Weight Loss – 7 Steps to Massive Motivation Check up!

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Kylie Ryan

You’ve read the 7 steps to Massive Motivation, but are you using them? Use this 7 step reminder and questionnaire to give yourself a motivation check-up from the neck up! :-)

Step 1. Realize that it all starts in your mind.

The First step is to get real and realize that weight loss is about more than just eating and exercise. True and lasting health and slimness starts in your mind. It begins by loving yourself.

  • Do you spend some time and effort each week working on your mindset? Affirmations, positive visualisation, hypnosis, coaching, following the Kickstart Motivation Program, reading these posts all counts towards mindset change.

Continue reading →

Posted in Coaching, Exercise Motivation, Food & Eating Habits, Motivation & Inspiration, Peak Performance, Weight Loss Strategies | Leave a comment

Your WHY – Are aesthetics a good enough reason?

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Kylie Ryan

Why do you want to lose weight? Do you know? Understanding and exploring your true reason for losing weight is one of the most critical steps to success.

Often people say they want to look better, fit into their jeans, or feel better, however in my experience, I don’t think this is a strong enough reason for many people to actually do what it takes to get slim.

These are wishy-washy, general answers and don’t really get to the heart of the matter. When you uncover the reasons that make you get emotional, and that lead you to that “whatever it takes” feeling, that’s when you know you’ve got the reason that will see you achieve results. This kind of reason, leads to a resolve and commitment that will help you to overcome the tough days and keep going.

Continue reading →

Posted in Beliefs, Coaching, Goal Setting, Motivation & Inspiration, Weight Loss Strategies | Leave a comment

Mad Men’s Fat Betty & The Phenomenon of the Housewife / Mother Weight Gain.

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Kylie Ryan

What’s behind the housewife and mother weight gain phenomenon?

If you’ve been an avid Mad Men watcher, you’ll no doubt have been a little bit shocked by the storyline where the usually lithe and perennially stunning character Betty (Draper) Francis has rapidly gained a fair amount of weight between seasons. Betty is painted as a fairly unlikeable character and since her weight gain storyline there has been an explosion on the internet of nasty jokes about the character and much analysis of the complicated Betty and her emotional struggles which are so poignantly obvious in this episode.  If you’re interested you can read more about Betty On Pedestrian TV, GQ Online, and Bohemea.

However, I’m not so interested in analysing Betty as I am interested in what this brings up for you? What are your thoughts and experiences of the phenomenon of the housewife and mother weight gain? Continue reading →

Posted in Body Image, Coaching, Motivation & Inspiration, Parenting, Pregnancy, Weight Loss Strategies, Weight Prevention | Leave a comment

Elephant, Rider and Path – 3 Ways to Change Behaviour

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Kylie Ryan

There are 3 basic ways to change your behaviour, ideally you want all 3 to work together, that’s when you get effortless, easy change.

Imagine an elephant, with a rider, walking through a forest. The Elephant is your unconscious mind. It has huge power, and it has it’s own desires and wants. The Rider is like your conscious mind, you can steer, cajole or beat the elephant to go where you want, but if the elephant wants to go in a different direction, the tiny rider alone will have a hard time turning him around. The Forest is your environment, the path that you walk. You can shape the environment to steer the elephant onto a path, and keep him there.

Working together

Ideally you want the elephant and rider to be friends, to want to go in the same direction, to work for the good of each other. The rider must take care of his elephant, to be sure to feed him and nourish him so that he is strong and healthy. The rider can also shape the path for the elephant. Choosing a path that is challenging but not too hard, and even shaping the path so that the elephant can get through easily.

Continue reading →

Posted in Beliefs, Coaching, Food & Eating Habits, Motivation & Inspiration, Weight Loss Strategies | Leave a comment

Parenting girls and the weight issue – Vogue Article on “fat” 7 year old and public backlash.

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Kylie Ryan

How would you respond to your 7 year old girl proclaiming that she’s fat? How can a parent successfully navigate this emotional minefield?

Parenting is inherently challenging and emotionally confronting. Dealing with your own weight and health can be hugely challenging and confronting as an individual. Dealing with a child with weight problems when you have body image and weight issues yourself, could be the most challenging of all. Childhood obesity is a very real and massive problem in society. Adult obesity is too. This recent VOGUE article and the massive public backlash shows just how important it is to deal with this issue with grace and emotional sensitivity.

Continue reading →

Posted in Body Image, Habits, Parenting, Topical, Weight Loss Strategies | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Cascade of Poor Decisions

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Kylie Ryan

Today I had cheesecake for morning tea! As I sat there eating the cheesecake, with my cup of tea, I realised that I had made a series of poor choices that had lead me to that point.

The cheesecake lead me to asking myself, why I had chosen to eat that, when it is pretty unusual for me. This is what I came up with when I tracked back my decisions over the past 18 hours previous.

Continue reading →

Posted in Coaching, Food & Eating Habits, Habits, Weight Loss Strategies | Leave a comment

Does this NOURISH me?

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Kylie Ryan

Before every single bite, you can ask yourself this question, and it will shift the way you think about your food; taking out the judgement and good food vs. bad food labels.

Labelling food good and bad can be useful sometimes to reset your boundaries around what foods you prefer to eat, and by what criteria you choose to set those labels. However often labelling food just becomes another tool we can use to beat ourselves up with.

Continue reading →

Posted in Food & Eating Habits, Weight Loss Strategies | 4 Comments

Weight Loss Success with Daily Habits – How to begin.

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Kylie Ryan

Here is a guide of tried and tested habit-based change to get yourself started losing weight and getting healthy, without fad diets. Hooray!

These habits work! There is a lot of focus on what you eat and think because these will give you the most leverage at the start. 70% of your results will come from what you choose to put into your body. 30% of your results will come from your activity. 100% control over what you choose to eat or do is in your MIND.

Why you MUST start small

It is critical to start with small habits that you think are almost too easy, so that you begin building your faith in your own ability to DO what you say you will do. You need to build the habit of keeping promises to yourself.

Continue reading →

Posted in Exercise Motivation, Food & Eating Habits, Habits, Motivation & Inspiration, Weight Loss Strategies | 1 Comment

All or Nothing Extremism & The Dirty Secret of the Fitness Industry.

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Kylie Ryan

There is an underbelly to the fitness world that could be the reason why you are struggling with making your change to a healthier lifestyle.

I have written before on the dangers of All or Nothing, or extremist thinking. Studies have shown that the best way to change your lifestyle is ONE habit at a time. However it didn’t really hit home to me why the fitness industry is so bad at teaching this slowly, one habit at a time approach until I saw a recent comedy / parody song created by the Bondi Hipster crew. Check out the song here. The self-reflexively ironic “hipsters” in the song eat mung beans, goji berries and snack on celery through the week, and then smash themselves on drugs partying on the weekend.

It made me think of many people I have come across in my 10 years of being involved and around the fitness industry. It also made me think of myself quite a few years ago, when I was ‘partying’, taking lots of drugs, working like a crazy person, not sleeping much and living an extremist life. Totally All or Nothing.

Continue reading →

Posted in Body Image, Food & Eating Habits, Habits, Motivation & Inspiration, Peak Performance, Weight Loss Strategies | Leave a comment

Weight Loss – Hurdles & Challenges to Slimness

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Kylie Ryan

Sometimes it’s good to know what’s coming up around the bend.

Just like Luke Skywalker on his hero’s journey, you too will encounter some dark caves, obstacles and challenges along your way to a slim, healthy body.

Just for a heads up, here are some of the typical obstacles that you may face along the way…

Continue reading →

Posted in Beliefs, Coaching, Motivation & Inspiration, Resilience, Weight Loss Strategies | Leave a comment