All About Giving

Change your life in 29 days with the power of giving. Sounds like a nice idea to me.

Really, really cool Web site

I promised myself I'd write at least once a day and when I saw this site, I got really, really excited. For a while, I've been wondering how one goes about boosting up one's self-esteem. It's one thing to say "Love yourself and your body." I get that part. I just didn't really get the "how" part. I've been on a search for the "how" ever since.

And in this site, I found some ideas. I especially enjoyed the inner parent meditation (mine gives me hugs).

Check it out!

Fat-Talk Free Week

One more article, about removing the word "fat" from our conversations with ourselves and others. But here's the interesting thing. When I spoke with Marilyn Wann about fat, she talked about removing any stigma from the word and of being proud to use it.

Here, then, is the opposite approach. Their intentions are good but their approach is incorrect. Just because you don't say that you hate your body doesn't make you stop hating your body. It certainly doesn't make you love it.

It would be better, instead of erasing fat from our vocabulary, that we added the phrase "I love my body, including all my fat" to our own internal dialogue, as well as in conversations with everyone else.

Perhaps if repeated enough times, we will begin to believe.

"I don't like celery. I like sandwiches."

I read a review last month in the San Jose Mercury News about the new TV series Drop Dead Diva.

My favorite part is the quote from the creator of the show:

"The show's creator, Josh Berman, said he wanted the series to make a statement about diet, weight and beauty. 'I don't believe it's about willpower,' Berman said in an interview. 'If it were, then the assumption would be that if we all wanted to be a size zero, we could be a size zero. Everyone has different needs and desires. If someone finds a doughnut to be comforting, who are we to judge them?'"

Go Josh Berman!

Craving Chocolate? Eat Nuts!

I am always interested in the body. I found this chart from Natural Solutions magazine. I'm astounded by the fact that I might be lacking magnesium when I crave chocolate. I'm also astounded that the suggestion of what to eat when I want chocolate is raw nuts and seeds. There is absolutely NO substitution for chocolate.

Check it out. Tell me what you think!

Losing My Way

I said I'd be honest in this blog, so here it is. I lost my way. I started thinking all those self-doubts, and they just got bigger than my vision until I could no longer see my way out.

I didn't like the pressure of having to eat like a personal trainer, having to have the body of a personal trainer (and it was pressure I created without anyone's help). I started thinking that if I worked as a personal trainer, my colleagues would think I wasn't really qualified.

I trained my friends twice and absolutely loved it. And then I broke up with my Chilean boyfriend and lost my way.

Now, I'm slowly picking myself up by my bootstraps and starting again. I can do this.

There is this quote on "The Secret" I love. A philosopher says, "When the voice and the vision on the inside is more profound, clear and loud than the opinions on the outside, you have mastered your life."

I don't know how one continues moving forward even when they lose their vision and motivation. I don't know yet how to fortify my vision against opinions from the outside. But if and when I find out, it will be the way I will help my clients get past their own fears. Sometimes we just need at least one supportive person to tell us, "it's okay if you're afraid. It's okay to take baby steps. Just as long as you keep moving."

I like this idea of just moving. And I mean it in all ways--to move ahead with your dreams without fears, to move physically, to keep the soul churning and bubbling with the razzle dazzle of the world, to keep the heart pumping with love for friends, family and lovers.

No wonder Finding Nemo is my favorite movie. "Just keep swimming..." resonates perfectly with me.

So, I will borrow from Finding Nemo and add a little of my own. My new motto will be simple. "Just keep moving."