Part Two: Advice from America's Optimism Coach

Last week, we began a two-part series with America’s Optimism Coach, Lucy Beal. We continue our journey this week as Beal shares her advice on meeting weight loss goals through the power of optimism.

What is the best advice you can give someone to encourage them to remain optimistic while trying to meet weight loss goals?

Beal: Identify what is most important to you and put things into perspective. A healthy attitude tends to promote the kind of health that people want, while an unhealthy attitude tends to limit health. The more we get in touch with what life is trying to teach us through our thoughts, nourishment of our bodies, weight issues and diseases, the more we can begin to physically transform. It is also helpful to consider social support and relationships. This includes relationships with money, work, people and yes, food.

How would you recommend putting this into practice?

Surround yourself with supportive people who are not competitive about looks and weight. Ask yourself, “Who are the supportive people in my life?” Begin to notice your relationship to work and any stressors and lack of balance around that aspect of your life. You can only change what you clearly define as not working in your life, so awareness is key to staying on course and remaining optimistic and solution-focused.

What would you tell someone who is on the beginning of their weight loss and fitness journey?

Work toward embracing the power of now in your life. It’s important to identify what you can achieve now because we often set ourselves up for “I’ll be happy when…” For instance, “I’ll be happy when I have the perfect body or the perfect weight or the perfect exercise routine.” This sets us up for punishment and self-abuse. It creates a story in one’s mind that they are somehow broken and need to be fixed. You shouldn’t have to feel that getting from here to there is the only thing that will make you happy. There is freedom in finding appreciation for the journey and letting go of the destination.

How important is time management when embarking on new weight loss and fitness goals?

Living life in the fast lane often leads to eating under stress, and it’s important to understand at the outset of the journey. It’s not just the vitamins, minerals, proteins and fats in our meals that count. Good nutrition is allowing our body to be in an optimal state of digestion, assimilation and calorie burning. This happens when we are in a relaxed state, not a fast-paced, eat-on-the-run state of being. At the beginning of any diet, I would encourage people to create opportunities for relaxed eating. This will afford you optimal digestion and good habits to sustain long-term success on your journey.

What advice do you have for someone who steps on the scale and doesn’t see any weight loss for their current efforts?

A number is a number, and we give a lot of power to numbers. If the scale and a fixation on a number are causing stress, place the scale out of sight for awhile. Also remember in the case of gaining muscle tissue it will yield more weight because muscle weighs more than fat.

What is the best way we can inspire those around us to stay committed to their weight loss goals?

We cannot define what that challenge looks like for anyone else. We can only define it for ourselves. There is much freedom in letting go of the notion that everything and everyone outside of us is our source for happiness. The journey begins from within, where our true happiness lies. We are called to love ourselves forward. Accepting this also makes it much easier to accept each other, inspire others and to love them forward in their own journey.  

As we move forward toward destination wellness, we would like to invite you to join our Community of Losers. There are no fees. Please e-mail me for the details. As always, I hope to see less of you soon.

Lucy Beal can be reached through her website: http://www.americasoptimismcoach.com/