30 Day Challenge

Some of you may know I've been on a 30 day Challenge to be wheat free, dairy free, sugar free, 'bad' fat free, caffeine free and alcohol free. I'm pleased to say - I MADE IT! and am feeling lighter, brighter and clearer as a result!

Motivation
I've been regularly working out for over a year and was looking for a new and improved way of looking at my diet to compliment this. Since I committed to my new plan of aerobics 3 times a week I noticed that days after I had eaten a lot of heavy food the workouts would be harder than days where I had eaten lighter. I've been a non meat eater for over 12 years now and regularly have relied on both bread, cheese and pasta as a kind of quick solution for many meals. I also had been getting into the habit of a nice glass of red wine and a bar of chocolate at the end of the day. I became aware that these patterns were just like emotional patterns and they had become tiresome. There must be another way I thought - so I was looking out for it.

I came across this new approach to food after a four day seminar I participated in which really got my attention. I don't believe in diets and workout more to feel good than to look good, so I wasn't interested in a quick fix - but something more sustainable and most importantly - ENJOYABLE! This diet was all about increasing your energy - getting you to move more, drink lots more water and eat 70% live foods. I figured that as I had the exercises down, the water and food bit should be easier and you know what - is WAS!

Whats the process?
Its basically removing wheat, sugar, alcohol, bad fats, meat, caffeine and preservatives from your body and getting more good fats and live foods in your body. I took to it straight away as I really felt this all made so much sense. We all know that in order to be healthy that we have got to move more and eat well - so this approach seemed like common sense to me. It also seemed a lot more simple than a 100% raw food diet - I had heard much about raw food over the years, but going 100% raw didn't feel right for me - hot soups in winter makes too much sense! I have my own allotment plot where I grow my own fruits and vegetables and have done for the past 9 years. Its these foods that have the highest nutritional content and I have felt the benefits of my own veg vs shop bought veg - there's no comparison!

http://www.createyourtruelife.com

Progression
I started it out as a 10 challenge, after a shopping trip to my local grocers and health food shop. My main feeling was - how am I going to live without CHOCOLATE?! but as soon as I found the dried fruit section in the health food shop I felt at ease. I got myself a couple of huge bags of dried figs and thought - every time I want some chocolate I'm going to munch on these. So that was that sorted! The second question for me was - what am I going to do without bread?! So I stocked up on Rye Crispbreads and that was that sorted! I also bought a ton of green leafy veg, but that wasn't unusual for me and also some good quality salmon from the fishmonger - done.

So the 10 days went really well. I felt really excited about my new diet and got into the swing of it easily. When the 10 days were up I was a bit like - is that it? and made a pact with myself to go for 20 days - this was a bit harder. After about 15 days I started getting a bit obsessed - what was I going to eat, when was I going to eat it? I felt like food was becoming all I was talking about and driving my partner crazy! I thought, I've got to relax more about this! Also around this time, emotional stuff started to come out. I was dealing with the issues of control - how could I control my life without becoming a control freak?! This was very important to me. I trusted that the answers would come and kept going.

Then I reached 20 days! I was so happy - this was a milestone for me. I had noticed that I had become more thirsty rather than more hungry a lot of the time. My portion sizes started getting smaller and my drinks started getting larger! It was also around this time I could feel my legs a little slimmer! A bizarre thing to notice, but its true!!! ;0)

As I got onto 22, 23 days I could really feel a difference, I had gone down one notch on my belt and I just felt more energised generally. I was on the home straight....30 days was approaching! I turned my control issues into excitement and getting it done rather than having to talk about it as much.

The hardest thing was keeping it up when I had to work long days. Most of the time I would make a brown rice, bean and vegetable medley, but when I hadn't come prepared thankfully the local supermarket stocked either mackerel, sushi or hummous and rye crispbread so I could eat that. One of the most frustrating things I found was misleading products - even such a simple thing like a Chinese 5 spice mix had sugar in it! And my favourite meat free sausages had sugar in them! I was amazed that when I went into the supermarket - everything there is either wheat, sugar or dairy based!

 http://www.createyourtruelife.com

However saying all this, the great thing about living today is that there is so much food available from different sources. Its just about getting your priorities right and shopping from multiple places rather than one. I have absolutely no problem with that and love giving my money to smaller companies who are growing. This makes more sense to me.

So I reached Day 30 today! I feel fantastic! I made a commitment and I stuck to it. But for those of you who know me, wouldn't be surprised by that at all :0) I've always been this way but now I have a plan with my food too and that feels LIBERATING! More weight is coming off, I have more muscle and more energy than ever before. I can do 8 press ups! Doesn't sound a lot, but six months ago I couldn't do 1!

More importantly than this though, I have seen a progression in my approach to life. I am more centred, more calm and my solution based attitude has strengthen ten fold. I feel more appreciative towards every thing and every one and its given me even more inspiration to support many more people on their own personal journeys in life. And I'm going to keep going - this is now a lifestyle for me.

If you are wanting to make a change to what you eat my advise would be to do it a bit at a time. Think how am I going to replace this food? rather than eliminate it. Focus on nurturing yourself rather than depriving yourself. It really is an approach to life, not an approach to food. You'll find that the emotional stuff could be the hardest bit to deal with, but this is the most important thing. Be the change you wish to see in the world - you can make a difference - today - now.

Can't do it on your own? No problem! We all need help from time to time!
If you have a personal, social, family, health, career, work or relationship issue you'd love to shift, then I'm here for you! I offer one to one sessions in person or via skype.

Get in touch for more information via my website: http://www.createyourtruelife.com





 Here's what a recent client said about their experience:

"If you need direction, motivation and encouragement, Leona will inspire you to achieve!! She is dynamic and rejuvenating, and her sparkle certainly rubs off! My project that has been on the back burner for the last 10 years and has finally had life breathed back into it. I forever grateful to Leona for making my dreams a reality!"

Vanya Silverten. North London.

http://www.createyourtruelife.com

Much love and Till next time,


Leona x
http://www.createyourtruelife.com

Nina's Experience of Leonas Life Coaching Sessions

Hello everyone!

I had so much fun with a recent Client that I thought it might be nice if she shared her experience of my 'Make Change Happen Sessions' with you. She was more than pleased and excited to feature on the blog! So a big thank you to Nina for taking the time to share her thoughts with us all. Enjoy!
Much Love,
Leona x
www.createyourtruelife.com

Create Your True Life - One to One 

Life Coaching Sessions

1- How did you find out about Leona's work and what attracted to you to it?
Leona was recommended to me by a mutual friend who had enjoyed her coaching sessions and had found they made a great difference to her perspective and her life. I am a “seeking spirit” so I’m attracted to ideas/people that will shake me up and help me shed restrictive ideas and move forward with new ones which are relevant to my current situation.

2- How did you feel going into the sessions and what were your first impressions?
I felt very excited as our mutual friend had spoken so highly of her own experience with Leona and I was sure that Leona and I would create a paradigm shift together.
My first impressions of Leona were that she was open, happy and creative and had a fabulous, infectious and hearty laugh. As we continued working together, I also found her to be insightful, determined, thorough and willing to dive deep into an issue to find the pearl of wisdom contained within it.
She doesn’t let you get away with anything and her process helps your world expand.

3- How do you feel you benefited from having 3 sessions across a number of weeks?
This was useful as it gave me time to use each new skill / experiment with each new idea that we’d created / she’d brought out of me and embed what I’d learned into my daily life.
3 is a great number – beginning, middle, end. It works very well as a structure for grappling with one particular element of your life.

4- When did you start to feel that the sessions were making a difference to your daily life?
Immediately as Leona is very good at removing excuses to action; hence I created a vision board in one of the sessions as that was the task she had given me. So rather than putting it off ‘til “homework” and then not doing it, I now have a bright and positive vision board of my dream in the middle of the wall in my lounge which I see every day and it reminds me of my promise to myself.

Create Your True Life - One to One 

Life Coaching Sessions - Nina's beautiful Vision Board

She also encouraged me to do things which for some reason (which we uncovered and exorcised) I had decided were impossible so by breaking down my impossible obstacles into achievable tasks, I was able to make rapid progress and feel very pleased with myself!
The tools Leona provides are practical and do-able. There’s bound to be something in her box of tricks that appeals to you, how you think and learn so if you come away with 3 useful tools that slide easily into your own existing tool-kit, it’s a very worthwhile exercise as you can apply them to other areas of your life and call on them whenever you need them.

5- Did you find it helpful having written follow ups (pdfs) sent to you after each session?
Definitely. Leona covers a lot of material in her sessions, most of which you are required to experience rather than note down. So it’s helpful afterwards, in order to consolidate the new information, to have something concrete to which to refer and to remind you of what you said you’d do, who you said you’d be from now onwards.

6- Do you feel like your life/situation has changed as a result of the sessions? If so, how?
Every person we meet teaches us something.
Leona is a person full of joyful ideas and has developed a fun and practical way of transmitting them (which is how I like to learn) so yes, my life has changed as a result of my time with Leona.



I have A5 pages all over the wall in my lounge full of writing ideas that I’m developing. I have a vision board that says “Freedom Writer” which is what I decided I was, during one of the sessions. I have a prompter on my front door which I see every time I go out, which reminds me to look for my inspiration everywhere. I can now say that writing is something that I do regularly, rather than something that I would like to do “one day” but haven’t got myself organised enough to do it.
She’s the friendly but firm kick up the butt that you probably need to move your life forward.

7- Are there any other points/comments you'd like to make on your experience with Leona?
When you decide to go for the sessions, approach it with 100% trust in Leona’s abilities. Put your life in her hands for the duration and trust that this is the right thing for your life right now.
I really enjoyed meeting her and had a great time during the sessions, and afterwards. It’s lovely meeting people with similar views about life to me and who let their energy and their heart guide them, to create a better world for themselves and others.
Empowering people to follow their dreams is a great gift to have and Leona has it.
Book some sessions, sit back, relax and let your life unfold.



You can book a session by emailing Leona via the website:
www.createyourtruelife.com

You can see more testimonials on the website:
 http://www.createyourtruelife.com/testimonials.html