On the path to a healthy life and weight loss, it is important to always have a plan. Plan your meals and snacks. Plan your food shopping list. And plan for adversity.
This sounds like a lot of planning, but it is not. Planning your meals and snacks is simple. You can bring your meals and snacks to work and plan what is acceptable when you go to the cafeteria or restaurant. Food shopping is a little more time consuming before you go, but it is quicker at the market. You know what you are going to get so there is no need to lollygag and you are in and out. You are also less likely to succumb to the marketing plays of the store that are designed to separate you from your money. We all know how different the food shopping experience is when you go with a list and without a list. We also know how different shopping can be when we go on an empty stomach. Don’t you buy more junk and high calorie snacks when you shop hungry? I know I do.
It is also very important to have a plan for adversity. When your schedule gets out of whack, and when you find yourself in a dangerous environment, such as an office party with cake and donuts, what will you do? What will you choose when you go to the vending machine? These choices can make so much difference in your daily calorie intake. One unplanned and poor choice can add hundreds, even more than a thousand unplanned calories. Many vending machine choices have five or six hundred calories in an itsy-bitsy little bag.
Always bring snacks with you. There are so many choices that with accelerate your weight loss, such as, carrot or celery sticks, low calorie crackers or cookies, fruit, nuts, trail mix, water, and baked chips or tortilla chips with salsa. It is simply a matter of making the right choices and having those items with you during the day.
Most snacking occurs because of boredom or habit. If you have a plan for when this happens you will save a lot of calories and guilty. When the urge strikes to snack out of habit or boredom, get up and change your scenery for a moment. Walk to the copy machine or outside in the fresh air. A quick and brisk short walk followed up by a cold bottle of water can alleviate your cravings. It also gets your blood flowing to bring vital oxygen to your organs and extremities. It is a matter of changing the pattern that you have had for years.
Change your patterns, change your life.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Do you have a fan club?
The reason that sports teams prefer to play in their hometown is because they have the home team advantage. The familiarity of the field, the short journey to the game, the crowd that cheers for them, and the love of friends and family right there with them. This is their fan club and you need a fan club too.
Whenever we start something new and tell others about it, we always come across those who say, “that will never work” or something pessimistic about it. They might be friends, coworkers, even family. But, there are those who support you, believe in you, and want to see you succeed. Seek these people out, surround yourself with these people, and make them your fan club. We all need a fan club!
When you talk with someone who is not a fan and they ask, “how it’s going?” Tell them great, and it is getting better. But, do not engage in detailed conversation with them. In time, that person is likely to see that you are succeeding and achieving your dreams, and they may become part of your support team, your fan club. Until then, keep them at a distance because you need, we all need, to be around those who truly care for us and want to see us become who we dream to be.
Meet with your fan club, or speak with them often. Have a “fan club” night once a month. Let them know how you are doing, your successes, and your failures. Share in their successes too. They will boost you higher and help pick you up when you need it. Don’t make you journey any harder than it has to be, find those who will push, motivated, and encourage to reach you goals.
You also have to be a part of someone’s fan club. You must be there for others when they need you. Pick them up when they are down, raise them higher when they are successful, and love them when they need a shoulder to rest on. When you are giving to someone, you are also receiving. And the more you give, the more you will receive.
Ah, but what if you do not have any fans? At times, everyone is short of fans. You may have moved, changed jobs, or life has changed. This is a great opportunity for you to build a new fan club. If you are building a fit body, join a club and talk with others, you will find several people that you click with. Go online into forums or chat rooms about a subject that you need support. A fan does not have to be someone you meet face to face. Ask your neighbors, and check the local community message boards for events with people of like minds. Invite your existing fans over for coffee and tell them to bring their fans. If you want it to happen, you must go out and make it happen.
Live in a home team advantage by building a rich and diverse fan club!
Whenever we start something new and tell others about it, we always come across those who say, “that will never work” or something pessimistic about it. They might be friends, coworkers, even family. But, there are those who support you, believe in you, and want to see you succeed. Seek these people out, surround yourself with these people, and make them your fan club. We all need a fan club!
When you talk with someone who is not a fan and they ask, “how it’s going?” Tell them great, and it is getting better. But, do not engage in detailed conversation with them. In time, that person is likely to see that you are succeeding and achieving your dreams, and they may become part of your support team, your fan club. Until then, keep them at a distance because you need, we all need, to be around those who truly care for us and want to see us become who we dream to be.
Meet with your fan club, or speak with them often. Have a “fan club” night once a month. Let them know how you are doing, your successes, and your failures. Share in their successes too. They will boost you higher and help pick you up when you need it. Don’t make you journey any harder than it has to be, find those who will push, motivated, and encourage to reach you goals.
You also have to be a part of someone’s fan club. You must be there for others when they need you. Pick them up when they are down, raise them higher when they are successful, and love them when they need a shoulder to rest on. When you are giving to someone, you are also receiving. And the more you give, the more you will receive.
Ah, but what if you do not have any fans? At times, everyone is short of fans. You may have moved, changed jobs, or life has changed. This is a great opportunity for you to build a new fan club. If you are building a fit body, join a club and talk with others, you will find several people that you click with. Go online into forums or chat rooms about a subject that you need support. A fan does not have to be someone you meet face to face. Ask your neighbors, and check the local community message boards for events with people of like minds. Invite your existing fans over for coffee and tell them to bring their fans. If you want it to happen, you must go out and make it happen.
Live in a home team advantage by building a rich and diverse fan club!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Where does it begin?
It has been estimated that 95% of those who try to diet and lose weight, fail to keep the weight off more than one year. Some estimates are even gloomier. What does the 5% do. Why are they successful when the majority is not?
The commonality of those who are successful is that they choose to live differently. They made a decision that life will be different. Something occurred that made them understand that there was no option but, to lose weight and to live healthy. It was an event or they found the necessary mind shift. Sometimes it is the death of a close friend of similar age and condition. Sometimes it is a diagnosis that is, do or die. Sometimes it is a relationship that ends or one that begins. Whatever the catalyst, the decision was made, and as they say, “set in stone.”
What if you do not have a dramatic experience? What if you do not have an epiphany to become an icon of health? What do you do then? How do you get that necessary mind shift? You must find or create your catalyst for change. If an event does not present itself, you have to create it. This is easier than you might expect. Sit back and think. Think about all of the things you will miss if you die early because of unhealthy life and its medical issues. Think of all of the things your family will miss because you are not there to share it with them. How will your daughter feel when she gets married and her father is not there to walk her down the aisle because he died from a heart attack? How is your son going handle not being able to share the birth of his first child with his mom because she passed from obesity complications? Who is going to teach your son or daughter to play softball or soccer when you cannot keep you breath for more than a few paces? How is your family going to survive financially with only one income because you died suddenly at 52 years old? Who is your spouse going to share the golden years with if you are not there to hold hands?
Does this sound morbid, cruel, or distasteful? It is not! It is the reality for those who remain unhealthy, and certainly for those who are obese and morbidly obese. An early death, an unhealthy being, and limited life is a certainty for those who do not maintain their body, mind, and nutrition. An overweight body is a life full of ailments and doctor visits, multiple surgeries, and medical diagnostics. It is a life full of missed events, opportunities, special occasions, and tender moments. It is a life at its least potential.
I bring this to your attention and hope you understand that life is about choices. You can choose to live unhealthy and fat like you have in the past, or you can choose to recapture your health and youth with a healthy lifestyle. Weight loss is not about a diet, it is about the choice to live well and with balance. Weight loss is easy if you choose to live with a focus on your outcome of a fit body and balanced life. A vibrant body will happen if you focus on an able physique and powerful nutrition instead of focusing on what you have to give up or sacrifice to get it.
When I gave up Mountain Dew, cakes, processed junk food, and processed meats, I was asked by most of my friends and family, don’t you miss x, y, or z. I explain that I did not give up anything because I choose other foods. I choose to have other foods such as fruits, vegetables, and balanced meals. I do not miss my past habits because they are no longer a lifestyle that I crave. What I gave up was clogged arteries, muscle spasms, restless nights sleep, midday doldrums, limited mobility, lack of energy, and a spare tire around my waste.
What I receive is a bounty of fresh foods, wonderful meals, more energy than ever before in my life, a physique of my sculpted early 20s, and an enthusiasm for life that I find only to be shared by those who also live this lifestyle.
Anything is possible in life if you choose to make it happen.
Live well, long, healthy, and happy!!
The commonality of those who are successful is that they choose to live differently. They made a decision that life will be different. Something occurred that made them understand that there was no option but, to lose weight and to live healthy. It was an event or they found the necessary mind shift. Sometimes it is the death of a close friend of similar age and condition. Sometimes it is a diagnosis that is, do or die. Sometimes it is a relationship that ends or one that begins. Whatever the catalyst, the decision was made, and as they say, “set in stone.”
What if you do not have a dramatic experience? What if you do not have an epiphany to become an icon of health? What do you do then? How do you get that necessary mind shift? You must find or create your catalyst for change. If an event does not present itself, you have to create it. This is easier than you might expect. Sit back and think. Think about all of the things you will miss if you die early because of unhealthy life and its medical issues. Think of all of the things your family will miss because you are not there to share it with them. How will your daughter feel when she gets married and her father is not there to walk her down the aisle because he died from a heart attack? How is your son going handle not being able to share the birth of his first child with his mom because she passed from obesity complications? Who is going to teach your son or daughter to play softball or soccer when you cannot keep you breath for more than a few paces? How is your family going to survive financially with only one income because you died suddenly at 52 years old? Who is your spouse going to share the golden years with if you are not there to hold hands?Does this sound morbid, cruel, or distasteful? It is not! It is the reality for those who remain unhealthy, and certainly for those who are obese and morbidly obese. An early death, an unhealthy being, and limited life is a certainty for those who do not maintain their body, mind, and nutrition. An overweight body is a life full of ailments and doctor visits, multiple surgeries, and medical diagnostics. It is a life full of missed events, opportunities, special occasions, and tender moments. It is a life at its least potential.
I bring this to your attention and hope you understand that life is about choices. You can choose to live unhealthy and fat like you have in the past, or you can choose to recapture your health and youth with a healthy lifestyle. Weight loss is not about a diet, it is about the choice to live well and with balance. Weight loss is easy if you choose to live with a focus on your outcome of a fit body and balanced life. A vibrant body will happen if you focus on an able physique and powerful nutrition instead of focusing on what you have to give up or sacrifice to get it.
When I gave up Mountain Dew, cakes, processed junk food, and processed meats, I was asked by most of my friends and family, don’t you miss x, y, or z. I explain that I did not give up anything because I choose other foods. I choose to have other foods such as fruits, vegetables, and balanced meals. I do not miss my past habits because they are no longer a lifestyle that I crave. What I gave up was clogged arteries, muscle spasms, restless nights sleep, midday doldrums, limited mobility, lack of energy, and a spare tire around my waste.
What I receive is a bounty of fresh foods, wonderful meals, more energy than ever before in my life, a physique of my sculpted early 20s, and an enthusiasm for life that I find only to be shared by those who also live this lifestyle.
Anything is possible in life if you choose to make it happen.
Live well, long, healthy, and happy!!
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