Let’s listen to Marty: As Stephanie’s client, I ended my estrangement with my 55-year-old body. She pointed out that at birth, our body and our mind are one unit. As we mature, our mind turns its attention outward to the environment to fulfill our body’s needs. We respond to external stimuli, and the separation increases, further distancing our body from our mind.
I was ready to look at my relationship with my body as more than just taking up space on the planet. Rather than micromanaging my physical self, I embraced her, began to listen to her wisdom, and became comfortable with the knowledge that my BFF was there supporting us in our best interests.
Until our move to Montana from Southern California, my exercise was aggressive tennis four times a week. I love our ranch and the surrounding beauty, horses, dogs, and trails to hike. I spent days at the PC ghostwriting, and I had absolutely no desire to do aerobics to a video, run the trails (grizzly bears and mountain lions are out there), or do yoga without a skinny yogi ordering me into another pretzel pose.
Most of us live daily without awareness of our unique, individual approaches to every aspect of living. As a child, my mother signed me up for years of ballet lessons, which I loathed. I am built like my father, a former professional football player and coach. Floating about a stage in a leotard, a powder puff tutu, and painfully restrictive toe shoes is a humiliation I carried into adulthood.
If I was an Organized or Analytical Style, the ballet or a regularly scheduled gym class might work. Spontaneous styles look for pick-up basketball games on the neighborhood courts, drop-in hot yoga sessions, or at the 24-hour Jazzercise studios.
I have identified my dominant style as Inspirational as I sought an exercise that I would do! Freeform dance to rock ’n roll was my answer. Playlists to sweat to, stretch to, and smash writer’s block anytime, anywhere. The magic is always in the movement, and the music creates inspiration, fulfilling my style as I accomplished my goal of burning calories and getting in touch with my body, my BFF.
Inspirational, my dominant style, which is also evident in my career choice (writer/producer) and fortunately for my producing hat, Organizational comes in a close 2nd at work and at play. (Tennis foursomes, weekly court times, Bridge card games.) When shopping, I make a list, then forget to bring it with me…so I rely on memory and inspiration after arriving at the store.
As soon as we identify and accept the specific style that applies to eating, exercising, relationships, shopping, working, and playing, we derive more benefits, enjoy the activities more, and reinforce the closer relationship we have with our bodies.
Knowing your style in relationships, as well as that of your significant other, parents, children, and associates, will strengthen your understanding. If you feel generous, go beyond your simple observations, and educate them in Coach Stephanie’s Style system.
The Body Knowledge System’s value is its ease of restoring the confidence you were born with in this original, sensible, and provocative process. My only regret is not knowing about the Body Knowledge System ® in my teens or twenties, as the principles in the process are lifelong guides to my personal and professional success.
Thank you, Coach Stephanie; for me, better later than not at all!
Knowing your Body Knowledge Style ® makes eating choices simple
My client Betsy said, when starting the Weight Watchers Program:
“Who has time for points; detailed record keeping and daily at home weigh-ins?”
When Betsy called me for coaching with how to eat with her body so both of them were happier, she felt ashamed of herself for flunking out of Weight Watchers without meeting her goals.
As her coach, here is the new learning Betsy will benefit from:
“My clients who fall into the Analytical Style have success with the Weight Watcher’s attention to detail,” I replied. “However, the majority of us need to know our individual style in order to determine what will work for us.”
As your Coach, I want you to be aware of as many tools and techniques to have the body confidence you deserve to move into this world with grace and finesse.
Did you know that the Body Knowledge System ® can create an environment for you around how you eat in a sustainable way?
Learn how you can navigate Weight Watchers Program (or any other ‘lose quick’ weight program) With our Body Knowledge System® Style Orientation to make better eating choices.
Our System acknowledges what our body needs and wants versus what a program pushes us to adhere to;
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My inspiration to you is to acknowledge your style
In doing so, any Nutrition Program you decide to participate in will give you the empowerment to do it YOUR WAY knowing your Personal Body Knowledge System® Style.
A simple formula that works for more than acquiring body confidence,
A + B = C. Beyond the first simple equation we learned in Algebra 1, and thought we’d never use again, yet there’s a reason those letters linger in our consciousness into adulthood. Regardless of what each letter represents, the result of the formula is true. Simply combine A and B in order to get C.
In this case, if you combine the law of Attraction with the Body knowledge system, the result will always be body Confidence. As a lifestyle coach for over a decade I have taught my clients the Body Knowledge System® with influence of the Law of Attraction built into the process…because both practices use the power of positivity.
The message is as simple as ABC, when you apply positive thinking to the Body Knowledge System®, good things happen.
Other than celebrating years of hard work, persistent dedication to a worthy goal, and an 8×11 framed degree for your wall, women get to cover all those perceived body flaws with the flowing robes rented from the “gown” shop.
Graduation from High School, College, Grad School are major rites of passage that do not require extreme dieting and exercising prior to the event, thanks to the requirement of a rented flowing robe to attend the event.
Then, what?
The robe comes off and the next day of your life begins!
Do you anticipate the opportunities your new degree provides?
Do you look forward to the accomplishments you are now qualified to do?
Do you step into your first new job interview with a smile on your face and strength in your handshake?
If your answer to any of these queries is anything but a resounding YES! Then it’s time to rediscover your body confidence.
One simple email or phone call to Coach Stephanie Wood will solve any body confidence concerns!
The other night, my husband and I made a delicious dinner – Spaghetti Bolognese with a salad. We ate and we enjoyed and I was full. Funny thing is, I was hungry again two hours later.
I asked myself, “Should I be hungry after eating such a luscious balanced meal?”
I even went so far as to worry that eating something in addition to my dinner would make me gain weight.
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My Body Knowledge wisdom between you and your body eating in a conversation:
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Thankfully, after a few minutes I was able to overcome how my mind thought my body “should” feel and just pay attention to what me and my body needed.
Note: This article will not be getting into balance of carbs and protein for your body or emotional eating loopholes
Know your Body Knowledge System® Eating Style by downloading this part of my playbook to get you practicing what eating looks like between you and your body in partnership
Rest of Story
I grabbed some lemon yogurt and sat down to watch a show with my husband. When I felt satisfied again, I put the yogurt away.
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My coaching Message to you is this:
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There are all kinds of “shoulds” our culture wants us to believe about our bodies.
From what time of day we should be hungry to what kind of workouts we should be doing, we are faced with constant pressure about how we should treat our bodies if we want to look a certain way.
The truth is, no one knows what your body needs as well you and your body does! Tap into the fountain of health knowledge inside you and discover true body confidence for good.
My latest free eBook will help you take the first step towards that.
Bonus: Know your Body Knowledge System® Eating Style by downloading this part of my playbook to get you practicing what eating looks like between you and your body in partnership.
‘How can I lose weight and still feel comfortable in my body as we are in the process of transforming each other?’
The other day I was talking with a friend. She mentioned a time in her life when she weighed about 20 pounds more than she ever had.
My immediate thoughts:
I was waiting to hear her shame her own body with phrases like,
“I look so disgusting.”
“I hate myself in the mirror.”
“I just want to look skinny again.”
But here’s what surprised me!
She talked about her body with respect and love. She said she didn’t feel as healthy or strong with the extra weight. She said she stopped caring for her body the way she had before.
In other words, this friend was listening to her body rather than judging her.
This is the core of the Body Knowledge System®. She gets it and practices it. Yeah!
This is the process I want for those of you who are listening and want to know more.
So, instead of setting out to lose weight and get thin again, she set out to love her body by listening to what she needed. And the result was feeling comfortable with the weight her body and she wanted. I am so excited for my friend!
Side note:
She said the results were not overnight, but she believes that by reconnecting with her body and embracing her Body Knowledge System® Style she redefined her relationship with her body to create the new process of eating to allow each other (her and her body) to breathe and find a common ground of acceptance.
During this process of implementing and acknowledging her Body Knowledge System® Style she simply spoke of how amazing she feels! And she also likes how she looks.
And by knowing her Body knowledge System® Style the weight loss was easier and looking and feeling with her body had renewed energy and acceptance.
Check out the link above for the Body Knowledge System ® Style guide around Eating and You.
A recent study from Harvard University revealed the one word that is used in an online dating profile that is a turn-off to potential dates, male or female is….wait for it:
“Happy!”
HUH?
This contradicts common sense, lyracists, and the law of attraction.
“Everybody loves a lover,” right?
Not so, say the online social scholars at Harvard University. When you post the word “Happy” as part of your profile, expect a pass from those who may like your face, your background, your interests, you!
At the heart of Body Confidence is happiness, that feeling of contentment with yourself as expressed in your posture, movement, and speech is attractive to others. At least to others you hope to impress, or attract.
The Law of Attraction is based on raising your vibration so that you will attract what you want, (happiness), not what you don’t want, (loneliness). Raising your personal vibration means being “happy”, or at least acting as if you are happy.
The bottom line is always who do you want to spend time with? A positive, happy person or a Debbie Downer!
Body Confidence is always positive, so never be afraid to say so—just don’t use the word “happy” when registering your online dating profile. 😉
“A New Model: What Confidence, Beauty, and Power Really Look Like” by Ashley Graham debuted this week with a national publicity tour and rave reviews. As the voice of the body positive movement, Ms. Graham has expanded her modeling career to include television appearances and becoming a clothing designer and entrepreneur to prove that curvy girls can do it, too!
Since there are more curvy girls and women than stereotypical runway models, publishing this book is another step forward to ending body shaming forever. As the Barnes & Noble’s review of “A New Model” says,
“A woman who proves that when it comes to beauty, size is just a number, she is the voice for the body positivity movement today and a role model for all women—no matter their individual body type, shape, or weight.”
A model since aged 13, Ms. Graham almost abandoned her career at age 18, when her mother told her, “It doesn’t matter what you think about your body, because your body is supposed to change somebody’s life.” A decade later, she affirmed her mother’s sage advice in an interview in the current issue of VOGUE magazine,
“I’ve used my body as a tool to talk about taboo subjects, such as cellulite or being insecure about lower belly fat—and also [how to] talk life into your body and have an affirmation kind of conversation with yourself. ”
You, too, are a champion for Body Confidence through your use of the Body Knowledge System ®. To find out how, contact Stephanie Wood.
Who knew that for “so many years I’d go to bed and be like, ‘Please wake up with Kate Moss’ body,” said reality star Kelly Osborne to USA Today in Tuesday’s interview for her book launch. She continued to say, “Please wake up with all these different things that would make me accepted and fit in…and it’s so miserable.”
Photo credit: Jordan StraussInvisionAP
Those miserable feelings of not fitting in because of our appearance may be the only thing we have in common with Kelly Osborne and other celebrities who appear regularly on talk shows, podcasts, and book covers to share their body shaming stories with the rest of us.
Who knew that behind the couturier clothing, $300 haircuts, and fabulous appearances at the “in” places to be, those women we envy share moments of misery based on the false pressure to be something they aren’t: Perfect.
After many years of therapy, Kelly concludes “It’s Ok not to be perfect.” Some of us already know that and without years of therapy, because who can afford all those hours spent on some high paid professional’s couch to tell us what we already know from our body’s knowledge?
We are already flawless! Excellent in every way!
How do we know? When we communicate with our bodies, she tells us so!
You might ask yourself, ‘what makes Stephanie think about bikini apparel during the Winter season?’
Because the essence of body confidence is unique and private and as your Body Confidence Coach I find that reviewing head on what might be getting in your way of better body confidence for yourself are cultural taboos such as wearing or not wearing a bikini. Read on…
Did you know that I coach women over the age of 50 to help them have better body confidence?
(By the way . . . you don’t have to be 50+ to experience my coaching skills )
**I saw an article about a bikini contest in China, and it got me asking a few questions. I want to share my thoughts with you and hear what you think too!
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THE ARTICLE
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According to the Huffington Post, over 500 women participated in this year’s event in China.
A 68-year-old participant said, “Who said we are too old for bikinis?”
And get this… the oldest participant was 80-years-old!
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POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES
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Okay, here are my thoughts…
On the positive side– it’s encouraging to see women getting out and being confident in their bodies!
On the negative side– why is there so much pressure on women to look good in bikinis??
For years now… we’ve heard that if you don’t look good in a bikini, you’re not worth anything.
And that is ridiculous.
Who says you have to look good in a bikini, or even wear one at all?
Who gets to decide these things?
Our Culture?
Or you and your body?
Why not promote swimwear that works for all kinds of bodies?
Ask yourself – What would make *me* feel confident?
And then find clothes that are in line with that.
Find clothing that makes *you* feel confident.
Again, don’t let culture tell you that you’re only worth something if you look good in a bikini.
Listen to the voices in your head… and learn to laugh with them!
If you’re a woman who feels good in a bikini, go for it!
But what if you don’t?
Should you work and work until you do?
Wear one anyway?
Find something else?
What do the voices in your head say about that?
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WHAT DO *YOU* THINK?
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So… I want to know:
What do *you* think?
I’d love to hear your thoughts, and help you work through any questions you might have.
