How to Do Things You Dread

Do you have a list of things to do right now but you dread getting started? Here are a couple of time management tips I have used to help my clients that will help you too, whether your goal has to do with healthy eating or anything else.

First, go get your list so it's right in front of you. This won't work unless you're holding it in your hand. It could be a list of things you have to get done for work, for cleaning the house, or anything. Start reading from the top of the list. What is your first item? Why are you dreading it? You need to put your excuse into one short and concise sentence. For example, "I am dreading following up with Michelle because I don't know if she will get back to me." Or, "I am dreading exercising because I am tired."

Sometimes just acknowledging why you dread doing something can help break free from total avoidance. When you have identified what's holding you up, you can reason with yourself. You might be able to tell yourself, "Who cares if she doesn't get back to me, I need to at least give it a short." Or, "If I don't exercise I'll still be tired in an hour, so I might as well make it a more productive hour."

Now, the next step is to visualize yourself getting started on that task. For example, watch yourself sitting down at your computer to send Michelle an e-mail. Watch yourself typing it out, clicking send, and then crossing off the task from your list. Feels good, doesn't it? I love the feeling of crossing things off. It's even a better feeling when you cross something off you've been dreading, because you conquered something that took self-discipline.

Or, visualize yourself putting your hair up, getting you exercise clothes on, and sitting down on that exercise bike with a good magazine to read or in front of a good TV show. If your goal is to exercise for 30 minutes, imagine the digital clock on the bike at 10 minutes, 20 minutes, and 28, 29, 30! How are you going to feel when you finish your goal? Let yourself feel that feeling to energize you to actually get up and make it a reality.

Visualization is such an awesome tool that can be applied to accomplishing any task, big or small. If you need help getting started with visualization, send me an e-mail for a free one on one introductory phone coaching session: info@stopovereatingtips.com

My website is under construction for the time being, but it will be up and better than before in a couple of days. If you want to purchase a book in the meantime, you can do so on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Stop-Overeating-Today-Camille-McConnell/dp/0984153705/ref=sr_1_1/186-4910858-1688853?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276298335&sr=8-1 The book has a chapter dedicated to visualization and how to use it to change your eating habits.

Have a great weekend!

Book Excerpt from Stop Overeating Today! - FIVE NEW Strategies to Eat Less

Is overeating something you struggle with? Do you need some fresh tips to motivate you to make healthy changes? Look no further. These five strategies will give you a lot to work with because they are designed to apply to a variety of situations in which overeating occurs - at home, restaurants, and at work. They are short so you can easily remember and apply them. Need more support? Leave a comment and I will respond.

I am a life coach and work with clients to help them solve their overeating problems. I have gone from a size 12 to a 4 and, believe me, I know what it's like to feel like you've hit a wall, to self-sabatoge, and to get discouraged. Hit me up with a comment and I will be happy to help.

1! Get your hand out of the bag! If you're going to eat some chips or something that comes in a bag, don't just grab the bag, sit down on the coach, and start munching. Try putting the food you want in a bowl or on a plate and then putting the bag away. That way, you won't unintentionally overeat and consume excess calories. Same thing goes for ice cream. Don't eat ice cream out of the carton. If you do, the spoon may hit the bottom of the container before you realize what's happening. Try putting ice cream in a bowl and then the carton back into the freezer.

2! Visualize yourself doing the right thing. If you're feeling tempted to overeat and you don't want to, try visualizing yourself doing something else. For example, if you're craving ice cream but don't want to give in, come up with something else you can do. If you want to treat yourself, why not do something else like go for a nice walk outside or curl up in bed with a book? Picture yourself, step by step, like you're watching yourself in a movie, getting outside for that walk. Where will you walk to? What will you see? What do you need to grab so you're ready to go? Visualize putting on your walking shoes and coat in crystal clear detail. If you prefer the curl up in bed with a book option, what book will you read? Will you put on your pajamas and get comfortable? Visualize the whole thing. Now, instead of visualizing silky ice cream sliding down your throat, you've replaced it with new enticing images that will make you happy and fulfill you in other ways.

3! Box half of your restaurant meal. Most restaurant entrees have over 800 calories and leave you feeling stuffed and uncomfortable if the entire meal. If you habitually eat out and finish off the meal, it's easy to put on an extra 10, 15, or more pounds. We've all heard the advice to box half of your restaurant meal so you don't eat the whole thing. Here's a new twist. Ask the waiter to bring half of your meal already boxed when he or she brings out the food. Then, take the box, and stick it under the table by your feet so you won't see it. Out of sight, out of mind. Now you won't feel tempted to start picking at it when your meal is done. And you have lunch for tomorrow!

4! Take your after dinner conversation away from the table. You're at a dinner party or you are having guests over for dinner. You enjoy a great meal together, have some dessert, and keep chatting away at the table. There's still some mashed potatoes left and some extra brownies from dessert. So, you pick it. A little potatoes here, a little chunk of brownies here. Before you know it, you've eaten an extra two brownies, piece by piece, and an extra serving of potatoes, completely unintentionally! Next time to avoid that problem, suggest going into the living room to continue the conversation. Getting away from the food will save you from consuming extra calories you don't want or need.

5! Remember your worth is not derived from cleaning your plate. Were you raised as a kid to believe that you were only good if you finished everything on your plate? Don't place all the blame on your parents. They were probably raised that way, too. Lots of kids have been trained to eat everything, even after they are full. They are also trained that if they eat everything, only then can they get dessert. Flash forward to adulthood. Lots of adults are still holding onto that belief that they have to finish what they have left on their plates, but it's not true. Stop when you're full. Throw it out if you don't want to finish it, or put it in the fridge for later. Even if it's just two bites. You are not a human vacuum cleaner that needs to take care of scraps. Give yourself permission to rewrite the rules and not finish everything, even if you think eating a little extra won't hurt. A little extra calories every day leads to a lot of extra pounds over time.

Get more tips and advice at http://www.stopovereatingtips.com. To save 15% on the book Stop Overeating Today!, use the special code HEALTHY using Google Checkout.

The Secret to Stop Overeating with Self-Psychology

When I was struggling with chronic overeating and bulimia in high school and college, sometimes it felt like I would never be able to stop. I felt like there was a huge weight over me and I couldn’t break free from it. I was embarrassed about my lack of control and worried about how others would perceive me if they knew. If I were to describe how I felt, my story would go something like this: “I have this huge weakness around food and when I’m stressed, anxious, angry, or even excited, I lose control and eat way too much. I’ve tried changing and eating like a normal person, but I keep going back to overeating patterns, no matter what. I’m stuck.”

In my newly released book, Stop Overeating Today!, I discuss the power of self-image and how our thoughts about ourselves determine what kind of role that we play, either limiting or empowering us. Here’s an excerpt:

“Shakespeare said, ‘All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.’ Each moment of each day we can choose which role we will play. Our habits turn us into predictable characters. We expect to act certain ways because that is how we have done things in the past. That is the label we have given ourselves, that is the role we identify with, and that is how we see ourselves. Self-image is very powerful and can lead us to blindly play a role that is not in our best interest...”

Here’s an example of someone playing a role that limits him. After Joe experiences a series of unfortunate events one morning – he stubs his toe getting out of bed, there is a traffic jam on the way to work and he is 45 minutes late, he forgot to put on clean underwear – he thinks to himself, “I am having a really bad day!” He is convinced. Now he’s out to prove it. What role is he playing? The victim of a really bad day. He is out to find more examples to prove his theory that the world is out to get him. He discovers that the hum of the air conditioner is distracting and the guy who works at the cubicle across from him is breathing too loudly. See how he is playing a role, stuck as a character, and only he has the power to change his self-image?

Now, an example that relates to overeating. Shannon has been overeating for the past eight years and is unhappy with how she looks and how she treats her body. She deals with a lot of guilt and thinks, “I am a weak person.” That night at a dinner party, after eating a filling meal, she is offered delicious gooey brownies with a raspberry frosting for dessert. Her eyes pop out of her head and her mouth starts to water. She thinks, “Well, I don’t have the willpower to refuse. Here I go again.”

How can Shannon change her self-image and empower herself? Another excerpt from my book, Stop Overeating Today!, explains: “Choose a role that empowers you…If you find it difficult to start playing a more empowering role, come up with some adjectives to describe the type of role you’d like to play.” Shannon could choose strong, powerful, and healthy as her three adjectives.

Next, she needs to imagine herself as a strong, powerful, and healthy person and think about how such a person would react in front of the tantalizing brownies. She needs to visualize specifically what she will do instead of eating the brownies with crystal clarity, as though it’s already happened. On the other side of the room, Shannon sees three friends in the middle of what seems to be an interesting conversation. She sees herself standing up, leaving the table, and heading in their way to join them. After crafting her crystal clear visualization, she makes it happen, focusing so much on fulfilling her visualization that the brownies are no longer a temptation.

Phew! Now that you have a tactic for avoiding overeating in pressure situations, do you want to take it a step further? Grab a pen and a piece of paper and write down the role you have been playing around food that keeps you stuck in a cycle of overeating. Have you been feeling victimized, powerless, or depressed? After you identify your role, take that piece of paper and rip it up and throw it away. Don’t spend any more time dwelling on it.

Next, take out a fresh piece of paper and write down a phrase defining yourself with your new adjectives. For example, Shannon’s would say, “I used to feel weak, guilty, and out of control around food, but now I realize I am strong, powerful, and healthy enough make smart decisions.” Try it. What does your phrase look like? Every time you feel the urge to overeat, pull out that piece of paper and repeat your mantra. The more you practice this, the more natural sounding it will be and the easier it will be to follow. Before you know it, you are not just playing a new role, you have become a new person with healthier habits and a new sense of self-confidence.

(For more information about Stop Overeating Today!, visit www.stopovereatingtips.com)