I’m Not Going There

August 11, 2015August 11, 2015 | Lara

I’m pulling this post out the archives because I needed this reminder. Thought I would share in case you did too…

I got up this morning with a mission to help my daughter. For homework, she was asked to gather pictures of herself which capture her favorite things. As I began skimming through files of photos on my computer, you would have thought I was spending most of my time smiling and reminiscing about the past. To my surprise, recalling those days caused me to feel like I was failing as a MOM.

You see, after I had my first daughter, seven years ago, I did a great job taking lots of pictures and getting them into a scrapbook in a timely matter. As life got more hectic and our family grew, I didn’t capture the same moments by photograph with my other two kids—probably because I usually had one kid on my hip and a basket of laundry in the other.

The reality is, life will always be hectic and I CaN’t Do iT ALL. As soon as I had those sunken feelings this morning I could see how this day was going to pan out—feeling guilty ALL day about the numerous things I should be doing better. Like how I should plan meals ahead of time instead of pulling meat from the freezer at 4:59 every afternoon…or logging our monthly expenses in a spreadsheet every month instead of staring at a pile of receipts from the last 11 months. The list is never-ending, isn’t it?

Instead, as soon as my daughter left for school, I shut those feelings down by thinking to myself, “I’m not going there”. I’m not going to spend the entire day beating myself up about my areas of weakness as a mother (or the other roles I play). To help, I tried to imagine what our seven-month-old would say to me when he becomes an adult. If he knew how terrible I felt for not taking pictures of his sweet feet when he was only a few days old, he would say, “Mom….really? That’s what you’re worried about? It’s not a big deal. Really.” And then he would go on to remind me how I would play tractors with him on the living room floor and spontaneously make him a farmyard out of old oatmeal containers and cereal boxes. Ahh…thank you, my sweet kiddos, for loving me for my imperfect self. And Leanne, make sure you remember this if you become a Mom some day. Don’t be so hard on yourself 🙂

So if this is you today, pick yourself up and start focusing on the things you do well. You simply can’t do it all. Don’t let special moments (like scanning through years of pictures and reflecting on the past with your kids) pass you by because you are beating yourself up, wishing you’d done better.

From one parent to another, I think you are doing just fine 😉

DAY 3- You Deserve This

January 3, 2015January 11, 2015 | Robynn Coates

A couple days ago we talked about rating your peace. To some it may seem like too simple of a concept, but let me warn you, don’t underestimate its power. When I began taking a deeper look at my life in regards to food, and honestly rating my level of peace before, during, and after I ate, I noticed a shift in my life. I would be like a kid on Christmas morning, rubbing my eyes because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing before me–something special, something magical–a change for the better.

For once, it wasn’t a diet or rule telling me how or what to eat. This time, it was my inner self that suddenly started making different choices. And surprisingly, the decision to continue trying various PWF Tools wasn’t very difficult either. I actually wanted to give them a try, because I knew the results may give me even greater levels of peace. To this day, some tools work better for me than others, but that is the beauty of trying them. You get to tweak and adjust them, based of the level of peace they give you, and you can alter them to work to your advantage. You deserve this

Now as great as all of this sounds, it is important to address that some of you may still be a little timid to keep trying Peace with Food…because you are scared. Scared…to see a change. I want you to know that those feelings are completely normal. I was there at one time too. You feel vulnerable because you don’t know what the outcome will be and you’ve tried so many things over the years that have let you down. Failure after failure with weight-loss attempts continue to haunt you, so why try this?

All I can say, dear friend, is I am taking the time to write you today because this has changed my life. And it’s not like I’ve only lived it out for a short couple of weeks. It’s actually coming upon 4 years that I’ve lived this way and I am still so “awed” by it that I have to share it with you. So for what it is worth, please, come join me, and invite others to come along too. Give it a chance. I want to do this with you because I know it can improve your life too…

Posse Discussion: What reservations do you have about trying the 30-Day Peace with Food challenge? Why? Share with your group.

Click here for Day 4!

Why Diets Don’t Work: Reason #3

December 1, 2014January 10, 2015 | Robynn Coates

Reason #3: Diets don’t last.

Let’s admit it. Diets are horrible at giving us a plan that will keep us in the game for life. Sure, we may be able to stick to a diet for a few months, but even if we do, it never sticks because we get tired of the control it has over our lives. Remember the popcorn and water diet that Lara went on in college to lose a few pounds? A week later she threw her hands up in defeat because the diet actually caused her to GAIN weight! That’s right, gain! And when this happens don’t you want to scream, “So forget it!” and turn to food out of frustration? There it is, another diet that didn’t last…

Or how about those times you were 100% committed–you were diligent with your workouts, healthy eating, and calorie tracking, and you were able to shed a significant amount of weight. Life was good in regards to dropping pounds, but then what happened? If you are anything like us, you were ready to start having a “normal” life once you lost the weight, but once you got there, you had no idea how to do it. It left you at at a dead-end. Diet Maze

Diets don’t give you the tools to succeed, they just give you the quick fix to lose the weight, leaving you empty-handed, LOST, on how to maintain the weight for life.

So, if diets have no staying power, no ability to keep us in the game, how can we win at a game we are not playing?

We can’t.

Time for a new game plan.

Something we can do for life. And something that we can be happy about doing. That’s Peace with Food.

Are you ready to let go of dieting and try something you can do for life? Reclaim your life and get back in the game!

Take-Home Message:

Peace with Food is something you can do for life and it is also something that will give you peace and happiness.