Inspirational Quote
“If I had observed all the rules, I’d never have got anywhere.”
—Marilyn Monroe
How To Be Thin Without Dieting
“New data from market research company the NPD Group suggests that fewer American women are on diets than ever before. 23 percent of women reported being on a diet at some point in 2012, compared to the 35 percent dieting in 1992, according to a press release.” – Huffington Post
A few months ago, I had a session with a client of mine who is a very successful dieter.
She had managed to lose 50 lbs. through working with a personal trainer and following a strict eating plan.
Only trouble was, although she had learned how to lose weight, she had not learned how to be a naturally slim person. She managed to gain it back and then some.
All that effort, all that determination, all that time and money, only to end up not only back to where she started but beyond the beyond.
The research is showing that a lot of people are getting fed up with dieting. They are looking for a more effective way to be thin that doesn’t require so much pain and suffering.
Like most women, at one point many years back I figured that I had spent most of my adult life on a diet.
At the time I recognized this fact, I had grown weary of the entire “on a diet, off a diet” mentality. I resolved then and there to give up the pain and suffering of dieting and to choose a “be healthy” attitude instead.
As a result of this inner work, I am now 54 and wear the same size dress that I did when I was 30 years old. I know that is true because I actually have a dress in my closet – a purple suede number – that I wore to my 50th birthday party that I originally bought when I was 30.
Here are my thoughts on how to be thin without dieting:
- Naturally slim people do not do what the diets actually tell you to do. They don’t count calories, weigh their food, restrict portions, avoid entire food categories (such as fat, carbs, sugar or meat), eat diet foods, pour on artificial sweeteners, drink diet soft drinks or live on pre-packaged, processed foods. They don’t skip meals, fast or starve. They generally eat a wide variety of fresh, healthy food. Nothing is off limits – they just know when to stop. One of the many benefits of learning to stop overeating is that you then never have to go on a diet to make up for your indiscretions.
- Naturally thin people have made peace with the way they look. Personally, I haven’t weighed myself in so long I can’t actually tell you how much I exactly weigh. I do know that I have worn the same size jeans since 2004 – the jeans that I bought that year recently ripped while I was digging in the dirt in my garden. Back when I had a diet mentality, I was constantly punishing myself for not being a certain number on the scale. If I didn’t weigh a certain number every morning, I would adopt a harsh mental attitude towards myself that colored virtually every aspect of my life. Once I stopped weighing myself, I allowed myself to feel better about myself all day long. In order to do this, I had to reach a certain level of self acceptance about the way I look. I had to become O.K. with what I am not and accept what I am. By going first for self acceptance and then reaching towards finding things to love and appreciate about the way that I am, I was able to start living a happier, healthier life.
- Naturally slim people have stopped competing with other women (or men) based on looks. I know this sounds like a paradox, but it’s true. Naturally slim people have gotten over the phase of being obsessed with the scale and have learned to focus on other, deeper and more meaningful aspects of their lives. We all have a human animal as well as a human spirit. The behavior of our human animal is entirely driven by hormones. As young women, we were driven by the “get-the-guy, make-the-baby” instinct, whether or not we actually even recognized the thought processes that were driven by our high level of female hormones at the time. Because young women are competing for what they view as scarce resources – the guys – they tend to obsess about clothes, body shapes and faces. While that may be natural behavior during teenage years, by the time we are adults, we have developed many other aspects of our personality. We need to recognize that our self worth – and the worth of the dear souls around us – goes far beyond the way any of us look. When we stop competing on looks, we can relax and be our true selves. Naturally thin people have made peace with their human animal, integrated it, and gone on to develop other aspects of their personality. How do I know this is actually true? As long as a person is overly focused on feeding and competing, they are still subconsciously trapped in their reptilian brain, which is constantly pumping out stress hormones to fight, flee or freeze. At the end of the day, getting out of constant stress is one of the most important things you will ever do to be naturally thin. It is very stressful to be constantly worrying about the way you look or how much you weigh. When you give all that up, you can just relax and it will actually be easier to maintain your ideal weight. Everybody is beautiful in their own special way. It’s up to you to see your own inner beauty and to recognize how to manifest your inner beauty outwardly.
- Naturally thin people become conscious about what they are eating. This is the true secret of why naturally thin people can actually eat what they want. I read someplace recently that many people are consciously unconscious about food. What a surprise! They feel awful after eating highly processed, microwaved fast food. Golly, gee whiz, diet sodas don’t actually make you any thinner. My gosh, who knew, coffee speeds up your digestive tract, over firing the nervous system. Really? Eating three helpings gives you a stomach ache, even if you really liked what you were stuffing yourself with. If you never read a single book about nutrition or dieting and all you did was paid attention to how you FEEL after eating certain foods, you could learn enough to write your own diet or nutrition book. If you want to take your awareness to a whole new level, keep a food, mood and symptom diary, even for just a week. Your body tells you exactly how what you just ate is affecting you on every level – physically, energetically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Personally, I can just look at a food and tell how that will make me feel – but I have developed the ability to be in tune with my own body.
- Naturally slim people have discovered the joy of movement. O.K., maybe I can’t think of a million ways to exercise, but more than likely you can find some way of moving your body regularly that actually feels good. If you are injured, then get with an expert (like me) who can teach you how to heal your hips, back, knees, feet, shoulders – whatever your limiting factor is – so that you can get back to it. I exercise virtually every day of my life because I know from experience that I feel better on every level when I actually do. I love to garden, walk, practice yoga and qi gong and tai chi, lift weights, bicycle. I like swimming at the beach and dancing. Maybe you can think of other activities that will bring a smile to your face – a golf game, touch football, tennis, rollerblading – you name it.
If you would like to learn how to be a naturally slim person, make an appointment with me. I can empower you to a more empowered and loving relationship with your body.
Back To Class
I took time off in July to goof off, go on vacation and do yoga at the beach.
In August, our yoga classes will resume as per usual at Holy Spirit Catholic Church.
Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. we meet in McDonough Hall Side B.
Thursdays at 11 a.m. we meet in McDonough Hall Side B.
Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. we meet in the Parish Office Building.
If you would like to join our class but are unsure of the location, please call me on my cell 678-612-8816 and I will guide you to class. Just remember to bring a yoga mat and a yoga strap.
Qi Gong class will also resume on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. in my garden at 1951 Northside Drive. No equipment necessary – just bring yourself!
Join Me For An Introduction To Medical Intuition
On Sunday, August 18, I will be teaching a two-hour Introduction to Medical Intuition.
Where: Unity Church of the Mountains, 2309 Murphy Highway, Blairsville, Georgia 30512
When: Sunday, August 18, from 1 to 3 p.m.
Cost: $20, with part of the proceeds going to support the church.
What you will learn: Simple techniques to be able to read what is happening in your own body.
Bonus: Those who sign up and attend may take $20 off their first one-on-one healing session with Catherine.
Catherine will also be speaking during the church service. Her topic will be “How To Give Up The Habit of Judgment.”
If you would like to sign up, please contact Catherine Carrigan by phoning 678-612-8816 or email catherine@totalfitness.net.
Audiobook Version Now Available!
I am happy to report that after a lot of hard work, the audiobook version of What Is Healing? Awaken Your Intuitive Power for Health and Happiness is now available.
Read by the poet Holly Parsons, www.hollyparsons.com, the audiobook version is a perfect way to absorb the material on natural healing, which my colleague Maxine Taylor called “an encyclopedia.
I also have a limited edition of audiobooks available in CD format for sale in my office. Call me at 678-612-8816 if you would like to order one.
Client Testimonial: Katherine Graham, Feng Shui Master, Haven Feng Shui
I struggled with chronic autoimmune health issues that held me back in both my personal and professional life. Eight years and thousands of dollars later I found Catherine Carrigan. After only two powerful sessions with her, Catherine helped me get to the bottom of my health issues and it has been life changing on all levels. Her method achieves real healing by addressing issues spiritually, mentally and physically. I continue to learn from Catherine’s intuitive gifts and old-soul wisdom. I recommend her books to anyone who has struggled with and been let down by traditional medicine. You may never look at your own health or healing the same way again.
Client Testimonial: Mary Pryles
Six weeks ago on a beautiful Spring day in Atlanta, Catherine received a desperate phone call from a dear friend of mine, begging her to see me that afternoon.
Catherine, being the kind and compassionate person she is, was willing to work me in and told my friend to have me at her studio at 4:00 PM.
Due to the news I had just received from my doctor, I was very hesitant to meet with her, but agreed to do so since my friend told me that Catherine had saved her business partner’s life several years prior.
When I arrived on her doorstep, I was very weak, having had severe abdominal pain (8 or 9 on a scale of 1-10) for several days. My doctor thought I might have kidney stones, however my pain was sporadic, therefore making that diagnosis false. My pain was less severe in the mornings and would progressively worsen throughout the day. A sonogram performed earlier in the day showed a plethora of gall stones, several tumors on my liver and a small cyst on my ovary.
Needless to say, I was an emotional and physical wreck upon meeting Catherine for the first time. She started with kinesiology and found my body to be in shock. She then had to get my body out of shock prior to proceeding with her diagnosis.
Within ten minutes, Catherine was able to determine which of my organs were inflamed and the percentage of their functionality. I was amazed!
Not only was she able to make the diagnosis quickly and accurately, she knew how to proceed with treatment to reduce the inflammation and heal the performance of my organs.
After being with Catherine for an hour and a half, my body was no longer in shock, and after her Reiki techniques, my pain had lowered from 8-9 to a 6-7. I was in complete amazement by now! She wanted me to cleanse my system by taking her total fitness products, (i.e, Bio Detox, Inflammatone, Lipoic Acid, Destressing Formula, etc.) eating only organic foods and start juicing twice daily. I started the cleanse immediately and continued to see Catherine daily for the next ten days.
During this time, I was also having more tests (CT and MRI) performed. Luckily, after all of this, the tests showed no cancer and due to Catherine’s healing abilities, my pain was at Zero! And to top it off, I’ve lost 21 pounds due to my change in eating habits, therefore good news all the way around!
I will continue to see Catherine and highly recommend her to others in need of healing. She is extremely knowledgable and truly cares about a person’s total fitness; both mind and body. Thank you Catherine for helping me and I look forward to working with you in the future. See you at your next Meditation session and also Qi Gong!
Tai Chi With My Dear Friend Jeff Cook
My dear friend and tai chi teacher Jeff Cook is sponsoring a workshop on Sunday, August 18, with Master Wang Ming Bo and Rose Oliver.
The workshop will be held at the Roswell Budokon at 11516 Woodstock Road in Roswell. The hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the cost is $125 if paid by Aug. 15 and $150 at the door.
For more information or to sign up, please call Jeff Cook 404-307-2550 or email him at jeffreyccook@hotmail.com.
If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to take a tai chi class from Jeff Cook. He is my tai chi teacher and a great master himself with over 28 years of experience. His class meets at the Roswell Budokon on Sunday afternoons at 3 o’clock.
You can find out more by visiting https://www.dragoncloudtaichi.com.
Writing Retreat With Tom Bird
Join writing coach Tom Bird Sept. 6-8 here in Atlanta for one of his incredible, write-a-book-in-a-weekend writing retreats.
You can either choose the Basic Retreat Experience for $987.30, or sign up for his newly-added bells and whistles program, Full Retreat Experience, for $4,362.30.
The retreat will be held at the Brasstown Valley Resort, an improvement over last year’s Atlanta retreat, which was held at a hotel by Hartsfield Airport.
To find out more, please visit www.tombird.com or call 928-203-0265. Be sure to tell them that Catherine Carrigan referred you.
Tom Bird knows more about how to unleash writer’s block than any other human on the planet.
Write A Review Of My New Book!
So far I have five 5-star reviews of my new book, What Is Healing? Awaken Your Intuitive Power for Health and Happiness.
If you would like to write a review, please visit this link:
Then click on the button that says “Write a Customer Review.”
Please click on the underlined button that says “Write a Review.”
Exercise Of The Month: One Legged Seated Lateral Arm Raise
You can view FREE exercise videos by visiting the following link: https://unlimitedenergynow.com/exercise-library
Your exercise of the month is One Legged Seated Lateral Arm Raise.Visit this link to watch how to do it:
What’s so great about this exercise:
1. By sitting on an exercise ball, you are activating your core muscles, even though you are strengthening your upper body simultaneously.
2. By lifting one foot off the ground, you are challenging your balance. This helps to integrate the centering dimension of your brain.
3. You are strengthening your shoulder muscles.
4. This is actually a whole-body exercise.
5. You have to use good posture in order to exercise on the ball. You will have the correct lumbar curve, stop schlumping and expand your chest.
To set up an appointment for personal fitness training in Atlanta, email me at Catherine@totalfitness.net or call 678-612-8816 to set up an appointment today.
Radio Show Archive: Catherine Carrigan Interviews With Jean Adrienne
I am very blessed that my friend and colleague, Jeanne Adrienne, interviewed me not once but twice on each of her two radio programs.
You can now listen to each radio show at the following links:
Listen to Jean Adrienne’s interview with Catherine on www.contacttalkradio.net by visiting this link.
We talked about my new book, What Is Healing? Awaken Your Intuitive Power for Health and Happiness (Atlanta: Total Fitness, 2013).
One of the things we discussed was how we can stop our habit of judging ourselves, other people and the events in our lives.
Thank you Jeanne Adrienne!
Thank you for reading my August newsletter.
May you be inspired to experience health and happiness!
Love and light,
Catherine Carrigan
