ManifestingWellBeing.com

These days everyone is talking about the acai berry and its reportedly powerful health benefits. Oprah and Dr. Oz have highlighted this dark-colored, little berry from South America.  The acai berry is very valuable for its anti-aging properties and anti-oxidant properties. It reportedly has twice the antioxidants of blueberries. It is also a good source for vitamin B, vitamin C, iron, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, Omega 6 and Omega 9.  Some people have applauded its ability to help them lose weight. But is the acai berry the weight loss cure?

Nutritional supplements for most people are likely beneficial. However, no matter how many supplements are taken, they will not get at the root causes of excessive weight gain. To lose weight and keep it off, several questions to be addressed including: 

• Why did I engage in the lifestyle activities that brought on the weight?
• What habits do I have that are keeping the weight on?
• Why do I sabotage my weight loss efforts?

When questions such as these are addressed and the emotional factors around the weight are revealed, lasting weight loss can occur.

For an affordable online video to help you address the limiting beliefs that can hinder your weight loss visit

http://manifestingwellbeing.com/manifest/

Here’s to your success!

Deborah Barnett, Ph.D.

www.ManifestingWellBeing.com

www.DeborahBarnett.com

Susan B Roberts, Ph.D. is professor of nutrition and psychiatry at Tufts and director of the Tufts’ Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) Energy and Metabolism Laboratory. Robers and Betty Kelly Sargent have come out with a book called The Instinct Diet. From her research, Roberts has found that people eat based on biological instincts.

These 5 instincts are:

Hunger – we eat to satisfy ourselves and we like the feeling of being full.

Availability – the more easily food is available to us, the more we want to eat it.

Calorie density – we love to eat food that is full of calories.

Familiarity – we like to eat food that we recognize and associate with experiences that make us feel safe.

Variety – we like variety and the more variety of food that we have, the more we eat.

Roberts focuses on the Familiarity Instinct, and why it so strongly influences our eating habits. Roberts points out that we eat foods we like and are familiar with and when we eat these types of foods our familiarity instinct is activated. A perfect example of this is the effectiveness of food commercial that show people eating pizza or drinking a particular soft drink. When we see others eating and drinking certain food they become familiar to us.

Roberts gives several tips to work with our instincts to improve eating habits and control weight gain:

• Introduce new foods into your diet by initially eating small amounts of new foods.
• Gradually substitute healthy foods for unhealthy foods
• Eat healthy food when hungry to have your brain start to look forward to eating healthy foods to satisfying your hunger.
• Have a “time to stop eating” signal that you use at end of your meal. This could be a cup of tea or piece of sugarless gum.
• Give yourself structure – eat only at planed meal and snack times. Your body will stop having random hunger and cravings between eating times.

To curb cravings:

• When you have a craving, instead of giving in, tap your forehead until your mind is distracted from the craving.
• Wait 15 to 20 minutes or call a friend to do something besides eating.

If you are interested in a supportive way to work with beliefs and associations that can sabotage your weight loss visit

http://manifestingwellbeing.com/manifest/

Here’s to your success!

Deborah Barnett, Ph.D.

www.ManifestingWellBeing.com

www.DeborahBarnett.com

In the last Blog post I talked about New Year’s resolutions. Is losing weight one of your New Year’s resolutions? Have you have gotten off track with your commitment to your New Year’s resolution? Do you feel like you have no motivation to lose weight?

Most of us know what steps we could take to lose weight. We know that we should exercise more; eating healthier food would be a good idea; smaller food portions would help; as would drinking more water. If you lack motivation to lose weight think about why you decided that you wanted to lose weight in the first place. Did you just mutter that your doctor told you that it would be a good idea? Whoa! Let’s find a reason that is a little more exciting for you. Think of the benefits of that you will experience with a more slender body. What activities will you do when you are more slender? What clothes will you wear? How will you feel when you look at yourself in the mirror? This feels more inspiring doesn’t it?

Now, come up with a plan that you are going to use to lose weight. These are your guidelines. The purpose of guidelines is to help you progress toward your weight loss goal in a conscious and deliberate manner. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the amount of weight that you have to lose or all of the lifestyle changes that you have to make to lose the weight, break down your steps into smaller tasks. Focus on what you can do today.

Make sure that you have sufficient support for yourself as you lose weight. If you live with anyone, let others know how they can help you. Have someone that you can check in with regularly so that you are accountable to them. Finally, clear the mental and emotional limiting beliefs that keep you from being successful in your weight loss journey. Many people have successfully lost weight using the techniques that I offer in my online weight loss video

http://manifestingwellbeing.com/manifest/

You can be successful!

Deborah Barnett, Ph.D.

www.ManifestingWellBeing.com

www.DeborahBarnett.com

Happy New Year! Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? If you didn’t, why not? Some people are pessimistic about New Year’s resolutions. For these individuals one of their thoughts might be, “I never keep my resolutions anyway, so what is the point?” Others don’t make New Year’s resolutions because they are afraid of failing by not fulfilling their New Year’s resolutions. Maybe you did make New Year’s resolutions. If so, are you actively pursuing them?

I’d like to offer you some inspiration for setting and keeping at least one New Year’s resolution. For a moment, imagine that you have set a New Year’s resolution. Now fast forward to the end of 2009 and imagine that you have accomplished your intention. Congratulations! That is fantastic! Don’t you feel great? What an accomplishment! What positive changes have occurred in your life as a result? Are you thinner? Have you learned a new skill? Have you improved your relationships? . . . .How does it feel to imagine this success?

Here are 5 tips for keeping your New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Tell a friend or trusted family member your resolution(s).

2. Set a time to check in regularly such as weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly to report to and be accountable to this individual. Let them know of your progress.

3. Create an affirmation about the success you experience by keeping your resolution.

            For example, “I am becoming slender as I enjoy my healthy body.”

4. If the intrinsic reward of keeping your resolution is not enough, give yourself little healthy rewards, on a regular basis, for keeping your resolution.

5. Visualize yourself at the end of 2009 and how good you feel at having kept your resolution.

You can keep your New Year’s resolution(s) this year! You are welcome to post your resolutions as a comment and receive the support of myself and the readers of this blog.

If your resolution is to easily lose weight, check out the weight loss video that I have created.

www.manifestingwellbeing.com/manifest/

Deborah Barnett, Ph.D.

www.ManifestingWellBeing.com

www.DeborahBarnett.com