Recent Articles | DianePetrella.com

Dec

7 Signs You'll Keep Releasing Weight in 2016

As you reflect back on 2015, how do you gauge your weight-release progress?
Do you look to your bathroom scale?
Or measure success by how your clothes feel?

Don’t worry if you’re not where you hoped to be by now. Because whatever those visible signs are telling you, they don’t reveal the whole story…

If you’ve yo-yo dieted for years, you know all too well that these progress markers can come and go. While they do measure if your body gained or released weight, I’m far more interested in the signs that mark your emotional growth.

Use the following 7 “softer” signs to gauge your overall progress this past year and as you move into 2016. If you haven’t mastered all of these, that’s okay. Think of them as stepping-stones to guide you. While not as obvious as the number on your scale, achieving these milestones helps you not only release weight… but keep it off forever. And isn’t that what you really want? (more…)

Aug

The 4 Questions: How to Stop a Binge Before it Starts

Diane Petrella

No matter how determined you are to release weight, it’s not always easy to stay committed.

So many situations come up in life that can test your resolve to eat well and in moderation: Attending a party with an abundant buffet, seeing your Aunt Sally’s Decadent Double Fudge brownies at the family barbeque, feeling so stressed at work that you think only a cookie from the lunch room will calm you down.

While you can’t avoid some triggers and food-challenging situations, you can empower yourself to shift your mindset. Action follows thought. When you make a conscious effort to change your thinking, you strengthen your resolve to proactively—and mindfully—take charge of your actions and choices.

These four powerful questions help you do that. Next time you’re triggered and about to take a bite, ask yourself: (more…)

Jul

A Divine Way to Finally Feel Good in Your Summer Clothes

Diane Petrella

Ahhhh. It’s tank top, shorts and bathing suit season. Great, right?

Not for everyone.

When you’re sensitive about your weight, a day at the beach is no picnic. The more revealing clothes of summer can pull body insecurities right to the surface.

It’s hard to enjoy summer activities when your mind is preoccupied with negative thoughts about your body. But with help from your Higher Power you can enjoy that day at the beach feeling cool, confident… and wrapped in love. (more…)

May

Name & Love Your Feelings to End Emotional Eating

Diane Petrella

Think back to the last time you overate—not because you were hungry—but because your feelings got the best of you.

Maybe you impulsively grabbed something from your pantry, binged after work by dashing through the fast food drive-thru or got up in the middle of the night to raid the fridge. Got the image in your mind? Okay, now… ask yourself:

What feeling was I trying to avoid?   

When I ask my clients this question, I typically hear, “I felt overwhelmed,” “I was stressed,” “I felt bad,” or “I’m not sure.” They know they felt something intense but can’t always pinpoint it. When we explore it further they sometimes can name it, but more often than not—at least in our beginning work together—they don’t know how they felt.

That’s because emotional eating—like any compulsive behavior or addiction—comes from the struggle to know and be with what you feel.

What you do know is you’re in distress and want to feel better—fast. (more…)

Mar

How to Break the Binge Habit

Diane Petrella

If you compulsively binge-eat to deal with difficult feelings, you know it’s a tough habit to break. You beat yourself up and try to stop… but you can’t. It’s not that you lack willpower. You are strong. But once that urge strikes, it’s like a power overtakes you and your goal to stop the binge habit disappears.

Take heart. Here’s a 3-Step plan that will help: (more…)

Nov

3 Tips to Gain More Peace & Less Weight this Holiday Season

Diane Petrella

‘Tis the season of joy and good cheer… right?

But for many people the holidays bring added stress to an already pressured life. With extra demands on your time and finances, and the abundance of holiday foods and sweets, it may feel hard to curb emotional eating and stay on track with your weight-release plans.

Here are three tips to help you stay true to yourself and your body while enjoying the real gifts of the season: (more…)

Oct

Trigger Foods: Love ’em or Leave ’em?

Diane Petrella

Do Halloween treats call out your name?

Do Happy Hour chips and salsa compel you to snack when you’re not hungry?

Do you welcome, or fear, the holiday cookie platters soon coming our way?

How you relate to trigger foods helps you lose weight more easily or creates constant struggle. Take time to decide how you want to manage this… especially before the abundance of holiday sweets appear.

What is a Trigger Food?

A trigger food is one that causes you to lose self-control once you begin eating it. You then overeat to the point of feeling physically uncomfortable, emotionally upset with yourself, or both. Common trigger foods include fat and sugary foods such as cookies and ice cream, or fat and salty foods such as potato chips and dip.

A trigger food may prompt an overeating episode even when you’re not particularly stressed. You see the food, feel the urge, start to eat and can’t stop. Sometimes an emotional reaction prompts the urge to eat specific foods. For example, you have a difficult conversation or a tough day at work and immediately react by grabbing potato chips.

There are two opposing approaches to manage trigger foods. One says avoid them; the other says give yourself permission to eat whatever you want. Let’s take a closer look at both. (more…)

Oct

Message to us, from God…

Diane Petrella

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Sep

How Your Family Keeps You Heavy

Diane Petrella

You’re at a family gathering, hoping to have a good time… when the questions begin.

“Is that all you’re eating?”

“Have you put on weight?”

“Are you sure you don’t want more cake?”

Sound familiar? These kinds of comments may seem innocent or even well intentioned, but you know how hurtful and unsupportive they can feel. And they run the gamut from inappropriate ways to express concern to mean-spirited attempts to sabotage your health and weight loss plans.

Here’s the thing: If you react angrily or try to defend yourself, you give up your power and make matters worse. When you rise above the drama and don’t let it affect you, you stop dancing the same old dysfunctional dance. (more…)

Jul