Thoughts are produced in mere micro seconds. Try to not have a thought and you can't. Ninety-nine percent of our thoughts would be categorized as opinion. Just because candy is generally accepted as yummy doesn't make it a fact. This is good news because when facts are not involved we have opinion and our opinions can be changed. Changing to a healthy lifestyle is only the result of a bunch of smaller changed opinions.
By far the biggest opinion that changed for me was that I believed I could actually be skinny. I thought my weight and size was a fact as a result of having babies and heritage. I now know those thoughts were just my opinion. It was when I truly believed I could look and feel better (thanks Jennie) that things really changed. My opinion of myself and my possibilities changed. Without this mind switch you can go through the motions and in the short term lose a few pounds but for long term success you need to know it. This is the "hardest part" I am always talking about. Women especially are not trained to have this kind of confidence in themselves and their abilities.
Another opinion that changed was that I thought I would have to give up my favorite foods to be "skinny". I would say "I can eat anything I want and I am not obese. I should be happy". (Luckily "anything I wanted" had not evolved into 6 cheeseburger midnight snacks...yet) Once I had the knowledge about food, other opinions changed all by themselves. A lot of my favorite foods changed as well as my relationship with food.
My opinion about exercise did a total about face. Instead of it being work and a dread and punishment for eating, it became my time to sort my feelings and emotions. A time to plan my what-ifs that were bound to come up because of my lifestyle change - to strategize.
Opinions are always evolving and we can take advantage. You may think that a brownie is the total bomb but maybe you can change that opinion to make a box of Jr mints to die for. Start with small changes and they will all add up to big changes. Other peoples' opinions don't matter. This blog is just opinion. Doctors relate opinion most of the time. Morning television is all just opinion. You have got to have, and believe in, your own opinions about your health. It is the only opinion that counts.
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Saturday
Monday
"Working" Out
I have been thinking a lot about this lately and more and more evidence supports my claim. I have always hated exercise and sweating. I lost 40+ pounds without a whole lot of sweat and I think you can too.
I think of the body working a whole lot like Osmosis Jones. Remember that movie? Each part of the body has a job to do and uses the materials available to get the job done. If a few extra pounds are available our body gets a little lazy and is less efficient with it's energy - it figures there is always more available. When we cut back calories our body starts to use the energy a little more carefully (remember when gas prices were high and you drove a little less often and conserved as much as possible?) However, when we add high intense exercise the body starts to panic a little. In the gas scenario it is like we speed up and stop and start fast - we are going the same places but we are not getting the same efficiency because we are burning too much too fast. Our bodies have a job to do and all of the sudden there is a possibility of shortage. Our bodies are so amazing that they will not allow us to burn through our energy too fast. It will use what it's got more efficiently. This is called slowing down our metabolism. It will also send messages to send more energy - hunger. We want to boost our metabolism to burn through our incoming energy as well as the stored energy sitting on our hips and we want it to do it without a lot of anguish.
If you are just starting out then start slow and work up to a workout of mostly using your muscles. For those that are already exercisers and you are at a good place then keep it up. But, if you are hitting a plateau then try this. If you like the sweat then let your sweat come from the resistance instead of the fast movements. Weights are not the only way to gain muscle either. Get on the treadmill and go the same distance but at an incline. Don't push it. If you are sore the next day you are overdoing it. You will feel like you have not worked out but your body will reward you. Give it three weeks and you will see a change.
There are a few articles that I have ran across lately that say it much better than I can. One is in Woman's World Magazine. They don't have a website but it talks about how muscle can boost your metabolism and if you take time to add the muscle you will burn energy 50% more efficiently. The other article my friend Jana referred me to. It is from TIME and it is way bold about it's message on exercise.
I think of the body working a whole lot like Osmosis Jones. Remember that movie? Each part of the body has a job to do and uses the materials available to get the job done. If a few extra pounds are available our body gets a little lazy and is less efficient with it's energy - it figures there is always more available. When we cut back calories our body starts to use the energy a little more carefully (remember when gas prices were high and you drove a little less often and conserved as much as possible?) However, when we add high intense exercise the body starts to panic a little. In the gas scenario it is like we speed up and stop and start fast - we are going the same places but we are not getting the same efficiency because we are burning too much too fast. Our bodies have a job to do and all of the sudden there is a possibility of shortage. Our bodies are so amazing that they will not allow us to burn through our energy too fast. It will use what it's got more efficiently. This is called slowing down our metabolism. It will also send messages to send more energy - hunger. We want to boost our metabolism to burn through our incoming energy as well as the stored energy sitting on our hips and we want it to do it without a lot of anguish.
If you are just starting out then start slow and work up to a workout of mostly using your muscles. For those that are already exercisers and you are at a good place then keep it up. But, if you are hitting a plateau then try this. If you like the sweat then let your sweat come from the resistance instead of the fast movements. Weights are not the only way to gain muscle either. Get on the treadmill and go the same distance but at an incline. Don't push it. If you are sore the next day you are overdoing it. You will feel like you have not worked out but your body will reward you. Give it three weeks and you will see a change.
There are a few articles that I have ran across lately that say it much better than I can. One is in Woman's World Magazine. They don't have a website but it talks about how muscle can boost your metabolism and if you take time to add the muscle you will burn energy 50% more efficiently. The other article my friend Jana referred me to. It is from TIME and it is way bold about it's message on exercise.
Saturday
What "all in your head" really means
The last few months I have really struggled with life. I was down a lot and my definitions of things seem to always be in question, mostly by me. All of the sudden I have been so unsure of myself. Then on a particular hard day it hit me - the old me would have made chocolate chip cookies today. Again, it wasn't like I would binge in a sort of shooting up kind of way but making and eating delicious warm chocolate chip cookies would have taken my mind away from the problem just long enough to see that life was not ending. It was a huge moment for me to realize both that I have changed from manual to automatic and that I haven't found the right thing to replace that need for a distraction in my life yet. I still eat chocolate chip cookies (what, you think I am crazy?) but the difference in my mindset makes all the difference on the scale.
Thursday
For Brindy
Hey Brindy,
I did some research and this article was the one I liked the best. I liked the part where you weigh in and see if you are on the right path. Losing a lot of weight fast would be great but it is not a long term solution. Your body is trying it's hardest to stay even-steven. You need to get it used to any changes slowly. Otherwise, you risk your body turning on you with things like unquenchable cravings or slowing your metabolism to the point of just plateauing. Every once in a while you need to shake things up but your body likes consistency most of the time.
I believe it takes a good 8-9 months for the body to begin to have it's shape back after a baby. Your mommy instincts are taking over and that is just right. In Myfitnesspal add an exercise of about 500 calories (you lucky puppy), you can call it breastfeeding or providing life sustainability of a human or heroic motherly duty or whatever. Add it everyday as an exercise then reduce it as you nurse less and less.
Also, if you haven't been exercising start with 5 simple exercises in 3 sets of 15 with emphasis on building muscle as opposed to anything that makes you huff and puff. Do some arm exercises or try some simple pilates moves. You are in a great place. Use this time to make some good habits and gear up for when you are done nursing and can go full speed. Think about what you eat and how you eat. Is it always just out of hunger or is there more? Explore your thoughts and emotions about food like you never have before. Pay attention to your different types of hunger (another post idea). Give yourself a hunger scale from 1-5, 5 being full and 1 starved and pay attention to where you are when you eat. I am so excited for you Brindy. You can do this!
I did some research and this article was the one I liked the best. I liked the part where you weigh in and see if you are on the right path. Losing a lot of weight fast would be great but it is not a long term solution. Your body is trying it's hardest to stay even-steven. You need to get it used to any changes slowly. Otherwise, you risk your body turning on you with things like unquenchable cravings or slowing your metabolism to the point of just plateauing. Every once in a while you need to shake things up but your body likes consistency most of the time.
I believe it takes a good 8-9 months for the body to begin to have it's shape back after a baby. Your mommy instincts are taking over and that is just right. In Myfitnesspal add an exercise of about 500 calories (you lucky puppy), you can call it breastfeeding or providing life sustainability of a human or heroic motherly duty or whatever. Add it everyday as an exercise then reduce it as you nurse less and less.
Also, if you haven't been exercising start with 5 simple exercises in 3 sets of 15 with emphasis on building muscle as opposed to anything that makes you huff and puff. Do some arm exercises or try some simple pilates moves. You are in a great place. Use this time to make some good habits and gear up for when you are done nursing and can go full speed. Think about what you eat and how you eat. Is it always just out of hunger or is there more? Explore your thoughts and emotions about food like you never have before. Pay attention to your different types of hunger (another post idea). Give yourself a hunger scale from 1-5, 5 being full and 1 starved and pay attention to where you are when you eat. I am so excited for you Brindy. You can do this!
Tuesday
Meds?
You are not doomed to a life of obesity just because you don't want to do what it takes to lose weight. Who likes to get sweaty and say no to yummy foods? (these are not true by the way). You can change your thinking. You can! How many things have you grown to like that when you were a kid you would not touch. You changed your mind. Let your mind think thoughts like "what if I liked exercising" or "what if I liked carrots" (yes these were some of mine) or whatever is hard for you. Just consider these things for a while. Let them bounce around your head. Imagine what life would be like. Surely, you can do this...much.
Friday
Feeling April Fresh
Last night I was talking with my good friend Mindy. She is about to start her own health plan and I am way excited for her. She asked me how it feels having lost the weight. How I feel different? Do I have more energy? That kind of thing. I thought that was a really great question and I was surprised at how easily the response came to me. I could easily say the more energy thing but there is so much more. I told her it was just like I have organized and cleaned the entire house from top to bottom and AAHhhh. Sure it was hard work but who doesn't love the aaahhh at the end?
Before, I didn't feel like I was living in a mess of clutter but now that it is gone I see I was living like a hoarder with piles and piles of JUNK (in my trunk). You could say the clutter was fat but I think it was really those awful thoughts and emotions that invade your mind. I still have those thoughts and emotions sometimes but I know how to deal with them better. I feel like I am ahead of the game instead of always trying to catch up. I am on the offense and not the defense. It is like I did a major spring cleaning of my mind and body.
Give yourself a moment to get motivated for this "spring cleaning". Maybe mourn a little for the old you and then get on it! It is a great ride and you can do this!
Before, I didn't feel like I was living in a mess of clutter but now that it is gone I see I was living like a hoarder with piles and piles of JUNK (in my trunk). You could say the clutter was fat but I think it was really those awful thoughts and emotions that invade your mind. I still have those thoughts and emotions sometimes but I know how to deal with them better. I feel like I am ahead of the game instead of always trying to catch up. I am on the offense and not the defense. It is like I did a major spring cleaning of my mind and body.
Give yourself a moment to get motivated for this "spring cleaning". Maybe mourn a little for the old you and then get on it! It is a great ride and you can do this!
New Site
I have made the big switch over to the new site. I am sad to have lost any comments and it is kind of weird to have all the posts posted in the same month but what can you do. Even having a "techie" husband doesn't get me everything - but close enough(love you hunny).
I like this setup a little better and although it will take some time to get every thing in it's right place, I am here. Welcome, welcome!!
I like this setup a little better and although it will take some time to get every thing in it's right place, I am here. Welcome, welcome!!
Thursday
Challenging DNA?
One of the things I have learned with this weight loss is how deceived I have been. Losing weight, especially getting thin, is portrayed as next to impossible. Stories of the Hollywood skinny living off of juiced dandelions or ever popular news reports about obesity in this country that make you feel like it is no choice but to give in to the fatness.
You have heard it a million times but I say it again "if I can do it, anybody can!" and it is not that hard. I have never felt deprived and I used to cry when I would go for another cookie and they were all gone ...true story. Chocolate chip cookies have been a source of motivation to get myself out of bed many a mornings (they are soooo good for breakfast, besides I used a little wheat flour in them, I figured they were at least equal to Fruit Loops;). If someone had told me sooner that life didn't have to completely ...well....suck (there is just no better word for it) losing weight I would have done this way before now.
Think about this. There is a widely accepted truth that DNA effects your probability to be obese. I wonder if that statement is made too casually. For example, my hubby is about 5'11" but averages in the 190's on the scale. He buys a size 32 pant. To look at him you would think he is muscular but not fat. However, he is borderline obese on the charts. I was with him at the doctor when needing to lose a little weight came up. I asked the doctor where he needed to lose weight and after a thorough look-over actually said "maybe in his neck". Seriously, there is no way he is jumping down to normal by shaving off a couple of inches from his neck!
My point is that if all that is considered in the mark of obesity is weight alone then one would get discouraged at the thought of DNA making you fat. Especially when your relations are "fat" as well. If you fed two people the same diet for one year, I think they would look similar. They might weigh very different and their body shapes would be different but I doubt that one would look obese while the other as skinny as a rail. However, that was the impression I got from all the media - lucky or doomed and nothing in between. Not even DNA can stop you from feeling your best and that is what this is about. YOU can do this!
Happy 1 year Yee Haw!!!
Today is the one year anniversary of what I call "my enlightenment". July 31, 2008 I wrote, printed and hung up my pledge that started it all. I can still remember the feeling I had that night. I had not lost a pound or logged a single calorie but I knew I was different. It was one of the best feelings ever!
Today, I can't imagine going back to the "old me". I have come a long way and it has been a wonderful journey. I am back to losing a few pounds after a couple of vacations but I know I have the power to do so.
It is amazing how three pounds can make such a difference in my self worth. It is those thoughts that are my biggest challenge. But, with that understanding it also makes it easier to fight those demons.
I would love for you to share my "awakening anniversary". Start getting your mind in the right place and join me in one year - a success. You can do this!
Today, I can't imagine going back to the "old me". I have come a long way and it has been a wonderful journey. I am back to losing a few pounds after a couple of vacations but I know I have the power to do so.
It is amazing how three pounds can make such a difference in my self worth. It is those thoughts that are my biggest challenge. But, with that understanding it also makes it easier to fight those demons.
I would love for you to share my "awakening anniversary". Start getting your mind in the right place and join me in one year - a success. You can do this!
Mind Over Moods
One of the many things I have come to understand about humans through this weight loss journey is how different we can be from moment to moment and day to day. As I have taken time to access my thoughts and feelings I see more and more how different they are. For example, one day exercise can seem almost unbearable and times seems to stand still. Other days, time flies and I can't understand what all the fuss is - it isn't that big of deal.
What I find really interesting is how I or the world has decided which one of these "feelings" are acceptable and which ones are not. When I have a day that exercise is hard to get through or cravings are knocking at every door in the house, I feel like I have failed - regardless of whether I succeeded that day or not. I have found that one of the biggest challenges has been to redefine these days or to just let them go and not let them hinder my progression.
I would venture to say that maybe one inkling of our obesity crisis comes from our own thinking - our own definition of life from day to day. We have more opportunities than ever before to have life nice and organized and "looking" perfect. We can get things quicker and easier than ever before and there is more available than ever before. It should be easy to lose weight. There are hundreds of ready-made meals with 100 calorie packets for dessert but what gets in the way? Our emotions. One little hint of failure and it makes it so much easier to fail big. Think of the last time you gave in to a binge. What was your mental state like? What about a day when you ate well? Wasn't your mindset completely different, maybe definitions like powerful, strong, positive and determined would have been accurate.
The least effective way to lose weight is to willpower your way through it. Like I said, everyday takes on it's own characteristics. In true lifestyle change you wake up and define the day before you get going. You never let the day just happen. This is hard work and can be scary to some. It can go against everything you have experienced in your life so far. If you take the time, in whatever way you need, to pull in feelings of strength, power, etc, you will succeed and it will get easier and easier. There will always be times that are more difficult than others and that is when you say "this is one of those times that are more difficult" and that is it, you have defined it. You work through those days the best you can but never let that dreaded "F" word (failure) enter your mind. You are going through a hard time and that is it. It doesn't define the rest of your life's choices. Keep that mind in the right place and you will do this!
What I find really interesting is how I or the world has decided which one of these "feelings" are acceptable and which ones are not. When I have a day that exercise is hard to get through or cravings are knocking at every door in the house, I feel like I have failed - regardless of whether I succeeded that day or not. I have found that one of the biggest challenges has been to redefine these days or to just let them go and not let them hinder my progression.
I would venture to say that maybe one inkling of our obesity crisis comes from our own thinking - our own definition of life from day to day. We have more opportunities than ever before to have life nice and organized and "looking" perfect. We can get things quicker and easier than ever before and there is more available than ever before. It should be easy to lose weight. There are hundreds of ready-made meals with 100 calorie packets for dessert but what gets in the way? Our emotions. One little hint of failure and it makes it so much easier to fail big. Think of the last time you gave in to a binge. What was your mental state like? What about a day when you ate well? Wasn't your mindset completely different, maybe definitions like powerful, strong, positive and determined would have been accurate.
The least effective way to lose weight is to willpower your way through it. Like I said, everyday takes on it's own characteristics. In true lifestyle change you wake up and define the day before you get going. You never let the day just happen. This is hard work and can be scary to some. It can go against everything you have experienced in your life so far. If you take the time, in whatever way you need, to pull in feelings of strength, power, etc, you will succeed and it will get easier and easier. There will always be times that are more difficult than others and that is when you say "this is one of those times that are more difficult" and that is it, you have defined it. You work through those days the best you can but never let that dreaded "F" word (failure) enter your mind. You are going through a hard time and that is it. It doesn't define the rest of your life's choices. Keep that mind in the right place and you will do this!
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