How To Turn A Problem Into An Opportunity

How To Turn A Problem Into An Opportunity
By Jillian Michaels


Sure, it’s tough to pinpoint the root of your problems. However, if you've been examining your emotional eating habits, you should be seeing some behavioral shifts. Are you checking to see if you're actually hungry versus just looking to feed your emotions? Do you have go-to non-food outlets to help you express your emotions? Whether it’s grabbing your journal and getting your feelings out on paper or getting together with a friend for a hike or manicure and some feel-good bonding, you CAN make sure you get on (and stay on!) a healthy path.

There's one final aspect of emotional eating you need to address — what to do when you can't resolve an issue or a situation at the exact moment when it is triggering you to behave self-destructively. Certain obstacles can sometimes seem insurmountable, and the next time you encounter one, I want you to ask yourself the following question:

How can I turn this problem into an opportunity?

Instead of allowing this event or emotion to cause permanent damage to your self-esteem, try looking at it in a different light. If you've recently gone through a breakup, for example, realize that the end of one relationship simply means that you are free to find someone better for you. Allow yourself to feel sad, but try to stay positive and find meaning in the pain rather than numbing it with food and indulging in other destructive habits. You will grow from it in amazing ways, I promise.

…FOR MY SELF-SABOTAGERS

By Julianna LoCascio

Do you ever get that feeling when you are so close to achieving something great and then you hear that little voice in your head that says, “I just don’t think I’m ready yet”?

Does this "happen" to you often?

You have completely convinced yourself that you have all the time in the world, and just as soon as that perfect moment comes you will lose the weight.

You even start a workout program and by day 9 you want to peel over and die!

Wake up people! It just does not work that way. If you are not willing to start right NOW, in this moment, you will never be ready to truly commit to something wholeheartedly.

I NEVER want to hear from my client’s mouth:

Julianna, I had an awful weekend! I splurged big time! I had Mexican food and a margarita for dinner, last night! And don't get mad, but I had a small chunk of chocolate cake at my friend’s birthday party too. I was pressured in to it though! It would have been rude not to, right?..."

You know what my response would be?

I only hear excuses, Mary Joe, for not following your own game plan. I hear a lack of integrity which ultimately, in the end, only affects YOU.

I am not saying that it is not okay to ever have a piece of chocolate cake or enjoy a Mexican dinner. The food is not the point. By all means, if you would like to have a little cake, great! Have some!

But, if in your mind you believe you did something “bad,” that is precisely where the problem lies. You cannot think in those terms or else we would all be doomed. As human beings we are bound to get off track over and over again. It is how we choose to continue from here, that separates the

conquerors

from the

dreamers.

I am all for the confessions, but please do not come to me like I am your Mom and think that I am going to punish you for your wrong doings. You are an adult and I would be doing you a disservice.

You must change your mindset in order to achieve a sustainable goal.

But yes, Mary Joe, I AM here to train you anytime of day! I will encourage, educate and lift you up from the trenches of self-doubt. I am here to teach you to form a solid lifelong foundation and then let you go.

I refuse to be your crutch! So, what you do for the next twenty-three other hours, outside of my gym, is your choice and your consequences.

I only want to see that you succeed the goals YOU set out for. So therefore I will remain neutral in your decision-making but I will continue to be your life-long cheerleader.

So, the next time you catch yourself daydreaming about how amazing it would feel to strut in to that Christmas party this year having shed those last 15 lbs, stop and think first.

Remind yourself that you refuse to remain a statistic and you WILLreach your own potential.

Now, take a moment at your lunch break today, and write down a solid “plan of action,” so that when Christmas rolls around, your body truly will be more than you could ever have dreamed of.



Next Issue: Calories in, Calories Out

And Living Jillian was born...

Today, I am not an avid fitness junkie and health Nazi for nothing! I have built, from the ground-up, a rock-solid and successful business as a personal trainer and health advocate these last few years. I am completely passionate and deeply driven by my work but there is still something missing…

Oh yes, my writing and producing skills.

To tell you the truth, I have continued to write through out the years but I have failed to share my unique insight with the world for one conclusive reason; by simple lack of confidence. I had it in my head that no one would want to listen to some young girl who thinks she’s fat and has no clue what FAT is!

You may be thinking,

“This girl can't help me! She has no clue what I've been through!”

Think again.

First of all, I don’t ‘help’ people I support and guide them to leading a healthy lifestyle. I see the word “help” as cop-out and a form of co-dependency that will not be life-altering.

And no, I have never been in the "obese category" but I can promise you one thing, I must have been fat person in a past-life.

What can I say, I am truly passionate about obese people and I know that I can give all of you a major jump-start in your weight-loss journey.

Secondly, speaking in past tense about what you have been through is not going to change what you are today. (Hence, my favorites quote, "We can not become what we need to be by remaining what we are." -Max DuPree)

With that said…

It has NEVER been about the “by-product a.k.a. your voluptuous physique” causing your current weight-gain and health problems.

It has NEVER been about the kids that teased you in school nor what people think of you today.

These things have nothing to do with why you haven't won this battle.

It has ALWAYS been about how you feel about yourself.
Self-love and acceptance is the main issue here and science plays a major role too!

Something got you to this point of hopelessness and that’s where I come in.

There are actual actions you can take right NOW to reverse this self-destructive behavior and feel good again!

For starters, think about all of the POSITIVE aspects of your life right now!

And NEVER I mean, NEVER Give up on 'you'!

You must trust the process!

You throw in the towel? Game over!

So, as I was saying…

I would get so frustrated and I began reading everything I could get my hands on from self-help books and inspirational successes stories to modern-day Christian readings and then I came across, Jillian Michael’s from The Biggest Loser and that’s when my entire life transformed in to something worth sharing.

I was so determined to get well!

I was not going to feel self-defeated for one more day!

I was no longer going to feel like a ‘door-mat’ that anyone could come and wipe their muddy feet on!

So, I am fully committed to revealing my case-study in dedication to all the women out there who feel hopeless and unhappy. I don't care if you are trying to lose ten pounds or two-hundred pounds I can give you ALL of the tools and knowledge to feel youthful and exuberant again!

I am committed to standing side-by-side with Jillian by teaching you how to symphonize your hormone levels, trim away the armor you’ve been wearing for so long, and say good-bye to the person with the low-self-esteem and love handles. I refuse to help that person because it was NEVER you to begin with!

You get to reclaim your true identity. Finally!

I have now set out on a journey to do everything Jillian! I have been empowered and uplifted by her teachings and I have followed her advice to the tee. I have seen every TV appearance, You Tube videos, and, you better believe, I have followed-up on all of her unique tips and tricks she shares on Biggest Loser, every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. on NBC.

I receive daily “Losing it with Jillian!” e-mails and I follow her religiously on twitter and facebook.


I have also successfully completed her "Making the Cut" : The 30 Day Diet and Fitness Plan for the Strongest, Sexiest You.

And most recently I have completed her 30-Day Shed Program on, Cardio Max and her recently released Power Sculpt DVD. Next, I plan to take a chance at her "Hot Bod in a Box" designed to make high intensity interval training a synch.

No, I am not a stalker or crazed fan, I am merely a student-in-training being mentored by a public fitness-icon. I have never been driven to follow a celebrity or famous person until now! Jillian is actually doing something transformational for the world! She changed my life, in a VERY REAL way and now I have the information and tools to pay it forward.

I have helped countless people lose weight, inches and body-fat by using her training techniques and healthy-living findings. And best of all, I continue to teach people how to regain their self-confidence from within, sleep like babies and eat clean, wholesome foods for "energy-sake".

Like Jillian always says, “If it didn’t come from the ground and it doesn’t have a mama, don’t eat it.”

I have decided to start this blog, Living Jillian, for all of the skeptics out there, intrigued or inspired, but not fully convinced, in adopting Jillian's life-altering solutions. she has in her hands years of research that have transformed her own life and now millions of others.

So,
No more excuses!
No more exceptions and entitlement-drama!
No more "I'll start tomorrow."

Get-up out of your chair and start doing something for yourself, for once!






Julianna LoCascio
Living Jillian
Certified Personal Trainer
Fitness Guru,
Health Expert,
and Life Coach

U is for Understanding...

I remember the day I woke up and realized I had to make something of myself without anyone’s permission but my own!
I soon realized and began to understand what it meant to NOT feel invincible; that I could literally drive straight into a brick wall and be dead! That was my first, OMG, who am I? and Why the heck am I here?, awakening as woman in her clueless 20’s.
I was no longer thinking about what movie I was going to see with my boyfriend that night or concocting some sort of clever excuse to tell my step-dad when I didn’t follow his ridiculous 2 a.m. check-up call. I didn’t have to wake up for class or even eat breakfast that day if I didn’t want to.
I didn’t have the option of spending my days lounging by the pool with my friends with a magazine in hand dreaming of what I would being doing ten years from now; That ten years had passed and the magical question of "what do you want to be when you grow-up?" turned into a ahhhh, what the eff do I want to be? I was in complete panic mode! I mean, what am I good at? What are my passions? And why didn’t anyone tell me about this step? I got the fancy SMU degree and figured I could do something with journalism but I didn’t know what yet…
I began to see how powerful or powerless I could be. So I started reading inspirational books, going to church and reaching out to, what was once, so familiar and comfortable. Without my morning call to my Mom, I wasn’t sure what do to with myself that day! But she acted so different this time; "You need to figure out where you’re going to get a job, Julianna, because your Dad and I are getting ready to cut you off girlfriend!"
I began to understand what it meant when they say, "independent woman!" "What now?" Ok, I spend most my time at the gym, so I guess I can become a personal trainer, live in my parents house until I can save up enough money to move-out, and in the meantime figure out what I really love and could do everyday of my life!
Months went by, that felt like centuries, and I was still at square one until one day I woke up, glanced in the mirror and thought to myself if she could do it why couldn’t I? I was going to make movies, write books and travel because I said so…

~ ~ ~
The funniest part, I failed to mention, is that I wrote this issue two years ago for my good sister/friend who is now a well-established internet-icon. In fact, her two-year-old blog-site, Genpink.com, was where I posted this issue and I was recently looking through the archives and saw this letter that I had basically written to myself two years ago.

So, I read it and thought to myself, "Wow, it's amazing how much the human mind evolves and matures." Yes, I am still a writer and share all the same interested listed above, and I had the right idea in my thinking, but my reasoning and drive for doing what I do have changed, dramatically.

Basically, I had all of the pieces to the puzzle lined up but I had NO clue how they all fit together. I had all of the right insight, information, tools, talents, motives and ideas but my passion and drive to get there had not yet ignited.

Today, I realize that my failed attempt to produce a movie was the perfect stepping stone for what I am today. The Five, whom I love dearly, slowly began to drift and transition away in to their own lives and ambitions and there I was picking up the pieces of my so-called calling.



Julianna LoCascio
Living Jillian
Certified Personal Trainer
Fitness Guru, Health Expert,
Life Coach