I am feeling so much better since I restored my integrity.  I am so grateful that I am back to being on track and continuing the journey we are on.  We are going through some ups and downs...but when we are doing something great for ourselves it may not always be easy.  We are going to trip, fumble and get right back up.  When we acknowledge our stumbles it is us to forgive ourselves and get back the strength to move forward.  I am very grateful for this journey.  Being on this journey in public, allows me to be accountable to every action.  When I disappear, most likely I am hiding from myself and I am not ready to face me, so I don't blog.  What I find is that I am very cranky, and not so pleasant to the people around me.  When I finally face myself, I feel much better and I go back to being me.  I can't tolerate it when I am out of integrity.  I have been working on myself for so long, I am really starting to realize what it is that I do when I don't want to face myself.  It is a crazy cycle that will keep me trapped, and I hate being trapped.  Now I am starting to recognize it quicker and I am getting off the crazy wheel faster.  Maybe you may find yourself doing the same thing.  It is OKAY!!!  We are human on this life of learning and experiencing.  This is quite a journey.  I am sure that this will not be my only fall...I sure there is more in-store for me. 

Today, do something great for yourself.  Spend some time with you!!!  Quiet your mind, get grounded.  Figure out what it is that you really want.  When you figure some of that out, write it down or make a vision board.  Allow yourself to really be present to what it is you really want...that way you will allow all the goodness into your life.  We make things so complicated...if we could just let things be easy, I think our lives will be so much easier.  Growing up, we have always heard, things aren't worth having if it is easy.  We have always heard no pain no gain....well, that just isn't true.  It is worth having if it is easy, that only means you were finally open to receive it.  I would love to gain everything in my life and not have to suffer pain.  I think that is okay.  I don't think we are meant to suffer just so we can have a good life.  I believe if we feel worthy and we are open, all the goodness in life will show up.  We just have to be smart enough to accept it. 

Today, go enjoy yourself.  Let's get clear what it is we really want.  I can't wait to chat with you tomorrow!!! Have a FANTASTIC DAY!!!  I am forever grateful

Getting back on track is a little more difficult than when we were just plowing through.  I have to continue to remember that that Rome was not built in a Day!!!  LOL  I definitely did not get my body in this condition over night as well.  I have come to terms with the fact that we are on a journey...it truly isn't just about the weight, it is about what we have learned and how far we have come and that we need to be present and celebrate all of our accomplishments.  It does not matter how small or how big, we need to acknowledge the fact that we are changing our mindset along with our bodies.  It is all about looking and feeling confident no matter what, looking and feeling confident no matter where we are at, or who we are around.  We always want to love ourselves and be kind to ourselves.  We would never speak horribly to our best friends, so we should never do it to ourselves.  We all have a purpose, and we should never let our bodies dictate weather or not we are good enough.  No matter what your size is, get healthy for yourself. 

When I joined the weight loss challenge at my work, everything changed for me.  It became more of a competition rather than what I was doing for myself.  I was trying to be real with all of you, and yet I was trying to figure out how I can freakishly release 20 - 30 lbs. so I can win some money.  Isn't that crazy!  I stopped being in integrity with myself and with all of you.  Here I am saying love yourself, be good to yourself, accept yourself; and I was trying to figure out how I can be top dog winning this competition.  Well, I gave up the competition.  My journey is not about money, and I can't mix the two.  It just doesn't work for me.  I want to be the type of person someone can relate to and succeed because I did it and you realize you can do it too.  Not because I pretended to be something I am not and you are getting frustrated with yourself even more because I was not truthful.  It is crazy!!!  

So, the crazy train has left the building.  Let's get back on track and move the I CAN DO IT TRAIN forward.  For today, I will be kind to myself and stay on track.  These next two weeks will be a bit hairy.  I will not have access to a computer on Saturday; I will be out of town.  I will do my best to make this blog a priority.  Next week, I will not have access to a computer on Friday - Sunday; I will be out of town...Monday I will get home in the morning from Vegas on an "It Works" Retreat.  I will continue to stay true to myself and keep this party going.  

Have a great day!!!  I can't wait to chat tomorrow!!!

Rita    

How is everyone doing today?  Are you staying cool?  It is a little steamy here in McHenry, IL....I love summer, but the air is thick.  I am finding myself very tired with this heat.  It is taking everything out of me just to run errands on my lunch hour.  One good thing, I am drinking a lot of water.  How is everyone doing on their water intake?  We should be drinking 1/2 our body weight in oz. and since it is this hot; we should be adding a few extra bottles of water.  It is very important that we stay hydrated. 

Today's little chat is about Prosperity from the book "I Can Do It" by Louise L Hay.  There is so many of us who are always trying to achieve prosperity in our lives.  We are trying so many things to bring in the money to pay the bills, buy groceries, and go on little trips with the kids so they have a great summer.  We are trying to create new opportunities so we can have the life that we always dreamed about.  Even with our bodies and our minds.  Prosperity doesn't always have to mean money.  Although it is really nice to have...there are many people who don't have much, but you would think they were millionaires just by the way they think, talk and the big smiles on their face.  When we are feeling abundant, it shows all over our bodies.  The way we are smiling, laughing and carrying ourselves.  When we are not feeling so abundant, again it shows with the frown on our faces, the grumpy sounds that is coming out of our mouths and the way we are not carrying ourselves.  It is amazing how we think and feel make up are entire world and day.  A great way to start your day is when you are waking up say out loud "I am open and receptive to all the good and abundance in the Universe.  Thank you, Life."  When you say the affirmation in the morning it starts your day on the right foot.  You automatically start to feel fantastic about yourself.  For me, when I get caught up in my head and I am not feeling gratitude or putting out the good vibes, my day is miserable.  Just like today....I can give you a bunch of examples on how crappy my day was....however now that I am finally writing my blog, I am already starting to feel good.  I have big goals and big dreams just like everyone else.  Sometimes I feel like stuff is getting in the way and I get off track...however we are talking about affirmations...I will repeat the crappy affirmations not even realizing it.  Why...I am human, I don't always remember right away.  Right now, this is giving me a new opportunity to start remembering, and opening myself up to the opportunities that are coming my way.  It truly is amazing how it all works.  "I am open and receptive to all the good and abundance in the Universe.  Thank you, Life."  I love it.  Say that a few times in a row and tell me how it changes your attitude.  When you are open, prosperity comes right into your life.  Here are a few affirmations that you might try.

            I radiate success, and prosper wherever I turn.

            Life supplies all my needs in great abundance.  I trust life.

            The law of attraction brings only good into my life.

            I live in a loving, abundant, harmonious universe, and I am grateful.

            I support others in becoming prosperous, and in turn, life supports me in wondrous ways.

            The more grateful I am for the wealth and abundance in my life, the more reasons I find to be
             grateful.

            I deserve the best, and I accept the best now.

Create some affirmations for yourself, or use these.  Things will start changing in your life.  It has for me, but when we are doing great we sometimes forget to be grateful and to continue saying our affirmations.  

There it is my friends....I was having quite a day, and now I am feeling like a million bucks.  So I have to say thank you to each and every one of you.  I forgot...and now I am back on track.  "I deserve the best, and I accept the best now."  LOVE IT!!!!  It could be anything we say that is positive that will move us forward.  Again, THANK YOU!!!

Can't wait to chat tomorrow!!!  Have a great day!!!

Rita       

Today is our weigh in and picture day!!!  Well I am still at 204 lbs. and I think my pics are looking the same.  I have not been very careful to what I put in my body....I have been drinking wine....I have fallen off the wagon...I have been increasing the water, however I have not been moving my body like I was either.  I have been finding myself very tired and stressed.  Although what we have learned is moving your body will increase the energy and decrease the stress.  Lifestyle changes are an everyday practice.  I have had people asking me if I am losing more weight....apparently I look like it...I really do need to get back to paying attention to what I am doing....and knowing that I am worth the changes.  Please share if anyone has any little tips or secrets, I would love to hear them. 

Today's little chat from the book "I Can Do IT" by Louis L Hay.  This chapter is on affirmations for your health.  We may not realize it, but every bad thought or words we say about our bodies, what we say remains in our cell memory.  When our bodies are in dis-ease, look at what you have been saying about yourself.  This is one of the hardest things I have been learning for myself.  I have been knit-picking my body since I was about 11 years old.  I hated my stomach, I hated the fact I developed very early, I hated my under arms, I hated the fact I had asthma and I wore glasses.  I hated my straight hair and I hated my big feet.  I could go on and on and on about what I hated about myself when I was younger and up until recently.  Thirty-Four years I have said horrible things about myself, it is no wonder why my body is the way it is.  Here's the thing...we really don't know any better.  We see it over and over with everyone around us.  We act as if it is normal...if you like something about yourself, you may be viewed snobbish or something like that.  But the fact remains majority of us are practicing self-loathing; it's terrible.  We are becoming a very sick society.  How many people do you know or have heard about that has cancer?  How many people do you know with diabetes or high blood pressure or heart disease?  We have to start looking at our behaviors along with looking at the food we are eating.  What we say and think we bring about.  Even what we don't want in our lives, if we focus only on that, that is usually what we will get a lot of.  It all has to stop here and now.  We need to really start respecting and loving ourselves. If we don't do it, no one else will.  Here are some positive affirmations we can be saying every day to keep our bodies happy and healthy.

                I enjoy the food that are best for my body.  I love every cell of my body.

                I look forward to a healthy old age because I take loving care of my body now.  

                I am constantly discovering new ways to improve my health.

                I return my body to optimal health by giving it what it needs on every level.  

                Healing happens! I get my mind out of the way and allow the intelligence of my body to do its 
                healing work naturally.

                I balance my life between work, rest and flay.  They all get equal time.

                I am grateful to be alive today.  It is my joy and pleasure to live another wonderful day.   

                I make healthy choices.  I have respect for myself and my body.

                I am grateful for my healthy body.  I love life.

These are just a few from the book "I Can Do It" by Louise L Hay.  I love opening my mind to different ways of thinking.  This may be different for some of you to grasp, but give it a chance.  When I am practicing the positive affirmations and thinking, I always feel a million times better.  The problem is, when you are feeling better you take things for granted.  I am guilty of that a lot of the times and forget.  I am glad I pulled this book off the shelf.  This will give us some good tools to keep our heads in the game.

There it is my friends....practice the affirmations, make some up for your self and your life.  Share with me what you got out of it.  I will continue to practice as well.  I will get back on my wagon and get past this 204 lb. mark.  I am going to focus on the releasing the 4 lbs. and keep moving forward.

Have a great day!  Can't wait to chat tomorrow.

Rita

                

Today is day 48...I need to apologize for not blogging on Friday and Saturday...not going to give any kind of excuse other than was is true....I did not make my blogging a priority on Friday and Saturday and I feel like I have let myself down along with everyone else.  I am getting a lot of great feed back privately and I promise I will make everyday a priority to blog.  We have so much a head of us and what a journey we are on.  I am forever grateful to be on this journey with all of you. 

Today's little chat.  We are going to switch gears a little bit.  We are going to go through the book "I Can Do It" by Louise L Hay.  I love this book; it is filled with powerful affirmations and tools to let us know WE CAN DO IT!  No matter what is happening in your life, we can always get through it by changing our mindset and how we react and live.  So let's dig in!  Affirmations are anything that we say or think.  Most times we are not realizing what we are saying or thinking and it most cases turns our negative.  It is not something we do on purpose, it is just the way we have been programmed our whole lives.  We take on generations of experience rather than our actual experience.  So for us to create great happy experiences we need to retrain the way we think and speak.  Every thought you think and every word you speak is an affirmation.  All of our self-talk, our internal dialogue, is a stream of affirmations.  We are using affirmations every moment whether we know it or not.  Every complaint that we have, or when we dwell on the negative, we are asking for more of that.  That is why we get so much nonsense in our lives.  Here is an example...silly one...but here it is...It's like going to the frig and there is always an empty carton of milk.  You just bought it, you are ready for a glass of milk and it is gone.  It happens to you every time....that is what you are automatically thinking every time you go to the frig and every time it is empty.  That is how powerful we are....if you change what you think...chances are the milk will be there. Every time we get angry, or feel like a victim we are affirming that we want more of that.  So, if we are always saying to ourselves I will never lose this weight, or when I look at food I gain weight...we too are affirming that we want more of that.  It's crazy how our words mean so much to what we are doing in life and most times we don't even realize it.  Here are some examples of affirmations we can change up to better suit our lives:

        I hate my body.                            Becomes         I love and appreciate my body.

        I never have enough money.       Becomes         Money flows into my life in an abundant way.

        I'm tired of being sick.                  Becomes         I allow my body to return to its natural, vibrant
                                                                                         health.

        I'm too fat.                                    Becomes         I honor my body and take good care of it.      

       Nobody loves me.                         Becomes         I radiate love, and love fills my life.

These are some examples of changing the way you think to a positive outlook.  The more you practice to think in terms of what you truly want in a positive way.  You will see not only what you want you are getting, but how your whole self changes.  You will notice you are always smiling, finding the silver lining in every cloud, laughing and enjoying life.  People are going to want to be around you all the time.  They are going to try to get what you are giving to yourself.  Isn't this amazing?  We can change our entire world just by the way we speak and think.  I love it!!!  

All is well.  Everything is working out for my highest good.  Out of this situation only good will come.  I am safe.  This is the perfect affirmation when you are dealing with everyday problems in your life.  If you have a car accident, over draft in your bank account, made a mistake at work.  Whatever it is, know that everything will work out for your highest good.  Maybe that car accident had to happen so that maybe something worse did not happen to the people involved or someone else who was able to walk away and didn't even realize that could have been them.  Maybe that overdraft on your account was letting you know something else has been avoided because your attention was redirected.  Maybe that mistake at work allowed for changes in your work place or maybe even a different opportunity for you.  Everything always is happening for a reason and a lesson.  What the reasons and lessons, who knows, we will find out when it is time.  But we need to always keep our heads in a positive light so we are always moving forward instead of staying stuck.  "I can feel good about myself!", "I can make positive changes in my life!", "I can do it!".

There it is my friends...start thinking of positive affirmations that can start changing your life for the better!!!  You will be so happy that you did.  I definitely do it.  I don't always remember...but most times in my life everything works out the way it is supposed to.  

Until tomorrow my friends.  Have a great Sunday!!!

Rita