Watch Your Back, Oprah!

Oprah Winfrey's weight gain is not only due to the abuse of food. What Oprah has suffered is what many, many people suffer as they struggle with extremes and internal emotional response mechanisms.

Here is what Oprah said in a recent interview, "It's about using food – abusing food. Too much work. Not enough play. Not enough time to come down. Not enough time to really relax...I am hungry for balance. I'm hungry to do something other than work."

The stress of work and just being Oprah was one catalyst which led to the using of food as her emotional release and "safeplace". However, it's NEVER just one thing that causes the weight gain situation. In fact, it's a vicious cycle that MOST people find themselves caught up in when they lose focus on just "one" discipline in their life. The key word Oprah used is "balance".

Stay with here and you'll see where I'm going in a moment.

Oprah went on to say, ""I've been hiding my body because I didn't want you to see it," she says. "Here I am, one of the most visible people in the world, trying not to be seen on the cover of my own magazine."

Oprah basically expressed in this article how she was "hiding". Not only by wearing certain clothes that would camoflauge her weight gain, but literally hiding herself away.

Have you ever done that? Have you turned down invitations to go out with friends or maybe even attend a family affair because you felt ashamed of what you looked like?

Here is the problem. This goes much deeper than hiding from people. The cycle is actually one of being extreme on one end or the other and not living in a place of consistently living out healthy disciplines. How many times have you said this while on a diet?

"Oh well, I messed up my eating today. I blew it! So, why work out and go the gym. I'll just start over tomorrow." What happened here? All you did was mess up and eat off plan a little and now you're calling off the workout too? Why? Shouldn't your mindset be the oppposite?

How about we flip the scenario. You're eating great and you seem to be having a good day on your healthy meal plan. Then it happens. You decide, there is NO WAY you can make it to the gym. You call off the work out. What happens next?

You decide since you missed your workout you really messed up all of your results for the day and now what's the point to eating healthy the rest of the day. So you say to yourself, "Screw it! I missed my workout. Might as well eat what I want and start over again tomorrow".

See the cycle of extremes? It's all or nothing. If I miss a workout, I might as well eat the crap too. Heck, I'll start tomorrow right? Wrong! tomorrow brings much of the same again. If not tomorrow, the next day or next week. This is the cycle of the extreme mentality. This is an impossible place to live and be successful for life.

So what can you do?

1. Learn to make each discipline hold its own importance and place every day. So you messed with your healthy eating today, what's next? Tell yourself that you will make the remainder of the day GREAT. Drink plenty of water. Get in your workout NO MATTER WHAT! Eat clean for the rest of the day and try to get in extra activity (walking, take the stairs, etc.)

2. Spend quality time conditioning your mind for the next day. Read a motivational health and fitness magazine. Visualize your new body and the coming days and how you will positively approach them. Spend time preparing the healthy foods for the rest of the week.

3. Watch your back!! This is where Oprah and all ofm us need to be very dilligent. Sometimes we reach a certain level or build up such a wall that people are afraid to approach us or be upfront with us. We need people in our lives who are going to be honest with us even when it hurts. Surround yourself with supportive people who will hold you accountable to DO your daily disciplines even if you fall short on one of them. I know, the last thing we want is someone telling us WE MUST do something that we don't want to do. Fact is, however, that is how we achieve our personal best and that is a recipe for ultimate success in life no matter what the goal or dream may be.

Oprah went on to say in the article, ""One of the things I had to learn to do is to embrace this body that I have and be grateful for what this body has given me," she says. "God blessed me and this body. I mean, I could weep right now thinking about the love and appreciation I have for this body. For that, I am truly grateful."

Absolutely! You must appreciate and value who God made you to be. There is ONLY one of YOU and NO ONE ELSE on earth can BE YOU! You may be thinking, "Well, I would rather be someone else"...No, the world is a more exciting place because you bring to it YOUR OWN unique personality, beauty and character. Live and PLAY YOU to the fullest!