Part of the problem with our culture is that we seem to be stuck in this ‘must be doing something’ mode. We have lost the ability to hit the pause button. We all hear that reducing stress is important, but we have too many things going on and this gets added to the, ‘I’ll do it tomorrow list.’

If shedding pounds is your goal, eating less, working out more and continuing a ‘go, go, go’ mentality will not only lead to weight gain, this chronic stress may also lead to metabolic imbalance.

I recommend that no matter where you are at with your current workouts, that you change your focus to a mindful movement practice for the next two weeks of the program. You are eating less (a moderate calorie load, not at an extreme deficit) and working out less and working on stress reducing techniques. This is the formula for long term success. A mindful movement is an activity that lasts preferably over an hour and includes one, or a combination of, yoga (not hot yoga), meditation, leisurely walking (not power walking), sauna, a hot bath, Tai Chi, time with pets, and sex/ physical affection. Yoga and meditation are both included with your program. You will find meditation under the Videos tab on the site.

ACTION STEPS:

1.  Watch Foundation #3 Mindful Movement

2.  Create a Mindful Movement Practice: Add in one Mindful Movement Each Day: yoga, meditation, walking or breathing exercise

Quickly access the Clean & Lean System by Clicking HERE

Check Out the AMAZING Yoga that is on the site! Through my partnership with Yoga Works, you have streaming yoga at your fingertips 24/7 and you can play this on any mobile device. If you are traveling, this is a perk! If you are new to yoga, I recommend ‘Begin to Flow’ and if you are familiar with yoga, I recommend ‘Waking Up With Yoga’

Once you have established a mindful movement practice, and you notice a few changes – you’ve begun to see your energy increase, sleep patterns improve and hunger and cravings are reduced or virtually non-existent…you are ready to move to the next Foundation, to include an effective exercise routine.

When you do start to include effective exercise, mindful movement practice balances the effective exercise practice. Sprinkle both mindful movement and effective exercise equally across the week.

If, for any reason, your effective exercise practice starts to decline, your mindful movement practice starts to fill in the gaps, again building up to a five day a week practice.