Ongoing support through these 3 days

Hello 6 week challengers. We have added a few more to our ranks (some of you have never met but you have heard about this because someone who cares about you is excited about this and told you about it).

I will be emailing specific things to teams and a couple of emails that I think all of us need. I wanted to share a funny quote (Deb sent it this week)

"I don't fail, I discover what doesn't work"

We all have done that very successfully. Now we find what does work. The smallest group of challengers this year is the group that is mostly concerned with weight loss. It has been an amazing experience to get to know all of you and realize that we may think it's "just me" but all of us feel and experience unbelievably similar things. I am going to forward to everyone an article that Emily sent me as we started this challenge. It is about "The Secret of loneliness".

Please follow Sharon and my twitter accounts as that is where it is easiest for us to keep the support/feedback and ideas coming. Please use the facebook page to ask questions (many of you have emailed me the same questions and most likely if you ask it, someone else wants to know too). I also want to hear your voices, humor, struggles as it unites us.

It all starts tomorrow so get out there today and shop (the MOST important thing) and plan ahead and get excited about doing this amazing thing for yourself and spending time with such an amazingly talented and special group of people.!!!!

Sharon Richter dietician and superstar gives us our 3 day kick off

The below is from Sharon. She and I really wanted this to be about "What you can eat and what you are DOING for your body" and not a "don't eat" list. If you think about it, carbs from fruits and vegetables are full of flavanoids, vitamins and trace elements that grains and oats and breads just don't have. The variety of colors and nutrients offered are amazing for us. It is really easy to eat a lot of calories from other carb sources and be lacking in a lot of nutrients. Our 3 day kick off program is going to up our nutritional intake quality and we are going to have to eat a LOT of food !!! You may well be eating more than you usually do and that is great. I have some added rules for you on this 3 day plan as well:

1) Eat a food you have never had before once a day (think purple kale, starfruit, or yellow kiwi)

2) Get a full 8 hours sleep. This will be possible because I want everyone to watch no more than a half an hour of tv a day.

3) 10 minutes (minimum) of stretching, meditation or focused breathing in absolute quiet. Mary (one of our challengers) who is a professional classic musician and busy Mom, has some guided meditations of varying lengths that she will gladly share so perhaps she can give us some links via email or facebook.

4) Daily exercise of some sort.

5) Daily "real" conversations with our team mates or close friends. You need to connect.

6) Taking the time to brush and floss and take good care of your skin, nails etc. I find as a Mom, I do not do any of this. I am not "well groomed" and don't dress well or look "together". It is not really my "thing" but for these 3 days, I am changing my tune. You know that "put your oxygen mask on first before assisting other people" thing, well it all starts here.

7) Journal (can be 2 sentences) about this experience. Your thoughts, struggles, what you learn, etc. Sometimes you can learn very funny or insightful things only as your hand is writing them.

From email to blog, the structure of Sharon's writing will be wrong so it is a good idea to print out the email but I wanted to post it anyway so that anyone who is not "officially registered" can still follow along.

 Three days to relearn what food TASTES like. The goal is not to stuff  oneself but start tuning in to what food taste like, what if feels like  to be hungry and thirsty, feeling satisfied and not stuffed. Think of  your stomach as the size of your fist. You should only eat to fill it,  not stretch it, breakdown that food and refill about 3 hours later.  Start your day with a large glass of water with tons of lemon in it.  Each of your 3 main meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner should consist  of about 5 oz protein 2 cups of vegetables and 2 fat (1 TBSP oil, 1/4  avocado, 2 TBSP seeds). Your snacks can be fruit, nuts, nut butters,  seeds, 3 oz protein... Keep a journal for the 3 days of what you ate,  when, how you felt, etc. Don't obsess over it, rather explore flavors,  taste, what non food social exchangement can you replace with that time  obsessing over food. Here is an example of a day:   Breakfast smoothie: 1 scoop hemp protein, 2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1/2 cup  blackberries, 1/2 cup raspberries, 1 TBSP ground or milled flax seeds   Snack Greens juice   Lunch- 5 oz grilled chicken chopped over 1 cup arugula, artichoke  hearts, 1/4 avocado, 1 TBSP pumpkin seeds, 1 TBSP olive oil   Snack- Papaya with lime squeeze on top   Dinner- 6 oz salmon, 1cup roasted brussel sprouts, 1 c spinach sauteed in 1  TBSP oil and garlic   Dessert- pear with almond butter   Fruits Permitted Apples  Apricots  Blackberries  Blueberries  Cantaloupe  Cherries  Coconut  Figs  Huckleberries  Kiwi  Kumquat     Loganberries  Mangoes  Melons  Mulberries  Nectarines  Papayas  Peaches  Pears  Plums  Raspberries   Vegetables Artichoke  Arugula  Asparagus  Avocado  Bamboo shoots  Beet & beet greens  Bok Choy  Broccoflower  Broccoli  Brussel sprouts  Cabbage  Carrots  Cauliflower  Celery  Celery root (celeriac)  Chives  Cucumber  Dandelion greens  Endive  Jicama  Kale  Kohlrabi  Leeks  Mushrooms: all  Onions  Pak choi  Okra  Red leaf chicory  Sea vegetables/seaweed:  kelp, dulse, hijiki, arame,  wakame  Radishes  Rutabaga  Snow peas  Spinach  Sprouts: all  Squash: winter & summer  Swiss chard  Turnip  Watercress  Zucchini    Protein  free-range chicken turkey  Lamb  Buffalo  Wild game: venison, quail,  pheasant, rabbit  Cold water ocean fish: wild  pacific salmon, ocean char,  cod, halibut, haddock, sole,  pollack, tuna, stripped bass  Water-packed canned tuna  (without added soy protein)  Sardines  Anchovies    Protein powder: hemp, brown rice or pea   Nuts  Almonds  Cashews  Flax seeds  Hazelnuts (filberts)  Pecans  Poppy seeds  Pumpkin seeds  Sesame seeds  Sunflower seeds  Walnuts  Hemp seeds  Note: All of the above can be consumed as butters and spreads (tahini,  almond butter, etc).  Nuts and  seeds are best consumed raw (not roasted) and unsalted.     Oil  Almond  Flax seed  Coconut (best for cooking at  high temperatures)  Olive  Pumpkin  Safflower  Sesame  Sunflower  Walnut  Hazelnut  Truffle  Note: Please make sure oils are unrefined, extra virgin, non-gmo,  organic, cold-pressed, etc.    Vinegar  Apple cider  Balsamic  Red wine  Rice  Tarragon  Ume plum      Dairy substitutes  Almond milk (unsweetened)  Hemp milk (unsweetened)  Hazelnut milk (unsweetened)  Coconut milk or water  Rice (whole grain, brown rice)  *rice milk is the most processed  of the dairy substitutes and  often sweetened.  Other dairy  substitutes preferred.    Other Beverages  Teas: herbal, white, green water vegetable juices- cold pressed preferred   Spices  Allspice  Anise  Basil  Bay leaf  Caraway seeds  Cardamom  Celery seeds  Cinnamon  Clove  Coriander  Cumin  Dandelion  Dill  Dry mustard  Fennel  Garlic  Ginger  Mint  Nutmeg  Oregano  Parsley  Saffron  Sage  Salt-free herbal blends  Savory  Sea salt  Tarragon  Thyme  Turmeric  Vanilla extract (pure)  Raw cacao   Mustard (made with apple cider  vinegar) Wheat free tamari              Sharon Richter www.sharonrichter.com You only have one body. Treat it with respect. ™   

teams...

I am sitting here at 5:53 with papers strewn all around me. Each of you have a page in my 3 ring binder with notes and key words/goals on it. I have matched you up in pairs and in teams for a few reasons:

1) Your time flexibility

2) goals

3) some common interest

4) something you can learn or will like about each other.

5) something I feel this person/group will add to you or your life.

I have held back on pairing myself up because there are a few "groups" that I fit into and will be checking in on.

The teams are as follows:

"Designing Mommies":

Grace

Gina

Sarah

Caroline

Rumena

"Meet me at the gym"

Noura

Dana

Iris

Martine

Christine

"The balancing act"

Tina

Deb

Mary

Nicole

Jazz

"Fresh air crew"

Ann

Suzanne

Yvonne

Katina

"lights, camera, raw"

Mimi

Rachel

Alison

"Manhattan Superstars "

Marie

Allison

Sharon

Florina

Kathleen

Joanne

"If I had a cape, I'd be a superhero"

Susan

Teri

Emily *(I would like this team to "captained" by Scott (instructor) and would love

Noreen for you guys to meet up and decide about partnerships/calling tree etc)

Elizabeth

Barbara

Scott

Please let me know if I have somehow missed someone.

We start Monday March 14th. As we "Spring ahead" we spring ahead. These season is historically a powerful one, reaching way back from pagan times through to now. I believe that there is an energy that we can all harness to guide us on this journey.

You have agreed to be a part of this and I want you to do this for yourselves and for all of the people in your life. Some rules are flexible and some are not. More than any other year, I plan on being involved and will be calling, emailing and holding you accountable to yourselves and each other. The more you reach out to your team, the more you can change your life. All of us want better friendships and to be connected to each other. We are all guilty of "being too busy" and avoiding the communication that would make that possible. Instead, we watch television, eat, read magazines, do crossword puzzles etc. This is only SIX weeks out of your lives. All of your personal details are private and I will never share them so I will use "me" (and a little bit of all of you too) as an example of what this "challenge" is about.

The First 3 days:

This is the only part of the challenge that is strict regarding food. We are doing these 3 days to cleanse our bodies of: toxins ,artificial sweeteners, pesticides, preservatives, habits, emotional connection to food, patterns and all of our "norms". This is a time that we get our own attention and say to ourselves "I am doing something big and important here". "I am taking really good care of me and loving myself as much as I love everyone else in my life". It is vital that we get excited about these 3 days. You will feel fed, energized and healthy.

*If you blow off this phase, please let me know and I will start a new team for "alternate route 6 week challenge"

This is what we are doing:

1) We are eating (all organic when possible):

a) fruits and vegetables and lean fish, chicken, tofu, turkey or eggs.

b) raw nuts (handfuls as snacks or dessert), plain yogurt/skim milk (optional) ONLY.

c) lemon/lime and herbs as seasonings.

You can eat all you want to (I encourage you to eat a ton in fact. Especially of leafy multi colored greens and veggies). You can use Olive oil after cooking (raw) and cook with safflower oil (handles heat better) or another similar type of oil.

You cannot have:

Anything processed

added salt/sugar or artificial sweeteners

During these 3 days all of us are:

1) journaling daily

2) meditating (or sitting quietly breathing deeply)/stretching for a minimum of 5 minutes a day.

3) reaching out to our team/partner. Email, text or call.

I want all of us to take these 3 days very seriously. The rest of the 6 weeks will take care of themselves but these first 3 days will be what allows us to change ourselves and our lives.

There will be "meet ups" with some fun stuff. Games, laughter, advice from specialists etc. I will be blogging/twittering (sign up to follow liquidstrength) daily.

I will be emailing your "teams" so you can all have each other's email addresses. I will not share phone numbers. It is your choice what means of contact you share but I hope that you are open to really getting involved.

I would like to have a "kick off" gathering (for anyone who would like to come) at my apartment. Drop me an email and let me know if that would interest you. Also let me know if anything has changed with your ability to do the "6 week challenge". I am excited about this.

Life Coaching and the Six-Week Challenge

Hello to all you Six Week Challengers!

My name is Erika Isler and it's so nice to meet you all! You’re embarking on a wonderful journey in this Liquid Strength Six Week Challenge and I'm thrilled to be a supportive part of your team. As we begin this process, I believe it’s critical at this juncture to take some time to look deeply at your thinking as you begin.

I’m going to urge you to take a few minutes to reflect on and write more about the goals you’ve highlighted for yourself. I believe that when things swirl around in your brain all the time, it only adds to the confusion of figuring out what you want. So be really clear with these and commit them to paper.

Here’s a first step for you and you can put this right in your binder: List four things you really want. I want you to focus on the things you think about most often—the ones that you believe would “complete” you. If you’ve already buddied up with someone, it may be interesting (to the level that you’re each comfortable) to share these desires. I think that sharing will help underscore my next point.

Okay, now that you’ve made your list, take a minute and imagine you already have each item on that list, whether it’s a 35-pound weight loss, a killer body, three million dollars in the bank or a partner that has all of the preceding and more. So the two lists will look something like this:

Thing:

After I have it, the sensation I’ll feel is:

Now here’s what’s interesting about this. Regardless of the specific items on everyone’s lists, feeling states are usually universal and predictable. People want security, love, acceptance, joy and inner peace. Since most of us are primed to seek outside approval, we confuse these feeling states as things we get from others or from circumstances in our lives. Here’s how those kinds of inner monologues often look:

“If I lose 20 pounds, I’d have lots more confidence.”

“If my mom wasn’t so critical, I’d be happy.”

It’s important to get really clear on what you’re telling yourself what you need for happiness. What thoughts are looping about your successes? What are you already foretelling about any potential setbacks?

Can you start this challenge as though every goal you’ve highlighted has already been met and then notice how you’re real self can step up to the plate?

I’ll be stopping back regularly to see what’s happening with you all and to see what questions might have arisen through this process. I’m excited for your successes and I’ll be cheering you on through every step!

If you’d like to read more about my work and are interested in more information about a special offering for Liquid Strength Six Week Challenge participants, please stop by the programs page at erikaisler.com.

Finding your "true" goal

Ok, We have more than 30 amazing people doing our 6 week challenge. We have designers, PR people, bankers, models, moms, life coaches, photographers etc. Every single one of you bring something special to this dynamic. It would be great to have everyone able to comment on the blog so we have lot of dialogue to read to support each other. All you have to do is make up a gmail account and sign up. You never even have to check your gmail mail.

Sharon is "moving in" for a few days. We are going to lay out all of your answers and my notes and make "teams". There will be partnerships or in some cases groups of 3 or 4. I know that some of you will be more "available" than others to check in with your partners/team mates. I am matching you up with people who have similar goals/interests and who I think you will gain something by in friending. The connection may be very obvious or very subtle. This matching up, along with finding your "true goal" is the most vital part of the challenge.

In looking for your "true goal" , I invite you to go back and read past entries in the blog to help you and inspire you. This is the most challenging blog entry as I attempt to "guide you" and help you peel back the layers of yourselves and your lives to find what is underlining your goals and the hurdles standing in your way. This is so highly person and varies with each person that it is hard to find the words that will fit for a group of individuals.

Reading your answers to my 10 questions, I learned a lot. Some of you are interested in getting fitter but the majority of you are more interested in gaining confidence, forging stronger friendships and connections, and taking better care of your "selves". These are the most important parts of this challenge. If we can all work on those things, by the end of these 6 weeks, our bodies will be in a great place. The heart/mind/soul and body are so connected that I truly have come to believe that our physical selves are reflections of what is going on inside of our deeper selves.

Now, onto the hardest part of the challenge.....we all must begin to peel back the layers of our lives to find what needs our attention and focus. To begin that process, I want you to look back at how you answered the 10 questions I asked. Read them as if you are someone else and catch of glimpse of the summation of your lives.

Take a minute and write down the life you "always wanted" and the person you "always wanted to be". Write out what a typical day looks like in your life. Go back and read all that you have written and try to discern the differences in what you want and where you are.

For myself, I have a lot of energy. I have a duality happening in my life between being very centered, calm and self aware and also being frantic and scattered. For me, this challenge is really about finding a way to make my average day a little easier, more organized and calm.

I am going to be working on some very practical things to make this happen (like training my dogs better, getting a dog walker, having a system for my twins to follow in the morning so they do more for themselves and actually making changes in my apartment so we have places for everything so we can all keep the the apartment neater and more organized). At night, I am going to try to change my routine (as all of you will be too). There is going to be no tv (I don't typically watch tv but can mindlessly tune in and it becomes a habit that doesn't yield anything positive in anyone's lives) and I am going to take 5 minutes to meditate and stretch at night.

Your goals will be yours. I believe it is far better to set up "will do" and look forward to the changes in your lives rather than set up a "I will not eat.....". I want this to be about being good to yourselves not punishing yourselves. Set up things you are looking forward to and make changes that substitute damaging behaviors for ones that bring you to a better place.

Erika will be chiming in to try to help with all of you with this process. If I can help at all, please feel free to reach out to me too. Historically, we have had group meetings that have helped us all focus and find out more about what we are after. During this challenge, we are going to have (fully optional) meet ups. These will be fun and festive and have always been my favorite part of the whole process.

This week we are going to start our "cleaning out" process. Try to cut down on processed food and junk in your diets and start taking the best care possible of YOU. We will all be doing 3 days of trying to eat only organic fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and dairy with no artificial sweeteners or salt added. This will be the strictest part of our challenge and serve to "clean" our taste buds, bodies and get us ready to move onto whatever we decide our "plan" is going to be. You can eat as much as you like, but it has to be good for you and in it's natural form. More specifics to come to use these next few days to make subtle changes so the three day won't be so hard.

6 week challenge prep

There will still be some people joining this week so I can't "officially" start just yet. I wanted to take some time to explain what will be happening and give all of you some homework to get you started so you can get the most out of this very cool time together.

This 6 week challenge is not a physical "meeting" or time consuming thing. It will be whatever you make of it and whatever you need/want it to be. I can tell you (as I have a lot of time in with this stuff) that the more connected you are to your "partner/team", the more connected to yourself you will be and the more you will get out of this. In our busy lives (I use my own life as an example because I believe we all run around pretty similarly and using my own experiences is not violating anyone's privacy) we all get into the pattern (I am very guilty of this) of "I just don't have time" for ...... we lose touch with our friends, family and people who are really good for us. We wrap myself up in our frantic "to do list" and then feel like it's too hard to "catch them up" so we avoid calling. We don't want to "commit" to any additional things we have to do. (sound familiar?). The result is that after we run around like a whirling dirvishes getting all of those things done ( for me: kids homework, lunches made, dogs walked, feed everyone, shop for food daily, laundry, dishes, blogging, baths, making 2 dinners (Kurt is on a very special diet for migraine syndrome), getting to my classes on time, clients, returning emails lining up subs and subbing, cleaning up after cooking etc etc.,) not really connecting to anyone as just "us". I believe that humans need to connect and process their day when the day is done.

In this challenge, we will be connecting to our challenge partners/team mates. This is a really important part of the whole process. The other part of the process is taking the time to to keep a journal (you can write as little or as much as you like but you must write something EVERY day).

If your goal is weight/diet/health related. Sharon and I want food journals to help you in your process. Keep a journal of typical "normal" days. Write down every single thing you eat without altering your norm at all. If you can get these food journals to us ASAP, we can give you some amazingly helpful and creative feedback that will help you on your way. They will also help us make better partnerships for you in the challenge.

Buy yourself a 3 ring binder with pockets and get writing TODAY. Get those food journals to us and start writing down what you are days are like.

I will be blogging daily and giving you more homework and information on what the next steps are. I hope you are all getting really excited about making some great changes.....

6 week challenge roster so far....

So happy to be back from vacation and teaching again. This week has already (with one class) brought a few new very solid LS'ers to our fold ! There will be a lot of action on this blog as we enter our 6 week challenge. Some of you have been telling me that you have had problems emailing me. I think the problem is solved but let me know. This is the final week for registering for the challenge. Get those 10 answers to me and get on the roster. Next week we work towards "finding our true goal". That is a really cool process where you strip away the superficial "go to" things we tend to obsess over and find what you really need to change your life/body and happiness.

The roster so far:

Marie

Emily

Iris

Caroline

Alison

Gina

Barbara

Elizabeth

Kathleen

Rachel

Grace

Dana

Mimi

Deb

Suzanne

Nicole

Katina

Ann

Alison

Teri

Yvonne

Noura

Susan

Martine

Florina

Noreen