Rosa Smith-Montanaro blog
Rosa Smith-Montanaro is your virtual weight loss and wellness coach. She is the author of Mind Over Platter®: Train Your Brain to Think Thin and the award-winning creator of www.MindOverPlatter.com. Rosa is a certified Success Coach with an expertise in weight management and the mind/body connection. She is also certified at the Master level in Hypnosis, Neuro Linguistics Programming (NLP), Thought Field Therapy
TM (TFT), Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), Herbal Specialist and Humanistic Neuro Linguistic Psychology. Rosa teaches seminars throughout the country on the mind/body connection and how to create a life that is a reflection of your values. Rosa and her husband live in Greece and have three children. She welcomes you to blog with her and discover how you can create a healthier, happier and balanced life. Rosa can be reached at MindOverPlatter@aol.com.
Spiritual Junk Food
The theme this week is Spiritual Junk Food. My son Regis is having his confirmation this Sunday and their teacher told them to beware of spiritual junk food. He used a great metaphor of how if you eat junk food, there are some nutrients in the food but not much. He connected this with how they were better off feeding their souls with the truth rather than some sugar coated half truth. It was thought provoking.
I was thinking how people would rather hear what they want rather than the truth in life: spiritually, emotionally and physically. They don't want to take the time to change their habits, write down what they eat or study to grow.
This week evaluate your life, where are you indulging in spiritual junk food? What is in your best interest and what is making you feel good but keeping you stuck?
Motivation is an inside job
The theme I have been emailing my members about is motivation. It is an inside job. Being motivated requires a lot of redirected energy. If you BELIEVE that was you see before is all that will be then you are at risk of feeling discouraged. Motivated people see beyond what is in front of them and see what is possible, then they take action until they see results. When I feel bloated and my jeans are tight and I am tempted to eat pizza after 9:00pm, I think about how good I will feel when I see that I lost a pound on the scale because I skipped the pizza. I remind myself that my body will respond to movement and healthy eating and eventually it will pay off. You have the best motivator on Earth in your head!
You co-create your reality
Well the talk went well, people were open to looking at the part that they play in co-creating their lives. I believe that we were created with amazing brains. But we only use less than 10 percent of our ability. Why would we settle for less than 10 percent? What would our lives be like if we understood how powerful our thoughts and beliefs really were? Would we choose our words wisely? Would we screen what we expose our minds too? I am very careful about who and what I listen too.
For example, I used to believe that as we get older, we gain weight and will look older. Once I identified that this belief was not going to help me accomplish my goal of staying fit and trim, I changed it. I now believe I am youthful and that age is a state of mind. What has happened as a result? I take the time to pamper my skin and take care of my body. I even have met youthful women who look great and are at the top of their game in their 50's and 60's. This reinforces my belief.
Since I decided to adapt this new belief, I have participated in co-creating it into reality. I feel great, I have more energy than most twenty year olds and when I look in the mirror, I like the lady looking back at me.
What beliefs should you be changing? Think about it, talk about it and then co-create it.
The Secret for fitness
I am going to be speaking on the topic of how to apply "The Secret" to finding your ideal job. It will be at RochesterWorks tomorrow for the URN group, (Unemployed Resource Network). I know many of you are interested in the law of attraction and how to use it in your everyday lives.
One way to use it to get fit is to workout to some high energy motivating music and envision yourself looking fit and lean. Let yourself feel excited about this image, hold it in your mind. This image, the excitement combined with the music and endorphins from working out will have a profound effect on your ability to "manifest" this image. Of course you will have to continue to workout and eat healthy, but it won't feel like a sacrifice, it will be completely different. Try it and tell us what distinctions you were able to make about what was different.
Damage Control
The week after Easter is always a busy one for me. People gain weight and panic when they realize that bathing suit season is around the corner. My first advice is move your body. You have time for damage control, you can burn quite a few calories not to mention boosting your metabolism. The next thing I find helpful is limiting your flour and sugar based carbs. They can be addictive and you need to take a break from them for a few days. The harder it is to do, the more you need to do it. You will be glad you did.
Easter is not about candy
Try something different for Easter. Tell your family and friends how to help you stay on track. Instead of candy, request some of these goodies for your basket: a book, magazine, bubble bath, movie tickets, sugar free chocolate, music, herbal tea, a massage or spa treatment or my favorite meaningful time with someone you love.
Remind them that Easter is not about candy, it is about spirituality. I invite you to refocus on the purpose of the day and not be distracted by the candy and card industry's desire to capitalize on a spiritual and meaning holiday. Have a Happy Easter!
Avoid the pastel pitfalls
What pattern are you in? If Easter is a holiday that you routinely gain a few pounds over then be proactive this year and plan ahead. Decide today what you are going to do when you pass the bowl of jelly beans sitting on a coworker's desk. Have some raw almonds or honey roasted peanuts to snack on instead. The protein and healthy fat will fill you up and not spike your blood sugar the way candy does.
This is a predictable time of year, you know your downfalls, don't wait until you are confronted with those pastel treats to realize you need something to snack on. Grab some healthy alternatives and armor up!
