How to Honor our Precious Life and Precious Body

As almost all of the world’s population knows, September 11th, 2008 marked the 7th anniversary of the fall of the Twin Towers. After many years of living in California, I happened to be home visiting my family in New York City when 9/11 happened. The shock of losing so many souls only a few miles away from where I was standing that morning took my breath away.

Seven years later, it’s still a healing in progress for many of us. Indeed, the scar that the towers falling left is only starting to heal as the foundation of the new Freedom Tower is layed out.

In 2004, when the Tsunami hit South Asia, I was in flight from Thailand to Cambodia. Thailand was one of the hardest hit nations, losing an estimated 8,000 to death and leaving 4,000 missing. The economic impact is almost incalculable with so many families losing their main income provider and so many jobs lost from the tourism industry.

Of course, Thailand was only one affected area – almost 300,000 people perished in the Tsunami, making it the largest loss of life in modern history. The coincidence of being so near two of the most awful, unforeseen events in our lifetime does not escape me.

How do we heal from life-changing events like this? I am forced to ask this question over and over. The Tsunami, the Twin Towers, Hurricane Katrina, War – so many of us have been directly affected by the disasters of this millennium. But even for those of us who have not lost loved ones or been uprooted, we stand in solidarity. We are the living legacy of souls lost and lives changed.

What does this have to do with body image and weight loss?

Everything, actually.

There are so many different interpretations of what happens when we lose someone. Where do they go? We know only one thing for sure – they are not in their bodies. That part of them has ended. Today, you and I have a privilege – we are in our bodies, we can enjoy one more day of our precious life.

In a crisis, we know what is real and we know what is not. We release our daily distractions and obsessions based on vanity and self-criticism. We are forced to live authentically and think only about the moment we are in. Today, live as if this is the last day of your life. And do that again, tomorrow and the next day…on and on.

Today, what you DOES matters.

The big stuff. The small stuff. All of it.

Your day-to-day choices matter.

You are breathing right now and that is a great starting point. The root of the word “inspire” means breath. Today, choose to be inspired and do all you can to continue to draw breath.

• I want to ask you to think before you attack yourself or attack another person.


• Move your body because you can. You are alive and you can move.


• Inspire others by being grateful rather than critical. You are alive and that is enough reason to celebrate everyday.
  

Choose to EXPIRE from nothing but old age.

You are living this one precious, precious life – right now. If you need some answers on how to make those day-to-day healthy choices become a reality in your own life, reach out to me by phone or email. I have a life-changing 12-week course that will free you from the prison of poor body image and low self-esteem and teach you to live a different kind of life. A reverent, inspiring life that makes you want to stand up and cheer.

To your health,
Laura Fenamore, CPCC, Body Image Mastery Mentor
www.LauraFenamore.com

No Give Backs, No Trade In’s, No Kidding

There is no doubt that we live in a throw-away society today. Everywhere we look, we embrace the “out with the old, and in with the new” philosophy. Something breaks nowadays, and we don’t even think about calling the repairman – it’s somehow just easier to buy a new one. Even larger items, like cars, are replaced with abandon after only a few years.

Sadly, we seem to think that virtually everything can just be replaced and renewed with the snap of a finger. It doesn’t just kill our sustainability as a planet, it effects how we look at the very core of our existence. Don’t like your body? Well, get it botoxed – or lipo’d – or tucked – or otherwise molded into something that simply wasn’t the “you” that you knew only the day before.

What did we do before today’s craze for instant fixes? Well, to begin with, we lived with our imperfections. Take a look at the old “Charlie’s Angels” pictures – oddly enough, even the pin-up girls of yesteryear weren’t perfect.

We have simply lost something in translation over the last few decades, and in that, we’ve lost some of our personal responsibility to our personal sustainability. Bluntly, there are no trade-in’s on your body.

Your body is literally your HOME. You live in it from your first breath to your last. And believe me, the LAST thing that the mainstream diet and exercise industry wants you to do is the ONE thing you must do – love yourself and take care of that home. You see, if you really learned self-care and self-love, you wouldn’t need them any longer. Instead, they want you to BUY THE LIE that you aren’t even WORTH loving until you are slender and can run a seven-minute mile.

Well, slender and fit is an awesome goal – it means that we would no longer be eaten alive with insecurity and self-loathing about our bodies and our weight – and that we would live awesome lives of inspiration and meaning. But let’s face it, even slender people suffer from crippling poor body image (and there are plenty of full-figured people who seem to be fulfilled and successful). So where do we begin???

• First, we need to trade-in the idea about “disposability” that we’ve made love to the last few years. This is your ONE body and your ONLY chance to be healthy and live long and strong.
  
• Second, if that’s true, then we need to LOVE who we are RIGHT NOW. If we truly loved ourselves, we wouldn’t be eating our hearts out and stuffing our feelings every day.
  
• Third, let the healing begin. Whatever you do, just REFUSE TO DO NOTHING.

On August 5th, I will begin a 12-week course entitled, Loving What You See in the Mirror (Crucial Components to Permanent Weight Loss). I am still interviewing potential participants to fill the last few spots still open. The first group started in June, and it has been spectacular. The women are dynamic and wonderful. They are calling forth permanent change, they are committed to their accountability partners, and they are embracing their own transformation.

Now maybe this course isn’t right for you, but whatever you do, just don’t give up. Although there really are no give backs or trade in’s, you can absolutely claim your right to a DO OVER and begin your new start (and love affair) with a healthy body any time you want to.

Laura Fenamore
Laura@LauraFenamore.com
www.LauraFenamore.com

Turning the Black Hole of Poor Body Image Toward the Sunshine of Self-Love

Facts or fiction? These points should probably be taped to your bathroom mirror where you can read them every day. The friend who passed them on to me claimed that they are 100% true.

1) There are at least 2 people in this world that you would die for.

2) At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.

3) The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.

4) A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don’t like you.

5) Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.

6) You mean the world to at least 3 other people.

7) Someone that you don’t even know exists, trusts you.

8) When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.

9) When you think the world has turned its back on you, take another look because what you see may surprise you.

Great personal friends and business colleagues are like stars … you don’t always see them, but you know they are always there shining on you and supporting all you do.

Points like this remind us that we are ALL valued by the universe and by those around us. Sometimes low self-esteem and poor body image can block that love like a lunar eclipse, leaving us in darkness. Knowing there’s a light out there – we can still see it outlined no matter how hard we try to deny it.

Today, counter every negative thought you have by filling in the “blanks” above with WHO and WHAT the above sentences refer to. For instance, WHAT good came out of your biggest mistakes so far (Number 8), or start listing the 15 people who love you in some way (Number 2).

And if you can’t get past low self-esteem or poor body image to even begin to fill in those “blanks,” reach out to me for a helping hand. Fifteen minutes of encouragement and guidance could make all the difference in your life to create self-love and self-care.

To your joyous life, free from the prison of limiting beliefs,

Laura Fenamore, Body Image Mastery Mentor
www.LauraFenamore.com


PS: For more inspirational reading material, you can check out blogs by my colleague, Alex Mandossian, http://www.alexmandossian.com/ and for an awesome video, check out: http://www.alexmandossian.com/2008/06/08/the-farmer-and-the-donkey-parable/.

Personal Sustainability

Undoubtedly, today's big buzzword is sustainability.
Keeping our planet alive and maintaining our
resources are vitally important to our future. But
what about our Personal Sustainability? What about
keeping ourselves alive and saving our own resources?

Are we more invested in our planet than we are
in our flesh and blood? Obviously, embracing ways
to care for Mother Earth must be a part of our lives,
but we must treat Father Time with the same respect.
Every day above ground that we LIVE STRONG
and CHOOSE WISELY, we win the lottery:
Another precious day, and another and another.

How do we do this? In order to maintain the healthy
give and take of our own energy, we must be vigilant
about personal sustainability. We MUST not take in
more energy than we use each day; quite simply, this
overwhelms the "natural landscape" that is our body.
We overtax our body with useless foods and stored
pounds that leave us depleted and susceptible to illness.

Remember, stress is the enemy of a sustainable
life. Finding a way to breathe and strive through life's
challenges is vital to our health. It is those among
us who turn challenges into opportunities, in fact,
who become our greatest leaders.

As you read this, breathe in the beauty around you.
Today is an opportunity. Choose YOU. Begin your
efforts in your own body. Make changes that embrace
your personal sustainability, and your body will
support you, heart and soul, for many years to come.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you're ready for a sustainable life & body, my 12-week
pilot program, Loving What You See in the Mirror
(Crucial Components to Permanent Weight Loss)
begins Tuesday, June 24. This is the only time that I will
personally coach participants through the course (all
the more reason to check it out now).The course includes
a workbook to support permanent transformational
change, along with an added surprise to promote structure
and balance among all participants for all twelve weeks.
Participants are interviewed and selected for this course,
so call me at 415-464-1234 if you are ready to move
forward - with nothing standing in your way!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laura Fenamore
Laura@LauraFenamore.com
phone: 415 464 1234
www.LauraFenamore.com

Memorial Day

Well, it’s Memorial Day Weekend, and in memory of those we have lost to obesity and all of its manifestations, I want to ask everyone who reads this to take a moment of silence to think about the long and healthy life that lays ahead of you – if you choose to have it.

Envision it, if you can. You stand at a fork in the road every single day of your life. On one side is the path you must walk to be healthy. There are living foods to pick and eat, there are issues to be dug up and disposed of properly, there are hills to climb and rivers to swim in order to be strong and lean. It is not easy. On the other side is a trolly. You don’t have to walk, and there aren’t any living foods -- because the trolly goes to the drive through every day. There aren’t any issues to dig up, dead dreams and old resentments simply litter the countryside everywhere you look.

This is certainly too simple a picture to paint, but don’t kid yourself, it is accurate. Your choice at that fork can literally eat you alive. You are honestly worth the hard work and the joy that comes from choosing that path to a long and healthy life.

Start this moment. Don’t celebrate Memorial Day Weekend with an endless stream of self hate (disguised in boxes and bags of fat, salt and refined sugar). Instead, celebrate Memorial Day Weekend with the beginning of your new lifestyle and your new life journey. And believe me, once you start down that road, you are like the leader of the band – a parade of your family and friends will follow you. They will applaud your changing body, and they will embrace and share in many of the new foods and new activities that start to fill up your time – and your heart.

If you need help to get started on that path and leaving a poor body image in the dust while your at it, call me at 415-464-1234 – I will be happy to point you in the right direction and to avoid a few of the roadblocks along the way.

Laura Fenamore, Body Image Mastery
Laura@LauraFenamore.com
http://www.laurafenamore.com/

Lifelong solutions to eating disorder recovery, obesity, poor body image, recovery from bulimia, and yo-yo dieting.

********************************************************************************
Finally, I am currently interviewing people to participate in my upcoming 12-week pilot program: Loving What You See in the Mirror (Crucial Components to Permanent Weight Loss). Please email me at once if you would like to be considered; there are only a few openings, so don't delay. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

How To Tell Someone You Love That They Need To Change

Have you ever uttered these words: “Why didn’t someone tell me?!!” and wondered why a friend or loved one didn’t quietly take you aside and offer advice when you were about to make a terrible mistake? Have you looked back at a time in your life when you were running head-on into a train wreck – and realizing that no one tried to stop you, thought to yourself, “If someone had just said something to me, maybe I could have avoided that?” It is important to reflect on these moments, especially if the situation is now reversed – and you now have a loved one headed for a disaster with their own health.

Do you know and love someone who has crossed the line and is no longer just “slightly overweight” or “too thin,” but is now truly unhealthy from constant abuse of their own body and poor choices? Do you sit quietly by their side as they continue to make poor choices that can lead them to continued unhappiness with their weight, major illness, or even worse – death? Do they feel hopeless about obesity, yo-yo dieting, an eating disorder, or simply poor body image?

Are you concerned about his or her well-being?

Ask yourself:
1. Has this loved one ever asked for help with their weight issues, verbally or non-verbally?
2. Have they expressed dissatisfaction with their body, eating and exercise habits, or health?
3. Has this loved one ever passively given me clues that they are crying out for help?

When someone you love is hurting, sometimes they can’t ask for help out loud – they may be too ashamed or too afraid. At times, they might even deny that they need (or are asking for) help, and they may even seem to resent you for bringing up the matter.

I am here to tell you that there is a way to reach people without hurting them!

First, you must not allow yourself to become a victim of wanting to help them and not knowing how. If you truly care for this person, you must be willing to take a risk for them. What’s the risk? If your loved one is in deep denial and burying the reasons for their unwise habits, they may walk away from you, rather than face the truth. When we hurt inside, we attack our bodies because that is what’s available. Poor eating habits, self-abuse in the form of food and lack of self-care are all physical manifestations of pain. If your loved one is hurting this much, and if you want to help them – you can!

There is healing and non-aggressive help in the loving art of story-telling. Arm yourself with success stories that have similar results to those you wish for your loved one. Choose a time to talk with the person, and begin with those stories. (As an example, use my story -- found on “About Laura” at my website: www.LauraFenamore.com.) Tell them my story. I lost 100 lbs. and kept it off forever – only to discover that I hated myself as much when I was thin as I did when I was overweight. I finally came to realize that it is not about what we look like on the outside – but how much we love ourselves inside that makes the difference! Only then was I able to begin the slow and steady path of self-care every day. I began to love Laura – and was able to stop abusing my body as I made positive changes in the choices I made every day.

It is likely that your loved one will identify their own situation as you talk with them, although they may be angry or hurt. But are you more concerned with their well-being than initially offending them? Are you willing to risk losing your loved one for a moment in order to help save their lives forever? If you are, then take the steps to begin opening up to them, and at the end of that conversation, dial the phone for them, and let them ask me how to get started and what I did to lose 100 pounds and save my own life. The phone call is free and they can be too.

Laura Fenamore
www.LauraFenamore.com
415-464-1234