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Free Teleseminar: Could YOU Use More Ease, Flow, and ME-time in Your Life?

June 24th, 2010, No Comments »

It’s time for the next (free)  Smart Woman’s Teleseminar–and you’re invited!

This month, I’ll be talking about the number one challenge busy, high-achieving women face–making time for yourself, getting done what needs to be done, AND creating that juicy lifestyle you work so hard for. Don’t roll your eyes–it IS possible.

The Official Topic:

Overwhelmed, Overcommitted, or Overweight? How to Unleash Your Inner Champion and Take Back Your Life (in less time than you think)

Sounds good doesn’t it? Can’t you just picture your own personal super hero—complete with cape—standing in your corner?

Here’s some of what I’m going to cover:

• Two powerful myths that are holding many women back (and how to break free of them)
• How healthy lifestyle and self care impact the game you bring to your business and your professional life
• What your inner champion is and why you need to connect  with her
• How you can create more ease, flow, me-time, AND success in ten minutes a day.

… and much more.

This teleseminar takes place Tuesday, June 29, 2010 at 3pm Pacific, 4pm Mountain, 5pm Central, and 6pm Eastern. You’ll want to be on the call live to get your questions answered and participate in this important teleseminar, but if you absolutely can’t make it, know that we’ll be recording the call and will email access to the recording to all who enroll.

You can save your seat and get all the information here:

I hope to see you on the call,

Free Teleseminar: Get Back In the Driver’s Seat With Overeating, Binge Eating and Emotional Eating: How to Stop Struggling and Make Peace With Food

April 12th, 2010, No Comments »

Spring Smart Woman’s Teleseminar: Register Now

I love spring and associate it with freshness and renewal and beginnings. Unfortunately, many women I talk to associate it with bathing suit shopping, and pressures to shape up and lose weight. Right now, they are starting to prepare for another disappointing ride on the diet roller coaster (you know–the ride with lots of ups and downs where you always end up right where you started). There really is a better way. Please know, that if you are tired of struggling with overeating or emotional eating, there is a way out that doesn’t involve going through the vicious cycle or the endless yo-yo dieting that you may feel trapped in.

Just in time for spring, I’m offering a free teleseminar with a big title: Get Back In the Driver’s Seat With Overeating, Binge Eating and Emotional Eating: How to Stop Struggling and Make Peace With Food

Here’s the agenda:

• Find out why diets don’t work and the missing ingredient you need to be effective
• Learn how to identify what you are really craving (if you are overeating—it’s not food) and the problem with “food rules”
• Discover what you should be paying attention to that you probably aren’t
• Learn how you can create your own customized blueprint for making peace with food—once and for all

… and much more.

You’ll also be the first to hear about the new session of the Emotional Eating Toolbox™ Take Action Series, which kicks off  May 11, 2010 and some of the new benefits that I’ve added.

This free teleseminar that takes place Tuesday, April 20, 2010 at 3pm Pacific, 4pm Mountain, 5pm Central, and 6pm Eastern. You’ll want to be live on the call so that you can get your questions answered, however, if you can’t make it, you’ll still want to register. The call will be recorded and all who register will receive access to the recording. Teleseminars are easy to attend. You just dial in on the long distance number you will be provided when you register (you will be responsible for any long distance calls). You’ll be given an access code and instructed to punch it in and then you’ll join us on the line. I’ll definitely be taking your questions throughout the call.

Just go here to save your seat.

Take good care,

Overeating and Overwhelmed? I Have a Message For You

April 7th, 2010, 3 Comments »

Someone recently asked me what I would change about my business if I could. Of course, I have a to-do list (grin), but the first thing that came out of my mouth was this:

I wish I could more easily show women how self care and paying attention to the issues I help them focus on isn’t self indulgent and isn’t fluff. Getting to the root of overeating battles, learning how to create a life that feeds you, and crafting a plan to invest in yourself is one of the most important investments you can make in the rest of your life, your business or profession, and your relationships.

The truth: YOU are your most valuable asset. YOU are what you bring to the table, not only in your personal life, but in your business as well. If you are treating yourself like an old beat up clunker instead of a well-oiled machine, the consequences reverberate widely. Not just for you, but for the causes, concerns, and people who you care for as well.

I heard something very sad today. A marketing and business coach said that although “mompreneurs” (moms who are starting their own business), are such a huge and growing group, she advises against starting a business that specializes in providing services to them. Why? Well, she said that her research shows that this is a group that has a hard time investing in themselves, and by relation, in their businesses. “They’ll spend their money on everyone else in their family before they’ll think of investing in themselves or their company.”  Sound familiar? It’s not true for everyone, but I would agree that many women struggle mightily when it comes to investing in themselves. And they often pay a big price for not allowing themselves what they really need.

The lessons to put everyone else first run deep. For some, it’s almost as automatic as breathing. And it can be so ingrained that women become unaware of the price they are paying.

I hear clients and women who participate in my programs saying, “I know this is silly. I shouldn’t need to do a program like this. But I do.” Do you hear how hard that belief makes it to get what you need? –and how brave one has to be to move forward anyway? The truth is that these women are doing something that takes courage—looking a battle straight in the eyes and investing in creating a better way of living and being. Good on them.

Battles with food, stress, and overwhelm are a sign that life is out of balance. They are what happen when women aren’t getting what they really need, what they really crave, and what allows them to run at their best.

Battles with food, stress, and overwhelm indicate that you are out of balance.  You’re not well fueled. And that means you are not able to reliably access one hundred percent of who you are—your creativity, your passion, your wisdom. You’re not at one hundred percent and you probably know it. My bet would be that it impacts your confidence. Your posture. Your mindset. The stand you take in the world. Everything.

You are the choices that you make. And every time you do not stand up for yourself and for what you need, there is a consequence.  That choice echoes through the rest of your life. Investing in YOU is one of the most powerful things you can do. It’s not self indulgent. It’s not silly. It’s not fluff.

Am I making my point?  I’d love to hear your thoughts, your disagreements and your amens. Let’s start a conversation.

Take good care,

Are You Feeding Yourself a Well Balanced Life? Hungers that Lead to Overeating

March 16th, 2010, 4 Comments »

When we want to lose weight, our focus is usually on what foods to eat and ways to eat less.  After all, that’s where the calories come from and that’s what the diet industry tells us is important.  The problem is, our eating plan is only one part of the equation.

Diets and food plans don’t take into consideration the many factors that motivate us to eat.  They don’t address our complex appetites and hungers.  Sometimes it’s actually physical hunger—a need for fuel—that triggers our desire to eat, but many of us also reach for food for other reasons–when life gets demanding or we get tired or we just don’t feel quite “right.”

Overeating and weight gain occur when we use food to try to fill or make up for unaddressed gaps or needs in the rest of our lives.  Sometimes we know we are eating in response to a need that isn’t really hunger, and sometimes, our tendency to feed our feelings and other needs with food is so ingrained, that we don’t even think about it.  If we’ve spent a long time learning to address needs and feelings with food, over time we may actually experience a “physical” sensation of hunger instead of feeling nervous, lonely, bored or needy.

Taking control of overeating requires taking a close look at the rest of your life and making sure that you are getting what you need.  Ignored or unfed needs and feelings increase the chances that you will find yourself standing at the refrigerator with a craving that just won’t go away.  The craving won’t go away because using food to feed it doesn’t really address the real need or the problem.  It might push it away for awhile, but I guarantee you, the issue, and the “hunger,” will come back.

So–are you living a well-balanced life? Are you feeding your mind, your body, and your spirit? It is much easier to avoid the munchies if you are feeding yourself in these  high quality ways:

Hungers that lead to emotional eating and overeating:

Hunger for rest

Many Americans, especially women, don’t get enough sleep.  Research shows that insufficient sleep contributes to weight gain—and get this—at least some of the weight gain is not related to how many  calories are eaten!  Lack of sleep also triggers physiological mechanisms that lead to increased appetite and cravings for high-carbohydrate and high-calorie foods.  Sleep deprivation affects brain chemistry which impacts how hungry we are and the kind of foods we crave.  This one is a no-brainer. If you aren’t feeding your hunger for rest, you are behind before you start.

Hunger for connection

Remember social studies class?  Humans are social beings.  We need other people.  Connection comes in the form of close relationships, support, feeling understood and listened to, companionship, physical touch and connection, and shared experiences (tears, laughter, even being bored together).

If we don’t have enough connection, we may attempt to cope by telling ourselves we don’t really need it.  Low self esteem, weight struggles, and self-blame can all lead to isolation.  If we’re busy or tired or stressed, it’s easy to convince ourselves that we just don’t have the energy to connect with others (and we might not—one unfed life area tends to snowball into others pretty quickly).

Eating out of loneliness is a major trigger for over eating, and, as lonely people often realize, loneliness is not always a feeling that has a “quick fix.”  Our social connections take time to develop and they require nurturing, so take an inventory of how well you are consistently feeding and caring for the growth of connections in your life.  Don’t get discouraged if you aren’t where you want to be.  Think about what small seed you could plant today to start to increase your connectedness with others.

Sensory hunger

Taste is just one of the senses we need to feed. We vary in our specific hungers for sights, smells, sound, and touch.  Whatever your appetites, you’ll do yourself a favor if you learn how to feed all your senses.

It’s no accident that beauty is sometimes referred to as a “visual feast.”  Our need for beauty might involve exposure to art or nature, attention to color in our homes, our clothes, or a new lipstick color.  How much physical sensation do you have in your life?  Think about physical touch and intimacy, but also think about whether you have experiences of day-to-day pleasure in your body.  Do you dance or feel the sun on your face or get a massage or enjoy a great shoulder stretch after a day at the computer?  These are all ways of feeding your sense of touch.  What about sound?  Music is a great mood regulator.  Others need a break from sound—quality quiet time.  And don’t forget about smell.  Our sense of smell is closely tied to taste and it’s important not to neglect it.  Savor the aroma of the food you do eat.  Breath deep when you go outdoors, explore great smelling herbal teas that envelope you with their heat and their aroma.  Invest in lotion that smells fantastic.

Hunger for growth

A fundamental part of being alive is continuing to evolve and transform. We have a real need to keep improving, growing or working towards becoming the people we are meant to be.  The opposite of growth is stagnation, which the dictionary defines as “becoming sluggish and dull; ceasing to flow; or becoming stale or foul.”  Not an appealing picture is it?

Is personal growth on your priority list? Do you try new things and stretch outside of your comfort zone a bit? Do you come in contact with new people, new thoughts, new activities or ideas? Do you have goals and plans for the future—that have nothing to do with your eating your your weight? Feeding a hunger for growth means allowing yourself time, opportunity and resources to nurture your goals and dreams.  It means, at times, thinking outside of the boundaries of your day-to-day life.  How are you doing in this area? Can you enhance your growth in one small way?

Hunger for play and fun

It sounds so easy, but for many, making sure they have enough play and fun in their life can be difficult. When we have a lot of important responsibilities it can be tempting to let play and fun fall off the priority list.  We can also get so focused on making sure everyone else gets their plan and fun in (we almost always get the kids to soccer practice don’t we?) that we convince ourselves there just isn’t time for our needs.  People who don’t get enough play and fun usually fall into one of two categories.  Either they don’t think about play and fun very often and their “fun muscles” are rusty—they can’t list 5-10 activities they really love without REALLY thinking about it, OR they have a long list of things they love but aren’t being successful at carving out the time for themselves.

Both are a problem. The hunger is real, and it doesn’t go away.  In the short run, it might feel like “treating yourself” with a snack is easier then figuring out how to fit more fun in, but in the end, it won’t eliminate the craving—at least not for long.

The good news is that weight loss success is not necessarily about deprivation.  A powerful tool in the battle to curb overeating involves learning to give ourselves more of what we truly need. Creating a well-fed, well-balanced life is not always easy and we can’t always do it perfectly—but most of us can do a better job than we are doing now.  Even if we don’t know where to start, being able to clearly define the unfed needs, the REAL hungers that we could take better care of, is a huge step.   Once we start to learn what we are really hungry for, we can start to tackle the problem head on. That’s the kind of process that leads to enduring change and lasting weight loss.

Take good care,

The Emotional Eating Toolbox(TM) Take Action Series: So What’s It Really About?

February 17th, 2010, No Comments »

The next session of the  Emotional Eating Toolbox(TM) Take Action Series kicks off next Tuesday, February 23.

I’ve received a number of inquiries about the program and a number of requests for more information about the following:

What kind of results do people get from participating in this program?

It’s a pretty reasonable question and  I realized that I needed to do a better job of answering it.  Because the program really helps you examine YOUR individual situation and work at the pace that works with YOUR life, results vary widely and I’m not sure that there are “typical” results. It’s hard to measure the kind of changes that happen in this program. That said, here are some things you can expect and examples of what others have reported:

• You can expect to get really clear on the root of your struggles with food and overeating. That means getting clear on the things you are REALLY craving and needing (many of them aren’t really food).
• You can expect to learn how to stop blaming or being hard on yourself and how to use more effective strategies to move forward.
• You can expect to learn how to put a stop to the eating that feels out of control or over the top–not by depriving yourself but by using another strategy that REALLY addresses your needs.
• You can expect to learn how to stop getting stuck in the same old places, how to overcome self sabotage, and how to figure out what to do INSTEAD of emotional eating.

Here are some examples of what past participants have reported:

• They figured out that their eating really wasn’t senseless–there was a purpose to it. Once they understood this, they were able to address the REASON for the overeating directly–find a BETTER strategy for dealing with the reason–and get out of the overeating trap.
• They learned how to stop boredom eating (and how to address the boredom). The same can be said for stress eating, anxious eating, comfort eating, etc.
• They started using new tools to stop stress eating at work and to stop overeating the treats people were bringing into the office.
• They got better at saying “no” to things they didn’t want to do that were triggering overeating.
• They developed a plan for night eating, snacking and bingeing.
• They realized that they needed tools for coping with anger and started building better ways of responding instead of eating out of frustration.
• They developed new strategies for rewarding themselves that didn’t involve food.

I could keep going, but I hope you get the idea.

I can’t tell you exactly what YOUR experience would be with the Emotional Eating Toolbox(TM) Take Action Series, but I can tell you that if you put in the effort and complete the program, you will learn things about yourself, about your relationship with food, and about how to use new strategies, mindsets, and ideas in a way that will allow you to be more effective and in control.

The program starts Tuesday, February 23, 2010 and there is still time to register and be ready to jump in with us in the first tele-call of the series.

You also still have a chance to grab some incredibly valuable bonuses–including the opportunity to have a personal coaching session with me.

Here’s where you go to get all the information.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Take good care,

Getting to the Root of Emotional Eating Part Two: Effective Weeding

February 17th, 2010, No Comments »

Monday I shared with you why it is so important to identify and address the root cause of your struggles with food, emotional eating and overeating if you want to create an effective, lasting solution. Now, let’s look at your “weeding technique.” How are you at effectively addressing the root of your difficulties?

Here’s what I see. Too often, women gloss over the idea of understanding what is going on with their relationship with food. They look at a checklist and determine that they are an emotional eater, make a quick note of it, and then move on to planning what they will do differently in the future. This time (they tell themselves), they will eat salad for lunch. They won’t snack after dinner, and they will go to the gym on a regular basis. They fail to create a plan to address the real root cause of their overeating.

Planning feels productive and it makes most of us feel effective and in charge. I don’t have anything against plans—as long as they address the root cause that has propeled the problems with food, weight, and overeating in the past.

Too often women shame themselves into thinking that they are “making this too complicated.” They deny themselves the help and support and solutions that could maximize their effectiveness and minimize their struggle because they don’t feel “deserving” or because they have difficulties investing in themselves and making their goals a priority.

Quite simply, many of the women I encounter have a long history of trying very hard to change their relationship with food without the resources they need. No wonder they feel tired, discouraged, unmotivated and skeptical. They’ve been trying to create major life change on a shoestring—and a frazzled one at that.

So here’s the question (and the challenge) of the day: This topic speaks to you, or you wouldn’t have read as far as you already have. When it comes to getting to the root of the cause of your emotional eating or overeating, are you on the premium plan or are you trying to squeak by with the economy, super-saver-free-trial offer? Be honest with yourself. If you aren’t finding the success that you want, it’s cheap and easy (albeit painful) to beat yourself up emotionally for a lack of results.  Does this add to your effectiveness? Not one bit. The alternative that could? Upgrading your attention to the roots.

Ready to make a change? Here’s the challenge: If you were to upgrade your weeding strategy and really address the root cause of your struggles with food, what would that look like? What would you do differently? What new tools would you want to use? What help would you ask for? What resources would you engage?

What step can you commit to taking today?

Take good care,

The Emotional Eating Toolbox™ Take Action Series combines my 28 Day structured and self-guided program with the accountability, motivation, strategies and tips provided in six weekly teleseminars. We’re starting a new session soon. Find out more here.

Emotional Eating and Overeating: Why Getting to the Root Cause is so Important.

February 15th, 2010, No Comments »

There are few things more discouraging than battles with overeating, weight loss struggles and weight regain. I’ve seen far too many savvy, wise women lose their confidence and even their hopefulness about their ability to make successful and lasting changes in the way that they eat and in the number on the scale. The guilt and self blame that often follows just makes everything harder.

Here’s the truth. Making successful changes with your eating and your lifestyle requires paying attention to the head game. You can develop all the menus you want, precut and bag your veggies,  and stock up on fruit and protein powder until the cows come home, but if you don’t understand what is driving your eating, what led to any extra pounds you are trying to lose, what contributed to your last attempt at weight loss not working out so well, why the chocolate calls so loudly to you every evening, or why you typically regain any weight that you lose, your efforts aren’t going to pay off the way that you want them to. At least, not in a way that lasts.

Trying to lose weight or “get healthy” by going on a diet is like weeding a garden by chopping the leaves off the weeds. It doesn’t work. If you want to solve either problem in an enduring way, you must deal with the root.

The root is how the weed gets nourishment. With overeating and emotional eating, the root is the real, underlying reason that compels you to overeat or eat differently than you want to and than your wise self tells you that you should. If you don’t identify and figure out how to address the root cause of your overeating, emotional eating, and your battles with food or weight, the chance that these issues will always come back is pretty high.

Dealing with the root is not always quick, simple, or sexy. But it IS fundamentally important. And though it may seem like an overwhelming proposition, the truth is that if you allow yourself the proper tools to do the work involved, it doesn’t need to be a STRUGGLE.

To be continued….

Take good care,

Want to move forward? Looking for a plan to address the root of your emotional eating or overeating? The Emotional Eating Toolbox™ Take Action Series kicks off soon. Go here to learn more and to snap up some great bonuses just for signing up.

Emotional Eating and Overeating: What You Need To Know So That They Don’t Sabotage Your Weight Loss Plan

February 3rd, 2010, No Comments »

I’m pleased to announce the next call in the Smart Women’s Teleseminar Series and it might be just the ticket for you if you are finding yourself struggling or veering off track with your New Year’s plan for a healthier lifestyle.

The topic this month:

Emotional Eating and Overeating: What You Need To Know So That They Don’t Sabotage Your Weight Loss Plan

Did you know that emotional eating can be an issue for you and you might not even know it? Or that slowing down and paying attention to emotional eating can help you identify additional triggers that may be fueling your appetite, slowing down your metabolism and sabotaging your weight loss attempts? Join me for this free teleseminar on Tuesday, February 9 at 3pm Pacific/6pm Eastern and you’ll hear:

• What you need to know about overeating that no diet will address

• Why most dieters fail

• The most powerful tool you can use to create permanent weight loss and changes in your relationship with food

… and much more.  I’m also going to be providing information about the upcoming Emotional Eating Toolbox™ Take Action Series which begins this month.

You can register and get all the information for the free call here.

Take good care,

Is Emotional Overeating Weighing You Down?

January 26th, 2010, 6 Comments »

Are you

• eating when you aren’t really hungry?
• struggling with stress or “nervous” eating?
• circling the kitchen because you can’t find “the thing” that will satisfy you?
• eating when you are bored, tired, frustrated, or procrastinating doing something else?
• hungry all the time–no matter what or how much you eat?

If so, it’s worth considering whether emotional eating is getting in the way of your healthy eating and weight loss goals.  We all eat emotionally. We’re encouraged by friends, family, and the media to associate food with all sorts of warm, comfy, delicious things that are not simply a need for fuel. We’re taught to think of “comfort foods” and to reach for certain foods when we want to celebrate or gnaw away our frustrations. Emotional eating is a fact of life for most of us. But if it gets out of hand, it can TAKE the upper hand and become the primary factor behind your weight struggles.
If you are having a hard time with emotional overeating than you know what a vicious cycle it can be to break out of.

Remember that it IS a vicious cycle and apply these strategies to break free of the emotional overeating cycle and start walking a different path.

1. Call it emotional eating. If you are using food as a tool to cope with feelings or needs, than call it what it is. Once you identify emotional eating, let go of the other names you’ve been using—you know—the ones that leave you feeling awful about yourself, guilty, and maybe even ashamed. The issue is that you are an emotional eater. The issue is NOT that you are lazy, unmotivated, or undisciplined.
2. If you are going to change a pattern, you need to understand it first. This is why any diet you choose will probably fail you. A diet doesn’t teach you to listen to yourself and understand the pattern of your eating. A diet won’t help you understand what drives you to the kitchen after you’ve already eaten a meal. It won’t help you figure out what you are REALLY craving, feeling, or needing that isn’t even food. Taking the time to understand what’s really going on will help you craft a strategy where you address the CAUSE of your overeating. Programs like the Emotional Eating Toolbox™ 28 Day Program can be helpful if you find that you need new tools or strategies to identify what’s going on or help creating alternatives to overeating.
3. Don’t just say no. No isn’t a strategy. To successfully take control of emotional eating, you’re going to need to decide HOW you’re going to not use food the way you’ve been using it in the past. What’s essential here is knowing what you will do INSTEAD of relying on food. Too many weight loss plans fail because of a lack of this type of planning. Make a list before you start your next weight loss attempt—or better yet—make it now. What are your trouble spots, triggers, and emotional eating cues? What can you try instead of turning to food?

Take good care,

By the way, the next call in the Smart Women’s Free Teleseminar Series is all about emotional eating and I’ll be sharing lots more tips and information.

Overeating, Emotional Eating and Weight Struggles: Do they limit your professional success?

January 11th, 2010, No Comments »

I wanted to share this post from the Solo Entrepreneur blog (Solo-e) on how overeating and weight struggles can keep you from being your best self and the tools busy women need to create lasting changes.

Do your weight loss battles keep you from shining or playing as big as you’d like to? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Take good care,