By Jill Lawson from Jill Lawson Yoga

Many of us believe the power of thought can greatly affect the course of a day, if not our feelings and attitudes that shape the opinions we have of ourselves. As quoted by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an action and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny,” thoughts can promote positive or negative experiences for us.

The following daily affirmations work to cement positive thoughts in our subconscious mind, allowing us to practice healthier habits and lead us to more fulfilling and much happier moments. They are helpful when we are having a bad day, but equally as effective when we are feeling good already. The more we can put a positive thought toward something, the closer we are to actually bringing that thought into our reality.

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Anda T. writes about her weight loss struggles, victories and every day life at www.leavingfatville.com. She also runs www.greatclothingexchange.com in her spare time when not chasing a toddler, cooking, cleaning, working and trying to take over the world.

Most people have an ah-ha moment when they’re ready to lose weight. It can be a small, private moment- something that clicks in their mind and says it’s time to do something. Or it can be something big, something that shocks you into action.

I was not alone with my ah-ha moment. I watched mine on my television, surrounded by friends and family.

We had settled down to watch some movies from my son’s baby days on our big television. Halfway through, my son (in his first walker) careened across the screen. Gleefully shrieking, he got to the front door and stopped. He was grunting for a kick-start and I saw myself cross the screen. My entire backside took up the television. My. Entire. Backside. As I grabbed his walker and brought him back to a clear spot on the movie, I turned and asked my husband what the rasping noise was in the background. He was as gentle as possible, but the sentence struck so completely that I will never forget it. “Honey, that’s you. You’re breathing.”

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Common self-help suggestions seem to not be standing up to research. Two years ago, I wrote about the Dangers of Positive Thinking. When you try to convince yourself of positive statements, it can actually damage self-esteem. Now research is suggesting that visualizing yourself achieving your goals may make it more difficult to actually obtain those goals.

Visualizing yourself happy, successful, and in great shape is supposed to convince you that it can be true and inspire you to make it happen. However, visualizing yourself happy, successful, and in great shape seems to be so rewarding that we are no longer motivated to work for it. Visualizing it may be enough for us.

The study at Science Direct included four different experiments. What the researchers found was that positive visualizations were “de-energizing”, leading to the relaxation that comes after a goal has been achieved. In one of the experiments, “a positive fantasy about the coming week led participants to feel less energised, and when surveyed a week later, they’d achieved fewer of their week’s goals, than had control participants who’d originally been asked to day-dream freely about the coming week.”

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On Diets in Review, we talk a lot about weight loss. But what happens when you’ve reached your weight loss goal? Sure, you’re happy and proud of yourself and your new body, but chances are, you probably feel a little lost as to what to do and what to eat now that you don’t have that goal weight to focus on, right? Well, no worries. We have your five step guide to keeping you at your healthy weight and totally motivated!

5 Tips to Keep the Weight Off — And You Motivated

1. Splurge a little more (but be mindful). Now that you’re at your goal weight, you can be a little more lax with your diet, but remember that extra calories add up quickly (and that it’s a lot easier to eat calories than it is to burn them off). A good rule of thumb is to eat a diet that is 80/20, meaning that 80 percent of what you eat is nutritious and healthy, and 20 percent is the other maybe not-so-healthy food that you’re craving. If you ever start to put the pounds back on (and you should know if you do — see tip No. 5), switch your eating to 90/10 until you’re back at your happy weight. Also remember to keep portion sizes down and to savor every bite, being totally mindful of what you’re eating!

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Marathoning has taught me so much. I’ve learned about the sport. I’ve learned about the human body. I’ve learned about human spirit. And, I’ve learned a lot about myself.

My marathon career began in 2007. My journey began as a slow and uninformed runner. Today I am proud to be a a two time Boston Marathon finisher. My journey may be unique, but I believe the lessons I’ve learned along the way could be of value to any runner or hopeful Boston Qualifier.

1. Respect the Distance
Every race distance must be respected. However, many gifted runners can water down the training for shorter distances. But not the marathon. The marathon is a beast that will eat you up and spit you out if you don’t properly train. The distance is tough enough, do not add insult to injury by not sticking to proper training. If the week day plan says to run 10 miles, a slap of the snooze button and a 5 miler will cost you. If the plan says your long run this weekend is to be 20 miles, 16 IS NOT 20. That choice could equal you pleading with your maker at mile 21 of the race to just “make it all go away!”
Bottom line. Keep the beast happy and train properly.

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