How do I give myself treats and rewards as I lose weight? How do I do it without feeling like I'm hanging on by my finger-nails?

Many people’s ‘reward’ themselves at the end of a hard day by self harming.  A cigarette, too much alcohol, a chocolate binge or a combination of all three.  This may emotionally feel rewarding momentarily but it is not rewarding your body - it is abusing yourself.  Like all addictive behavior’s the after effects mentally and emotionally are probably more destructive than the actual 'acting out'.

(5 ideas for healthy rewards at the bottom of the page)

[[posterous-content:pid___0]](Above - lunch in Cornucopia today - my treat for updating The Energy Coach Website and hitting my target weight before Ironman in 2.5 weeks)

 

Learning to treat yourself with dignity and respect takes time.  In my opinion regaining ones self-respect is the most fulfilling, dignifying and rewarding part of the weight loss process.  For both men and women, feeling like you are worth it and treating yourself accordingly, feeling worthy of respect and treating yourself according is an infinitely more enjoyable outcome than just being three stone lighter.

 

When people are trapped in addiction they feel like there is nowhere to go.  That they are ‘damned if they quit and damned if they don’t.’  One of our objectives in my Mentoring Groups is to  to establish a new way of thinking which is polar opposite to ‘damned if you quit and damned if you don’t.’  Our objective is that you feel that this process, the results, the speed of results, the steps themselves all feel; ‘too good to be true.’

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(Above: Today's lunch which was a green juice, raw cold soup which sounds awful but tastes fantastic, salad, fruit salad, veggie pate with crackers. Total €11.95)

 

The key to sustainability is in finding ways to enjoy the new journey so that you wouldn’t dream of going back to your old behaviors.  We do this by ensuring the new way of living is fun.  What you initially anticipate as a painful activity (like exercise) may end up becoming the highlight of your day.  Beginners who start running but don’t know what they are doing can suffer initially (especially if they don’t have a mentor) but they cross the ‘pain barrier’ eventually.  One day they go out for their monotonous run and they get a ‘runner’s high’ and their mindset shifts forever - they love running!

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If I’m totally honest I’m still learning healthy ways to reward myself. Let me know if you have some great ideas yourself!

5 things I use as a healthy reward are: 

• Time to chill out in the sauna and do some stretchs
• Expensive organic delicious herbal teas. We go to Les Palais Des Thes on Wicklow St and it is fantastic.
• A gorgeous meal in Cornucopia vegetarian restarurant which is also on Wicklow St
• Massage
• Damage control: If I'm desperately craving chocolate then I buy high quality dark chocolate like Butlers (Guess where there is a store?  -Wicklow St conveniently enough!). I find that I don't want to eat as much dark chocolate and it is a lot lower in sugar and dairy than milk chocolate.

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3 simple ways to lose weight and save a fortune as you do it!

 

 

• Save as you slim on parking & petrol: 

Almost all of us can find a free way to burn off some stored fat that fits into our current daily routine. I like to meet up with friends for a walk rather than in a pub. Others commute (walk or cycle slowly) to work. Some people commute home from work from time to time. Commuting is great for the environment, burns off stored fat and saves you on petrol and parking.

 

Perhaps you need the car for work but could walk instead of drive to the occasional appointment during the day. This is a great way of blowing off work related stress on  company time. When you commute to work on foot you can make phonecalls as you go which not only helps the environment and saves you money, it helps you to leverage your time more productively and is safter than making calls when driving. 

 

There is always a way to save on transport even if it is just how you get around at the weekend. Tip: To get started commuting you could park or take the bus a little less each day and walk a little more. 

 

• Consider becoming a part-time vegetarian/vegan: 

 

Eating veggie food is fantastic for the body and for the environment but where you’ll first notice the difference is in your wallet. Lean meat can cost a fortune. People often think that we need it for protein and calcium but this is simply not the case. Falafel (chickpea) burgers, which I can send recipes for, are high in protein, easy to prepare and typically cost €0.30 per burger to make.  This kind of cooking takes a bit more commitment and time but veggie meals are often more storable than meat/fish so you can freeze some, take some for lunch and it’ll last in the fridge for a few days. You can get more information on the health benefits of being a part-time veggie at (http://liten.be//6TtvX)

 

 

• Don’t join a gym until you’ve earned it!

I worked from mainstream gyms for almost a decade. Over 80% of members never attend the gym. Most of our clients would decide on implulse to get into great shape and then make a knee-jerk decision to join a gym as a kind of demonstration of intent. Instead of doing that, you could look at joining the gym as your reward for a month’s work. Why not give yourself a 28 day goal... If you either walk to work or take a walk at lunchtime or save money by eating veggie food every day for 28 days then you’ll probably have saved a substantial amount of your gym membership and be in the habit of exercising most days. You’ll have earned your membership and will start the process with momentum, more confidence and a base level of fitness.

 

 

Posted via email from michaelrossney's posterous

Delicious Vegan Ironman breakfast smoothie recipe for less than €1 each

Save some cash on your smoothies

Cara and I just got back from holidays late on Wednesday evening. We were passing our local Tesco on the way home at about 9pm. We’ve learned never to pass by our Tesco at that time of the day because Tesco reduce the prices on fruit and veg with today’s best before date by 90% at the end of the day! The result was that we bagged, amongst other things, several €0.40 boxes of raspberries - which are perfect for smoothies, taste gorgeous, healthy and freezable.

Solve some problems: 

Tesco deals is one of many solutions for people who don’t think they have enough time or money to get into great shape. My ideal would be to have a garden full of organic fresh fruit and vegetables for smoothies and I’m working towards it but in the meantime I need to work with the imperfections in my reality! There are solutions available to us the moment we start looking for them! The problem isn’t a deficit of time or money for most of us - it is just  a deficit of belief and inspiration! 

 

The solution to ‘not enough time and not enough money to get in shape’

I could cry when I hear people say; ‘I don’t have enough time or money’ to get in shape, lose weight, eat well and/or run the marathon! When you commit to get into great shape then the truth is that you’ll have more physical energy from the exercise, more emotional capacity because you feel better about yourself and you can have more time by multi-tasking by exercising as a means of transport or exercising with friends. 

There are ways to find time: 

I want to lose about 12 lbs in the next three weeks before a big triathlon I’m competing in. I don’t worry about whether I’m going to succeed or not because I already know it is done because; 

 

1. I’ve done it before (but there was a first time!), 
2. It is actually very simple (I’m not selling some secret here - just copy what I’m doing to get the same result)
3. I’m not going to fail because I am emotionally invested in the result

 

I’ve learned that investing time in preparing great quality food gives a return in energy later in the day so what feels like time spent is really time well invested as it creates an energy return later on in the day. 

This specific smoothie recipe: 

 

1. Put a handful of raspberries in the blender per person
2. Put a handful of spinach in the blender per person
3. Juice 3-4 Carrots per person (depending on size)
4. If the berries are fresh then add some ice to chill and create a ‘slushy’ 
5. Enjoy the delicious taste of raspberry slushy and at the same time know that you are eating one of the most nutrient dense foods there is in raw spinach, reducing your risk of cancer, improving your blood pressure etc etc! 

(For anyone interested the rest of breakfast was a gorgeous cup of green tea from Les Palais Des Thes, Mushrooms on a healthy bagel and an egg which I know is not vegan! Also, the €1 per person price is just for the smoothie - which would be a great breakfast in itself)

 

 

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