Now, don’t get any ideas from that yummy picture! These bowls of sweet yumminess are part of the problem. Read on and see what’s keeping you from being a loser.

1. Eat lots of foods that have “high fructose corn syrup” in the ingredients. Frankly, if you start reading the labels, you’ll find that it’s hard to find foods that don’t contain this ingredient. No wonder why we’re fluffy.

2. Eat late in the evening. Your metabolism slows down in preparation for sleep mode, so if you eat late, calories will not have the opportunity to be used for energy. You can think of it like this: Eating late is like adding the yeast to the dough. Your belly’s like the dough, and it sure as heck is gonna rise!

3. Don’t exercise. I think this one is a bit obvious. The whole “calories in -calories out” concept is pretty basic. If you’re eating more calories than your body can burn, you’re not going to be a loser.

4. Drink lots of coffee and soda. These products do nothing to help you be a loser. Even the diet ones. The sodas contain carbonation, which not only strips calcium from your bones, but it also greatly dehydrates your body. Caffeine does the same thing. What you really need is pure, unadulterated water, as yucky as it may sound.

5. Buy groceries when you’re hungry. How many times have you purchased twice as much stuff as you would normally have just because you were hungry?. Problem is, the topic of food doesn’t usually cross your mind until you’re hungry. Begin making a conscience effort to ensure your appetite is satisfied before you do your shopping. Also, take a list and tell yourself that if it isn’t on the list, you’re not gonna buy it – and stick to it!

These are just five examples of the things that are keeping us fat. There are certainly more, but changing even one or two of them can have a huge impact on your body. The first one is a HUGE one. But then again, so is exercise.

However, my personal trainer told me that 80-90% of losing weight is in what you eat. So, if you’re not ready to get active, start by going through the fridge and the pantry, and eliminate the foods with high fructose corn syrup. That should keep you busy for awhile. *grin*

What food do you think will be the hardest to dump?

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I had a bit of a breakthrough today, so I’m pretty excited. I’ve always seen my problems as just a series of failures or weaknesses.

Depression is one, lack of good housekeeping skills another, my weight and lousy eating habits, easily getting overwhelmed, and the list goes on. However, what I discovered is that all my issues pretty much stem from my being so overweight.

Looking like this gets me depressed, which makes me physically and emotionally incapacitated to clean my house or have the motivation to eat right and do other things that should get done, which makes me feel even more like a failure, which increases my level of depression.

Almost every area of my life has been directly impacted by my weight issues. Just the depression alone has suffocated the happy, energetic and bubbly person I used to be. It has made me stay locked up in my home with little to no desire to go anywhere or see anyone.

I learned that my entire sense of value and self worth is wrapped up in how I feel about my weight. Since I have such negative feelings about myself and my weight, and I feel like I’m a waste of time for everyone else; that I bring nothing of value to the table…even though I KNOW better.

I learned that I need to compartmentalize my weight issue and realize that my weight has nothing to do with my ability to be a good friend or wife or mom, and that my level of success and what I’m capable of achieving has nothing to do with my weight.

I need to stop using my weight as an excuse for why my life isn’t going the way I want it to.

I need to tackle it as a separate issue, while at the same time, pushing myself out of my comfort zone so I can see that I can be an amazing person despite my weight.

This will gradually help me to eliminate the false belief that I cannot be who I want to be or as successful as I want to be while I’m overweight.

So…yes, weight loss is still a priority of mine, and with the help of CrossFit, I will accomplish my goal. But I’m not going to put success on hold just because of a silly number on the scale.

What false belief do you have that’s keeping you from what you know you’re capable of?

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If you know anything about me, you know I’m a food addict and have challenges losing and maintaining weight loss. The best success I’ve had in the recent past was when I entered into a 12-week Challenge at my local gym and signed up for a personal training package to give me an edge on the competition. I ended up winning second place, but my program was interrupted by a pregnancy.

I had planned on continuing with the training after little Suzie was born, but the cost was literally doubled and we just couldn’t swing it. My therapist recently suggested CrossFit as an alternative. I knew nothing about it, so I looked up their corporate website (http://crossfit.com/).

I was very excited about what I read, and wanted to check it out for myself. I called up the closest location and scheduled a free physical assessment. I was SOOOO excited, the days just couldn’t go by fast enough!

When I finally arrived for my appointment, I was thrilled and nervous at the same time. I didn’t know what to expect. I was just told to show up well hydrated and not to have anything heavy in my stomach. (I later learned that being well hydrated reduces your chances of puking during a workout, although in the unlikely event that you do, your name will be added to the infamous “puke wall”.) But don’t let that scare you.

When I walked in, I was somewhat surprised in that there was very little resemblance to your standard gym. There were no treadmills, no ab rollers, and thankfully — no dreaded stair climbing machines. Instead, there were gymnast rings, pull-up bars, rowing machines, wooden boxes for “box jumps,” and some bench press-type bars and free weights. I may have missed a couple things, but it most certainly is not what you’d expect to find at a traditional gym. I was eager to see what a workout would consist of.

I was guided through the process and the basics of how CrossFit works. I learned that the CrossFit program is designed to be a universal solution for any body type, fitness level, age, or degree of experience. The program itself doesn’t change; just the level and intensity.

Whether you’re elderly and suffering from heart disease or an Olympic athlete, you can be assured that you will receive a great workout that will help you achieve the specific goals you are working towards. Even children can join (age restrictions apply), and there is daycare available as well. No excuses!

Each day brings an assortment of new exercises, so it never gets dull. Your muscles don’t get a chance to “settle in” to a routine, so you’ll begin to see results quickly! This is a form of muscle confusion. (You can see my article here for more details on this method.)

Another point that is super special and different about CrossFit is that the atmosphere demonstrates a strong team-work approach and sense of belonging to the fitness family. If you expect to walk in, do your workout, and leave without being noticed or spoken to, you’ll be disappointed. I was enthusiastically greeted by several members shortly after walking into the gym, and the support and encouragement from fellow CrossFitters during the workouts is endearing and motivates you to really give it your all. I could get used to this!

Trainers make it their top priority to assist you where needed and guide you through the motions of each exercise so you receive the utmost physical benefit by making every movement count. Your progress is even tracked and logged so you can see how far you’ve come!

It really is difficult to find the right words to describe the CrossFit experience. You really have to see for yourself. Along with your free physical assessment, you’re given a week to come in as often as you like and see what you think.

I have returned for several more workouts, and each time I grow more fond of the people and the workouts. I look forward to many more, as well as having a first-row seat in watching the awesome transformation my body will be undergoing.

So, if you’re ready to put your physical self and health as a top priority, I invite you to check out your local CrossFit. My free week isn’t up yet, but I already know that this is what I’ve been longing for, but didn’t know existed. I think you’ll agree. Please share your comments and experiences. It’s always a joy to hear from you!

P.S. If you’re local to Albuquerque, I invite you to checkout the location I’m going to in Rio Rancho.

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Today has been one of those days where I feel like I’ve been working hard, but there’s nothing to show for it.

Well, my four children have full tummies and I made my sweetie a sandwich, so they’re all happy. I’ve changed diapers, ran a load of dishes, and cleaned a little (emphasis on the word ‘little’).

I guess there are little things here and there that got done, but no major accomplishments or victories. So, my day feels wasted. 16 or so hours of my life that aren’t coming back.

As I’m writing this out, I feel ungrateful and filled with negativity. Undeserving of the blessings I have.

After all, I’m breathing. Can you remember the last time you were thankful just for the fact that you’re alive?

And it certainly doesn’t stop there. I have a tremendously wonderful husband who adores me to pieces, encourages me to be myself and loves me exactly how I am, flaws and all.

I have four amazing children, two girls and two boys, from nine months to almost thirteen years. There are so many stages I’m enjoying because of their age ranges. Never a dull moment.

I have a roof over my head and food (waaaaaay too much food) to eat. I’m healthy, as far as anyone can tell, and I have wonderful family and friends surrounding me.

I have a very nice vehicle to get around in, and it was a complete gift from God. He gave me exactly what I prayed for.

My husband’s computer repair business flourishes and, although times are especially challenging right now, God continues to guide and provide.

So, as my day is coming to a close (I hope), I’m reconsidering the overall tone to take with me and my jammies to bed, and I’ve decided to be thankful for the things that I’ve selfishly overlooked and humbled to be so fortunate.

Have you considered your blessings? What are you thankful for today that you have been taking for granted?

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For any of you who are unfamiliar with this term, “self-affirmation” statements are scripts that we repeat to ourselves every day. They can be positive or negative, and as the days, weeks and years go by, those thoughts become ingrained in our minds and beliefs.

An important point to make is that, if those thoughts tend to be positive, your life will reflect more positive back. Those who have more negative scripts tend to have more negativity in their lives. Just watch the news, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

However, even for the negative ones, they usually won’t end up on the evening news, but their lives will oftentimes be just plain miserable and void. It can affect your personal life, your work life, your social life, relationships, and can lead to depression. It’s no wonder that the rate of depression keeps climbing.

So, how can we fix this problem? We need to literally reprogram our minds.

Did you know that when you perform an action or think a thought, the brain creates physical pathways? The more you think that thought or perform that action, the deeper the physical groove gets in the brain, which is how a habit is formed. The deepest pathways in your brain are the ones that it will choose to take. If you choose a different action and keep repeating that one, and eventually stop the other action entirely, the pathway to that habit will eventually disappear. Cool, huh?

In order to form new habits, we simply change the pattern to something else and keep repeating that pattern until your brain automatically picks the new habit over the old one. This process takes time and patience. Habits are not easy to break.

So let’s start putting together some positive self-affirmations! They can come in several forms including a single word such as “intelligent,” a phrase like “enjoy good health,” or a statement, “My family will benefit from my relaxing more.” To get you started, I will give you a mixture of examples.

• Nothing is worth losing my sanity over.
• Seize the opportunity.
• I deserve to love and be loved.
• Beautiful.
• I face each new day as a race to be won.
• Take action.
• There are beautiful things happening in my life daily.
• Successful.

Think of things you would like to be reality or characteristics you would like to have and then turn those into affirmations.

For example, if you would like to be more confident, you could make an affirmation that says, “I am very confident with who I am.” Or if you want to be more athletic, “I enjoy being active and have lots of energy!”

The key is to put your affirmations in past-tense form, as if they have already happened. Instead of saying, “I will be thin,” say, “I am thin.” The more you implement these into your language, thoughts, and beliefs, the more you will become them.

Why? Because your brain doesn’t know the difference. It doesn’t know what size you are. It doesn’t know what your personality is. But it’s an amazing piece of God-given machinery that will co-operate with the thoughts that run through your mind.

If you want to achieve success and you repeat your affirmations and believe them, you will begin to see some amazing transformations. Remember, you need to take action, though. Don’t just expect things to appear out of thin air. It takes work and patience to transform your thoughts, especially if you are a highly negative person. It is possible, though.

Here’s a homework suggestion for you:

Write a single positive affirmation on thirty 3 x 5 index cards and put them in a recipe box. Take one card out each day and read it to yourself out loud three times. Envision the details of the affirmation already being in place. This card is your affirmation for the day. When you get to the last card start again.

To make this daily affirmation process grow, write out thirty different affirmations for each month of the year. Keep the 360 cards in a recipe box and continually use the collection year after year, adding new affirmations as you need them and removing ones that may no longer apply.

I have found it is also very helpful to place affirmations in various places like the dashboard of your car, your purse or wallet, on the bathroom mirror, bedroom door, near the phone, or other places where you will see them often. Don’t let them stay in one place too long, though, or they’ll just become part of the scenery and you won’t notice them anymore.

“One comes to believe whatever one repeats to oneself sufficiently often, whether the statement be true or false. It comes to be a dominating thought in one’s mind.” — Robert Collier

What affirmations have worked best for you and what was the result? Your comments are welcome!

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I’ve never been good at cleaning, or more accurately, keeping an area clean. This issue has been a gargantuan source of embarrassment for me over the years. From having to tell someone I can’t find the item I borrowed from them, to literally hiding in the pantry when someone comes over unannounced so they won’t be able to associate my face with the mess. (Note to self: Maybe if you picked somewhere to hide besides the pantry, you wouldn’t have such a hard time losing weight.)

We’ve had our share of what we call “bulldozing” sessions. This is where you get a call from a friend who says they’re in your neighborhood and will be over in ten minutes. Panic sets in! You have three days of dishes piled in the sink. Laundry has been accumulating on the kitchen floor for two weeks. (Incidentally, why is it that builders put laundry rooms right off the kitchen?? Who cares if it’s a “wet” area. That’s gross!!) There’s no place to sit because every flat surface that exists in the house is covered with junk, including the floor. It’s been so long since you’ve seen it that you can’t even remember what color your carpet is. Or was it tile? I don’t remember.

Soooo, you begin bulldozing. Crusty dishes get stuffed in the oven and microwave (and hopefully you remember to take them out before you cook again). Dirty clothes get shoved into the washer, dryer, and pantry. Miscellaneous junk is crammed in every closet and cupboard within close range. You pray your guest doesn’t ask for a tour of your home and cross your fingers that the doors withholding the clutter don’t bust off their hinges until after she leaves. You hope the visit is brief enough as to not require the use of eating utensils. At least you remember having one clean glass in the cupboard, so you can still be a good hostess and offer a glass of water.

After many unexpected visits and bulldozing sessions have commenced, it is not uncommon to find socks in the cupboards and dishes in the laundry. It becomes more and more hopeless to get organized.

If you are brave enough to go through one single bag from the under-the-stairs closet, it can contain quite the array of contents. A dirty, dried up dish cloth, half-eaten teething biscuit, checkbook register from three years ago, computer hard-drive (comes with the territory being married to The Computer Guy), hemorrhoid cream, the book “It’s Hard to Make a Difference When You Can’t Find Your Keys,” your keys, and the list goes on.

So, how do we pull ourselves out of this mess? It’s no easy thing to do (and I continue to work on it), but the obvious answer is GET RID OF ALL THE JUNK! This can be extremely challenging for those of us “I just might be able to use that someday” types. Why? Because nothing qualifies as “junk,” so everything we have is useful! Or at least will be someday! Maybe.

Here are some things that have helped me.

You absolutely have to go through stuff or you’ll never get anywhere. This can be a very overwhelming task if you’ve been accumulating stuff for a long time.

Take it one box at a time. Literally.

1. Pick one, single box to go through.
2. Take it out to your driveway or some other place where there’s some room to spread out.
3. Identify and mark four separate areas to categorize the stuff. Trash, Garage Sale, Keep, and Give Away.
4. Dump out the entire contents of the box on the floor. I find that it’s easiest to weed out the obvious stuff like the trash first, and then you have less to work around.
5. Pick up an item. With each item you pick up, tell yourself that you cannot put the item down until you have decided which pile it will go into. You aren’t allowed to pick up the same item twice, so no putting it off! Make your decision and stick to it. If you absolutely must, you can change your mind and relocate it into a different pile when you’re all done.

Helpful Tip: When deciding which things to keep, there are three questions that have been extremely helpful in guiding me. They are:

• Does it lift my energy when I think about it or look at it?
• Do I absolutely love it?
• Is it genuinely useful and do I use it?

If you answered “yes” to all three questions, then ask yourself, “Is it located in the place where it belongs?” If not, make sure you put it where it belongs right away.

If you answered “no” to any of the three questions, get rid of it! You can throw it away or perhaps donate it to a charity. Just get it out of your house as quickly as possible.

6. Once you have finished putting everything that came out of that box into one of those four piles, you can either a) choose to go through another box, or 2) take care of the four piles you just made.

7. When you are done going through boxes, it’s time to take care of those piles. Make sure you deal with them right away. Do not procrastinate on this. It will only make your job more difficult later.

Put the trash in the trash receptacle. Put stuff for Goodwill in your car and take it there now or the next time you go out. Any items you decided to keep, put them away in the place you designated for them.

Remember: If there’s no place for it, you don’t keep it. Simple.

Make a place for Garage Sale items and keep it organized. Make a date for your garage sale. You don’t want junk to be taking up space in your garage for longer than necessary.

If you keep this up, you will get there, one box at a time. Just don’t give up!

Enjoy your newly acquired extra space and the fact that you have that many less things cluttering your life and your house, which means more time to spend on the things that are truly important to you.

I’m eager to hear your success stories, big or small! Post your comments below. I always love hearing from you!

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With all the changes taking place in today’s economy, we’re forced to look at our finances in a different light. Many of us are having to downsize homes or give up a brand-new vehicle for a used replacement. Here are several admittedly drastic ways to cut costs. After all, with as hard as we work for our money, we might as well stretch it to the max, right?

Clip coupons and grocery ads. Wal-Mart will match any advertised price, so if you don’t mind exchanging some time in line for some extra bucks in your pocket, you can make it a one-stop shop.

Disconnect your land line. With internet being available via cable and the “family share plans” that are common among cell phone providers, it may not be necessary to keep your land line. Another option would be to sign up for a free Skype account. Then you can have the best of both worlds! Evaluate your personal situation and get rid of it if you don’t really need it.

Borrow vs. buy. The public libraries carry a large assortment of books, as well as movies. Check out their selection and see if you can utilize what they have to offer instead of purchasing books and paying those huge movie rental fees. If you do, however, continue to rent movies on a regular basis, get a Netflix membership or ask your local Blockbuster about their “Movie Pass”.

Regulate your electric use. Did you know that unplugging the TV instead of just turning it off can save you electricity? Remember to unplug appliances while they are not in use, and don’t forget to switch off fans and lights when you leave the room. Use a programmable thermostat to control your heat/AC usage. They even sell thermostats for swamp coolers. Check at your local Home Depot or Lowe’s.

Ex-List the Joneses. If you have friends that are lavish spenders, who purchase a new car every year, eat at fancy restaurants every night, and live way beyond their means, you’re doing yourself a favor to find some new friends. Even if they are good people and mean well, this can have an adverse impact on your financial well being by creating unnecessary desires and discontentment.

Hold the mother of all garage sales. Cast a critical eye on what’s in your garage, storage, and what’s lingering in your closets. If you haven’t used it in six months, chances are you don’t need it. Your annual savings depends on how much junk you have. I’d put mine at about $1,000 cash, plus the added bonus of more space and peace of mind. Side Note: Children can get involved by adding a lemonade stand. They’ll get a lot more customers due to the garage sale.

Quit smoking. Pack-a-day habit? This alone can save you between $1,500-2,000 per year at a pack a day, which could go straight into savings, debt payoff, or even help you pay that growing gas and electric bill. You will also save on insurance and health care costs.

Driving addict? Find ways to save on gas, insurance, car maintenance (and aspirin) by carpooling or utilizing public transportation. Maybe even lose the vehicle if either of these options is available to you. If you do continue to drive, combine your errands in one trip. Obey speed limits, or even a little under.

If you practice the above on a regular basis, you can literally save yourselves thousands of dollars every year. If you were to put that money into an average 10% return investment account, it wouldn’t take long before you will watch that number grow like the weeds in the front lawn your “friendly” neighborhood association keeps sending you mean letters about.

What have you found to be a good method for stretching a buck?

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Red light foods are foods that you can’t resist when they’re around, and you rarely control how much of them you eat. Ultimately, they are counter-productive to weight loss, so you need to be able to recognize what they are.

Here are some examples: When you buy a bag of chips, do you eat just one or do you polish off the whole bag in on sitting? When Halloween rolls around, are you too busy eating the candy to answer the doorbell and pass it out? Are you a member of a “Chocolate of the Month” club, and find yourself asking them if they can deliver the whole year’s supply at once? If so, these are probably red light foods for you.

My biggest red light food is chocolate. If there is chocolate in the house, I WILL find it, especially if aunt flow is coming to visit (she enjoys chocolate too).

Red light foods don’t always have to be what people consider to be obviously unhealthy foods either. I don’t even want to think about how many pounds I gained when I was drinking apricot nectar by the quart. Even “healthy” red lights foods can make us fat, thus why they’re called “red light foods.”

The best way I’ve found to deal with this issue is to just not have them in the house. If I can see it or find it, I WILL eat it. I’ve warned members of my family that they MUST hide any such foods or they will become fast acquaintances with my stomach.

Now, this doesn’t mean that you can never have foods that are in that category. I mean, they’re red light foods because you love them, right? There’s a couple ways to handle this.

1. Have someone else purchase them and ration them to you. They should also make sure that they are hidden from you in a place where you will not have access to them.

2. Go out for a single serving. If you’re craving ice cream, go and get a cone from Sonic or a small blizzard from Dairy Queen. If you want chips, you can get a single package of them a grocery stores. Sure, they cost more, but ultimately it’s worth it.

Also, don’t shop when you’re hungry. I find that 90% of my cart is filled with powdered donuts, chocolate dipped granola bars, caramel cups and other unhealthy snacks when I shop hungry. I might not even realize hungry until I get in line and evaluate the contents of my cart.

It’s embarrassing going through line and having the cashier and people in line behind you look at what’s in your cart when you’ve gone shopping when you’re hungry. You can just tell they’re thinking “No wonder why she looks like that!”

Start paying attention to what skinny people have in their grocery carts. Probably lends a clue to why they’re trim.

Remember: Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels!!

What are your red light foods, and how do you deal with them?

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Mindi Before

1. Boost your metabolism as soon as you get out of bed. I was told that, the moment I wake up and get out of bed, put my running shoes on and go for a jog for at least 20 minutes.

Mindi After

Just remember to change up the level of difficulty every minute from easy to medium to hard. Also, doing this cycle immediately after getting up, as stated above, will give you even better results.

3. Cheat on your diet. Now before you go crazy, the key here is that you can have one – yes, ONE – cheat meal per week, and you should keep it on the same day. Whatever you are craving during the week, tell yourself you are allowed to indulge those cravings during this meal. It gives you something to look forward to!

4. Single serving secret. This tip is so simple, but I think it’s ingenious. Let’s say you are craving ice cream. You want to make sure you have it available for your cheat meal, so you go buy a carton of your favorite brand.

Why is this so bad? A couple reasons. For one, every time you open the freezer, it screams to be eaten. If you had the self-discipline to resist, you probably wouldn’t be on this quest to lose weight in the first place. Secondly, if you DO manage to not give in to temptation until your cheat meal, chances are you’ll probably eat the whole container, or at least a lot more than it would take to satisfy that craving.

So, what’s the answer? Go out for dessert and get a single serving. Even if you get a large blizzard at Dairy Queen, it’s still a single serving. Yes, it may cost more to do it this way, but you’ll be able to indulge your craving and keep yourself on track the rest of the time by not allowing the temptation to reside in your house.

This doesn’t just apply for desserts. Whatever that “red light food” is, just don’t bring it in the house. when you want it, save it for your cheat meal and go out and get a single serving.

5. No high carb foods after 5. This is pretty self-explanatory. I was taught to eat the highest carb foods in the morning, preferably for breakfast, as this gives your body the greatest chance of converting those calories into fuel, not fat. Stay away from any high carb foods after five p.m.

I usually ate some type of vegetable and combined it with a little bit of protein. Being a vegetarian, that usually meant I mixed in a small portion of tofu or egg whites, although some vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and asparagus contain high levels of protein already.

Have you worked with a Personal Trainer before? What tips did you find were most helpful?

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I’m thinking, mom, of you today
Wondering what’s on your heart?
Are you glad I’m all grown up?
Do you wish we weren’t apart?

Do you feel those hours, those days, those years
Changing diapers, doing laundry and calming fears
Were worth the hard days, long nights and tears
For these words to fall upon your ears?

You’ve made great sacrifices,  put yourself last.
Making time for you became a thing of the past
But your ceaseless efforts weren’t in vain,
You did without, but saw it as gain.

Although smiles may have quickly faded,
These words, no doubt, have come belated.
But better late than never, as that famous saying goes,
You’re the best mom EVER, From one who truly knows.

Happy Mother’s Day!

—– by Mindi Lyons

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