Day 17- What Will Keep You In The Game?

January 17, 2015January 20, 2015 | Robynn Coates

One question we ask our selves often is, “What will keep me in the game?”

That’s because we are in this for life, so it is important to us that we make choices that we will be happy with not just now, not just in the future, but both now and the future.

Now and the future.

Those are two words that could never be used together before our Peace with Food days. That’s because it was always one extreme or the other.

On our binging days our focus was on the now.

On our dieting days our focus was on the future.

And never the two shall meet.

Then came Peace with Food. We learned to look at our life not just in the context of our present, but also in the context of our future. We were able to tie them together, making the wisest choice, resulting in us having peace.

Here’s an example of what that looks like:

No more passing up a holiday meal because of a goal to get to a certain weight somewhere out in the future.
No more foregoing the self-control and discipline today that will impact our health and well-being in the future.

The two act as boundary lines like the lines on the highway. All you have to do is keep it between the lines.

We now frame all our decisions on the now and the future. What will give us peace now? What will give us peace in the future? That’s what will keep us in the game.

Posse Discussion:

In the last 17 days we have discussed peace with food, body image and the scale. Out of these three topics, what 1 thing have you learned about yourself that will keep you in the game in regards to living with peace?

Click Here for Day 18!

DAY 11- Recap on FOOD

January 11, 2015January 13, 2015 | Robynn Coates

This week we talked about food. Here is a summary of the posts from this week’s discussion (click on underlined words to read that post):

-Making calories count by using a tool we call Don’t Waste Your Calories.
-The importance of Knowing Yourself when it comes to food.
-Participating in The Peace Dare by taking a closer look of the foods in your kitchen.
-Learning new eating strategies by how Lara eats.
-Learning new eating strategies by how Robynn eats.
-How to Disarm the Foods That Control You. with Food

On Day 1, we had you rate your level #peace in regards to food. After discussing food this week, we want you to rate your current level #peace again.

Posse Discussion:

In regards to food, what was your level #peace on Day 1? What was it today? Has your number increased or decreased? Why?

Join us tomorrow as we dive into Body Image and the Scale!

Click Here for Day 12!

DAY 10- Disarming the Foods That Control You

January 10, 2015January 11, 2015 | Robynn Coates

Have you ever had foods that you just couldn’t get out of your mind? Foods that had a hold on you and controlled you?

Been there.

For years it seemed that I was tormented by my favorite sweets. Cookie dough, dessert bars, and other confections were my downfall. I just loved them. But they controlled me and I hated that.

Then one day, I had a breakthrough moment. It was an Aha Moment for me and the beginning of learning the skill of disarming the foods that controlled me. Let me share with you the secret I discovered.

At the time I was on a date ball kick. I think I had seen someone on the Food Network make them and was hooked. In case you’ve never had date balls, I’ll describe them. They are this gooey sweet treat made with melted butter, sugar, candies dates, pecans, and rice crispies. Because you make this confection on the stove and not in the oven they are accessible throughout the preparation and cooking time.

So there I stood at the stove, with a pan full of gooey-ness and easy access. Of course I was taste testing the entire time. My experience was similar to Lara’s in Bite #1 vs Bite 21: Bite #1: AWESOME! Bite #2: YUM . . . need I say more? But by Bite #10 (or probably even before that) I should have been finished, but I just couldn’t stop.

This scenario was played out too many times to count, but on this particular day I had had enough. I literally said out loud, “Date balls you will not defeat me! I will defeat you!!!” It was game on.

Right then and there I came up with a plan to get victory over these date balls. Instead of making the full recipe I cut it down to a fraction of the original recipe. I did this by deciding how many points (Weight Watchers) I wanted to consume and then made only that amount. Let me tell ya, it worked like a charm.

The next time date balls called my name I was able to make them, eat them all, and do it all guilt-free. I got closure, met a need, and best of all won a victory.

So, why not try it out? Next time you are faced with temptation try cutting it down to a portion that is moderate and will give you peace. With enough practice you will begin developing new habits and perfecting the skill of disarming the foods that control you.

Posse Discussion:

Part 1: Name one food item that controls you
Part 2: Rate your current level #peace with that food item (see Peace Chart below)
Part 3: Describe how you can disarm that food item (make a smaller batch, order a kid-sized meal, split a meal with someone, etc)

Click Here for Day #11!

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!

Carrie Underwood Thighs

December 9, 2014January 10, 2015 | Robynn Coates

One of the things Lara and I have learned in this process of Peace with Food is that if you want to walk in peace and freedom you have to get real.

Real with yourself. Real with others.

And we also realized that if we wanted to help others experience the peace we now have we would have to be transparent.

So, hopefully that is what you’ll find here.

The truth.

Not doctored up.

Not watered down.

But real, raw, and brutally honest.

And speaking of brutally honest, have you ever noticed that diets and weight loss programs rarely talk about some of the more . . . what shall I call it . . personal stuff? Sure, they will talk about what to eat and how to exercise, but when it comes to self image and the way you perceive your body, it is . . .

Cricket.

But not here. So let me share with you a snapshot of my self-image and my body.

Most of my life I was not happy with my body. My biggest area of contention?

My thighs.

I had always wanted pencil-shaped thighs, the ones like Carrie Underwood and many of the models you see in magazines, not the drumstick shaped ones I was blessed with (yes, I now actually see them as a blessing!).

So, off I went – pursuing my mission of pencil-shaped thighs! I went on many strict diets (obviously before PWF) and finally lost a significant amount of weight getting me down to an all-time low. And here is the crazy thing. I actually loved the way I looked, the way I fit in my clothes, and the way I felt. But because I was so obsessed with getting those pencil-shaped thighs I couldn’t even enjoy the body I had. Talk about missing the forest for the trees!

My all-or-nothing mindset (which by the way I overcame via Peace with Food – yet another perk of PWF!) would not allow me to enjoy my life and my body. It saddens me to think of the parts of my life I wasted because I couldn’t enjoy my life unless I was “perfect”. And it makes me all that more determined to help others break free from this insane cycle.

It took me getting down to the bottom of my BMI to realize that I would never have Carrie’s pencil-shaped thighs, but it was Peace with Food that got me to the point where I don’t care about those thighs anymore. I have learned to accept me “as is”. Sure, I’ll strive to change those parts of me (both inside and out) that are within my control, but I’m not going to extremes and I’ll only do what gives me peace.

What is your version of Carrie Underwood thighs? If you were given one wish and could change any part of you, what would it be?

Own up to it. Admit. And be honest.

Is it within your power to change? If so, will the requirements to do so bring peace?

If not, I hope you’ll let it go and learn from my lesson:

Life’s too short not to embrace your imperfect self and get back to the most important things in life.

Take-Home Message:

Get real about your self-image. Change what you can change and let go of the rest. It is time to embrace life!