Over-indulge Yourself for Valentine's Day

When you eat, you are offering strength and pleasure to your body. It's sensual and practical. The truth is that when you love yourself, you can be open to loving others. Don't be afraid to feed yourself some love.

Instead of approaching Valentine's Day from the place of thinking about what you don't have, feed yourself love by making an unconditional commitment to be kind to yourself.

Obsessing about weight is a kind of fear. You experience it by measuring, hoping, anticipating or dreading your meals. All of this results in defending, contriving and forcing yourself into a defeating emotional and ultimately physical pattern.

Instead, decide to be open to seeing yourself at your healthy weight and use your senses, including common sense to eat for health and pleasure. You can be sensual and practical.

• Give yourself a fresh perspective by realizing that every day is new. 
• Remember : You deserve the best of everything life can offer. 
• Never settle for fear.

Valentine's Day can be a time of overindulgence if you go out. Instead of overeating:

• Overindulge in complimenting your Valentine. 
• Overindulge yourself with a clear vision about keeping your body healthy so that you can do everything that feels good. 
• Forgive the past. Accept the present. Keep an open mind about tomorrow.

If you're alone,  frustrated, angry or sick, Valentine's Day can be an arrow going through your heart. Think of the arrow as a strand of warm light that is part of who you are. 

• Use Valentine's Day to love yourself and eat a meal that feels good.
• Reach out to help others on this day. Share the love by giving a smile to a sick child, an elderly acquaintance or a total stranger.
• Make a pact to indulge yourself with respect, dignity, courage and kindness. That's real love.

Follow this 30-minute rule.
No matter how busy you are, take a half-hour each day just for yourself. Go for a walk, plan healthy meals or simply relax and recharge. You're not being selfish—you need the time to focus on your own well-being. After all, if you're not healthy, how can you take care of anyone else? I did feel guilty at first, but following this rule helped me lose the weight, and it enables me and my family to live a healthy lifestyle. (Abigail Cuffey)

Indulge yourself with kindness this Valentine's Day. 

"There is a voice inside of you that whispers all day long, 'I feel this is right for me, I know this is wrong.' No teacher, preacher, parent, friend or wise man can decide what's right for you - just listen to the voice that speaks inside." (Shel Silverstein) 

It's too hot for stress and guilt!

Wow- Summer is half-over but the heat won't let up and there are still weeks ahead of wearing clothes that reveal every unwelcome bulge. The surprise is- only you see flaws. Other people see pleasing curves. We are all our own worse critics.

Did you know that being hard on yourself can make you fat?! That's right, stress and guilt sabotage weight loss. Our bodies are primitive. Energies like stress and guilt feel threatening. When your body's threatened, it holds on to fat.

To be your ideal weight: work with your body, don’t fight it or ignore it.
People who diet have the habit of ignoring their bodies.
So, why not connect with your intuition and get some relief?

Eating based on a book or a program is stressful because it's not about you, your body or your life realities. Rushing to lose weight, forcing yourself to follow a program, or starving yourself all create stress. It's really too hot in August to bring on more heat from stress.

Eating intuitively puts you in sync with your body. You feel comfortable with yourself. It's refreshing. Why not cool off with intuitive eating?

Becoming an intuitive eater is natural; it doesn't create stress.
Everyone can do it because using intuition is being plugged into yourself. Your appetite is personal, just like your fingerprints or DNA.

Eating is as easy as breathing and as important for your health and energy level. If you tried to restrict your breathing the way you control your eating, what would happen?

Diets create stress. Intuitive eating is long term satisfaction.
August is too hot for stress.

People who don't diet and stay a healthy weight are intuitive eaters that have tools to stay in sync with their body goals. These tools demolish hot buttons like stress and guilt that sabotage weight loss.

Nourishing your self is done with food, ideas and emotions. It's all connected inside you. Your senses work with your mind and your body to let you be clear about what is nourishing.

Use your intuition and get rid of dieting for good.
Am I Really Hungry? 6th sense diet : intuitive eating  has the answers you're looking for.

Lights are flashing!

Feed your ideal body.

Instead of rejecting your body which every dieter does out of habit, think about the real you.  Acknowledge what bugs you about your shape, and think about how you ideally see your body.  Give your body some love by seeing it as healthy, flexible, and attractive. The way to show love to your body is to trust it.

Trust that by fine tuning your senses and connecting with your hunger and your appetites, your body will  adjust to become your ideal self-image. Appreciate your self and your efforts.  Work with the messages from your body. Let your intuition guide you.

Sounds obvious, but it isn’t.  Sounds like a given, but it’s so taken for granted we ignore trusting our inner self! We do it the same way we ignore what we see, hear, or feel.  We ignore our heart the same way we ignore our body when we eat.  We’re a mess!

Lights are flashing, gongs are banging, and we eat destructively.  Why? Because we don’t pay attention to our body, and we ignore the insights we’re getting 24/7 from our six senses.

Use your intuition to balance your eyes with your heart and mind. You will see your real potential

What are you thinking?

When you choose pay attention to your intuition, you are creating a loop that includes your mind, heart, and body. Intuition balances and connects the energies from these. Now that you are starting to fine tune your 5 senses, open your self up to enjoying the pleasures they bring. Start listening to your 6th sense and feel a broad smile across your face.
Visualize having your ideal body and feed that body the next time you eat.
Your body is the home of your heart and mind,
and your body is the source of great pleasure and satisfaction in your life. 

Look within. 

The secret is inside you. 

(Hui Neng)

Intent

Intent means taking time our to reflect on what you are doing several times during the day in order to focus on and remember what matters to you. Your intent will be different depending on what you are doing. When you are driving, what matters to you at that moment is your safety. If you are with someone that you love, what matters is that you are communicating. If you are doing your job, you want to do your best, or if you are brushing your teeth, you will want to reach those hidden spots where potential decay lurks. Now that you are an intuitive eater, what are you thinking when you grab a bite to eat? What is your intent?

If you’re thinking about what you just did or what you want to do you are eating in a way that is unconscious. This is bad for your body because it’s like putting fuel in the tank of your car without seeing if it the right kind and you know all about the burps, bumps and grinds, not to mention downright ruination that can occur if you put diesel fuel in your car. It’s like washing all of your clothes without looking to see what colors they are and what could shrink, shred, or bleed. Of course, your body is not a car but it does need fuel. Your body is not a washing machine but you do put all kinds of stuff in it that may or may not fit or blend well. What are you thinking about when you put food in your body?

Intent means being conscious of why do what you do. In fact, intent is a way of actually realizing what you want. When you use your senses as you eat you will realize what you’re eating, how you feel about it and if it’s what your body needs.

As an intuitive eater acting with intent means that you create within your self positive and productive energy that supports your eating goals. Your intention to lose weight, or to eat smart will pave the way to the body you want. When you use your 6 senses to connect with what matters to you, intent helps your support your desires.

Remember, your intuition balances messages from your senses, your brain and your heart. Every time you think about what is really important to you, energy is focused from your mind to your heart and back to your mind. That is your intuitive connection.

Think about your ideal body. Imagine that you are living with your ideal body. Feed your ideal body the next time you eat. What you chose to think about is what you will create with your intent.

The next time you eat, look at what is on your plate. Smell the aromas of what you eat. Put your fork down and in your mind, imagine that you will feed your ideal body. Thing about what you are putting into your body. Slowly begin, be sure to chew well so you really taste your food. Use your intuition to know how your stomach feels and use intent to listen to all of your senses.
Using intent is a way to protect your self by respecting your self. That’s intuitive.

Make it your intention to treat your body like it is the home of your heart and mind, and the source of pleasure and satisfaction in your life because it is.  Enjoy. 

The Intuitive Diet: Q & A

A Sound Bite of Insight

Eating connects with all of your appetites: a hunger for comfort, a craving for love, a passion to understand who you are, and a thirst to know how to protect your self and live the best quality of life. All of this is intuitive. Beyond eating, your intuition is always present and coordinates everything in your life as it’s happening.

My name is Jane Bernard. My 1st book, Fine Tuning, Connecting with Your Inner Power was written during a time when I felt nothing but emptiness and was searching for my passion. This is what happened: On the way to connect with my passion, I discovered my intuition. I also discovered a lot of amazing opportunities! By fine tuning my senses, I learned that individually they are amazing and that together they are my Life force. Fine Tuning is not an intellectual book, but it is full of truth. Joey Reynolds, the radio personality, says that every page has a “sound bite of insight”. (more at www.FineTuningBook.com)

You were born with 6 senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing, and your intuition. Your intuition, the 6th sense, is your inner drive that puts you on the path of possibility. It is the sum of your potential and it is always available. Your intuition connects your heart, mind, body, and soul. When your senses are set on automatic, often you will make choices that you later regret.

Every person has -at least once- suddenly intuitively jumped out of harms way. According to a study done by Dr. Jennifer Murphy at the Army Research Institute, as your intuition tallies cues, big and small, it sends out an alarm so you can react physically before understanding in your mind, before recognizing why. This means that you can count on your intuition as a clearing house where eating options crystallize and priorities are realized. Use your intuition to make eating choices that keep you on track. Fine tune your senses and start to feel the buzz.

Because I speak and write about connecting with your intuition, many people have asked: “Can I use my Intuition to lose weigh?” The answer is yes, and I decided to write about it, and this blog is a taste of what will be in The Intuitive Diet book.

Questions people ask:
-Does everyone have intuition?
Every living creature has intuition. It is your 6th sense and the most common way people refer to it is, “the survival instinct”. Your intuition connects you with what makes sense.

-Why do some people seem to have better intuition than others?
Some people trust their intuition more than others. For example, police, soldiers, nurses and artists all tend to rely on their intuition to know the truth.

-How can eating be intuitive?
After all, eating is part of your survival instinct. Nothing is more basic or more your intuitive than the will to live. Every animal has it.

-Does every animal have intuition?
No. Only people have intuition. However, every animal is born with strong instincts. All animals except us live by their instincts. Instinct is spontaneous. Human intuition is an internal guidance system that balances what you’re sensing with what you’re feeling and what you know from experience.

-What is the difference between instinct and intuition?
Instinct is a kind of clarity and intuition is a kind of focus. Instinct is a part of nature, so when you trust your nature you will tune into your instincts. Intuition is a coordinating and guidance system inside of you. It is through your instincts that you perceive your intuition. Intuition is a uniquely human wisdom.

-What about a “gut feeling?”
A gut feeling is usually an intuitive response. If you have a gut feeling you must determine whether it is your 6th sense protectively guiding you, or if it is guilt of some other emotion that is pushing your button.

-How do I know if it’s my intuition?
Intuition is never destructive. Your intuition will never guide you to do something destructive to your body. Just like your other 5 senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing, your intuition will protect you or lead you to a pleasurable experience. If you think your ‘gut feeling’ is to eat a 2nd or 3rd huge slice of pie, or an entire box of cookies, or a whole quart of ice-cream, think again. Something else is pushing you to do things that hurt your body and ultimately your self image. Once you master the core tools for staying connected with your 6th sense, you won’t be confused by manipulative emotions.

-How can intuitive eating make me aware of portion control or healthy eating?
Because your intuition is the clearing-house for what you have experienced as well as what you feel and sense, portion control and eating what your body needs becomes natural.

-What is the best way to Fine Tune my senses?
Use them. For example: Use your eyes. Whether you look at what’s in front of you not, it will still be there. If you ignore what you’re seeing, you might trip, fall, or crash. Also if you cover your eyes, you are hiding from your self. Look at what is in front of you and you will create what you want. Decide to be brave.

The Intuitive Diet is a practical, natural approach to successfully achieve and maintain your healthy weight because it’s custom tailored. Reading this blog will help you recognize reliable intuitive choices about what to eat. You will learn to use your intuitive tools to overcome dilemmas about what, when, and how to eat to be your healthy weight.

To really get answers about weight control, I interviewed dieters and non-dieters and learned that people who are “naturally” their healthy weight have two important traits. I learned the secrets and I learned the tools that will keep you connected with your 6th sense.

Intuitive eating is effective, not abusive. It is not just about food, it’s about you. It is a way of self-respect. You will see your self, and eating, differently. You already have all of the answers, and I’m going to help you connect with what you know. Get ready to smile.