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It's easy to beat up on yourself and make bad judgments about how you look and the way you act because you are the closest person to YOU. You may not like how fat you are or how skinny you are or how tall or short you are or the way you speak, look, talk or dress. You maybe beating yourself up too much and nothing good comes from a place where you are always putting yourself down. You must first love yourself and tell yourself that you may have some faults or things that you don’t like about yourself but you will work on them to get better. Everyone has something that they need to work on including me. I have a lot of things in my life to work on and I know I’m not perfect but I know that it takes one step at a time to change myself. I also know that in order to begin to change myself and my ways I have to start with a positive attitude and loving myself. Here are three quick ways to start the process. First, I think everyone should have a gratitude journal. You should start your day writing down something you are happy and grateful about. The more and more you are thankful for what you have the more the Universe brings you good things. Second, take time to pamper yourself. We spend so much time caring and giving to others and we forget to take time for ourselves. We must treat ourselves good whether its taking a vacation, getting a massage or treating ourselves to a special dinner. Whatever choice you make to pamper yourself do it because everyone needs to be treated good. Third, you need to eat right and exercise. In order to start loving yourself you must take care of your body because your body is your temple. Take the time to exercise at least three times a week and to start healthy eating. The more you take care of your mind and body connection the better you will feel. These are a few of my tips in starting to love yourself but check out my workshop that is coming soon in April. See you then!

Money comes and goes so easily in this fast paced fast food world. Everywhere you turn there are restaurants, clothing stores, online sites, and things to buy. Consumer goods are constantly in our face and the lifestyle of the rich and famous is on television showing us luxury and the good life every chance they get and we all want a piece of it. With celebrities, reality stars, athletes and actors we all want to live lavishly but we really can’t afford it. In these economic times we should be saving our dollars rather than spending them but we never can get a hold of our accounts and everyday we see it dwindling down more and more. Here are some things that you can cut down on. First, you can cut down on your food spending budget. If you eat out all the time, you need to learn to cook at home and save money. Look for coupons in the store and not be afraid to bargain shop. Next is your cell phone bill. This bill can be very expensive and can be costly on a monthly basis; however, you need to curtail your bill and look for cheaper plans and see if you are out of your montly bill be cognizant about it. Another way to save money is through your socializing and entertainment bill. It costs money to go out and you spend money without even thinking about it. The minute you go to a bar, restaurant or lounge you are buying drinks or eating appetizers and it cost money. Then you have to drive or take a cab which costs money. You need to set a budget for the night and stay in that limit. Lastly is you need to cut back on transportation. Gas is still very expensive and you need to learn to find ways to take public transportation or find a cheap station for gas or take the subway or ride a bicycle because you get exercise. You don’t have to drive everywhere. It puts wear and tear on your car and you spend a lot of money. Beware of these things. If you watched the little things and the way you spend it could save you money.

We all know when it gets cold we love a good hot chocolate, a snickers bar, a chocolate chip cookie or brownies and we also know it puts pounds on your body. The more and more we snack and munch on our guilty pleasures the more and more we gain the weight but we really don’t have too. The key to not gaining weight is you must have control. It is mind over matter. Yes its cold outside and yes you want something good, sweet and yummy to eat while you’re bundled up in your bedroom but in order to keep the pounds off you must try different options. You don’t have to go for the snacks that have so many calories and taste good that are packed with sugar and calories. Instead go for yummy snacks that are tasty that have less calories, which are good for you. Here are four choices that you can substitute instead of eating sugary snacks. 1. If you are in the bed wrapped up under a blanket. Try some rice cakes with agave, honey and banana. Its tasty and it will help you fill those sweet cravings. The banana will fill you up and it will melt in your mouth. All for more than half the calories of your brownie. 2. Try a good old-fashioned Almond butter and Jelly sandwich. Instead of using peanut butter, which is packed with calories try almond butter instead and get a low calorie jelly with some multi-bread. You will have a treat like you did when you were a kid. If you want to top it off drink some Almond milk, coconut milk or rice milk. 3. What about caramelized apples for something sweet and yummy. All you need is the apples, cinnamon, brown sugar and fat free butter. Now go easy on the butter and brown sugar. Toss them in the pan for a couple of minutes until they are brown and Voila. You have a nice treat. You can enjoy them with your coffee or cup of tea whatever floats your boat. 4. If you are feeling hungry and you want to grab a piece of cake wait and make a smoothie. A smoothie is less calories and more nutritious. All you need is bananas, ice, berries, honey, protein powder and vanilla flavoring, cinnamon or whatever you want to top it up with and blend it all together and you have something that can hold you over.