The Kick in the Tush Club: Lightening Up by Lightening Up

One of the advantages of being a Google queen is you find weird s#$@ on the Internet that normal people never discover. Since I am always looking for unique insights and angles on dieting, melting fat and achieving optimal health, my randomly methodical searching today led me to an adorable website called Our Lady of Weight Loss. Which is how I found out about the Kick in the Tush Club.

Looks more fun than a Weight Watchers meeting, right?

Courtesy of Our Lady of Weight Loss

The Kick in the Tush Club is the brainstorm of artist and anti-gravity coach Janice Taylor who has kept 50 pounds off for more than five years by not taking herself too seriously. She is the ring leader of a band of losers called Tushkateers who take the following oath:

I _____(your name here)_____,
pledge that I will do my best
to say no to the devil’s food,
to shop green markets,
to embrace my quirky, clever and creative side, and
to be ME in all my glory!

So despite the photo above, there is nothing really kinky about this club. It's a place where people (mainly women, I suspect) can let their hair down and relax about this whole weight loss thing. You've got to love a group whose slogan is "Spread the Word, NOT the icing!"

I've already subscribed to Janice's newsletter and I can't wait to start digging into some of the blog posts. Here's an excerpt from her August 13, 2014, entry on dealing with cravings:

Cravings are Thoughts.  Instead of experiencing cravings as cravings, see them for what they really are. They are just thoughts.

Cravings are just one of the many thousands of thoughts that we have each day. They are not “concrete” in nature. They are like the clouds rolling in and out.  They are simply suggestions.  A thought is a suggestion, which means that not every thought needs to be acted upon.

Wave hello to the “craving thought,” and say, “Hi Craving … Nice to see you.  Here’s your hat.  What’s your hurry?!” Send the craving thought on its way!

Make “I do not have to act on my thoughts. I have a choice!” your mantra.

I love the image of handing Mr. Craving his hat and telling him to be on his merry way, especially since I tend to anthropomorphise everything from my cats to my feelings.

I truly believe that diet and exercise are only half the battle to shedding pounds. To win the war, you must have a mindset that can sustain you through difficult times and powerful mental tricks to defeat temptation.

And when all else fails, sometimes you just need a good kick in the tush. Subscribe to Janice's newsletter here.