do as there is the rationale that it is healthy therefore it won’t cause health issues or weight gain, but this is not a healthy approach to food.  The dose equals the poison thus meaning you can gain weight and lose health if you are overeating on anything.  Many people think that just because it is healthy it’s low in calories or is good for you, but you must watch out for hidden sugars and high calorie snacks that can creep up on you sometimes.  I believe in the 80/20 rule all the way around.  80% of your weight loss and sustaining weight is food related and allow yourself 20% of the time you eat to be treats.  In this article, you will discover the 3 strategies for overcoming overeating healthy foods:

 

1. Trust that you can make healthy choices and you can feel satisfied by your choices.

   Losing trust in your intuition and feeling full while also in your behaviours can lead to chronic overeating and challenges with eating portion sizes. When you trust in yourself, you are less likely to overeat and more likely to enjoy your food feeling satisfied.  Know that you can eat healthy food in moderation while understanding you are capable and able of being disciplined and in charge of your eating habits.

2. Calorie count for the short term to be able to recognise your portion sizes.

   Informed eating is when you can recognise a portion size and approximately your daily calorie intake.  This is not about obsessively counting calories; it’s about learning what your body needs.  If you are trying to lose weight, aim for approximately 1200 calories per day (different sizes may need a different amount of calories so seek professional guidance if you are unsure).  By doing this, you know you are getting enough food and not too little food.  Once you have calorie counted for a while, you learn what your portions look like and you can train your body to respond to those portion sizes while then learning to trust a combination of your mindset and intuition to be able to eat the right amount of food for you.

3. Bless your food and eat slowly embracing the process, tastes, aroma and textures.

   So often people just consume food and don’t appreciate it and nourishingly consume it. In the fast pace of the world of today, this can be very common, and you must know that slow eating and blessing your food is a nourishing process whereby you are able to embrace the process, tastes, aroma and textures for a nourishing and enjoyable experience leaving you satisfied and full.

The following article 3 ways to overcome overeating healthy foods was originally published to battlebabesfitness.com

3 ways to maintain your weight when you are on holidays

Often when people are on holidays, the first thing they do is throw in the towel and use holidays as a reason to let go and eat and drink whatever they like.  If you have been dieting and restricting, you might be seeking the first reason to let go and go for it with unhealthy options.  Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t allow yourself to have some time out from your healthy lifestyle but remember the 80/20 rule where you are healthy 80% of the time and your results are 80% what you eat and drink.  So, if you are going on holidays or you have times of celebration, think about what you want and how you can let go a little but stay on track for your health.  With these 3 strategies, you will be able to find an approach that can help you during these times:

1. Be prepared and do some prior planning.

   It can be so easy to go off the rails if you are on holidays and if you do, just forgive yourself and know that it can happen sometimes while doing your best by being prepared. While there may be temptation everywhere, if you have healthy options available you will feel better about yourself and your choices.  You might be dining out a lot so call ahead or check the menu online to make sure that you have choices and if they don’t, ask them to prepare something for you.  When you are prepared, it takes away the stress as you have planned ahead to avoid temptation too much and you are able to find some reprieve.  This doesn’t mean you are on a diet contrary to popular belief.  It means you are committed, and dieting is a mindset and negatively driven approach to your eating.  Being prepared is about being comfortable in being healthy and not caring what others think because your health is important to you.

2. Allow yourself a treat while limiting it to 20% of the time.

   Being fully restrictive won’t last and you will want to let loose if you are restricting yourself all of the time. So many women fear letting go a little because of restrictive diets and what is deemed lack of control if you were to let your guard down when it comes to food.  You must learn to be able to give yourself 20% of the time off so you aren’t on a restrictive diet and you are able to feel you have choice and aren’t on a diet.  It is important to be able to live with moderation and manage your thoughts, feelings and emotions when it comes to food. By allowing yourself some leeway and a chance to treat yourself, you are less likely to feel restricted and more likely to be able to reach your goals.  It may take longer but you will be able to sustain your results.

3. Watch out for the inner rebel and become the queen of your eating and drinking habits.

   The inner rebel will cut loose when you are on holidays because many women have severely or moderately restricted themselves dieting feeling they can’t have any food that is outside of their diet. The inner rebel wants to prove that you aren’t on a diet and you can eat whatever you like while forgoing health in binges and an approach to food that is very unhealthy.  I believe to adopt an 80/20 approach you have some structure to go by where you are able to sometimes have whatever you like and that can tame the inner rebel who wants to prove you don’t care what others think or you think about your approach to food.  You must become the queen of your health habits and be discerning and decisive about the choices you make from a powerful abundant place. By doing this, you are the one who is in charge and you are the one who creates your results in the most effective and powerful ways.

3 ways to maintain your weight when you are on holidays is courtesy of www.battlebabesfitness.com

3 ways to get back on track if you lose your way

Let’s face it!  We are all human and sometimes lose our way and go off track with our weight, body image and fitness.  In life it’s important to not strive for perfection but to strive for excellence.  Excellence includes being the best you can be and if you fall off the wagon for a time you can get right back on.  The difference between perfection and excellence is that perfection often presupposes that you can’t do anything that isn’t perfect but excellence presupposes that you are striving and you are on the track while there is room for setbacks and getting back on track.  With these 3 simple strategies, you can get back on track after a setback and get going for even greater results than before:

1. Review your goals and put in place a strategy for success.

   When you have no plans, you will fall into the plans of others most likely or fall into the trap of doing things that are not what you truly want to do. Planning prevents poor performance and with the right strategies you can and will be a success at whatever you have chosen to do.  As you review your goals, make sure they are realistic and aligned with your greatest vision while also seeking new strategies or using old ones that work keeping them in place as a way forward from what you may have done to land in a setback.  By doing this you set yourself up for success and know that if you have had a setback, it’s not the end of the world, have faith and trust you will get back on track and use your strategies and goals to get you there.

2. Seek guidance and help to find new ways of sticking to your plans.

   You may have some goals and strategies in place or need help to create some goals or strategies so be sure you seek help where you can afford to and want to. You can create so much more when you have mentoring and guidance.  Often we don’t know what we don’t know.  This means often hidden in your deep subconscious there may be concerns that are holding you back that you just can’t see or there may be strategies that you need to succeed that you just don’t know that you don’t know yet.  It takes team work to make the dream work so don’t try to go it alone, seek the right help and Tactical Support if you are wanting to take things up a notch and overcome a setback.

3. Visualise your success and hold those visions in mind.

   Often a setback is about losing sight of the goal. You manifest what you focus on and what your dominant thoughts are so make sure you focus on what you want, not what you don’t want. Make sure you seek to find your true visions that come from deep within and focus on that.  I often teach to have a vision board so you can have the big picture in mind and manifest more of what you want so you don’t forget your vision and you can focus on it more often.  Hold your visions in mind while making conducive decisions, commitments and taking action.

The blog post 3 ways to get back on track if you lose your way was originally published to www.battlebabesfitness.com

3 ways to find peace over the past for body love now

Often women can live in the past defining themselves by the way they were.  Whether that be for the way you used to look that was thinner or maybe you have been overweight and are embarrassed by the way you used to look – or even look now.  It is important to find peace over everything that has occurred whether that be the way you wanted or didn’t want to look.  I know about this very well because I have been many sizes and used to be very thin and fit while I have had times of weight gain as well and the thing to do is own it at any stage while working toward what you want.  Weight loss contrary to popular belief is not about being super skinny it is about looking after yourself, finding your natural weight and maintaining that for the rest of your life as best you can. It is imperative to your wellbeing and self-esteem to love your body now regardless of whether you have had moments of pleasure with it or shame about it.  With these 3 simple strategies, you can at least find some peace over the past and love your body now:

1. Give up shaming yourself for the times you were or are not happy with your body.

   It can be very easy to shame yourself or feel ashamed of the way you have been if you have pictures of yourself that you may not like. Sadly, the world has become very much about looks and this impacts the self-esteem of many women.  Let go of shame and feeling like you aren’t good enough because of the way you have been and start loving yourself and body now to be free in yourself to be the amazing woman you are.

2. Start looking at yourself as a beauty and stunning women now.

   Most of us have been thinner in our past and many compare themselves to the way they used to be thinking that their body should always be the same. Bodies change and metabolic speed changes and to accept that you don’t need to morph into the old you or someone who is nothing like you is the ultimate freedom. Of course, if you want to sculpt and train hard do it but don’t do it at the cost of your mental health. If you are living in the past, you may feel never good enough for who you are now so begin to look to now and the future for the way you want to be while making sure you love your body and self now.

3. Surround yourself with people who adore you for your internal beauty over external beauty.

   Often we become like the people we spend the most time with. This has nothing to do with looks, it has everything to do with health and finding your tribe that aligns with your values who make you feel amazing and beautiful now.  It is a fact of life that weight fluctuates often so if you are surrounding yourself with people who are all about looks, you may feel the pain and disconnect while if you surround yourself with people who are all about who you are as a person deep inside, you will find yourself in a much better and happier place because you are surrounded by unconditional love.

The article 3 ways to find peace over the past for body love now is available on Battle Babes Fitness blog

Skinny might taste good but freedom tastes better

In life it can be all consuming sometimes trying to be thin and look like the ideal woman.  In knowing that skinny is not the be all and end all to life, while health and freedom from the constraints of the quest to be skinny is.  I know it might sound like it is hard work finding freedom as we are bombarded with images and expectations daily while you must understand that in this mission, you are able to be in charge of your mind and therefore your results.  Your mind is a powerful thing and if you are suffering for the way that you think you look, when do you think is a good time to give up the eternal quest to be skinny that has you never feel good enough to love your body now, eat well, exercise and nourish yourself for extraordinary results.

1. I’m not saying being thin is wrong – far from it.

   Health is what is most important and sometimes your mental health depends on your levels of internal and external freedom.  So many women live in misery at all sizes so why not find your true self, beauty and ability to be alright with yourself no matter what your body shape or size.  Losing weight doesn’t need to be this ultimate quest for the skinniest body and the best looks, it must be about losing the weight of your mind and finding freedom because your quality of life, whether you realise it now or not depends on it.

2. Find freedom from within.

   Skinny might taste good and I know many women find that at all costs, but you must be a Battle Babe who puts freedom over being skinny and if that means you must take your time to find equilibrium, balance out your metabolism once more and stop fad diets and extreme measures then you must at all costs find yourself again.  When you are finding your way in all of this, put freedom first and seek professional help to be able to find your natural weight set point and if you want to sculpt or lose some weight from there do so but know that it may not be sustainable for the rest of your life.

3. You deserve freedom.

   You deserve the freedom I am speaking of here and you should own your body no matter how big or small while finding what works for you in this mission toward your ultimate goals.  I am still saying that health and weight not always but can be connected so make sure you get your doctor’s approval for health at any size while thinking about your goals and what you want out of life.  Your values may shift at different times in your life so make sure you work to your current values and stop comparing yourself to the younger you, others who are half your age and those who have different genetics and lifestyles.  Freedom is found from within, and you can achieve that in the most powerful and sustainable way. I know it may seem hard, but it all starts with your intention and your willingness to let go of expectations and allow your body to feel good and for you to thrive. Take actions today to lose weight off your mind for ultimate freedom.

The following blog post Skinny might taste good but freedom tastes better was originally seen on Battle Babes Fitness

3 ways to win the quest for balance and find your groove

The eternal mission in life that many people struggle with is the one to find balance.  The quest can lead to yoyoing and struggling with not feeling good enough because you just can’t seem to get it right or keep your life balanced.  It is sadly a balancing act so you must just go with the ebbs and flows, do your best at all times and make sure you find your groove that you can stick to for the rest of your life – or at least most of it.  This is a mission that has many women in a pickle, and it sees them give in because they just can’t seem to find their groove but keep at it and with these 3 tips, you will find at least some reprieve:

1. Planning prevents poor performance.

   Planning is essential to any mission. It is very much a powerful thing that can make or break your success.  While plans are made to be adhered to with precision, you might find you need to shift and adjust in a healthy and balanced way along the way.  To prevent yourself struggling with losing grip on your balanced life, make a plan, map out your success path and do what you can to stay true to what you promised. Yourself.  This increases self-worth and provides you with your groove.

2. Work out what you individually need and stick to that.

   When you plan from a place where you know what you need to keep your balance you set yourself up for a great life. Knowing your needs and clearly stating them with boundaries can help you to find your groove and also helps those around you to know what you need so you aren’t taken off track by others.  This is something that will form your future and your self-worth because knowing yourself and your needs while clearly stating them creates a whole different world of success and harmony.  Finding your groove when it is aligned with your greatest vision and goals makes for a smoother journey and ride.

3. Use the 80/20 rule or give yourself one day off a week.

   Give yourself a break! Don’t strive for perfection but strive for excellence. In the Battle Babes Fitness magazine, you will find an edition where I talk specifically to this topic.  The 80/20 rule is where you are very healthy 80% of the time and you give yourself 20% leeway to be able to treat yourself.  If you are stiving to be perfect you are less likely to stick to your eating and exercise plan so make sure you give yourself a break and live by this rule that will have you enjoy your life more while achieving your results.

3 ways to win the quest for balance and find your groove is republished from Battle Babes Fitness blog

3 ways to overcome negative thinking and embrace success

It can be so easy to succumb to the negativity of the world, others or your own internal dialogue.  In this mission I will help you understand and appreciate how you can manage negativity and negative thinking to be able to smash out your goals.  In life it can be a struggle for some or not so much for others, however no person on the planet has never experienced some form of negativity and negative thinking.  I know it can feel like it is out of your control and you may not be able to do anything about it, but you can. If you are struggling with your mental health, make sure you seek professional help.  With these 3 insights you will be able to enlighten yourself somewhat to be a Battle Babe who wins the mental war:

1. Notice the thoughts and know they are not real unless you act upon them.

   Different people have different levels of negative thinking and you are better placed to deal with any negative thinking when you know that the thoughts can’t hurt you unless you act upon them. Be sure if you have negative thoughts that you reframe them toward the positive and act on the positive thoughts over the negative ones for successful outcomes. When you notice your thoughts, don’t be afraid of them, just know they are simply the enemy trying to take you out of the game so be bigger than the enemy and find ways like reframing and the below to be able to think more positively.

2. Acknowledge the thoughts and allow in success thinking.

   When negative thoughts try to infiltrate your world, make sure you acknowledge the thinking and know what is going on within you that is attracting such thoughts. You may need some Tactical Support to be able to beat the enemy that wants to wipe you out.  By reframing your thoughts, you allow in success thinking and don’t allow the negativity to infiltrate your being, but you stand up and fight.  You can find moments of peace if you simply acknowledge your inner turmoil that is attracting them and replace the negativity with positive success manifesting thoughts.

3. Pray or meditate to be able to find some peace.

   In the busy world of today, it can be easy to lose your footing for the way that life has become fast. Take some time to sit and pray and meditate and do some gentle exercise that brings you joy and peace while reframing your thoughts to be able to be more at peace. When you go within, you are better able to connect with your purpose and your vision and stay on track while making sure you acknowledge your emotions and seek help if you feel they are too much.  You can find peace at times and you can overcome the negativity that may plague you and be a success mindset kind of woman.

The following blog post 3 ways to overcome negative thinking and embrace success is courtesy of Battle babes fitness