Day 15 - Mind Skills Introduction

TODAY'S SHIFT FROM FAT TO THIN THINKING:

I take a Shift Breath and give myself the present of my presence.

Welcome to Your Thin Thinking Practice Day 15

Hey there, Apprentice! Welcome to week three of your Thin Thinking Practice! Three is a lucky number and this third week is extra special as we now focus on the practice of the wonderful Mind Skills.

Mind Skills

Communicating with your Inner Coach
Managing your Inner Critic
Managing your Inner Rebel

These are the skills that separate the dieters and strugglers from the weight masters. Why? Because in order for us to truly change in the long term, we need to alter the way we communicate with ourselves in the weight arena of our lives. By learning to shift out of negative self-talk, limiting beliefs and all or nothing thinking that leads to “I Blew it, So Screw It” and falling back into the Weight Struggle Cycle, we are creating more powerful wiring that supports us in keeping the other weight release based skills engaged.

During today’s coaching session: Take a Breath and Show Up for Yourself (below) I would like to re-focus on the Shift Breath—which is part of the skill of Communicating with Your Inner Coach. This is the breath you have been using in your daily meditations. I would like to look at some other ways you can use this tool in your life.

Today's Shift From Fat To Thin Thinking: I take a Shift Breath and give myself the present of my presence.

Rita’s Coaching: Take a Breath and Show Up for Yourself

Most of our day is spent in a trance state. We go from one programmed behavior to the next, often without any conscious thought. This works very well for many things, but as we have been learning and practicing weight mastery, we also know that there are times we need to cut through old behavior patterns, habits and thought processes and SHIFT.

When you take that deep, swift intake of breath, it cuts like a machete through old fat thinking wiring and provides an opening for our Inner Coach to swoop in-(like Super Man or Wonder Woman!) and help us make better choices and problem solve so that we can stay on track with our weight release or maintenance.

Let me give you a few examples of how I use my SHIFT BREATH in challenging situations:

Example 1: I am at a restaurant and I see something decadent that I think I want on the menu. Before succumbing, I take a SHIFT BREATH and imagine myself three hours in the future, having eaten that decadent thing and it’s sitting like a lump in my belly and I feel a little foggy and disconnected. I take another SHIFT breath and image myself 3 hours in the future having made a healthier choice from the menu and see myself feeling light and connected. I come back to earth and make the healthier choice.

Example 2: I am at a party and there is a buffet of food and a free bar. What do I do? I take a SHIFT BREATH and imagine how will I feel in a few hours, leaving the party having downed three margaritas and a plate of everything off the buffet. Wow! Houston we have a problem—we are not getting a very good vibe from this image. Rewind and SHIFT BREATH again. Okay, how would we feel leaving after a glass of wine and mostly healthy choices but maybe a few bites of the more fatty stuff? Now that’s better—I feel light, connected and like I “lived large without the extra large.”

Example 3: I am at home and it is the afternoon. I am mildly hungry and there are some cookies that my daughter brought home from school sitting on the counter and for some reason they are calling my name. I close my eyes and SHIFT BREATH my way into the evening, imagining that I have eaten the cookies. I now have a sugar rush and then crash. I am more hungry than usual. I am in the kitchen picking and feeling out of control and keep going back to those darn cookies—feeling fuzzy, yucky, not well at all. I quickly take another SHIFT BREATH to time travel myself out of that nightmare and place myself into a fairer future when I get rid of the cookies(either by having my daughter take them elsewhere or throwing them away) and I make my daughter and myself a nice healthy snack. Our blood sugar is stable. Our spirits are good—what a great afternoon we will have. I can hardly wait to get started and I open my eyes and proceed.

I invite you to try taking at least 10 Shift Breaths today as you go about your day. Try a breath when:

you are stressed
you are thinking about a fattening food
before you eat—get present and slow yourself down
think something through like in the examples above
to acknowledge yourself for a job well done

Have a Shifted Day 15!

ox Rita

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