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I can never prove it....

but I believe with all my heart that negative emotions really do weigh us down, physically speaking. My first night with Weight Watchers, I was shocked by how much I'd gained in just 8 weeks (from the Doc's office to then). I felt tremendous guilt, shame, despair, anger, sadness, desperation, you name it. I couldn't believe I'd let myself go so long and not cared for myself. I lost 12.2 pounds that first week, and I truly believe that a third of it was getting rid of some of those feelings.

In the same vein, positive emotions don't make us lose physical weight but they surely make us feel lighter ... and maybe we do lighten up (really!). For instance, this week, I've been working on a project that I'm calling a "Gratitude Adjustment" .... when I stepped on the scale tonight for a courtesy weigh-in, it was about a half-pound less than my actual weigh-in last week. And while I might not have physically lost weight simply because of a change in my outlook, my heart and soul surely feel better and maybe I'm a little lighter because of it.

Think about it: feelings of guilt, shame, inadequacy, etc. draw us inward, emotionally and physically. My former leader often talks of meeting me that first night and how I was all shelled up (so to speak), and how I've come out of that shell. Well, I don't know if it's so much me coming out of a shell than it was just getting rid of those feelings. Success bred success..... and with it, more confidence, more good feelings, etc. I know when I feel bad about myself or about "what I have done and what I have failed to do," I feel heavier and withdrawn. When I'm feeling good about myself, and proud of my accomplishments and attempts, then I stand up straighter, I breathe easier, and I could skip & hop wherever I go.....

In the book of Proverbs, it is said that a cheerful heart is like medicine ..... I think there really is something to that. A good outlook, a winning attitude breeds success, which feeds more positive emotion, which fosters more success........ a wonderful winning cycle!!!! This week, find the positive. Live in it. Enjoy your success, and strive to be happy.

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