Getting ready for the New Year? It’s important to start with a strong solid foundation! You wouldn’t build a house on a faulty one right? It’s time for conscious endings and celebrating new beginnings. Here’s some tried and true tips to show you how to release what’s not working and initiate a cleaner, lighter year ahead.

Entering a new year provides you with the opportunity to start fresh, to make changes and forge ahead with a new perspective.  Improving your emotional health can do wonders for your weight also.

Maybe the holidays gave you more of a gift than you wanted and you’ve noticed you’re a tad on the swollen side, or maybe more than a tad? Whoa how did that happen? Could the stress of the season have added more protective layers- visible and invisible – to what you may have already created throughout the year? There is a definite relationship between emotions and weight gain that is undeniable so what better time to manage those emotions, give yourself the gift of freedom and decide what needs to change and what needs to stay?

Think back over the year and consciously make an inventory of what was great and what could be improved for the New Year.

1. Review your photos:  If you use Facebook or keep all of your photos in one place, scan them and your social media for great events and memories.  Facebook also has a little prompt in the right side of your personal page called, See Your 2012 Year in Review which highlights your photo albums, photos you were tagged in and posts that had high engagement.  Allow your memories to help you celebrate those moments again. What events made you feel great about yourself? How could you incorporate more of them this year?
2. Smile at your in-box:  Look through your email in-box for appreciative messages from clients and friends.  Get into the habit of flagging great messages throughout the year so when you’re having a challenging day you can read them again for a quick pick-me-up.
3. Evaluate your connections:  When you think of the people in your life do they drag you down or lift you up?  Make a conscious effort to spend less time with the downers and set up a regular get together with those people who inspire you, make you laugh and lift your spirits – and don’t forget to do the same for them!
4. Review your habits:  What activities or behaviors have not served you well this past year?  Are their areas of your life that could benefit from a few small adjustments?  Do a little research online about ways to improve particular areas of your life and commit to making one small change each week.
5. Purge your mail:  In-box:  Do you have regular emails that come to you from companies or individuals who you usually never open because they are solicitations or newsletters that no longer interest you?  Take a couple of minutes to unsubscribe from them now to reduce in-box overload and eliminate the extra “noise” of unwanted messages. Snail Mail: Have you been getting catalogs month after month as a result of ordering one item a few years ago? Maybe you have a subscription to a magazine you seldom read cover to cover.  Rather than carry it from the mailbox to the recycle bin every time, get off their mailing list. It may seem miniscule, but all of this extra stuff adds up and you will feel better once you lighten your load.
6. Delegate or Delete:  What time-consuming or emotionally draining activities could you either delete from your life or get support from outside sources?  Could your children take on more responsibility around the house?  Have you found yourself a committed volunteer for school or community programs that could be scaled back a bit?  What areas could you cut back on and the world would still go on?

What’s working, what’s not and how can you lighten your load?  These are by no means the only things that will help you begin fresh and lighter in the New Year but they are all powerful even if they seem mundane. By answering these questions and taking small steps, your new year will be easier, your mood will be better and your life will be fuller – with less stress  and less excess emotional and physical weight too. How does it feel to lighten your load?

To learn more about how clearing your emotional and physical world can help you lose weight, take a sneak peak at my new book, Weight Loss for People Who Feel Too Much. Or Pre-order the book and come on the Jumpstart class for free plus there are TONS of awesome prizes!! Click here!

Love and blessings,
Colette Baron-Reid
Intuitive Counselor