Relax and lose weight.

Time flies and habits happen and next thing you know, your pants are too tight. What does it mean? It means you're probably tired and working hard. It means you deserve to take 5 minutes today to relax. Yep, that's the intuitive solution to keep from gaining weight due to stress and exhaustion: RELAX.

When you get stressed emotionally, it tenses your body making it think you're in danger. The physical response is to hold on to fat cells so you have extra fuel to 'fight the danger.' That's one reason stress makes you put on pounds. Here's how to relax to take them off.

• Before you eat or go out to eat, go to a quiet place and sit or lie down for 5 minutes with your eyes closed . This will calm your body.
• Put your fork or spoon down between bites This relaxes your urge to chew so fast.
• Before you get out of bed in the morning, vow - out loud - to notice what you're eating at every meal. Be sure you hear your voice. Be sure you mean it. This programs you to slow down. Do it every morning. In 2 weeks you'll discover changes.

Habits often come from frustration or exhaustion. Instead of grabbing a bag of cookies or chips when you're at that point, it will relax that urge to drink a glass of water and if possible, go for a simple walk around the block. A change of scenery  is surprisingly refreshing. Getting out of the house can reset your perspective.

Your body is a barometer for your spirit and your heart. You gain weight because these parts of you carry the burden when you are too tired, stressed or frustrated. Relaxing nourishes your heart and spirit and this relaxes your body. Then it has no reason to hold on to extra weight.

My book, Am I Really Hungry? is full of tips for knowing yourself better and for ways to relax and protect yourself in eating situations that push your buttons. It contains tips like creating an eating plan that responds to your lifestyle, and how to recognize different kinds of hunger and how to feed it.

When time flies and you lose track of taking care of your body, it feels yucky. Winter is flu season and avoiding that too, takes awareness. The more relaxed you are, the more aware you feel.

Remember, spring is around the corner and your body is going to feel the change of seasons. Be ready for spring by using winter to keep your body trim and relaxed. You'll be so glad you did.

Get practical intuitive solutions that are common sense for maintaining a your healthy weight, download: Am I Really Hungry? 6th Sense Diet : Intuitive Eating

and overcome eating challenges.

"If you can't solve a problem, it's because you're playing by the rules." P. Arden

Let your senses guide you.

Don’t resist your natural knowledge. You know much more then you realize.  Use your senses to realize how amazing you are.

Sometimes when you decide to lose weight, eating seems to be the problem but, it's not. Eating without noticing what you notice or how your body feels leads to overeating.  Instead of seeing eating as an obstacle to losing weight, use the natural tools of your 6 senses to relax around eating. Then you can more easily recognize and respond to energy flowing from your senses and use it to be in sync with your body when you eat.

1. Notice messages from your body. Tune in. Are you hungry? How hungry? What do you feel like eating?

2. Notice your eyes. Look at your plate. What do you see? Does the food please you? Does it look enormous? Does it look fattening? Does it look boring?

3. Recognize your nose. Smell your food. Does the smell make you want to eat it?

4. Intuition is a connector.  It connects the messages from your senses, with what you feel, and what you know. Recognize the role of your intuition. Use it to pause, and breathe in and out, 3 times. This will relax you and aid your thinking and your digestion. Your body will burn calories more efficiently and you will eat less.

5. Make sure the portion is not bigger than your fist. If it is- remove the extra from your plate.

6. Use your senses of taste and touch. Eat slowly, and ENJOY your meal.

Make it easy to lose weight by not resisting what you know by using your 6 senses. In the beginning, this will seem like very little because you are not used to realizing what you notice. But by deciding to be open to what you notice, suddenly you will see the food on your plate from a new perspective.

In fact, you know what you feel like eating and how eating makes you feel. You have the answers. We are all part of things we cannot control. Still, you can see where you are and where you want to be, and point your self consciously in that direction by using your senses to guide your eating choices. This way, you can control your self.

See eating as the solution. Use your senses of taste, smell, sight, and touch and listen to your heart and mind. Intuitive eating is a choice to make to reach your eating goals for the best quality of life. Doing what is in your best interest makes sense.