8. Balance your Leptin hormone – Leptin is a hormone that regulates the message center from the brain to your cells. Leptin communicates directly to your brain, telling the brain how much fat is in storage. Leptin controls appetite, energy, and metabolic (heart) rate. Leptin problems are the primary reason for food cravings, overeating, faulty metabolism, and obsession with food. If the receptors are not communicating correctly, the messages will be garbled and your brain will tell your body to keep producing more leptin. if you have been on every diet known to man, you most likely are “leptin resistant”. There is a blood test available that can tell you if you are “leptin resistant”; check with your doctor.
For further information on “leptin resistance” check out “The Rosedale Diet” by Dr. Ron Rosedale
9. Journaling: Keeping a journal of your daily events can be very helpful, supportive, comforting, educational and informative. When you track your daily activities of what you ate, how long and what type of exercise you did, you can see patterns of strong and weak areas and then are able to make a plan of action. It is very interesting to journal what you eat for a day and then go back and see exactly how little or much you actually and what types of foods you ate. Weight Watchers uses a food tracking system and their particpants have had very successful results with this method. You can buy a special journal a notebook, track your progress on your computer, blackberry whatever is most convenient and easy for you. The easier the process is for you the more likely you will stay with it.
10. Positive Thoughts: Saying positive things to yourself each day will give you that extra boost to put a smile on your face and a spring in your step. You can have positive thoughts of the day come to your email each day, you can listen to radioblogs, purchase books that have a positive phrase for the day and even calendars have such sayings. Find a few phrases that connect with you and post them in your home, in your car, at work in areas where when you feel down you can read them.
Bonus Tip:
Focus on your end goal. If you want to lose 50 lbs then visualize your life as if you already are there.: what you will be doing, wearing, who will you be surrounded by, where will you be living, what will you be enjoying such as new hobbies, career, friends. Write down your story and read it everyday. You can actually create into being what you think about and visualize in your mind. I have seen studies and videos on this very concept. Your success is awaiting you.
So get started and make a plan of action to success.
