6 week challenge

The most "wonderful time of the year" is the 6 week challenge and we are gearing up for it again. I am going to repost the blog entries so that everyone is caught up on what it is, what they need to do and what will be different about this year. The big change for this year is that I am working very hard on the "support" aspect of the challenge. I want to have meetings and group support, challenge "partners" and I am bringing in the "big guns" with Sharon Richter (registered dietician) and Erica Isler (life coach). With this "dream team" and all of you amazing people, we are going to do great things.

As I have been discussing in class, we are going to begin another 6 week challenge. Last year I learned a lot about how to make this work. I am sure this year I will learn even more !! This is a rare chance to get very personalized programing and emotional support to make huge positive changes in your life. MOST importantly I want to say that this is NOT a diet.

Hopefully many of your goals will be to have better self image or healthier lifestyles or cut out habits that you don't want in your life, anything you want.... Your individual goals should be very personal. Last year we sat in a discussion group and ended up changing our goals as we really thought about what changes and WHY we would like to make in our lives. The goal is the first step to moving towards a better life. Your goal should be something that will make a difference in your life. The more specific and clear cut you can be, the better.

I am going to blogging and giving step by step instructions for this challenge. I will be going over food diaries, learning the best way to support you and give you the tools to make a successful challenge. Even if you do not live in NYC and do not come to my classes, you are welcome to be a part of this.

The assignment for this week is to FIND what your true goal is. I am going to give you a few examples of how to find YOURS:

If you say " I want to lose 5 lbs"

From here to you have to ask yourself, why is this important to me?

Many times women (especially) obsess over the smallest weight issues when the real issue is feeling stressed or unhappy in your relationships or self esteem issues. How will losing weight positively effect you? What are you hoping to gain by this? I can tell you as a professional who has been doing this for over 20 years, you won't like yourself any better 5lbs thinner unless like yourself now. The best goals are ones that are specific. If you are trying to do a marathon or have a better PR in a race, losing 5lbs may really achieve your goal.

The best way to find your goal is to sit in a quiet place and ask yourself questions to learn what is really going on with you, your self esteem and your life. Some examples are:

1) "what do I really want in my life"

2) Do I have behaviors that are self destructive? Why do I do these things?

3) Is there an athlete inside of me I want to free?

4) what would I change about myself if I knew I only had a year left of life?

5)If I was my child, what would I want for myself?

6) Am I happy? Am I happy with my body? Am I happy with my choices and my life?

There are a million questions you can ask yourself. I have found that most of my clients start out with a "goal" and when I ask them question after question, we learn that there is a deeper desire. Something very personal that you only learn about as it comes out of your own mouth. THIS is the goal we are looking for.

You do not need to share this (or any information) with even ME. It is for YOU to know and learn. This is your homework. Find your goal. When all of your questions and digging lead you to that last place and you stay there, THAT is what we are looking for.

Once you find that magic goal, decide if you are ready and WANT to make this change in your life? Once you commit, we are ON !!!!!!