Happy Valentine's Day - Wishing you a day filled with lots LOVE and CONNECTION with those who are most special to you.  Give your love generously.  Life is precious.

This week the world lost an remarkable soul and leader.  Thomas Leonard died this week at 47.  For those not familiar with his name, he could easily be recognized as the single most influential individual within the coaching world.  Many would name him, "the founder of the coaching industry". He was indisputably a creative genius. He founded CoachU, The International Coach Federation and Coachville, and literally hundreds of programs, tools, and trainings that have affected millions of lives.  I'm awed to think of the ripple-affect this ONE man created.  As one coach is trained or one individual changes their life, his presence will live endlessly.  Its made me realize how "just one" individual can make a difference in this world.  His loss will be felt tremendously in the coaching community.  I'm just one coach who was touched by his life.  It's his first eZine "Coaching Scoop", that inspired me to create SoulFULLY Living. And, so it is with great pride and sadness that I honor his passing.

SoulFULLY Living FEATURES this week...

Magic Moment - Precious words of a child.

Healthy Inside & Out - Tip #3 - "TRACKING REALITY".  A simple, yet priceless tool.  Awareness is the key. 

ABUNDANCE ABOUNDS ...Creating a million dollars by "MAGIC".  4 FREE Coaching Sessions with Master Coaches.  March 4, 11, 18, and 25th at 9:00am Pacific.  It's filling up.  See details below. NOT to be missed. I'm promoting this, because 2 of the women are my dear friends...and they are also TRULY MASTERFUL coaches, especially in the area of "abundance"!

Peace, Love and Joy!

Mary Allen, CPCC, PCC

Tip #3 - TRACKING REALITY 

Awareness is the greatest coach.  I've thought, "Oh, I eat really healthy", or "I work out a lot".  And, when I started to "track reality", I was incredibly surprised with what I WAS REALLY doing.  The desserts, chips, extra helpings and alcohol that I WASN'T counting in my mind...suddenly became REVEALED in bold letters!!! Ouch.  Writing down WHAT you eat, and WHEN you eat it is an enlightening experience.  It keeps me HONEST.  I personally find it painful to write down the Fast Food Feast, 3 glasses of wine, or an entire bag of cheese popcorn on a worksheet, or other tracking device.  But, if I don't write it down, I stay in denial. Even writing it down ONCE is often enough to  break my pattern.  Awareness is healing. 

Body For Life knows the value of this.  They created worksheets to easily download from their website.  Track your food intake, and your workouts.  Go to www.bodyforlife.com/downloads.shtml. The worksheets allow you to PLAN your meals.   Knowing what you're going to eat ahead of time is half the battle and essential in getting started.  More importantly, is writing down the ACTUAL food intake helps you see that you're either ON TRACK or NOT.  If you're on track, CELEBRATE - and stay the course.  If you're not, you'll easily identify where to improve...Are you skipping meals?  Are there foods to simply eliminate?  Is there a time of day you get off track? 

Another great tool to TRACK REALITY with food intake is a device called NUTRICOUNTER.  It looks like a Palm Pilot, but it's programmed to compute fat, protein, carbs and other nutrients of 2000 food items.  You can also enter your own food items.  It tracks goals and alerts you if a food item is going to "throw off" your nutrition program, and much more.  One of my clients found this to be a key to his weight loss.   

Tracking Workouts.  By tracking your repetitions, amount of weight and specific exercises...will bring more awareness to your progress and consistency.  Have you raised the weight you're lifting?  Are you doing the same tricep or quad routine over and over? Are you avoiding certain exercises?  Is your intensity waning or are you really pushing for the 9's and 10's?  Awareness is the greatest coach. 

I still track my workouts!!!  I use my personal calendar.  I simply write RUN, UPPER, LOWER or YOGA in the appropriate date and CIRCLE it.  It stands out VISUALLY.  If I go more than 2-3 days without working out...the blank spaces spur me back into action.  Then, I get inspired and motivated to see 5-6 workouts the next week!!!  I love seeing my own consistency in this visual representation.  It's a game I play with myself, but it works.  Not only do I get the satisfaction in seeing I averaged 4-5 workouts the entire month (and I LOVE that)...my body reflects the true results.  Looking good, feeling good and other's noticing IS the greatest reward of all. 

Note: I don't receive any commissions for referring individuals to the Body For Life Program.  I just know its helped me and others create results with their bodies.

Where would you like to expand your AWARENESS?