Yup, that’s right, your body can’t outrun the thoughts that flow through your mind; every single one of your cells literally vibrates with the energy that your thoughts create. We think an estimated 50,000 – 80,000 thoughts per day, so basically our brains never stop the endless banter, and I am sure to bet that the voice you typically tune in to isn’t always the kindest…
Furthermore, it’s proven that our bodies (i.e. our health) can be negatively impacted by the thoughts that we have, and in a not so great sort of way when we tend to play our inner dialogue on a constant loop of self-deprecating destruction. What I’m talking about here is a stress response caused by how we perceive ourselves and our lives; i.e. increased cortisol production, and the not-so-fun hormonal imbalances that can come from being in a continuous state of fight or flight. In other words, your body might respond to what your mind is saying with increased inflammation, unwanted weight gain, digestive troubles, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and brain fog to just name a few.
I am not implying that you are personally to blame for a serious illness simply because of your thoughts; however, there is a huge connection between living under high stress and our ability to treat, fight, and prevent non-infectious disease. Let’s get real here, self-loathing behavior, beating yourself up, or thinking poorly of ourselves in general while tending to veer towards the negative; well these are all really freaking stressful behaviors, thus making the connection between our health and how we manage our stress (and our thoughts) a reality worth examining.
So in a nutshell, if you are habitually critical of yourself or veer towards the negative in general, yet are following a “perfect” diet and exercise plan, I’d be sure to bet you are not capitalizing on all your efforts. If you are telling your body on the regular “SCREW YOU, YOU NEVER COOPERATE OR DO WHAT I EXPECT AND YOU SUCK”, it’s going to most likely respond back and mirror exactly the messages you are giving it….
BUT how amazing is it that we have complete control over how we choose to think about life? And thus, just by changing how we stew over stuff, we can have an incredibly positive impact on our health.
So here’s what I’m asking you to do. Start by simply paying attention to your thoughts and how your body feels in response to those thoughts. I know it’s hard to really pay attention, because most of us are so consumed by our swirling brains that we never slow down long enough to notice. However, once you start to notice, you’ll see that YOU are not really your thoughts, but rather YOU (the real for real you) is the part of you who can go – “Oh, those are just my silly thoughts, and I can see they are just my silly thoughts, but my thoughts are not the full and complete definition of ME”!
Try it, right now, just stop and observe what’s happening between your ears. Did you do it? Yes? See? So freaking cool, right? We do have control, and with this realization there will hopefully come a deep sort of peace that only shows up when we notice that our thoughts are just thoughts, and let go of the grip of what can make us feel so awful both emotionally and physically, which is our internal dialogue.
Now try this. Tell yourself a sweet little message. You can start with something simple, like “Hey, you are doing totally ok, and I’m so proud of all the hard work you do every day.” Now notice how that feels? Better, right? Maybe a little uncomfortable because this is possibly super new for you, but I’m going to guess it also feels kinda comforting and nice? Now take a deep breath and just pay attention to your inhale and your exhale, and notice how you feel now. Even better? Yay! We are on to something!
This might be really hard for some of you, I get that, it’s been super challenging for me too. Changing the tone of how you address yourself is a lot of work, and it’s a crap ton of effort to undo all the negative patooty you might have been telling yourself over the years – most of which are old stories from childhood or old hurts from past disappointments, relationships, or trauma.
However, this is the real direct truth. Doing this work, as stinking hard and scary as it is, is more important than any other work you’ll ever do. You can’t beat self loathing out of yourself in the gym, or distract from it with another depriving diet followed by a deep dive into eating like crap because diets (even good ones) don’t ever work – when you constantly avoid addressing the conundrum of crazy that consumes your mind. Yes, what I’m asking you to do will be really challenging, and it’s not shiny or pretty or even at all freaking marketable, but if you ever want to make a healthy diet and exercise program give you any sort of results short of further angering your most likely already pissed off hormones, you have to face the reality that YOUR BODY IS ALWAYS LISTENING!!!
So where do you start? Meditation is step one. It doesn’t have to be the most perfect meditation, or the longest meditation, or even a specific type of meditation. It just has to be some sort of practice that enables you to show up for yourself and be present to how your inner workings, well, work. It simply has to be you, sitting with yourself, and like we suggest to the ladies who have gone through our Hangry B*tches group, you can start with just one minute a day of this practice. Often just adding one minute of meditation is the gateway to a whole new relationship with yourself, one that is more loving and kind vs. all Nasty B*tch and controlling. We call this being your best friend, and it’s one of our Five Pillars that we teach in our program.
Yes, of course we will teach you how to eat and exercise for your unique hormones, (our program is the bomb because it’s totally customizable based on your hormones and metabolism) – BUT what we want more than anything is for you to start to notice the negative cycle of thoughts that most likely control the majority of how you view your body, your actions, and your life in general. We want you to start tapping into more of your well-deserved joy and happiness and listening harder to the truth – which is this: You are an amazing, deserving, and beautiful woman, and you are exactly and perfectly worthy of all the good that is offered to you, wherever you might be in your life right now.
Drum roll please. THIS is how you make your diet and exercise plan sustainable, and once your body starts to listen to your brain and all the good it has to say to you, we are confident that your newfound empowerment will be the key to your success when it comes to finally feeling better.
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