We all know ... if you want to lose weight you have to consume less and expend more. What if you find yourself counting calories day in day out? Worrying about what you are going to eat at your next meal? Fearing weight gain every moment of everyday. Does it distract you from living life to its fullest? I call this food fear and IT IS VERY COMMON.

Stop, don't pass GO...First, DO NOT dwell on the fear provoking thought! Shall I say that again? DO NOT dwell on the fearful thought! If you try to figure it out, the fear it will get stronger in your mind. Once a thought or emotion gets stronger, it starts to enter the subconscious mind. When it is in the subconscious it starts to become a part of you. Trust meyou just do not want too many fears becoming a part of you.

I like to think of thoughts as balls. Take a moment and try to visualize this ball in your head. If you have too many balls in your head you have a huge juggling act. Eek. Or even worse, if the thought starts growing then you have a bunch of these huge balls in your head. In fact, if they get too large for your conscious mind space, then they will start filling your subconscious mind space. Make sense?

Second, when a negative fear-like thought enters, you should think of a tiny little red ball deflating. This serves you a reminder to let the fear deflate and fade away.

Third, now that your little red ball is gone, you can start replacing it with a beautiful blue-green ball. The blue-green ball will represent a positive thought about your body. I chose the color blue-green, because it looks like the sky after a huge storm. For me it represents calm and peace.

Once you go through the cycle watch your blue-green ball calm any other balls in your head. Maybe some of the balls just need to be put away for the time being so you can really listen and tune into your inner knowing.

Now that you have done the work and taken care of some of your ballsI mean thoughts, you can ask yourselfWhat exactly am I afraid of? Am I truly hungry? Will this nourish my body? What do I need right NOW? How can I nurture myself? How can I honor myself at this moment?

I know this isnt easy, but believe me, if you stay with it your fears will lessen and lessen.