Friday, July 22, 2011

Losin with Susan -- Refocus your energy

In last week's post when I suggested that you spend the weekend looking for people to pay attention to, I actually hit on a gold mine. Loving other people, really being kind and genuine with other people, is a great way to refocus your energy.

As I march through this process of losing weight, I'm seeing how much attention I give to food. At a wedding a few weeks ago, I practiced what I preach by paying more attention to my tablemates than to my entre and it worked beautifully.

So does reading. If I'm dying for a snack, I can pick up a book and forget all about food.

Cleaning will do that too. But, sorry to say, I like to clean, so that's sort of not fair to the rest of humanity. But, if you're like me, looking for a distraction so you don't think about salami, clean a closet, scrub a toilet, dust a shelf. In a few minutes the craving will go away.

We spend so much time fighting our cravings that we sometimes forget the easiest way to get rid of them is to knock them out of our minds by thinking of something else!

Read a book! Scrub a toilet! Talk to your neighbor. Call your mom. Spend time with your children. Pop an old, favorite movie into the DVR. Take a walk. Ride your bike. Go to the local pool. Go window shopping -- and daydream about all the great new clothes you can buy when you're thinner!

Don't let your cravings rule you. YOU are in charge and food isn't the only entertainment (or boredom resolver) in the world!

Look around, remember what you used to like to do when you were thinner and get some of those wonderful things back in your life.

Happy Friday.

Have a great weekend. And remember to be nice to somebody. Wave someone ahead in the 20-items-or-less (which should be fewer) line in Walmart. Water your soul!

susan meier

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