The type of boredom that feels so unbearable that it drives us to the point of wanting to push that awful feeling way with food, is a sign of our soul trying to wake us up. It is an attempt by you—the larger you—to step out of old habits and beliefs into brand new adventures. 

The Silver Lining in Boredom
Boredom is our attempt to create a major change in the course of our life. At some level we wish for ourselves to be more—more relaxed in life, more joyful, or more engaged in personally meaningful pursuits. However, this yearning for change often comes from a deep subconscious place, a place that is not yet in our conscious minds. This yearning for change comes in the form of a feeling, and that feeling is boredom. 

Unbearable Boredom and Eating
As the boredom becomes stronger in its attempt to communicate with the conscious mind, it generates increasingly intense feelings and emotions. These emotions if left unheeded become more than uncomfortable, they can often move into the realm of feeling unbearable. 

Afraid to face the intense feelings, and even more fearful of venturing beyond the restraints of our conformist belief systems, it is easy to become trapped in a cycle of pushing down the feelings of boredom with food. Yet food will not and cannot stop the growth that is occurring as our spirit wishes to expand into greater life experiences. 

If we are unwilling or unable to openly explore our boredom, a type of paralysis occurs. Within this paralysis exists a lethargy that stops us in our tracks. The old outgrown habits no longer hold our interest and new choices have not yet been imagined. We sit there unable to move within the paralysis of an internal no-man’s land. It is here, within this paralysis and the intensity of boredom-based emotions that we often turn to food as a method of diversion, distraction, or coping. 

That’s boredom eating, and it quickly becomes a habit that generates its own set of distinct problems that in reality have nothing to do with the root of the core issue. Addressing the eating behavior alone, or attempting to control the eating with repeated dieting will not resolve the issue long-term. The inner desire to move towards expansion and inner growth is an important call from the divinity within that will not quiet until it is heard. 

Trapped Within The Lethargy
We become trapped because we don’t understand what is happening. On one level, our human self probably wasn’t happy about certain aspects of our life, but it was feeling safe going along with life as it was. Things may not have been perfect, but for the human self it may have been good enough. 

We also become trapped because we trained ourselves to ignore the voice of our spirit in favor of listening to the voice of analytical reasoning. Logic only sees the uncomfortable feelings of boredom as something that must be fixed, ended, or stopped immediately. The logical mind is seldom concerned with the long-term results of our choices, rather it’s immediate goal is end the boredom now. The more insistent our spirit becomes in its attempt to communicate, the more resolute our resistance becomes. A stalemate ensues until one day we realize that if we don’t do something different, we will drown beneath the heaviness of our boredom. 

Ending Boredom Eating
So how can we effectively end boredom eating? One suggestion is—perhaps during a part of the day when you are not feeling so overwhelmed with bored—look inside and come up with an idea or two that can get you through the worst part of the day. Feel into those ideas and sense for yourself which ideas hold some excitement or promise. It doesn’t have to be the perfect idea. Just an inner sense that comes from your heart that says, “try this” or “experiment with this.” Then find a way to put those ideas into action. There may be great resistance to doing something new or different, but possibly gathering the support of a friend or partner may help may the journey through the lethargy easier. 

It can also be a great help to get out your journal and write about the feelings you are experiencing. There’s no need to try to change the feeling or fix the problem, just write about what this experience is like for you. Write before, during and after the boredom. Write about the eating. Notice the paradox that although you are bored, you are eating food with little joy and little attention and probably also eating boring foods. Write about what it’s like to feel overwhelmed with the desire to eat. Write afterwards when you feel stuffed and ashamed that you overate once again. It takes quite a bit of courage to say hello to your boredom and to your boredom eating and to give both a voice. Yet is it listening and expressing that is healing. 

To stop boredom eating involves cultivating an inner maturity of realizing the benefit of long-range personally meaningful desires, goals, and pursuits. We liberate ourselves from the need to eat to avoid our feelings when we take the time necessary to connect with deep inner urges. As we replace old habits and beliefs with self-important choices, then boredom eating naturally evaporates. 

Are you ready to stop hating food and start embracing life? Dr. Annette Colby’s  workbook, Body Redesign: Goal Setting Secrets for a Thinner, Happier You is a self-help workbook that shows you how to overcome old sabotage patterns, food addictions, weight issues, and boredom eating. If you’ve been looking for the book that will provide you with an enlightening plan for feeling empowered with food, emotions, and your body, look no further than Body Redesign. It’s never too late to be the person you always wanted to be!

However, so often I hear people refusing to give themselves permission to give themselves alone time, even when they are exhausted. They place a higher value on being busy, being productive, and taking care of everyone but themselves. They feel as if spending time alone is a guilty pleasure that they are not deserving of giving themselves. 

As it turns out, solitude is a positive state, necessary to remain sane and healthy. If you’ve been super busy taking care of everyone but yourself, today’s article outlines the importance of putting alone time at the top of your everyday priority list. Achieving your goals, making space for all kinds of good stuff to come in, and taking focused action on what’s most important requires significant amounts of alone time. It’s only when you create space for solitude that you can reflect on your own inner desires, set new goals, and discover your courage to pursue personal dreams. 

Not everyone needs hours of time alone, but everyone needs his or her own personal balance between engagement with the world and engagement with self. Here are five indisputable reasons to end perpetual busyness and make no excuses for privacy and solitude. 

1. Time to Rediscover Self and Reevaluate Priorities
People often want to accomplish big important things in their personal lives…like achieving a fit and healthy body, overcoming an addiction, writing a first novel, or beginning a new self-based business. But one of the top reasons that stops them from achieving their goals is an inability to put themselves as a number one priority in their everyday lives. Deciding to spend time alone each day is an important step toward recognizing the value of putting self as a priority. 

2. Bring Back Your Lust for Life
You may be wildly busy in your life, but are you joyfully taking action on your most important dreams? It’s easy to push your personal goals to the back burner and think you’ll get to them tomorrow, next week, or next year. Unfortunately tomorrow never gets here. Each day becomes a repeat of the previous day. Living in a repetitive rut results in boredom and diminishing joy. 

To bring back your hunger for life, spend some time alone each day focusing on new experiences that would allow you to grow and branch out beyond the ho-hum of everyday living. To bring your dreams or personal goals back to the front burner, take a few minutes of alone time each morning and ask yourself these questions: 

• What is really important in my life today?
• What can I do to nurture the core central relationships in my life today?
• What is one action I can take on the dream that is most significant to me?

3. Time to Breathe and Release Stress Levels
Stress happens when we believe that we do not have the time, experiences, or resources to deal with a challenge or situation. Feeling pressured and anxious about a perceived unsolvable or impossible situation, our bodies release adrenaline and gear up for a fight or flight response to handle the immediate danger. Taking a few minutes of alone time to breathe and calm down helps bring new perspective that while the situation at hand may be undesirable, it is not a life or death situation. With relaxation comes a new ability to be at ease with yourself. And with ease comes the ability to tap into inner resources, grasp valuable insights, and find new innovative, creative solutions.

4. Be With Your Own Feelings
Taking time alone creates space to relax, clear out the world, and be with no one else’s feelings but your own. By stepping away from all the outside noise and busyness, you allow new opportunity to clear confusion and sort out your emotions and feelings. Once our head is clear, you can take the time to explore what you truly believe. 

5. Be Independent
A person who leads a self-reliant life is able to think for him or herself rather than meekly accepting other people’s ideas. When you’re relaxing by yourself it’s much easier to enjoy some self-reflection, be true to your own private heart, more independent, and more in control of your personal choices. Increasing your alone time can lead to an empowered ability to trust yourself, trust personal intuition, make decisions for yourself, and be confident in your own ability.  

Michel Montaigne, French Renaissance writer and scholar is quoted as saying, “A man should keep for himself a little back shop, all his own, quite unadultered, in which he establishes his true freedom and chief place for seclusion and solitude.” Indeed, for all men and women, creating solitude can refresh and lead us into acting genuinely. 

Starting today, make a solid decision to nurture yourself with solitude. Be sure to block off some time each day where you won’t be interrupted. Then relax and enjoy the alone time essential to your health, inner peace, and happiness.

When was the last time you actually allowed the sounds of silence to permeate your environment?  Creating a life of meaning and joy requires that we begin to listen inwardly. To find our way in life, it is necessary that we learn to listen to ourselves—to observe regular moments of silence. 

It is only in moments of silence that we can check in with our body and be aware of what feelings are there. It is then that we take the time to ask, “How do I feel? What do I need? What do I want to be spending my time and energy with?” 

We need silence each day to sit and contemplate our actions. Silence to write and explore. Silence to just breathe and be. So often we rush through our days, filling every moment with work, activity, noise, or eating. When was the last time you allowed yourself to be silent and still? 

Silence allows the opportunity to settle and just be in the moment. It’s about coming back to yourself and back to your inner source of wisdom. Creating silence is the key to breaking into an inner space of peace, consciousness and awareness. It is within the silence that we gain a deeper connection with our unique spirit, a clearer perspective about what is most important to us, and a more evolved relationship with life. 

An easy way to initiate a new habit of bringing more silence into your life is to begin your day with just sixty seconds of inner quiet. Sixty seconds of not rushing. Sixty seconds of not projecting yourself into the future. Sixty seconds of listening to your breath, your heart, and your spirit.

Believe it or not, a focused 60-second silence can stop the forward momentum of anxiety and nervousness. These moments of silence can improve creativity. And anybody, regardless of schedule, can do it with some practice. Creating even one brief minute of serenity can be powerful and can lead to a healthier way of approaching life.

Last Child in the Woods
In his book, Louv states that back in our childhood, our days were filled with afternoons roaming through the woods, climbing trees, and playing in parks. But for today’s generation of kids, that is not always the case. He argues that children in America have largely lost their connection to nature and wilderness. This lack of direct exposure to nature is linked to children’s obesity, attention deficit disorders, and depression.

Louv’s book is about the importance of getting our children back out into nature, yet this message is equally important to adults as well. All too often adults are insulated from the natural environment. We go from our homes to our cars to our enclosed office environments. Getting outside is important to our physical well-being, stress reduction, and greater creativity. 

Broader Perspective of Life
I loved the futurist message that Richard Louv sends as he passionately explains that nature gives us a broader perspective of life. By walking through the woods, watching the stars at night, playing in the leaves, or digging in the dirt we understand that we are part of something larger. Nature sparks curiosity within us about how life works, who we are in the scheme of life, and how science works. When we go outside in all sorts of weather we feel the seasons, awaken our senses, and feel more alive.

With the stress of our changing economic climate, recent unsettling news events, and pressing financial concerns, it’s more important than ever to get ourselves outside. Nature touches our spirit and reminds us of something larger and more important than our immediate problems. Instead of being so intensely focused on recent headlines, we can lift ourselves into a larger perspective and make decisions that positively impact our future. Nature brings us out of fear and back into the wholeness and goodness of life.

When we connect with nature we realize that we are made from the elements of earth, it is not something separate from us. As such, it is our personal responsibility to discover how to participate with life in a joyful, satisfying way. When we know where our food comes from, how it grows, then our eating patterns change…not out of guilt but born out of new relationship with the plants and animals. Our connection with the biological world expands outward as we awaken an inner desire and new creative solutions to move beyond reliance on non-renewable resources of oil and non-fuel minerals.  

Importance of Getting Outside Today
Getting outside in nature can have a profound effect on both our psyche and our health. It’s important to make time in our busy week to be out in nature, alone wandering through the woods, walking through the park, sitting by a creek, or smelling the wind. Sometimes we need to feel the earth under our feet, to bury our toes in the grass, or walk in the woods and feel the sacred energy of very old large trees. Today, go outside and notice a bird, a butterfly, or the rustle of the wind through the leaves. Reawaken your own quiet fascination with life.

What role does nature play in your  life? How are you affected by nature? Do you find comfort in it? Share your experiences and let us know how nature has led to a transcendent experience in your life!

 Richard Louv is an author and journalist focused on nature, family and community. His most recent book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, has stimulated an international conversation about the future relationship between children and nature, and has helped spawn a movement that is now moving into the international sphere

Take a minute to touch base with yourself. You can ask:

• What is going on with me?
• What am I feeling?
• What do I want to do today? 

Sitting down for even just one minute before meeting the demands of your busy life can allow you to pay attention to what is meaningful to you. You can look forward to what the new day has to offer before rushing off into it helter-skelter.

I have changed the way I view mornings by remembering the following inspiring words by J.B. Priestly, “I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.”

Intuition under normal circumstances is a very confusing thing. It’s not an emotion and it’s not mental advice or reasoning. Intuition is a built in internal communication where we know something without having to think it through. It’s very personal, and kind of hard to explain. Florence Scovel, a theologian, described it nicely when she stated, “Intuition is the spiritual faculty that doesn’t explain; it seemingly points the way.”

Your intuition is an extension of you, like your own guiding North Star. It is pure thought, perception, and higher understanding. Intuition isn’t exactly a voice and it doesn’t come through your logical mind. It is the ability to receive a sense, understanding, or feeling about something or someone. Intuition is the instinctive knowingness, the reliable wisdom that lives inside of you.

Intuition comes in all sorts of different ways. For example, intuition is feeling into future implications of a current action, perceiving the underlying meaning in what people say or do, or seeing the big picture. It’s the smell of a food you instinctively know you will not like, the sound of song that doesn’t feel good to you, the vibe of a certain painting that inspires. It’s sense about which direction to turn toward, or which decision feels right to you. You don’t analyze why you would feel pulled in certain direction, or rationalize why you like something or dislike it, you just know. Intuition is how you guide yourself to follow your personal best course of action by choosing what feels “right” and “good” for you.

You can’t force intuition to speak. Instead, you learn how to tune into the subtle insights, feelings, and hunches that rise up as you go through your day. Everyone has intuition and yours will come through in a ways that are unique to you. It’s most likely not going to be loud or show itself in vividly clear pictures, but it’s there nonetheless. It’s a vague sense, feeling, or quiet knowingness.

Intuitive awareness can arrive in a variety of differing ways, including:

• Clarity that seems to come out of nowhere
• Hunch
• Feeling
• Knowingness
• Aha! moment
• Internal realization
• Gentle nudge
• Gut feeling
• Bodily sensations
• Idea or sudden insight
• A calm inner voice
• Sixth sense
• Heartfelt sense
• Flash of awareness
• Recognition of a possible alternative choice

One of the hardest parts about listening to intuition is that it is a quiet wordless whisper in the background. Intuition is a sense of something, an idea, or an insight that resonates within. Because intuition shares itself in ways that are subtle and sublime, it’s easy to miss or dismiss it. However, intuition is always with you, whether you listen to it or not. It’s more of a matter of tuning in, being aware that this guidance is available, and wanting to listen to what it has to say.

How can you tell if you’re hearing the voice of intuition? Your intuitive voice doesn’t assign blame, and it doesn’t make any experience right or wrong. It’s not critical, disempowering, or demanding. Instead, it simply provides doable, creative solutions for taking one-step forward to help guide you on your higher purpose for living. If you don’t follow intuition, it doesn’t scream louder or beat you up for not listening. It just sits in the background, waiting for you to acknowledge its presence and follow through by putting the intuitive response into action. It takes practice to notice intuition and trust to put intuitive guidance into physical action. Decide to tune-in more often to your intuition and watch your world come alive with new possibilites!

Do Real Men take baths or only showers?

The answer is definitely a resounding “Yes! It’s true. Real Men take baths.”

Remember those old John Wayne cowboy films where the good guy always ended up in the bathtub with a cigar after a dirty day of shooting bad guys?

Then, there’s the famous “Eureka!” moment. Recall the story of Archimedes, who was one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. The story goes that the king of Syracuse suspected the goldsmith responsible for making his crown might have replaced some of the gold given to him with an equal amount of silver. He asked Archimedes to find a way of determining if one of his crowns was pure gold without destroying the crown in the process.

Archimedes discovered the solution while taking a bath. As he lowered himself into the bath he noticed that some of the water was displaced by his body. This was just the insight he needed to realize that the crown should not only weigh the right amount but should displace the same volume as an equal weight of pure gold. He was so excited by this idea that he reportedly ran naked through the streets shouting “Eureka” (”I have found it!”).

So there you have it. Real men do indeed take baths!

About the Author: You do not need to go through life exhausted, depressed, stressed, or overweight! Imagine waking up each morning with joy and positive energy that lasts throughout the day! Subscribe to our wonderful free weekly Loving Miracles newsletter at http://www.AnnetteColby.com

In a recent Twitter post I wrote, “Blessed are the humans who have made it their goal for self-improvement.” In response, a dear friend wrote back with this question: 

“Ok… Great. Good idea. Makes sense to me. It’s been the goal of my life. Only one problem… If we are perfect the way we are and we don’t need to work to change or improve ourselves, then how do the two thoughts/beliefs mesh? Maybe I’m just reading too much into one or the other, but it has driven me crazy the last few days! It just seems to be the exact opposite of what I’ve heard you say about self-acceptance. Maybe there’s a balance that I’m missing somewhere here. It kind of reminds me of the whole “you create your life experiences” concept. You can’t only create the ”good” things and not acknowledge your creation of the “bad” things. Where is the line drawn? Is there a line? Where is the balance? Is there any balance? Can you have both, or is it a one way street?” 

“Blessed are the human who have made it their goal for self-improvement.” In my experience, people who go in search of self-improvement eventually discover self-acceptance and self-love, which leads into ever deepening personal responsibility and conscious choice. The desire for personal growth is a step into the inward winding journey of discovering authentic self.   

Finding one’s true self has to begin somewhere, and it usually begins when we take a mindful look at our own lives and assume responsibility for overcoming situations, actions, or behavior that feel limiting. Often self-improvement begins when we choose to overcome an addiction, disruptive tendency, harmful behavior, or intense self-criticism.  

Of course, my friend is also correct when she suggests that self-improvement can be a trap. We typically get stuck when the mind takes over our self-improvement journey. Rather than leading us inward into greater trust of our true feelings and intuition, it hijacks the journey. The logical mind does not desire true change, but rather tries to “fix” our current personality. It looks outside rather than inside for answers about how to lose weight, end drinking, overcome shyness, etc. The logical mind doesn’t want to create an entirely new balance between our spirit, body, emotions, and mind. Instead, it wants to be in greater control. It wants to be in charge of creating a persona that never fails, is never wrong, never feels badly, and is always happy.  

However, there’s good news in this. Because as we experience a thousand diets, infinite expert approaches, and hundreds of different types of healers, we eventually become conscious of what we are doing. The course of self-improvement eventually leads us back home. We recognize that what we seek does not lie outside ourselves and it does not lie in greater self-control. Slowly, we begin to turn inward. We learn to trust our intuitive sense, our true feelings, and our bodies. Instead of doing things to ourselves, we begin to work with ourselves. We begin to trust that we know what feels right and wrong for us personally, we do know how to live our own life, we are capable of making conscious decisions, and we are able to stand strong in our decisions no matter what.  

If you’ve been on the self-help journey for a while, take a deep breath and come back down into your own body, into your own true feelings, and into your own experience. Trust what you feel more and trust what you think less.  

If you’re looking for answers about how to finally stop healing and you’re ready to start living connected with your authentic self, check out my book, Your Highest Potential: The New Psychology of Understanding and Working with Self. It’s message and energy is designed to bring you beyond your logical mind and into the self-acceptance you long for.

March 11 is National Registered Dietitian’s Day!

As the nation’s food and nutrition experts, Registered Dietitians are committed to improving the health of their patients and community. Registered Dietitian Day commemorates the dedication of RDs as advocates for advancing the nutritional status of Americans and people around the world.

Celebrate with RD Blogfest!

In honor of National Registered Dietitian (RD) Day, welcome to the first annual Registered Dietitian Blogfest. A blogfest, also known as a synchroblog or blog carnival, is an event in which a group of likeminded bloggers blog on the same topic or theme on a particular day.

This year’s theme is, “RD Showcase” which showcases the many diverse services and benefits dietitians provide. In support of such an inspirational cause, I’ve joined with other RD bloggers to share some of what makes being an RD personally important in my life. Check out the links below to see what other great RD’s are up to!

No More Diets! 9 Secrets to Lasting Weight Loss

By Dr. Annette Colby, RD

To achieve the complete fulfillment of your dreams, you need skills and tools beyond motivation. You also need precise techniques that provide a dynamic alternative to willpower when “just do it” is not enough.

If you set the same weight loss goals year after year, this time is your turn to succeed! My mission a Registered Dietitian is to impart a growing sense of inspiration and self-love, and to ignite hope so that you will hear a new inner voice that says, “I can reinvent my life and move through this ‘impossible’ situation.”

Follow these tips to help you set yourself up for positive outcomes and make your lasting weight loss dreams a reality.

1. Change is a Process

True change is never effortless! There is no secret formula, and no instant weight-dissolving pill. There may be people out there who promise these things but I have yet to see one that lasts for the long-term. Of course, there is liposuction and various gastric surgery processes, but even then you still have to adjust your lifestyle to maintain your results. Weight loss is a process that you learn. You make mistakes and you learn from those mistakes. In the process, you learn to believe in yourself, you gain confidence, and you decide to give yourself success. The key is this – the process you go through is even more important than the end goal itself: Who you become during the journey is your most important reward.

2. Know What You are Moving Toward

After counseling thousands of people of over 20 years, I have learned that everything we do is an attempt to solve a problem. Everything makes sense in the context of our lives. Focusing on food and weight, going on a strict diet, or putting on the pressure to create change isn’t a permanent solution for difficult food behaviors. What you want is not just to end a behavior, but to cultivate a new relationship with reality.

Many weight loss declarations are made out of frustration and in response to wanting to end a negative habit. Examples include, “I don’t want to be fat” or “I don’t want to be thinking about food all the time.” However, it is difficult to develop momentum from a negative desire. Successful goals need drive and passion! Define what you want in positive tangible terms, and allow yourself to engage in habits that help you live those positive feelings a little more each day.

3. Develop a Relationship with Food

The return to healthy, peaceful, and successful eating starts by replacing the strict rules of dieting with the goal of developing an intimate relationship with food. A good relationship with food involves choosing foods that make you feel more alive and vibrant. This means selecting foods that increase your levels of energy, health, pleasure, and motivation. This is not about being “good” or eating “the right” foods, but about eating foods that make you feel satisfied on both the physical and the joy levels. Your goal is to feel fulfilled and content after eating in a holistic mind, body, and spirit manner, not sick, uncomfortable, deprived, or guilt ridden.

4. Food Is an Extension of Self-Love

Eating in relationship to hunger, fullness, satisfaction, and joy is about beginning to know yourself on an intimate level. It is about feeling entitled to take listen to your physical body and assume responsibility for your emotional well-being. Before eating ask yourself, “Is this really what I want?” Feel into the question and then decide. By treating your mind, body, and spirit with respect, you eat less not because you are following rigid rules, but because you have made a decision that it’s important to feel good. Connect with your body and eat foods that satisfy on many levels, including health, energy, taste, and contentment. Eat in a manner that allows a sense of feeling good, both now and later.

5. Give up Guilt

Believing that you have “cheated” on your diet and then telling yourself that you have ruined any chance of success produces guilt and feelings of failure. If you overeat, acknowledge your behaviors with truth and compassion. Become curious about why you do what you do, and leave your criticism and judgment behind. Accept the choice that you made, learn from your experience, and then tell yourself you are capable of making news choices. Refocus on your goal immediately, and don’t wait until Monday or next week to take action.

6. Think “Management” Instead Of “Control”

Control implies an adversarial relationship with food. Control tends to mean that you are in a constant battle to have power over weight, eating, or your body. Instead of using force to have power over something, consider using a more loving style of management. When you manage something, you work with it to achieve your desired results. You unite with your desire or goal. Rather than forbidding yourself to eat certain foods, manage the situation. If what you love happens to be cake or cheeseburgers, then consider creative ways to eat what you want.

7. Avoid Getting Too Hungry

Skipping meals and snacks is a set up to binge or overeat. When most people get too hungry, all intentions of moderate, conscious eating fly out the window. The problem with ignoring feelings of hunger is that you also start ignoring feelings of fullness. Soon your body isn’t in charge of eating – your diet plan is. Try to tune into hunger and eat shortly after noticing hunger. Provide all of the foods the body craves for health and pleasure.

8. Put Your Mind In Touch With Your Body

Regular physical movement – whether gardening, walking, yoga, or Pilates, – helps you connect with your body. Physical movement provides a sense of well-being, confidence, and body awareness. Include regular movement in a way that feels positive. Healthy, beautiful bodies come in all shapes and sizes.

9. Make Your Food Taste Good

If you need to add some sugar, fat, salt, herbs, or seasonings to make your foods taste better, then do it. Also, be sure to keep an abundance of good food around and plenty of variety. Reward yourself with nutritious food choices that leave you feeling energized and alive. Fill your house with all sorts of enjoyable fresh foods – fruits and vegetables, beans, whole grains, lean meats, poultry, fish and dairy products. Being able to choose the foods you want to eat is the beginning of a new, healthy relationship with food.

Making peace with food and creating a life that does not revolve around eating, dieting, or obsessing about food is absolutely possible. If you have set weight loss as your goal once again, congratulate yourself for holding tight to your dream! Start fresh, focus on the positive aspects of your courage, and give yourself credit for your determination. In your journey toward successful lasting weight loss, utilize the tips above to build enthusiasm, confidence, and steady momentum. Never give up on your dream!

RD Blogfest: Links to other RD’s stories:

Beyond Prenatals – Food vs. Supplements and Real Advice vs. Fake Advice
Ashley Colpaart – Dietitians working in food policy, a new frontier
Diana Dyer – There and Back Again: Celebration of National Dietitian Day 2009
Marjorie Geiser – RD Showcase for National Registered Dietitian Day – What we do
Cheryl Harris – Me, a Gluten Free RD!
Marilyn Jess – National Registered Dietitian Day–RD Blogfest
Julie Lanford – Antioxidants for Cancer Prevention
Renata Mangrum – What I’m doing as I grow up…
Liz Marr – Fruits and Veggies for Registered Dietian Day: Two Poems
Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen – Family Nutrition … It’s our “Beat”
Jill Nussinow – The Registered Dietitian Lens I Look Through
Wendy Jo Petersen – March 11 is our day to shine!
Diane Preves – Registered Dietitians and the White House Forum on Health Reform
Andy Sarjahani – Dr. Seuss Tribute continued: Green Eggs and Ham and a Sustainable Food System
Rebecca Scritchfield – Big Tips from a “Big Loser”
Anthony Sepe – RD Showcase: Registered Dietitian Day, March 11, 2009
Kathy Shattler – RD Showcase for Nutri-Care Consultation
UNL-Extension, Douglas/Sarpy County – Nutrition Know How – Making Your Life Easier
Monika Woolsey – Dietitians–Can’t Do PCOS Without Them!
Monika Woolsey – In Honor of National Registered Dietitian Day
Jen Zingaro – My life as a Registered Dietitian

And, whether you are a registered dietitian or a engaged in a your own weight loss journey, please share your comments also!

About the Author: Want to learn more about how to live consciously, love deeply, and laugh often? Come along with Dr. Annette Colby and learn the secrets to creating the life you’ve always wanted to live! Subscribe to her blog Divine Self! today.