The Tyranny of Cravings with Your Online Pilates Instructor

“I know. She’s going to tell me to eat low carb.”

Let me put it this way, If an alchoholic checks into rehab, does the treatment team say, “Lets tell the patient that he can only drink martinis?"

That is what our many diet experts have been saying by recommending fat free low calorie snacks and fruit to people who sincerely want to eat right but have become addicted to spiking their blood sugar. In our respect for these educated professionals, many of us have unwittingly increased our cravings and gained weight.

Reducing cravings is a matter of training our body to release more of the satiety and fat releasing hormones that are right there for you. You don’t have to take medications to reduce cravings. The reason that we crave is completely physiological.

The reasons you feel like eating when your body doesn’t need it are part of the thinking/feeling side of weight addressed in my Reflections for Weight Loss video series. Part three is coming soon.

The fact is that learning to stabilize our own blood sugar 24/7 is by far the most important thing we can do for our overall health. Yes, more important than eating "low fat." Our health care system is overwhelmed with people who have diseases resulting from too many high glycemic foods in their diet.

Some of the things I hear most often from my pilates students who struggle with weight are, “I eat a lot of fruit.” and “I don’t eat breakfast.” or “I eat a banana for breakfast.”

If you want to keep following the “I only eat when I feel like it” diet, you are not ready enough, not really eager and open enough to receive the new body and resulting health that are there waiting for you. One of my beginner mat pilates students just reported, "I've just been trying to follow your basic suggestions and people are saying I look like I've lost weight."

I eat protein every morning. Do I always feel hungry at that time? No. But I know that eating this way will make me feel alert and eat less for the rest of the day. Do I feel like having a mini meal at 4:00 pm? Not always. But I have learned to look forward to that time to sit for a few minutes and treat myself to some almonds and 85 dark chocolate or an apple and a slice of sharp cheddar, or even half a meat sandwich.

Scroll through the blogs for more practical help with and please share your experience with us.

Best Pilates for Your Back - with your Online Pilates Trainer

We all know the feeling.

But how did it get to this point? “I need to take better care of myself.”  “I’ve been neglecting my health.”  “I’ve put on too much weight.”

Most of us have tried to get into a better diet and exercise regimen. We hear the ongoing mental recording, “ I should be eating this, or I should be doing that.”

Though I am a pilates instructor, I am not here with a list of to-dos or “Here’s what I do.” (please...) If I didn’t do this for a living I’d be right there with you.

I want you to relax and do nothing. Yes, just go to a comfortable place, put your feet up and close your eyes. Now do it..... humor me..... 

First of all, ask yourself how you felt when I suggested that you relax. A little resistant? A lot resistant? Believe it or not this somewhat programmed reaction is part of how people come down with chronic back pain.

Some of us tell ourselves that it is better to do the thing that doesn’t feel good, like pushing into pain or loosing sleep to finish a project. This is our western upbringing. This is also the reason most of us are carrying so much weight.

Let’s go back to your job right now. Just sit there and listen to the air come into your lungs and go out five times....

Think about your body in its simplest form. You’ve got bones. Then there’s layers of muscle responding to everything you suggest. You’ve got systems inside you constantly fixing and adjusting to make you feel good without your doing anything.

You may not have felt very grateful for your body lately, but lets just think about it. You do nothing. It constantly works to make you feel good. Let’s just try to feel appreciation for about half a minute. 

You eat. Your body adjusts and fixes to make you handle the food in the best way for you. You stay up late. Your wonderful body produces hormones to help you stay alert, even after what should have been your limit. You drink too much, your resourceful body gets busy removing toxins and readjusting so that you can go to work.

Don’t you feel some love now. Some appreciation and gratitude. Its a fantastic system that doesn’t complain or force us to follow any rules. We are free. We are in charge.

What’s my point? 

Where you are now was created through several years, if not decades of repeated thought. Nothing but a fundamental change in your thinking will cause behaviors to move in a better direction. Instead of buying the latest ab machine or starting a diet plan, go within and begin practicing that gratitude and appreciation for your body.

At first it will feel strange or unfamiliar but you’ll begin to enjoy that feeling and your behaviors will effortlessly move toward health. This could happen overnight, but most likely it will be a process. A process that won’t feel like work at all. 

Get used to feeling good.

Let me know how you do!

Mom's Heartache - With Your Online Weight Loss Coach

My Mom was very beautiful. She was a trained vocalist and pianist. She had perfect olive skin and shiny mouton hair, which even now only has a touch of silver. She had dark chocolate eyes, perfect features, and J. Lo curves.

She and my Father had many challenges raising nine children. Her worst unspoken heartache? Her weight.

My sisters and I watched painfully as Mom went from one weight loss program to another; weighing and measuring, drinking gallons of water, eating cabbage soup all day. The list goes on. That is likely why we all became fitness enthusiasts. Lets see; a weight-loss chain supervisor, a college basketball coach, two pilates instructors, one of them a wellness coach, all prioritizing fitness.

Being the oldest, I retained the most acute feeling of needing to care for Mom. At 71 she is still active in the church, caring for grandchildren, passing along all the latest funny and alarming emails, and 70 lbs overweight.

I’ve tried everything I can to coach her. She still goes from one diet plan to the next.

Why tell you about my mother? Her all-too-common story illustrates the fact that losing weight and keeping it off requires a fundamental change in the way our mind and body work; our psychology and our physiology.

This is the mantra of my blog. We need to train our brain to think differently and our body to reduce cravings. The terrific news is that I am proof that it works. It takes some effort, but without the effort we can never have those delicious feelings of worthiness, accomplishment, and joy in feeling healthy and beautiful!

There is no hidden formula. My winning philosophy is based on learning to:

• keep your blood sugar stable throughout the day
• consistently visualize your body the way that you want it to be

My four week video coaching program is designed to shift your thinking and wake up muscles you never knew you had. Beginning with week one, “Pilates for Weight Loss,” is only part of the  Great Pilates Now membership.

The blog is always free and provides practical advice for keeping weight off and maintaining maximum energy.

Let's begin feeling beautiful and healthy now!

Health Makes Money -with your Online Pilates Coach

Gone is the day of the fat cat business man puffing a stogie, wearing a the suit with a bushel basket inside. Many of today's successful are in better shape than their employees. Whether you have 400 or are home caring for loved ones, improved health builds earning potential.

So many of us stress out and put health aside when it come to work, but beware. This could be bringing less business, a lower level of output, service, or personal care to clients or students.

In James Ray's book "Harmonic Wealth" he explains how neglecting one area of your life brings the other areas down in some way. Education, Relationships, Health, Finances, and Spirituality are referred to as pillars which support your life as a whole.

Melisa Rachiele writes, "Confidence is important in personal finance. Fitness breeds confidence.... Between the short term cost of lost wages, and the long term cost of increased health care expenses, your health is your most important investment."

Sadly we talk ourselves into trade-offs from time to time. Enjoying a relationship while omitting prayer or meditation; Having a great time spending money and neglecting to keep our appointment with the treadmill. Most of us have done it. Or maybe you are considering regular fitness for the first time.

Those who have found a way to maintain these five pillars mentioned above have what most of us want. Lots of love, fun and the ability to give back. Let's beef up our mental clarity, stamina, longterm health, AND ability to earn money by looking at one of the most important things you can do: Stabilize your blood sugar 24/7.

• Begin the day with good protein.
• Eat 5 or 6 small meals including good fat, carbs, and protein.
• Learn the basic glycemic index chart (see earlier post).
• Keep good protein in your purse, car, or desk.
• Let most of your carbs be colorful and raw.
• Begin with some fat and protein when you eat out.
• Eat sweets in small portions only if you've had some healthy protein and fat first.

Did you know that when you live like this you don't need that diet club. You can toss that calorie counting book and know the feeling of being sated (the real word for feeling comfortably finished).

Let's educate ourselves: ALL the illnesses that are ravaging our heath care system are related in a some way to blood sugar. It is very simple to understand. Stable blood sugar with moderate exercise like regular pilates classes or whatever you like, will bring you to your perfect weight and blood levels before you know it.

Look out. These changes will result in improved relationships, spirituality, more money, and more feeling good.   Your thoughts are welcomed below.

Is This is Really My Body? - with Your Online Instructor

When we grow accustomed to a way of life, we begin to believe that it is our limit, that our current circumstances are as far as we will go in life experience. Even though we know there is a bigger world out there, we get in our car, drive to work, go through the day, and come home to our town and family, and begin believing that this is what our world is.

This often happens with people and their bodies. We've heard that our bodies are magnificent and excellent machines. We've seen dancers and gymnasts perform feats that leave our mouths hanging open. And of course there's all the hype around sexual pleasure that many of us feel is for someone else.

Then we get into exercising and health. We begin to feel stamina, mental clarity; we feel good. One of the best things about teaching mat pilates classes is that I get to facilitate this discovery. I get to see people smile as they feel their body do something they thought they could never do. I get to hear someone share about fitting into their clothing or crawling through the tunnels with their grandson at McDonalds.

These human joys are the result of becoming more aware of the body they have had all these years and beginning to move it well. The body level they had plateaued at for so long has become new. It may even feel odd. They may have to adjust to feeling so good!

One of my pilates students had been learning to stabilize her blood sugar and said, "I still love going out for coffee but I don't need it so I'm trying new drinks."

I often refer to the international exhibit "The Body." This excellent exhibit helps us to see our physical selves as they are. We discover ourselves under each layer of skin, connective tissue and muscle. For many, this awareness even brings unexpected, strong emotion.

Dr. Gil Hedley encourages us to discover and pay attention to our bodies, "not because it is a world you want to get lost in, or an end in itself, but because it is a way to more fully live and be."

Unity of mind and body is at the heart of our identity. Our bodies are not the "it" part of ourselves, separate from our thinking and emotions. We have plenty of science to prove the mind and body are continuously working as one. Many of us need to begin to really pull those two together. This unified approach is the basis of how we consider and care for ourselves and those around us.

Where do I start? Here are a few suggestions:

• Try to really appreciating and be grateful for all the parts of your body.
• Pay attention to your body's needs and respond to them as a loving parent to a child.
• Make the effort to stay in the moment with your body while exercising.
• Tell yourself how beautiful or handsome or perfect you are. Feel sexy, lover or not.
• Avoid discussions of illness or injury unless they focus on getting better.

Just thinking through those makes you feel pretty good, right? It only gets better.