Yesterday we had a big Thanksgiving feast! We ate yummy food, had some beers and played Cards Against Humanity. Good times.

Earlier this week I read this article by Live Well 360 Ambassador Adam Bornstein, about the health and fitness industry’s perspective on Thanksgiving. It’s titled, “The Problem With Thanksgiving” and my favorite quote from it is:

The fitness and nutrition community will be filled with posts about how to save calories, avoid bad foods, and essentially suck the fun out of a holiday that really is designed for a little bit of gluttony. People will say we should not use food as a reward. And that makes perfect sense.

But that’s not what this is. This is a holiday where food is part of the culture and tradition.

I don’t think it’s such a bad thing.

You want to know what’s really wrong?

Trying to convince people that they should eat less on one day, rather than preach enjoying the day and building better habits for the rest of the week or even the entire holiday season is the worst health trend that repeats itself every year.

I could not agree with Adam more. So what if you have an extra dessert on Thanksgiving and/or that second helping of stuffing. And even beyond that, who cares if you have stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, AND dessert!! It’s okaaaaay.

The food is not the problem. It’s our unhealthy behaviors attached to food that IS the problem.

Your long-term, consistent behaviors are what matter most and add up to long-term sustainable results (or no results).

So what if you aren’t seeing the results you want to see and you honestly can’t figure out why? I know this can be really frustrating.

If this is you, I have two things for you to do this week to figure this out.

2 Tips For Getting Weight Loss Results (When You Aren’t)

1. Do The Emotional Work

First you have to take a look at your habits, thoughts and typical behaviors. Awareness is the first step in change, because if you don’t know you are doing something, how are you supposed to do something different?

Becoming aware of our habits of thought is the missing piece of the weight loss puzzle. Everybody focuses strictly on food and fitness, but they neglect the foundation that ties it all together — mindset.

Try This

For the next week, notice your thought patterns. Do you find yourself mostly:

Berating yourself about your food and fitness choices?
Feeling guilty and stressed at work or in your relationships?
Feeling frustrated and complaining about life in general?

Or do you mostly find yourself appreciating things like:

Your current body on the way to achieving your dream body goals?
The positive aspects in the people around you?
Things about your life as a whole that you love most?

Journal your findings and reflections or even send me an email to report back.

This one exercise tells me so much about why you may or may not be achieving the results you say you want. Why?

Our emotions have a direct physiological affect on how well our body (and things like our metabolism) work.

If we are feeling guilty all of the time, stressed out and unhappy with our current body and life, then our body can’t function properly.

If we are positive, appreciative and loving the body we are in while being eager to continue to progress toward the body of our dreams, this jumpstarts the momentum and keeps us moving toward our goals.

Need help with this jumpstart? Check out my 6-week online course, ROCK Your Dream Body “Feel Amazing.”

2. Hold Yourself Accountable

If you’ve been following me for some time, you know that I don’t encourage calorie counting or micromanaging your body.

When we get too technical and obsessive, it stalls our progress because we are looking for results too often (are we there yet? are we there yet? are we there yet?) and when we don’t see the results fast enough, we get depressed (causing stress) which blocks our body from functioning optimally (burning fat).

That said, you DO have to hold yourself accountable. When a client tells me she is doing well with her eating habits but she’s frustrated because she isn’t seeing the results she wants fast enough, I ask her to run through what she ate yesterday with me.

Nine times out of ten she is eating more processed foods than whole foods. And… deep down, even if she won’t admit it to me, she feels guilty about it. And THEN she feels guilty about feeling guilty because she knows I teach the “no guilt” approach to food. Ayyy…

So what the heck do we do? How do we hold ourselves accountable so that we nourish our body with foods that are nutrient rich and make us feel our best AND help us to build the “feel good” momentum we get from making healthy decisions?

We track in a different way.

Try This

Over the next week, take a picture of everything that you eat and drink — meals, snacks, bites, slurps, everything.

Now I know what you might say, “This feels obsessive, Sheila!”

I assure you, it’s not. Here’s why. I want you to do this from a stance of self-love.

Pretend this is Instagram and you have a big following of people that want to see what delicious, nourishing foods you eat.

This isn’t something you HAVE to do. While it IS an assignment, it’s not a chore. Think of it as something you GET to do.

Get creative with it and practice your photography skills in the process!

At the end of each day, look back at your photo album and ask yourself, am I following the 80/20 rule here? Am I eating 80% whole foods (minimally processed, preservative free) and 20% anything else that might be non-whole foods that I eat simply because it tastes good?

Deep down, most of us KNOW how to nourish our body:

• Lots of greens, whole food protein, and healthy fats
• Lots of water
• Movement every single day (in some way)

We just choose not to do it because we feel uninspired.

For now, start with these two exercises.

Need more help? Let’s get on the phone and discuss your current challenges. I’ll give you tips on how to get started and then if you want more, we can talk about what it would look like to work together.

Apply for a 30-minute Discovery Session today!

Want to finally gain control of your life, lose weight while eating foods that you love, and feel amazing in your skin? Sign up for my VIP newsletter by clicking here and I'll send you my ROCK Your Dream Body Fast Track that will get you started right NOW!

The post Not Getting Weight Loss Results? 2 Tips To Refocus appeared first on Sheila Viers.

Last week I was working with a client on this high level topic. You see, this level of work is not for the faint of heart.

Not because it’s physically hard or challenging, but because approaching your body and weight loss in this new/different way can sometimes be mentally and emotionally difficult.

Here’s the thing though… You’ll never get different results if you just keep doing the same old thing you’ve always done.

During our session, my client was trying to wrap her head around how it could be possible to eat whatever you want while achieving and maintaining your ideal body.

She said something to the effect of:

You mean, I don’t have to eat healthy food and my body should still be able to lose weight? That feels so wrong!

This is where the non-diet approach to weight loss can seem kinda “yeah, right, only in my dreams.”

People naturally think, “Ok, if it’s so easy to maintain your ideal weight without dieting, then wouldn’t everyone be lean and fit?”

The answer is that yes, it can be easy, but no, not everyone can do it and here’s why. The truth is, most of us have a lot of limiting beliefs, behaviors and underlying stress that blocks us from that ease when it comes to weight loss without dieting.

A friend of mine recently shared her story with me of how she transitioned from yo-yo dieting over to the non-diet approach to weight loss and maintenance and I asked her if I could share it with you because I think she is such a great example of what is possible for YOU. Here’s her story:

I started slowly and steadily putting on weight a few years ago. I tried so many things to get back to my normal (optimal for me) weight and while I might have a lost a few pounds here and there, they would quickly return when I wasn’t paying attention and let go of controlling every little thing I put in my mouth.

Earlier this year I decided that rather than spending energy on dieting, I would explore my internal reasons for sabotaging myself:

Why do I eat crap that makes me feel bad?
Why do I overeat?

Eating crap and feeling bad about it and/or overeating in general are not the natural default for humans, but rather conditioned behaviors that we learn at some point in our life.

For me, I discovered that it started as a little kid when my brother would eat off my plate before I was finished. I learned to scarf down my food before it was taken by him.

Once I figured this out, I realized it was safe now for me to let that limiting behavior go. No one is hovering over my uneaten food taking it away from me anymore.

I also tried to pay attention to my hunger and honor it. I eat when I’m hungry and stop when full. I may take two more bites now than I need to feel satisfied, but I never end up in a food coma anymore.

It’s been very freeing. I don’t count calories. I don’t consider food “bad.” Although I do very much limit sugar and grains, they are not the enemy anymore.

I’ve lost 17 lbs and returned to my high school weight. I really think the results last longer when we do the internal work.

— Sherry

You see, food is not the enemy. It’s the limiting beliefs and behaviors that have built up over time that sabotage our results. What you eat and how much you move your body are certainly part of the equation. But first and foremost, you have to set the emotionally solid foundation.

You have to remove the emotional barriers that block you from the healthy relationship with food and your body in the first place.

You can do it. I KNOW you can. If Sherry can do it, and I can do it, and my clients can do it, you can too.

Work With Me 1-On-1

Let me help to show you the way. I have one spot open in my schedule right now for one more private 1-on-1 coaching client.

Not just any client though.

I work with women that are ready to commit 110% to transformation. Ready to open themselves up, be vulnerable, and are willing to change their self-sabotaging beliefs and behaviors.

And let me tell you, it’s so freaking worth it. Because it frees them up not only to finally get their dream body, but also to receive a whole new level of love, happiness, and peace related to both their body and their life in general.

When you start feeling amazing in your skin, it cannot NOT affect everything!

Are you ready? Let’s talk.

Sign up for a complimentary 30-Minute Discovery Session here.

Here’s what one client recently had to say:

My ONLY hesitation in investing in working with Sheila was the financial aspect. I live on a very tight budget but once I knew I wanted to make this commitment to myself, I found a way. It was important to me and something I wanted to do for me.

And I am so glad I did! Since working with Sheila, oh my gosh, where do I start? I am slimmer, my skin is firmer, I sleep A LOT better. I used to get daily headaches and now they come much less often and are much less debilitating when I do have one.

I used to dwell, not just daily, but hourly or more, on things that happened in the past that I still wanted to fix, as well as, things that might happen in the future that might not be good. I spent countless hours and energy fearing things I had no control over. By practicing what I have learned from Sheila, these negative thoughts no longer run my life. My thoughts are happy and joyful. I live in the “right now” and rejoice in every minute.

Sheila, I love everything you have done for me and brought into my life that I could have never figured out on my own.

I have grown by leaps and bounds emotionally and have shrunk several clothing sizes! I love eating all this good food, I love exercising and watching my body transform, I love life…and it’s because of you. It may have been in me all the while to be able to accomplish all of this, however, there is no way I can ever express my full appreciation to you for everything you have done for me and my life. I’ve said it before and will say it again…I could not have done this without you.

— Michelle C.

Grab your complimentary 30-Minute Discovery Session today and let’s chat about how to get you out of self-sabotage for good!

Want to finally gain control of your life, lose weight while eating foods that you love, and feel amazing in your skin? Sign up for my VIP newsletter by clicking here and I'll send you my ROCK Your Dream Body Fast Track that will get you started right NOW!

The post Weight Loss WITHOUT Dieting… Whaaat? appeared first on Sheila Viers.

Resistance blocks flow.

During my 1-on-1 coaching calls this week several of my clients had major aha’s related to how they have been “blocking the flow.”

In one session, I helped a client realize how she’s been blocking the flow of weight loss because she’s allowing herself to feel triggered by the fact that she’s not seeing the number on the scale decrease as quickly as she’d like (even though she’s fitting comfortably into a pant size that she can’t remember being able to wear sans muffin top in over 15 years).

During another session, another client realized she’s been struggling with opening her heart and giving herself permission to receive the amazing joy that’s in her life right now. She saw how much time and energy she has been spending on worrying, feeling guilty, and putting everyone else’s needs in front of her own.

And finally, a third client’s aha was related to layers. Layers of clothing and layers of extra weight, all hiding her and keeping her from being seen. Her “aha” was that deep down she has a limiting belief that it’s not safe for her to be beautiful because it attracts unwanted attention.

Can you relate? I bet you can. Because you are human and over time, these kinds of blocks can build up. We create these self-preservation habits and behaviors that in some sort of way, our mind believes will protect us.

Protect us from disappointment.

“If I don’t allow myself to see and get excited about my progress, then there’s no chance of me getting disappointed if I fail.”

Protect us from getting rejected.

“If I take care of everyone else’s needs all the time, even by sacrificing my own needs, then I will surely be loved by all.”

Protect us from harm.

“As long as nobody notices me, then I am safe.”

There comes a point when these old stories just don’t serve us any more. We move beyond our fear and we realize it’s time to let go of these old stories so that we can step into our power.

But in order to step into our power, we have to be willing to let go of these old stories that we hang onto so tightly because they are familiar.

Exercise: Tight Fist Vs Release & Let Go

Try this. Ball your hand up into a fist really tightly. Feel the tension. Now try to stick something inside of that hand. It doesn’t work, does it? There’s no room to squeeze anything in because your fist is so tight.

Now relax and open your hand. Feel the release. Now, there is all kinds of space to put whatever you desire into that hand.

You see, getting what we want is a lot like this. In order to receive and allow anything into our lives, we must create space and openness for it to flow in.

You want the body of your dreams? You have to release stress so that your digestion and metabolism can function optimally. Learn more about this here.

You want more love? You have to open up your heart to allowing the love from yourself and from others to flow in.

You want to feel beautiful? You have to shed the layers, throw your shoulders back, tilt your head high, and own your power.

Do these changes take commitment? Most definitely. Are you up for the challenge? You KNOW you are.

Because you don’t want a life of just getting by. You want a life of THRIVING.

Need help getting there? Set up a 30-Minute Discovery Session with me and we can discuss your current challenges and how I can help.

I’m here for you. Let me show you the way to reconnecting with your body, your spirit, and who you really are beneath the limiting behaviors that self-sabotage and you’ve been cycling in.

It’s time to release those old stories and free up space in your life for what you really want to flow in.

To living in the flow,

Sheila

Want to finally gain control of your life, lose weight while eating foods that you love, and feel amazing in your skin? Sign up for my VIP newsletter by clicking here and I'll send you my ROCK Your Dream Body Fast Track that will get you started right NOW!

The post The Secret To Getting What You Want appeared first on Sheila Viers.

I have been working out in the gym for a long time — since I was 15 years old. My strategy in my workouts has evolved quite a bit since those early years. And in my opinion, I’d say it’s been for the better. Some might disagree.

You see, I no longer push myself to the point of pure exhaustion when I work out. I used to. And I know that many would say that it’s a waste of time to do anything other than that.

You see the “motivational” workout quotes on images across the web saying that when you want to give up, push harder and that no one ever achieved their dreams by staying on the couch (and other similar versions).

I agree, challenging our body and mind is an important part of expansion and growth, but for me, there’s a difference between challenge and pushing myself over the edge of what’s healthy.

I love working out. I love moving my body. I love sweating. And stretching. And breathing hard. But for me, working out isn’t about pushing myself farther and harder every time I am in the gym, the yoga studio, or outside on a run.

Working out is about movement, being in my body, and appreciating this amazing miracle of a machine that I get to live in.

I get to wake up every day. My heart keeps pumping every day. My eyes open and my brain works and my legs work and I get to smile and laugh and walk around this crazy cool beautiful planet.

I work out to feel good, not to prove anything to anyone. And you know what, I HAVE the body of my dreams. So I would say what I am doing is working for me.

Maybe for somebody else, they wouldn’t be satisfied and that’s okay because I am not here to judge anyone else’s desires and what’s right/wrong for anybody. I just know what feels good to me.

Today I was doing a YouTube workout where the girl said, “I am seriously dying here.” I was sweating and it was hard, but I realized I had been modifying the exercises according to what fit my body. I wasn’t doing the same exact workout as her, so I didn’t feel like I was “dying.” I felt energized and alive and IN my body.

At the end of the workout, I even stopped what she was doing and just started jamming out to the song that was playing on my Spotify playlist. While I danced, I was feeling the movement, smelling the Autumn Wreath candle I had burning in the background, feeling the breeze through my window and honestly feeling pure bliss.

For me, this is what working out is all about. I have clients say to me often that they hate working out but they don’t know how to do workouts that they enjoy.

This is an example of what that feels like. Maybe “bliss” and “working out” aren’t two things that can coincide for everyone. Maybe some people really do love the feeling of “dying” throughout a workout because the feeling they get afterward is worth it, I don’t know.

All I know is what is right for me and I am going to continue talking about it and feeling it and expressing it in every way that I know how for those that are like me that do want to feel this way when they move their body.

Sometimes being an example of possibility of how JOY-filled life can be isn’t about workshops and top 10 lists. It’s about living your life and letting other people see what it looks like so that maybe, if it resonates with them, they can be inspired to take those baby steps toward figuring out what feels best to them.

Do you want a piece of this bliss?

For a limited time I am offering my Assessment & Customized Plan, (which I typically only offer to 1-on-1 coaching clients), a la carte.

You see, I’m a pro at pinpointing blocks and understanding the steps that need to be taken in order to remove them.

I use this Assessment & Customized Plan to create a road map for clients, showing them exactly what’s holding them back from achieving and maintaining their dream body, and what they must do to move past them.

Sound awesome? It is!

Clients treat their Assessment & Customized Plan like gold because it’s THAT good.

Grab your Assessment & Customized Plan today.

I am only offering 5, and once these spots fill up, I’ll have to turn people away.

Guess what else you get with this package?

• A 30-minute call with me to discuss your plan once you’ve receive it

• ROCK Your Dream Body “Feel Amazing” – my 6-week course on the non-diet approach to weight loss

Are you ready to start loving life, fitness, and your body?

Let’s set you up for success!

To never doing another workout that you hate again,

Sheila

Want to finally gain control of your life, lose weight while eating foods that you love, and feel amazing in your skin? Sign up for my VIP newsletter by clicking here and I'll send you my ROCK Your Dream Body Fast Track that will get you started right NOW!

The post The Only Type Of Workouts I Do appeared first on Sheila Viers.

It’s similar to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs and a little like Rose Cole’s High Priestess Training but totally different and totally my woo-woo-yet-grounded-fiesty-spirited way.

It goes like this. There are 4 levels of feminine consciousness (in my opinion).

4 Levels Of Feminine Consciousness

Divine Feminine
Goddess
Sweeper
Victim

Divine Feminine being at the pinnacle and the Victim being at the lowest or base level.

Over the past several years working with clients and in working on myself (because life continues to offer greater and greater opportunities for expansion) it occurred to me that depending on our day-to-day life and our level of awareness, we oscillate through these four areas of conscious on a day-to-day, experience by experience basis.

The power in understanding this hierarchy is that once you’re aware and you pay attention to what level you are operating in, you can make a conscious choice to move to a different level so that you can spend more of your time in a more expansive, blissful state.

Woo-woo, yes, but man does it make sense when you really start to dive into it. The state of feminine consciousness that I want to discuss today is the bottom or base level, the Victim.

And bare with me, as I said, I just put all of this into words, but I think these four levels are a dead-on description of the four states of consciousness that we women experience (for many of us, the bottom three more so than the top).

I want to discuss the Victim level today, because well, it’s really common. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, awareness is the first step. Once you know you’re doing something, you have the power to change it.

The Victim level of feminine consciousness represents our lower self. She is involved in drama and conflict in her daily life and has no idea that she brings the majority of this drama and conflict onto herself.

The perfect example of this would be the office coworker who is always spreading the latest gossip or the female lead on most reality TV shows.

The Victim emerges when we’re in reaction mode. People are annoying, everything makes us angry, and “stuff” happens to us that makes our life uncomfortable.

Because the Victim expects to have her needs for things like love, safety, and acceptance met first and foremost by others, she feels trapped by her life. She feels out of control. One bad thing happens after another. She is constantly disappointed. She live in fear rather than as her higher self.

Girl, have I been there! In all honestly, I spent a little time there even just this past week.

The thing to remember is that sometimes you can get stuck being the Victim related to one area of your life (your body) but then operate at a much higher level of consciousness when it comes to another area (your career).

How To Stop Playing The Victim

To stop being the Victim, straight up, you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself.

I know that sometimes it feels like you have no options and stuff really sucks, but trust me, you have way more power and control than you are allowing yourself to utilize.

Despite the crappy things that can happen in life, you CAN choose to thrive. It will take commitment, effort, focus and accountability, but you can do it.

I have a client that recently had spinal surgery. She has a 12 inch scar down the back of her head/neck and she is re-learning how to walk, use her right arm, write, and in general, function in life.

And you know what, she is ROCKIN it. Yeah it’s tough. But she is determined to thrive.

Always Look For The Silver Lining

During our recent session, together we came to the conclusion that this life-rocking surgery and rehab is an important part of her journey in the expansion of who she truly is.

You see, without this circumstance she would never had the opportunity to expand her ability to receive and trust. She’s always been independent, so without something like this, which gives her no other choice than to rely on other people, to open herself up, and to be vulnerable, she never would have had the chance to express, strengthen, and experience these parts of herself and life.

Life can be messy, uncomfortable, and challenging but allowing ourselves to relax into playing the Victim isn’t the solution.

It’s okay to feel sorry for ourselves for a little while, but then it’s time to pick ourselves up and become solution-oriented.

The journey through challenging experiences can be joyful, amazingly surprising, and fun if we allow it to be.

We have the full range of emotions for a reason and each of us has our own unique experiences that serve in helping us to release our blocks and move through those emotions so that we can more fully experience this thing called LIFE.

Maybe you are tired of the never-ending cycle of dieting and falling off the wagon week after week and you’re yearning for a solution that gets you on track achieving and maintaining your dream body easily for the long-term.

Maybe you feel like you operate in “masculine mode” much of the time checking things off the to-do list, taking control and getting things done, and you’re ready to cultivate your feminine, nurturing, receptive side.

Maybe you have spent a ton of time researching how to lose weight, only to feel more confused than ever from all the conflicting information in the media.

I am here to support you on that journey. It is your choice to say yes, and accept that help or refuse it. By operating as the Victim, you are refusing my help, as well as, your own power.

As cliche as it sounds, only you have the power to change your life. All of the support, accountability, and resources you need to do it are right in front of you. You just have to be willing to see them, say yes to them, and start putting them into practice.

Are you ready? Apply for a 30-minute complimentary Discover Session today!

With so much love,

Sheila

Want to finally gain control of your life, lose weight while eating foods that you love, and feel amazing in your skin? Sign up for my VIP newsletter by clicking here and I'll send you my ROCK Your Dream Body Fast Track that will get you started right NOW!

The post How To Stop Playing The Victim & Embrace Your Feminine Power appeared first on Sheila Viers.

But that’s not what we ladies are referring to when we talk about the Muffin Top. What we’re referring to is that bulge of fat that sort of pops out of the top of the waistband of our jeans.

Now, before we talk about how to get rid of it, I want to talk about something else first.

Last night I was watching the movie, The Other Woman, with Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, and Kate Upton.

There was one scene where Leslie and Cameron were watching Kate run on the beach in a bikini, talking about how Kate has the most amazing body.

As I was watching this babe in a bikini run on the beach, several thoughts popped into my head:

• You can tell she’s super comfortable in her body
• She doesn’t have the traditional hourglass figure
• She has the type of hips that kinda make you look like you have a Muffin Top
• She’s curvier than what movies typically project as the “perfect body”

While Kate is certainly still tall and thin, what came to my mind when watching this scene was that it’s not her body that truly makes her sexy, it’s how she lives in her body.

It’s her confidence. You can feel it even in a few second clip. And if you slapped a pair of jeans on her, “perfect body” or not, she might look like she has a Muffin Top because of the structure of her body and the high placement of her hips.

Yet I would say that she doesn’t need to change one thing about her body. She’s beautiful just the way she is — Muffin Top or not.

So, now that we’ve covered that… let’s talk about how to get rid of the Muffin Top… if you still want to know.

How To Get Rid Of The Muffin Top

You hear all the time from trainers that you can’t spot train your body in order to target one certain area you want to lose the fat on.

My friend, Valerie Waters, who trains celebs like Jennifer Garner says that you can do certain moves to tone and lift areas of the body, the booty being one of them.

The thing with losing fat in certain areas of the body, like the above-booty Muffin Top area is that as you lose weight, the weight is going to come off wherever it comes off. Every person’s body is different.

I used to think I was destined to have a flatter tummy and thick thighs until I realized that my thighs are just the last area for me to shed excess weight and the first area I see it start to come back to.

I’m willing to bet that you’ve already read hundreds of articles about weight loss and what you read mostly all comes down to the same types of tips:

• Eat less
• Exercise more
• Cut out carbs, sugar, dairy
• Eat more vegetables
• Burn more calories than you eat

Etc etc etc…

While some of these tips have some validity, they aren’t really the answer to getting rid of the Muffin Top for good.

I hope you know by now that I’m not here to just fill your head with more stuff that gets regurgitated all the time by the media to sell more magazines or get more people to watch TV. No.

Here’s what I have to say about getting rid of the Muffin Top for good.

Quit worrying about the Muffin Top.

Focus on nourishing your body, moving your body in ways that feel good, truly having fun in all areas of your life… and the Muffin Top will get the heck out on its own.

You can’t spot train fat loss, but you can lifestyle train it away. And I don’t mean by tossing out all the blueberry bran muffins from your life and locking yourself up in a cage of restriction.

I mean that the more joy you get out of life, the less food serves as a crutch to make you happy. It no longer needs to fill that void.

When you focus on self-care and enriching your life with things that make you happy from the inside out, you find that you overeat less.

You move your body more.
Your body works WITH you rather than against you.
You WANT to get out and exercise and eat green things.
You WANT to take good care of yourself.
You KNOW what foods and types of exercise make you feel your best, and you are inspired toward them.

Muffin Tops don’t go away and stay gone because of a certain diet or workout plan. They go away because you let go of the baggage that’s been keeping you stuck at a certain weight and in your life.

And you realize that Muffin Top or not, you are amazing and beautiful, just as you are and you deserve not only the body of your dreams, but the life of your dreams too!

Want more? Check out my ROCK Your Dream Body Feel Amazing program.

It’s at a special price for a limited time, so grab your copy today!

Want to finally gain control of your life, lose weight while eating foods that you love, and feel amazing in your skin? Sign up for my VIP newsletter by clicking here and I'll send you my ROCK Your Dream Body Fast Track that will get you started right NOW!

The post So You Want To Get Rid Of The Muffin Top appeared first on Sheila Viers.

I call this invisible stress. Stress that we have become so numb to that we don’t even realize is there.

We have responsibilities, appointments and all the day-to-day stuff, as well as, relationship stuff, worthiness stuff (this is a biggie), career stuff, money stuff, family stuff, and then trying to fit in our own needs somewhere in the mix.

Everybody has stress. But not everyone is awesome at managing it well. When we cross over the invisible stress threshold, it just becomes normal for us to feel that way (stressed). It becomes normal and even acceptable for us to not feel our best.

Well, now that you’ve read this, it’s not going to be normal anymore.

Because once you become aware of something, you have the power to change it.

Let’s kick invisible stress to the curb!

When I start working with a client and we begin removing their emotional blocks to their dream body, it’s neat to see them become aware of the invisible stress that they have been carrying around for so long and through our work, release it.

They suddenly come alive and feel what it feels like to be happy and JOY-filled.

So what does stress have to do with the non-diet approach to weight loss? Tons.

I was on a Discovery Call with a new client yesterday and we were discussing her current challenges with her body. She struggles with being able to lose weight and keep it off for the long-term.

She said that she thinks that there must be an emotional component to her inability to maintain her dream body and I asked her what she thinks might be emotionally holding her back.

She listed about five things all dealing with emotional abuse of some kind throughout her early life.

Bingo. She was right on track.

Emotional abuse from the past is one of the biggest forms of stress that weighs us down and keeps us from achieving and maintaining our dream body.

Emotional stress is baggage, and baggage shows up as excess weight. When you work through removing the emotional stress and releasing the blocks, then you release the weight.

It’s like magic, but it’s not (there is a scientific reason for why this happens).

She then went on to tell me that while she knows it was not good for her, she has been taking 9-12 ibuprofen a day for the past 3-5 years for headaches. Then over the weekend she did the exercises I offer in my free video series, and she hasn’t had a single headache in the last 3 days, nor did she take a single ibuprofen.

Stories like that give me chills!

Doing the emotional work works. And helping guide you though the emotional work, removing the emotional blocks that stand between you and your dream body is what I do best.

If this sounds like something you need help with, I’m offering a handful of complimentary 15-minute Discovery Calls next week.

I’ll help you pinpoint the specific tweaks you need to make in order to get on the right track to achieving your dream body and maintaining it for good.

Contact me to book a time in my calendar now. Let’s shift things for you so you can finally feel amazing in your skin.

Want to finally gain control of your life, lose weight while eating foods that you love, and feel amazing in your skin? Sign up for my VIP newsletter by clicking here and I'll send you my ROCK Your Dream Body Fast Track that will get you started right NOW!

The post Do You Have Invisible Stress? appeared first on Sheila Viers.

There was a thin, scruffy, homeless looking guy with an impressive afro standing along the guardrail. I’m guessing he was in his mid-20s, he was wearing clothes that were way too big for him, and he was holding a small blow-up beach ball.

He was fiddling with the beach ball and said something to me about how it would be funny to toss it down and hit someone in the head that was riding by on their bike. Weird start to a convo but I got a good vibe from him, so I was open to talk.

Then he began telling me about how he is originally from Puerto Rico and that he walked from Washington, DC to Santa Monica, CA. It took him 3 months and he slept on park benches the whole way.

He said he decided to do this because his life got turned upside down and he had nothing left. A man that was a pastor in Puerto Rico ruined his reputation and destroyed his relationship with his girl. He was very bitter and angry.

I let him talk for a while and then I stopped him and kinda bluntly said, “You know what you need to do? Stop telling that story.”

We bring so much anger, resentment, and ickyness into the present moment by telling old stories of hardship. Yeah, crappy stuff happens, but every single thing that we experience helps us to become more of who we truly are and want to be.

Every challenge is an opportunity to grow.

We talked for a little while longer about how he wants to find a job and get back on his feet. Then we shook hands and he told me his name (Alex) and I went on my way.

It’s weird how things happen like this. I never would have expected to have this conversation with this man on that day, but it was a conversation that mattered.

Hopefully it helped him get what he needed and for me, it reminded me how toxic resentment and anger can be, whether it’s directed toward someone else or toward ourselves.

We can let go of anger and resentment. We don’t have to allow it to control us and keep us stuck cycling in it. Here’s how.

3 Steps To Letting Go of Toxic Thoughts

1. Appreciation

Every night for 30 days, make a list of 5 things that you appreciate about that particular day. The more you train your brain to look for things to appreciate, the more things to appreciate you will attract because you are open to receiving, rather than closed-off and constricted.

We tend to have 9 things going right and one thing not-so-great, and all we do is focus on that one not-so-great thing because we believe that’s how you fix stuff—by focusing on it.

We have this backward.

You can’t fix anything when you’re cycling in anger and resentment, you just make it worse. You’ve got to shift your vibe and get into a mindset that will allow you to be inspired, open, and connected to your power.

Anger and resentment hold you apart from your power.

The honest to God way to fix things is to learn how to be happy no matter the circumstances. When you are, opportunities, people, your health, your body—everything that matters to you begins to align to match your vibe because you are connected to your power.

2. Reframe

When you notice yourself going down the “I’m a victim” thought path, consciously reframe your thoughts. Looks for reasons to give people the benefit of the doubt or feel compassion.

You have a choice—to react to whatever is put in front of you without conscious attention to your thought process. OR you can take more of a proactive stance, where you can choose to feel any way that you want regardless of the circumstance.

You have control over your feelings and no person and no thing has to be any different in order for you to feel how you want to feel.

YOU just have to take control of your emotions and your mind and CHOOSE different thoughts, CHOOSE to focus on different things, and therefore, CHOOSE to feel a different way.

3. Fill Your Heart With Love

The more love you are filled up with, the more love continues to flow your way.

Sometimes I meditate on the word LOVE. I close my eyes, take some deep breaths and repeat the word LOVE to myself in my head over and over again.

At times it brings me to tears of joy when I do this. My heart feels like it’s overflowing with love.

Since I started doing this I’ve noticed that I’ve stopped looking for love and instead I just “flow” love. I love because it feels good to love, with no expectation of anything in return.

I fill myself with love and I don’t need anything from anyone else in order to feel it.

On Sunday two more really cool things happened in addition to my convo with Alex from Puerto Rico.

Later in the day I was working at home and I decided to go for a beach rollerblade break. I was rollerblading down the beach path, jammin’ out to my Spotify playlist and this guy on a bike headed the other direction on the path reached out his hand and high-fived me as we flew past each other.

What a rush! It almost knocked me over, ha. What an awesome, spontaneous, fun connection with someone I don’t even know.

LOVE.

A few miles later a girl carrying a bunch of towels and bags (ahem… she needed a Live Well 360 Luxx) dropped her money without realizing it and it blew across the beach path.

I grabbed it and gave it back to her. She said thank you but it was more the appreciation I saw in her eyes than her words that made my heart melt.

LOVE.

Letting go of toxic thoughts isn’t about stopping thinking them, because you can’t just make yourself stop doing something. You have to replace those old thought patterns and behaviors with new, healthier ones. These three steps will help you do just that.

So, what are you ready to let go of?

Need some help ditching the self-sabotaging thoughts and behaviors?

If you have been craving individualized attention and you are ready to finally begin feeling amazing in your skin, now is your chance!

1-on-1 Private Coaching Summer Promotion

I’m currently welcoming 2 new private coaching clients and offering a special Summer Promotion to help you make the decision to make yourself a priority that much easier.

If you’re done with dieting and you know there’s a deeper reason why you can’t lose weight yet your clothes are feeling snug and you have been dreading the dressing room this swimsuit season… I can help you lose that extra weight that is both mentally and physically weighing you down, and get that LEAN, sexy body you’ve been dreaming about, without deprivation or sacrificing your whole life to get it.

If you feel like you’ve got a pretty good life (i.e. a career, family, house, car…) and still the perfectionist inside of you feels dissatisfied and overly critical with yourself, your eating habits, and your body, as if your body is the last hold out to your happiness… I can help.

If you are sick and tired of carrying a bunch of old stories, excuses, anger and resentment from the past and you are ready to free yourself and connect with the peace, happiness, and worthiness you deserve to feel every single day… I can help.

Sound like you? Then you may want to consider filling out a zero obligation questionnaire to see if we’re a good match for working together.

Once I receive your questionnaire responses, I’ll be in touch to set up a complimentary Discovery Session so we can discuss your goals and our plan on how to get you there.

To fill out the questionnaire, click here:

http://sheilaviers.wufoo.com/forms/p7x1q3/

Much love,

Sheila

P.S. My promise to you is that I will always see you for who you really are… the amazing, incredible, gifted, beautiful REAL YOU.

And I’m committed to holding space for you and sharing all that I have to give, so that if you are truly ready… you can let go of your self-sabotaging thoughts and behaviors and step into that greatness.

Let’s chat!

Want to finally gain control of your life, lose weight while eating foods that you love, and feel amazing in your skin? Sign up for my VIP newsletter by clicking here and I'll send you my ROCK Your Dream Body Fast Track that will get you started right NOW!

The post 3 Steps To Letting Go Of Toxic Thoughts appeared first on Sheila Viers.

I say this with a sense of bittersweet-ness. Even though letting go of my marriage with Ryan was one of the hardest things I have ever done, I will always honor and appreciate the time we’ve shared together.

We’ve had a lot of good times. He knows how to comfort me and make me feel safe when I feel scared, and he’s helped remind me many-a-times of my own amazingness when I couldn’t see it on my own.

Our relationship is evolving and now we are supporting each other in a new way. I’m excited for him to achieve all of the things he wants and deserves for his life.

Most people see divorce as a terrible thing, but I actually think this decision was one of the best things we could have ever done for each other.

I truly love seeing him stepping into all of the important parts of himself that he had been ignoring for such a long time and I am happy to see him exploring and getting clear on what he wants most for his life.

Expanding My Capacity For Love

Ever since making the decision to go our separate ways, I’ve felt this shift within myself. It started slow—because it was scary—but now it has picked up some serious momentum.

This shift is in my capacity for love.

My capacity to love someone even if we decide we aren’t meant to be married anymore.

My capacity to love open-heartedly in general with no expectation of receiving anything in return and without any guarantee of what the future holds.

My capacity to feel love and intimacy with many people in my life, not just my romantic partner.

For a while, love and intimacy was a “back burner” priority for me. Even though I wanted it so much and tried in many ways to ask for it, deep down, I was okay with not experiencing it to the degree that I truly wanted because I secretly told myself that connection and intimacy was a waste of time.

I had big financial dreams that required a lot of attention and I rationalized that once I achieved those goals, I’d have plenty of time for connection and intimacy.

Better yet, maybe they would come into my life on their own because once I achieved my financial goals, all the stress would magically wash away. Pssshhh.

This sounds so silly coming from me, considering how parallel it is to what I teach related to believing all your body-image problems will be solved when you reach that certain number on the scale or the waistband of your pants.

Anywaysies, when Ryan and I decided to go our separate ways, at its core for me, that decision was about opening myself up to love—love that I had been craving for a long time but holding apart from myself.

Over the past nine months, this capacity to give and receive love has expanded to the point that right now it feels like it is in HD.

I feel so much love from the inside out—in some moments, my heart literally feels like it’s going to burst.

The only way I know to describe it is like my heart has cracked open and fresh new pieces of it are being exposed.

It’s crazy to me how present, happy, and “awake” I feel in ordinary, simple moments like:

• Talking on the phone with my Dad, who lives across the country, and hearing about his latest 5K race with his work buddies.

• Sitting on the floor of my sister’s bedroom and talking to her and her boyfriend about food and other random things.

• Taking a nap on my couch with a breeze coming through the window, waking up and basking in the blissdom for a few moments before getting on with my day.

• Being held—like really held—looking into someone’s eyes and feeling their love without them saying a word.

It’s a bizarre feeling to still have the big goals while at the same time being so completely satisfied with where I am at right now.

I’m not trying to make anyone happy, I’m just doing what feels right. I’m not concerned, in a hurry, or worried about many of the things I used to be concerned about. I’m at peace with trusting the flow.

I feel like I’ve let go of the guardrails and taken the Universe’s hand.

I’ve been talking about this a lot lately with family, friends, and clients and their first question is, “What did you do to start opening up to love in this way?”

Here are some of the things I did that helped this shift build momentum.

How I Opened Myself Up To Love

• Put my phone away and had real heart-to-heart conversations with people, asked questions, and then REALLY listened to their answers
• Paid less attention to Facebook
• Made a list of 5 things I appreciate at the end of each day
• Gave myself permission to do something every day that I really wanted to do
• Looked for the positives in everyone I interacted with
• Spent time in nature
• Moved my body every day in ways that felt good
• Ate foods that were nourishing to my body and tasted good too

I didn’t (and still don’t) do these things perfectly every time, but the effort and focus is what matters. Every day is a new adventure, a new chance to practice, and another opportunity to deepen my connection with myself, which in turn, deepens my capacity for love even more.

I’m just so freakin’ excited about life right now. I’m so excited for more adventures in the seemingly ordinary because I am so satisfied with what is and yet eager for more.

I’m writing this to you from a plane, on my way home from a visit with family and friends in Michigan. Next week, more family and friends are all coming together to celebrate my birthday with me.

I have no idea what this fresh new, 33rd year of my life holds. But I’m not scared or in a hurry anymore.

I’m a vessel for love and I’m open to receiving it.

I know that my purpose in this world is to feel joy and the more joy I experience, the more joy I offer the world and those around me. That is my gift, my power, and what I am here to do.

Awakening this capacity for love is a part of that journey of joy and without Ryan, our marriage and divorce, and my commitment to myself to love open-heartedly, I don’t know if I would ever have had the opportunity to feel the magnitude of love I feel now.

Messy, crazy, not black and white, confusing, scary at times… life doesn’t always look the way we think it’s supposed to, but in between, after, and in spite of all that are the moments that make it all worthwhile.

In the end, my heart—my intuition, the Universe—is guiding the way. And I am ready for more but so so happy with the tender, sweet, intimate, love-filled, seemingly ordinary moments I get to experience right now.

xo Sheila

P.S. I’ve been getting asked more and more regularly if I will be offering a group version of my 3-Month Foundation Program.

You ask, I listen!

I’m only offering a handful of spots, so if you’re interested let me know.

Want to finally gain control of your life, lose weight while eating foods that you love, and feel amazing in your skin? Sign up for my VIP newsletter by clicking here and I'll send you my ROCK Your Dream Body Fast Track that will get you started right NOW!

The post What Divorce Taught Me About Love appeared first on Sheila Viers.

Her favorite pastime was looking in the mirror, meticulously scrutinizing areas of her body that could be a little bit tighter.

This was a shell of a girl. She was empty inside. She was consumed by her obsession, and for why?

What was driving this addiction to perfecting her body? In a world where there is so much to be thankful for, so much to see and do and have and be, why was she wasting away her life so focused on something so disheartening?

• Maybe somewhere along the way she learned that perfection equals reward. That the only thing better than an A was an A+.

• Maybe she learned that the level of “perfection” you see in magazines leads to incredible abundance and success, which just fed even more into her need to succeed to feel valued.

• Maybe she felt out of control or unfulfilled in other areas of her life and her body was the one area that she felt she had 100% control over.

Whatever it was, that driver was strong. And that makes me sad. Because I look at her and I see the incredible beauty inside that was bursting to shine.

You see, she had this incredible fire, this light. A light that people sometimes got a glimpse of but mostly only for a second or two until she had a chance to stuff it away and hide it again.

She was afraid to let it shine for fear of being judged. For fear of being seen, like really seen. For fear of letting someone see her true self and then being rejected.

Few people saw the real version of her. It was easy for her to hide it behind shyness.

Over time and through many experiences of challenge that lead to a deeper realization of what she really wanted out of life, she started to peel away the layers of armor, like a flower blooming, opening her heart.

As she learned more about herself she began accepting herself and even loving the perfectly imperfect parts.

She started to see the parts of herself that were amazing that had nothing to do with the way she looked. Those parts that made her who she was — the parts that the people closest to her saw and loved most about her.

She realized that life is too short to spend it obsessing over things that suck the energy out of her and keep her stuck cycling in icky feelings.

More than anything, she knew that life is meant to be JOY-filled. She, like many, had just gotten caught up in worries, fear, and all of the other emotions that block the joy.

She then committed to herself — a promise — that even though she knows she’s not going to be perfect at it, even though she knows that she’ll never get it done and there will always be more to do… she was going to set her sights on a life of love and ease and fun. Because those emotions, those feelings, light her up from the inside out.

Even today she has to sometimes recommit to this promise to herself. Sometimes she forgets that she always has the choice to feel how she chooses to feel in any circumstances.

Even today she sometimes forgets that she promised herself she would get back into scuba diving, take those salsa lessons, and travel the world.

But the beauty is that she can always reset, refocus, and get back on the path. She’s seen firsthand the rewards of this commitment, and they are far greater than any reward she ever received from her old way of thinking, forcing, and obsessing.

Those moments of heart-burstingly overwhelming love… for no reason other than that it just feels so good to love.

The aha’s when she feels a huge shift in emotion and mindset that allows her to settle into a new level of peace and trust.

The forever treasured moments with friends and family that can only come from a level of connection that rises out of being completely present, free of fear or worry.

Author, Marilyn Ferguson, says:

The greatest revolution in our generation is that of human beings, who by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.

We change our lives not by changing our diet or our fitness plan, but by changing the inner attitude of our mind. [click to tweet]

This is exactly how this girl — me — changed mine.

xx Sheila

P.S. I opened up space for three private clients in June and they filled immediately. July is almost full. I have one space left.

If you want to be coached and supported around creating your dream body and dream life, don’t wait. These spaces will go fast.

Simply fill out this application form and if what I have to offer seems like a match to what you’re looking for, we’ll jump on the phone for a complimentary 30-minute Discovery Session.

Want to finally gain control of your life, lose weight while eating foods that you love, and feel amazing in your skin? Sign up for my VIP newsletter by clicking here and I'll send you my ROCK Your Dream Body Fast Track that will get you started right NOW!

The post The Girl Whose Hobby Was Weight Loss appeared first on Sheila Viers.