How To Relax Into Weight Loss

Happy Friday Eve all!  Today’s guest poster is one of my favorite people, Dani Spies.  Before I ever blogged, I used to read and drool over her recipes – her pictures are AMAZING and she has such a great sense of humor (check out her video outakes!).  The best part is that she is always willing to share her health and fitness knowledge with everyone along with her clean eating lifestyle.

After you read her post, be sure to go to her site Dani Spies because I am pretty sure you will find something you want for lunch, and dinner and breakfast and……

Thanks for guest posting for me Dani!!!!

How To Relax Into Weight Loss by Dani Spies

Did you know that it is a scientific fact that our bodies are not able to heal when they are in a stressed state. In order to heal and mend our bodies need to be in a relaxation mode.

Since weight loss is ultimately a form of healing it only makes sense that in order to lose unwanted weight we need to find a way to relax into the process. But the big weight loss paradox is that most diets and weight loss systems STRESS US OUT!

Diets tend to focus on willpower, deprivation, and restriction resulting in feelings of failure, shame and guilt – totally stressful! So how do we begin to shift the stressful paradigm around weight loss and enter into a natural relaxed state that supports effortless weight loss?

I spent 15 years of my life yo-yo dieting and stressing out around food before I finally learned how to relax into my weight loss journey. Here are 5 tips that helped me relax into my weight loss journey:

1. Let go of the need to FIX. Having the need to fix our selves is the single quickest way to halt progress and lock it unwanted behaviors. Why? Because it comes from a place of stress. They key is to create some space to explore the behaviors that we want to fix, once they have permission to come to the surface we can let them go.

2. Feel Your Feelings. When we fight against a negative emotion we only make them stronger. It took me a while to realize that I could feel the depth of my feelings without being destroyed by them. Our feelings are just feelings and we all have the strength to feel their depth and come out on the other side perfectly fine.

3. Trust your instincts. There is no person, book, or diet out there that knows better than you what your body needs. Our bodies are way more intelligent than our brains so we need to trust them. Practice turning off the voices in your head and tuning into the sensations in your body. I promise, your body will not steer you wrong.

4. Shift your definition of extra weight. Excess weight = potential energy, so ask yourself what kind of potential energy might you be storing when you carry extra weight? This could be energy used for creativity, self-expression, withheld emotions, etc. Take the time to explore yourself and remember the excess weight is never the problem it is merely the symptom.

5. Breathe. Taking long, deep breathes is hands down the quickest and most efficient way to get our bodies out of a stressed state and into a relaxation mode. And this doesn’t mean you need to sit and meditate for thirty minutes. Simply commit to ten deep breaths the next time you’re stressing out and see just how quickly you are able to unwind.

And most importantly, give yourself permission to be on the journey! Weight loss is a process, so find the patience and compassion that you would offer to a friend and be sure to slather it all over yourself!

Dani Spies is a Health & Nutrition Counselor, Mom, and Founder & Host of DaniSpies.com. She is passionate about creating realistic nourishing meals for a healthy home and sharing them with others.