ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS

In achieving your goals you need to be DECISIVE. Each decision affects what you become. We form our decisions and our decisions form us. The smallest choices are important, over time, their cumulative effect is enormous. Never overlook the obvious: The nature and direction of your life change the instant you decide what goals you want to pursue. Dream it. Plan it. Believe it.
A decision is never made only once.
A decision to lose weight and keep it off must be made every time you feel hungry.
This brings you to STAY FOCUSED! Focus creates a powerful force. The more focused your energies, the more power you generate.

 WRITE DOWN your goals. This is for your eyes only. If you want to lose weight, for example, write down that you want to be a HEALTHY WEIGHT, xxx pounds. You know extra weight can cause all sorts of disease. This year you want to be healthy.

PLAN THOROUGHLY. Of course, the easiest way would be to go on The Fresh Diet. Everything is done for you. You just order it and eat it. Otherwise a good plan is NOT to buy JUNK FOOD, stay away from FAST FOOD. Eat FRESH, SMALLER PORTIONS. Cook your own food instead of going out.

INVOLVING OTHERS helps you to maintain your goal and to stay on track. Laurence and I are both on The Fresh Diet. We are helping each other to maintain our weight and to stay healthy. We help each other not stray from that way of life. Since we adhere to The Fresh Diet, we have many many "Fresh Diet team members" for support. These are just a few of them.

                                                                
                                                                  
 Remember if you "SLIP UP" on one of your goals. That's o.k. Maybe you need to adjust, it's a step along the way to success. Just make sure to recognize that it wasn't a lack of effort.

This is where you take PURPOSEFUL ACTION. Don't procrastinate. I've been told so many times that that's the mother of regret! Don't postpone, cancel, and miss out on the opportunity.

You'll never attain your goals simply by thinking or talking about them. TAKE ACTION! 

INSPECT what you expect. This tells you where you are in relation to where you want to be, and how you are doing in the process of pursuing your goals. Evaluate whether the actions you are taking are going to produce the results you desire. Remember to pace yourself.

REWARDING yourself is a good idea. Now if you break up your goal into little chunks, for example, you want to lose weight and break it up into 5 pound increments. You'll go broke rewarding yourself at that rate, if your rewards are costly. You could always give yourself some quiet time and read a good book, or listen to music, take a bubble bath. Spend quality time with a loved one. Anything that gives you pleasure. 

Always be true. PERSONAL INTEGRITY starts from within. Don't let others dissuade you from your goals or the tasks required to reach them. Believe in yourself. You have to envision yourself reaching your goal. See yourself mastering the task in order to complete your smaller goals and imagine how good you'll feel when you finally reach your coveted goals. Always be true to yourself and your personal integrity will never waver.  

HAPPY NEW YEAR...2011

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

It's here 2011. I always feel so excited when a New Year arrives! A new chance to start over and try to make my life a little better.

I've made a few New Year's resolutions and plan to work at them throughout the whole year.

One is to stay positive. 

Most of us want to be positive. It increases our well-being. It's certainly advantageous to possess a sunny outlook. Doors open for optimists. We make friends, earn respect, others enjoy and want to be like them. It even makes us healthier. Keep those thoughts positive. If you think you can do it, you will. 

It also helps to be around positive people, attitudes are contagious. Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. Someone told me once that I was always only one choice away from changing my life.

The thing is, how can we be consistent?

You and I know it's not that easy! The key is to keep managing your attitude. The word to remember is : REINFORCE!  People often say that motivation doesn't last, neither does bathing, that's why it's recommended every day!

 Another resolution I plan to keep, and speaking of reinforcement, I'll have plenty.

I'm referring to my health and diet. It's starts with eating properly. I've made steps already to remain on THE FRESH DIET all year. THE FRESH DIET Company is my reinforcement. Chef Yoseph Schwartz will make sure that I'll have optimum nutrition for good health and to keep my weight where it should be

This will all be done with Fresh Gourmet nutritious meals. It may be one of the easiest resolutions to keep! Nevertheless an important one. Next month will be my ONE YEAR anniversary on THE FRESH DIET.

It has managed to keep me at my desired weight, it has decreased my carb cravings, increased my energy levels and improved my mental clarity.

Another avenue of reinforcement will come from The Fresh Diet Facebook page. All my Fresh Diet friends are caring people offering encouragement and support. We stand by each other in difficult times, as well as when we are strong. We are all pulling together for a common good. 

New Years is also time for Introspection. Go ahead, evaluate your life and think about what you want to achieve. But remember: CONTEMPLATE, DON'T RUMINATE.

These two mental processes represent separate but unequal ways to engage in introspection, the examination of one's own thoughts and feelings.

Self-CONTEMPLATION entails a relatively accurate analysis of previous events, current concerns, and future desires. Over time, this is associated with greater self-knowledge and emotional health. In contrast, RUMINATION consists of an intense focus on real or imagined negative events usually considered to be out of one's control, which in turn seems to amplify anxiety, depression, and social unease.  

Men and women who favor self-CONTEMPLATION are described as compassionate, dependable, productive, and insightful about themselves; those who RUMINATE often come across as fearful, moody, nervous, defensive, and self-pitying.

Self-CONTEMPLATION ushers in a flair for flexibly adjusting to difficult situations, whereas RUMINATION goes hand in hand with inflexible, maladaptive responses to stress.

I will also remember The following advice I've had tucked away in my memory for years. It probably came from one of the nuns many many years ago when I was a child in school. It goes like this: "How simple it is to see that all the worry in the world cannot control the future. How simple it is to see that we can only be happy now. And that there will never be a time when it is not now."

Here's to the bright New Year
and a fond farewell to the old;
here's to the things that are yet to come
and to the memories that we hold.
May you realize your fondest dreams
and take time to recognize and enjoy
each and every blessing.
All the best,
Carol

WHERE'S MY FRESH DIET FOOD?

First of all, let me tell you who I am. I'm a Westie by the name of Lily. My master's name is Carol. I think she's committing some kind of crime. I hate to snitch on her but......I want some of that FRESH DIET food!! I would like to know if there's some kind of law written somewhere on the books, that states she should be feeding me THE BEST diet. After all we're talking about my well being here.

If I was eating the proper nutrition, I know I wouldn't be scratching my hide so much and my coat would be as shiny as I noticed her hair was getting. Her skin is great too. She also has so much energy, during our daily walks, I noticed she's practically running now. I'm trying to keep up with her.

I keep hunting everywhere for something like That Fresh Diet food, but I can't find any anywhere. Nothing smells as good as The Fresh Diet. The other day Carol put her lunch out in the garden and then went in the house for something. Boy... did I try my best to jump on that cafe chair. I know I could have devoured that FRESH DIET BURGER before she returned.

Man!!! No such luck, she caught me just as I was trying to reach over to grab it! She can be so mean sometimes. She sat there and ate it right in front of me! I kept trying to nudge her leg every minute but she just ignored me. I could smell that FRESH DIET BURGER and let me tell you the aroma was more than I could stand. So, I tried to jump on her lap! She scolded me and then she did the MOST ridiculous thing! She went and got my DOG FOOD and she actually put it in an empty FRESH DIET container. Does she think I'm stupid! I just ignored it! 

When she finally got up and went into the house with the empty plate, I followed and just looked right up at her and gave her that LOOK. You know the one. The pleading one that means can I just lick your plate...pleeese!

Every night around 9:15 P.M. I lie in wait for what she calls the FRESH DIET FAIRY.  I lie in the hall leading to the living room where I can hear him come. The minute I hear the car door I start barking in excitement. I just can't help myself. I just know delicious smelling food is in those bags he brings. I can't wait for Carol to open them. I run out ahead of her, practically tripping her, but I want to get to them first! She takes them in and I nudge them with my nose all the way to the kitchen. I know I keep getting in her way but I have to see and smell that scrumptious food. Maybe,  she might just give me some of it. I try to jump up and look in those bags as she's getting the containers out. She's just too quick for me. I tried to knock one out of her hands but she put them in the fridge before I could. Geesh!

In the evening, I have to sit right by her side every time she eats that FRESH DIET CHEESECAKE.

I practically put my face right in it so she'll give me a bite. Oh no, she doesn't.  I like when she eats it right out of the container instead of putting it on a plate. I have a way of snitching the container after she's done with it and then I'm in heaven! I can spend an hour just trying to lick every morsel from the crevices of the container. Let me tell you, I can lick that thing cleaner than a whistle! Then I show her my love by snuggling up to her all night long!

Ooooh yeah! I've got to tell you it kills me every time she takes a photo of her food!

It gets me so crazy. The aromas of that FRESH DIET food is just too much for me to take. I circle around her as she's trying to set everything up. I'm hoping some falls my way. She just keeps chasing me away.

One morning, she just through me out in the yard! I was livid! 

Well...I'm waiting for an answer, is there a law out there that says, SHE'S GOT TO SHARE HER FRESH DIET WITH ME!

A NEW YEAR IS COMING!

Here it is December 2010 already. This year took wings! Lots has happened this year, good, sad, happy and exciting, and of course I've grown a year younger. oops! Did I say a year younger! 

You heard right, I did! Let's not dwell on the sad, tears, and gloom parts but the happy and exciting parts. Especially the growing younger part. I'll let you in on my little secret.

Earlier this year in February, I got an e-mail from a company called THE FRESH DIET. It sounded intriguing. The word FRESH got my attention. 

It was telling me about Gourmet Dieting in the comfort of my own home. I read about meals delivered fresh daily, not weekly. Never frozen, never freeze dried, never vacuum-packed like other programs I had read about. Those just turned me off. 

This one sounded altogether different. It includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 snacks. Wow! Now, did that mean no more grocery runs, no cooking or food prep and wondering what to have to eat today or tomorrow or next week! 

I had to find out more about this program. The more I learned the more I wanted to try it. I found out that when I join the program, I get to make my own meal selections and chose delivery times online. If I have any questions or need any assistance at all, someone is always there to help toll-free 24/7. 

The program can be adapted to special needs. It's all about optimal nutrition, not just weight loss.

The more I read the more I wanted it. I could even chose a plan with unlimited dislikes, and could choose meals for the day from a list of 4 breakfast, lunch, and dinner choices, 6 choices of sides and 6 choices of snacks. All gourmet and based on Dr. Sears' Zone Diet's nutritionally balanced way of eating.

What made me finally pick up the phone was reading that the menus are created by a Cordon Bleu Chef, Executive Chef Yosef Schwartz 0f the world-renowned Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute. ALRIGHT! No more frozen boring Lean Cuisines for me that I was getting sick of on the days I was too busy to cook.

I was more tempted to dial the number 1-866-373-7450. I finally read that it was designed to promote lean body mass.  If it could do that to this 60 something yr. old body, I'm game. Weight loss. Bingo....menopause had put pounds on me I thought would permanently make me look like an old dumpy woman. Decreased carbohydrate craving. I won't even go there! Lowered blood sugar levels, increased energy levels and improved mental clarity. I thought all this and gourmet fresh food, no more work in the kitchen. Okay, my fingers started dialing. 

The first impression, I got was how Customer Service was so helpful. They were not pushy. They answered all my questions. After speaking to them, I knew I was doing the right thing trying out this program. During the whole year, customer service agents were always there when I needed them, always friendly, always helpful. I usually deal with the same one and she always greets me like an old friend and happy to hear from me, ready to help.

On Feb. 8th I started with THE FRESH DIET. Little did I know, it would be the beginning of a wonderful year for me.

I was so excited and a little nervous for that first cooler bag to arrive. When I saw it, I felt happy as a little kid on her birthday. I saw it as a really great special gift. I still do at the end of this wonderful year.

The food is EVERYTHING they said it would be gourmet fresh and quality produce, meats/fish/chicken. I'm so spoiled now, after having a gourmet chef preparing my meals all year. I've lost the 25 pounds menopause put on in about 2 1/2 months! TFD has given me a lean younger looking body, my curves are back. I've even gotten whistles on the street at my age! Wow! I have more energy, I'm healthier, don't ever feel tired any more from lack of good nutrition. I feel younger! I went from a size 12 to a 2 & 4! Can you imagine how I felt slipping into size 4 jeans!!! WOW! The Fresh Diet has kept my weight off all year and taught me all about nutrition and portion control and how important it is to drink water.

I don't have the cravings I used to get and I feel satisfied. I always look forward to my FRESH DIET cooler bag every day and greet it with a smile from ear to ear. It's always exciting to unzip the bag and take out my containers of meals and snacks. It's exciting to know my meals are all nutritious and I don't have to lift a finger to prepare them. No more grocery runs, no more food prep, no cooking, no clean-up. No worries about what to eat today or tomorrow or next week!! More time for my man, my garden, my art, and exercise. I love the outdoors and love walking in different places everyday. More time for anything I want to do.

 We are about to start a NEW YEAR. 2011 is only weeks away. I bet you know what one of my NEW YEAR'S resolution is! YES to another year of THE FRESH DIET. Thanks to the really great sale they had of $29.99!

If you check out their Facebook page you'll see that they are a really generous company. They are always having contests for anyone who wants to join in and win FREE days, weeks, and months of THE FRESH DIET. The contests are so easy and fun. The people on their Facebook page are wonderful, caring and some very funny. Jim Gilbert of the FRESH DIET is called our "Fearless TFD Leader". He's a peach! Always willing to help and mans the TFD Facebook. It has a "family" feel to it. You even get to hear from Chef Yosef Shwartz, and the CEO Zalmi Dutchman as well as the others. Customer service agents peek in too and leave comments. Everyone is encouraging and ready to help people peeking in. All are welcome.

I'm looking forward to a NEW YEAR and continuing with my FRESH DIET plan and feeling still younger despite another year. Why don't you join me. You won't regret it! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

...................THE DASH.........................

I love this poem and wanted to share it with you during this Holiday Season. It reminds me of why I was  put on this earth, and what I can do to make a difference. 

The Dash

I read of a man who stood to speak

At the funeral of a friend

He referred to the dates on her tombstone

From the beginning to the end

He noted that first came the date of her birth

And spoke the following date with tears

But he said what mattered most of all

Was the dash between those years

For that dash represents all the time

That she spent alive on earth.

And now only those who loved her

 Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own;

The cars, the house, the cash,

What matters is how we live and love

And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard.

Are there things you'd like to change?

For you never know how much time is left,

That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough 

To consider what's true and real

And always try to understand

The way other people feel

And be less quick to anger,

And show appreciation more

And love the people in our lives

Like we never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,

And more often wear a smile

Remembering that this special dash

Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read

With your life's actions to rehash

Would you be proud of the things they say

About how you spent your dash?

                 by Linda Ellis