Do you ever feel like the man in
this video? Seriously, as I run around town accomplishing my day I see
so many people with nails in their head as regards their health.
So. Many. People.
And I was one of them not so long ago.
Here's
the thing about this supportive community, the thing that I think is
wonderful. We have "fixers" and we have "listeners" on this site. And
no one of us needs to be both at all times. There are many times that
my blogs and my discussion board posts strike the tone of "fixing" which
may not be what some people on here would like to hear at the time.
But I am mostly a fixer.
I
am SO glad we have so many listeners on this site, because truly this
community is so caring and so unique because we all bring something to
the table. Now, back to "out there" in the "real world".
I see
so many people with nails in their head as regards their health, and I
hurt for them. I want to develop relationships with ALL of them so I
can show them what I did to finally get that nail out of my head!
And
as I watch the 400 lbs man on oxygen in his scooter waiting for his
cheesecake sample at Costco, the sense of urgency is sometimes
overwhelming. It sometimes even overwhelms me to tears.
I am quite often the "man" in this video. My idea of "fixing" as regards health is asking the questions:
*Are you following the program as described in the Quick Start Guide?
*Are
you engaging in bites, licks and tastes? Because you will slow or
stall completely (or worse) your progress on this plan if you are.
*Are you drinking all your water?
*Are you eating within 1 hour of waking and then every 2.5-3 hours after that?
*Are you doing too much exercise?
*Are you doing lots of recipes with cheese and tomato sauce?
*Are you weighing your lean cooked protein?
*Are you limiting your condiments to 3, and limiting them to those prescribed in the Condiment/Healthy Fat publication?
*Are you logging your intake?
*Are you FOLLOWING the plan and not substituting your judgment for that of the plan?
*Are you solely utilizing Medifast Meals for your 5 Medifast Meals per day?
*Are you reaching out for support?
*Are you reading Dr. A's Habits of Health in a thoughtful way?
These
are my "go-to's" for fixing my OWN plan when I find that I am faltering
or not getting the results I desire. These are the questions I ask
myself.
Every day that we make a habit out of these practices we go to bed healthier than when we woke up. Every. Day.
I
am just here to say today, one more time, that I am grateful for Take
Shape For Life. I am thankful for the tools that it gave ME to get the
nail out of my head. You know that Bible verse about getting the log
out of our own eye before attempting to remove the splinter out of
someone else's eye? Here's to working on ourselves ALWAYS,
relentlessly, without tiring, and running the good race. Because the
more I am able to be evidence that this program works, the more I can
help other people see the value in this program.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
"Because you can't have enough good people around you...."
“You can’t get enough people like him,” Kraft said, according to USA
Today. “Life is about collecting good people around you. You can’t have
enough good people.”
This was a recent statement by Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, upon signing Tim Tebow on a 2 year contract to play.
I love this sentiment.
Kraft knows that surrounding yourself with good people sets you up for success.
Who are you surrounding yourself with?
Our support system is SO important. It is vastly important to surround yourself with like-minded people who are life-givers, who help you to be the best person you can be.
When you find such people, "collect" them as friendships and pour in to their lives as well. If you have a desert landscape on your horizon as regards friends such as these, begin to seek them out. Relationships are so important on this journey we call life, and especially when we are seeking to become optimally healthy.
Is everyone around you a nay-sayer? Is everyone around you trying to sabotage you or are they telling you that you won't succeed? Ditch 'em.
Seriously. Well, not if they are immediate family.
What if it is a spouse? In THOSE cases, lovingly remind them that you DO have what it takes, then go about proving that without using your words. Do the work. Do it in the background if you need to, do it quietly and without complaint.
I can't tell you how many times I tried a new "diet program" in the years after I got married to my husband, and he would sit back and watch me try...and fail. Try....and fail. Try.....and fail. So it was no wonder that it was with a bit of skepticism he allowed me to try THIS program.
So be gentle with your spouse if they are doubting. Allow your actions to speak LOUDER than your words. Is he still watching you steal "just one" french fry from your child's happy meal? Does he KNOW that your little one didn't in fact finish his pasta at dinner, but oh look the plate on the table near the sink is now empty? Did he suspect that you probably ate "just the crusts" of the leftover pizza that went uneaten at lunch during the game? Does he see the "horizon line" of the ice cream container inching it's way down down down day by day, knowing that HE nor the KIDS are eating it? Does he watch as the block of cheese gets smaller day by day in the refrigerator? Or that the cereal box seems a little more empty in the morning than it was at the end of breakfast the day before? Does he wonder why none of the brownies actually HAVE crusty edges?
If he is seeing any of this going on, then he knows one thing. That you are STILL not being honest with yourself or the plan. So he may bite his tongue, shake his head and hope for a better tomorrow, or he may just ask you why you keep wasting money on "that Medifast stuff" month-to-month because I'll tell you one thing, if you ARE doing those things in that paragraph above, you AREN'T being honest with yourself and you AREN'T being honest with the plan. Ask yourself one thing:
WHY NOT?
Aren't you tired of this cycle? Aren't you tired of this hamster wheel? I was! I was tired of MYSELF and the shenanigans I continued to play when I was "playing at Medifast" or "playing at TSFL".
I was tired of feeling bad. Of feeling guilty. Of feeling shame that I couldn't even control what I put in my FREAKING mouth for 24 hours!
Is this you?
There IS hope.
FIRST, you must SAY WHO IT IS YOU WANT TO BE. Without this, you are directionless. Formulate in your mind WHO IT IS that YOU want to be. WHO is the best version of yourself? What does she look like? What does she do? How do others view her?
Find her. Then become her. How? By doing the things ONLY THAT PERSON would do.
When I decided to become fit and healthy, I was anything BUT fit and healthy. But look. Poof. I'm fit and healthy. Because I started doing every day what fit and healthy people do every day. And eventually my outsides caught up with my insides.
Eventually.
My outsides.
Caught up.
With my insides.
I changed my inside. I changed my mind. That junk became "not my food". At Costco when I'd pass the red wine and black licorice my mantra was "I don't buy that stuff anymore". And I didn't. Did I FEEL it every time? No. But I DID it every time.
What will YOU do today?
Rinse and Repeat!
I'm Stacy Phillips. And I'm who I want to be. I'm fit and healthy. I've lost 130 pounds and kept it off for over a year now. Who are you? Who do you want to be? Become her.
This was a recent statement by Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, upon signing Tim Tebow on a 2 year contract to play.
I love this sentiment.
Kraft knows that surrounding yourself with good people sets you up for success.
Who are you surrounding yourself with?
Our support system is SO important. It is vastly important to surround yourself with like-minded people who are life-givers, who help you to be the best person you can be.
When you find such people, "collect" them as friendships and pour in to their lives as well. If you have a desert landscape on your horizon as regards friends such as these, begin to seek them out. Relationships are so important on this journey we call life, and especially when we are seeking to become optimally healthy.
Is everyone around you a nay-sayer? Is everyone around you trying to sabotage you or are they telling you that you won't succeed? Ditch 'em.
Seriously. Well, not if they are immediate family.
What if it is a spouse? In THOSE cases, lovingly remind them that you DO have what it takes, then go about proving that without using your words. Do the work. Do it in the background if you need to, do it quietly and without complaint.
I can't tell you how many times I tried a new "diet program" in the years after I got married to my husband, and he would sit back and watch me try...and fail. Try....and fail. Try.....and fail. So it was no wonder that it was with a bit of skepticism he allowed me to try THIS program.
So be gentle with your spouse if they are doubting. Allow your actions to speak LOUDER than your words. Is he still watching you steal "just one" french fry from your child's happy meal? Does he KNOW that your little one didn't in fact finish his pasta at dinner, but oh look the plate on the table near the sink is now empty? Did he suspect that you probably ate "just the crusts" of the leftover pizza that went uneaten at lunch during the game? Does he see the "horizon line" of the ice cream container inching it's way down down down day by day, knowing that HE nor the KIDS are eating it? Does he watch as the block of cheese gets smaller day by day in the refrigerator? Or that the cereal box seems a little more empty in the morning than it was at the end of breakfast the day before? Does he wonder why none of the brownies actually HAVE crusty edges?
If he is seeing any of this going on, then he knows one thing. That you are STILL not being honest with yourself or the plan. So he may bite his tongue, shake his head and hope for a better tomorrow, or he may just ask you why you keep wasting money on "that Medifast stuff" month-to-month because I'll tell you one thing, if you ARE doing those things in that paragraph above, you AREN'T being honest with yourself and you AREN'T being honest with the plan. Ask yourself one thing:
WHY NOT?
Aren't you tired of this cycle? Aren't you tired of this hamster wheel? I was! I was tired of MYSELF and the shenanigans I continued to play when I was "playing at Medifast" or "playing at TSFL".
I was tired of feeling bad. Of feeling guilty. Of feeling shame that I couldn't even control what I put in my FREAKING mouth for 24 hours!
Is this you?
There IS hope.
FIRST, you must SAY WHO IT IS YOU WANT TO BE. Without this, you are directionless. Formulate in your mind WHO IT IS that YOU want to be. WHO is the best version of yourself? What does she look like? What does she do? How do others view her?
Find her. Then become her. How? By doing the things ONLY THAT PERSON would do.
When I decided to become fit and healthy, I was anything BUT fit and healthy. But look. Poof. I'm fit and healthy. Because I started doing every day what fit and healthy people do every day. And eventually my outsides caught up with my insides.
Eventually.
My outsides.
Caught up.
With my insides.
I changed my inside. I changed my mind. That junk became "not my food". At Costco when I'd pass the red wine and black licorice my mantra was "I don't buy that stuff anymore". And I didn't. Did I FEEL it every time? No. But I DID it every time.
What will YOU do today?
Rinse and Repeat!
I'm Stacy Phillips. And I'm who I want to be. I'm fit and healthy. I've lost 130 pounds and kept it off for over a year now. Who are you? Who do you want to be? Become her.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Target Fixation
.....Is not a myth! Target fixation. As per Wiki, here is the definition:
"Target fixation is a process by which the brain is focused so intently on an observed object that awareness of other obstacles or hazards can diminish. Also, in an avoidance scenario, the observer can become so fixated on the target that they will forget to take the necessary action to avoid it, thus colliding with the object.
This is a common issue for motorcyclists and mountain bikers. A motorcycle or bicycle will tend to go where the rider is looking; if the rider is overly focused on an obstacle, the cycle can collide with that object simply because of the rider's focus on it, even though the rider is ostensibly trying to avoid it.
The term target fixation was used in World War II fighter-bomber pilot training to describe pilots flying into targets during a strafing or bombing run."
I've brought over a video from YouTube of this very phenomenon. *Warning, graphic*. The cyclists and the motorcyclist are all OK in the end. But here you will see a motorcyclist, and you can tell by his steering that he SEES the cyclists. He tries to AVOID the cyclists but by the very fact that he is CONCENTRATING on NOT hitting the cyclists, he HITS the CYCLISTS.
What is it that we are trying so hard to NOT HIT? What are we focusing all our energy on NOT DOING? What behaviors do we TRY TO AVOID? According the the phenomenon of Target Fixation, it is these very behaviors that by our very focus on NOT doing them, we will DO them.
Why is this? I believe it has something to do with structural tension. Structural tension is talked about in Dr. A's Habits of Health and it is a very real useful tool, but it can also be disastrous if we are focusing on the wrong things. You see, when we focus on something, whether it is DOING something or even NOT doing something, there is a certain amount of unresolved tension that our brains feel. As we go about our day, our brains run a program in the background of our daily activites which seeks to resolve the unresolved tension, because if there is anything our brains are GOOD at it is SOLVING PUZZLES and working out SOLUTIONS. We experience a similar thing when we hear PART of a song but not the whole thing, that song will be playing in our brains all day long it seems like, because there was no conclusion. Our brains like things neatly concluded, wrapped up, and put away. Unresolved tension, either positive or negative, necessarily seeks a solution.
Which is why commercials are so effective, by the way.
OK back to the focusing on the negative behaviors. If we spend all of our time focusing on NOT doing what we DON'T want to do, our brains will see that as negative tension and it will build up and build up because whether we want to do it or not we are FOCUSED on it. And like the motorcycle into the cyclists, we will collide with that negative behavior we are trying to avoid every time.
The solution? Replace the negative behavior with a positive one. Focus on the habits of health, the healthy behaviors that you WANT to do. They will overwrite the negative behaviors, and the negative behaviors will go in to hibernation. They won't go away forever, but they can be suppressed intentionally not by trying NOT to do them, but by developing healthy habits that you can do INSTEAD.
So what will you do today? What habit of health will you bring IN to your life? Focus on THAT and you will collide (in a GOOD way!) with THAT!
Rinse and Repeat!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNFaAqS2f18
"Target fixation is a process by which the brain is focused so intently on an observed object that awareness of other obstacles or hazards can diminish. Also, in an avoidance scenario, the observer can become so fixated on the target that they will forget to take the necessary action to avoid it, thus colliding with the object.
This is a common issue for motorcyclists and mountain bikers. A motorcycle or bicycle will tend to go where the rider is looking; if the rider is overly focused on an obstacle, the cycle can collide with that object simply because of the rider's focus on it, even though the rider is ostensibly trying to avoid it.
The term target fixation was used in World War II fighter-bomber pilot training to describe pilots flying into targets during a strafing or bombing run."
I've brought over a video from YouTube of this very phenomenon. *Warning, graphic*. The cyclists and the motorcyclist are all OK in the end. But here you will see a motorcyclist, and you can tell by his steering that he SEES the cyclists. He tries to AVOID the cyclists but by the very fact that he is CONCENTRATING on NOT hitting the cyclists, he HITS the CYCLISTS.
What is it that we are trying so hard to NOT HIT? What are we focusing all our energy on NOT DOING? What behaviors do we TRY TO AVOID? According the the phenomenon of Target Fixation, it is these very behaviors that by our very focus on NOT doing them, we will DO them.
Why is this? I believe it has something to do with structural tension. Structural tension is talked about in Dr. A's Habits of Health and it is a very real useful tool, but it can also be disastrous if we are focusing on the wrong things. You see, when we focus on something, whether it is DOING something or even NOT doing something, there is a certain amount of unresolved tension that our brains feel. As we go about our day, our brains run a program in the background of our daily activites which seeks to resolve the unresolved tension, because if there is anything our brains are GOOD at it is SOLVING PUZZLES and working out SOLUTIONS. We experience a similar thing when we hear PART of a song but not the whole thing, that song will be playing in our brains all day long it seems like, because there was no conclusion. Our brains like things neatly concluded, wrapped up, and put away. Unresolved tension, either positive or negative, necessarily seeks a solution.
Which is why commercials are so effective, by the way.
OK back to the focusing on the negative behaviors. If we spend all of our time focusing on NOT doing what we DON'T want to do, our brains will see that as negative tension and it will build up and build up because whether we want to do it or not we are FOCUSED on it. And like the motorcycle into the cyclists, we will collide with that negative behavior we are trying to avoid every time.
The solution? Replace the negative behavior with a positive one. Focus on the habits of health, the healthy behaviors that you WANT to do. They will overwrite the negative behaviors, and the negative behaviors will go in to hibernation. They won't go away forever, but they can be suppressed intentionally not by trying NOT to do them, but by developing healthy habits that you can do INSTEAD.
So what will you do today? What habit of health will you bring IN to your life? Focus on THAT and you will collide (in a GOOD way!) with THAT!
Rinse and Repeat!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNFaAqS2f18
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Does Tomorrow Ever Come?
Something I seem to learn time and time again is that the best of intentions do not a reputation make. It is ACTION that speaks louder than words ever can.
Sometimes I have rested in the security of my INTENTIONS only to realize I've actually been stuck in an oscillating pattern of denial.
For example, ever try this one on yourself? "Yeah, I know I'm up a few pounds but I can always get that off....."
It's the "Always" part that is a dead giveaway for me now. When I start those rationalizing "Always" statements in my head is when I know I need to step back and really have a look at what I mean to do. The actions I mean to take.
Because this plan works SO well that it can give me a false sense of security when I start thinking "well I can ALWAYS get serious and just do it already."
Really? How is that working out for me? Am I ALWAYS saying that and NEVER doing it?
So really what I need to hear when I tell myself that is....
"Blah blah blah."
Because that is about the meat of the issue.
Henry Ford did say that a reputation is not built on intention. It is built on action. I want to be the one that proves to myself every day that I can consistently practice the habits of health. Over and over. Today. Not tomorrow. Today.
Because last I checked, tomorrow NEVER comes. My life has, since the day I was born, been a bunch of "todays" lined up in a neat little row. So what am I doing TODAY to meet my goals? What am I doing with my NEXT decision?
Rinsing and Repeating, that's what!
Sometimes I have rested in the security of my INTENTIONS only to realize I've actually been stuck in an oscillating pattern of denial.
For example, ever try this one on yourself? "Yeah, I know I'm up a few pounds but I can always get that off....."
It's the "Always" part that is a dead giveaway for me now. When I start those rationalizing "Always" statements in my head is when I know I need to step back and really have a look at what I mean to do. The actions I mean to take.
Because this plan works SO well that it can give me a false sense of security when I start thinking "well I can ALWAYS get serious and just do it already."
Really? How is that working out for me? Am I ALWAYS saying that and NEVER doing it?
So really what I need to hear when I tell myself that is....
"Blah blah blah."
Because that is about the meat of the issue.
Henry Ford did say that a reputation is not built on intention. It is built on action. I want to be the one that proves to myself every day that I can consistently practice the habits of health. Over and over. Today. Not tomorrow. Today.
Because last I checked, tomorrow NEVER comes. My life has, since the day I was born, been a bunch of "todays" lined up in a neat little row. So what am I doing TODAY to meet my goals? What am I doing with my NEXT decision?
Rinsing and Repeating, that's what!
Monday, May 27, 2013
Changing the Paradigm. From Excess to Contentment.
We live in an amazing country, don't
we? On this Memorial Day I want to pause just a moment and remember
the sacrifices that so many have made in order that we can live free and
in relative safety. This great American Experiment has resulted in an
amazing country for us to live in, with amazing opportunities for all.
One of the opportunities we have is to pursue happiness. That is really what, for me, this process of getting healthy is all about. I am exercising my right to pursue happiness.
My own personal journey to health has taught me many things. One is forgive yourself early and often, love yourself, and always do what is BEST for yourself in every circumstances. It meant learning that what was BEST for me wasn't always what I necessarily WANTED to do or FELT like doing at the time.
You see, I have wrestled, for much of my life until recently, with a tendency towards excess.
And in this country it is not hard to pursue excess. Because hey, if some is good, more is better.....RIGHT?
In the area of STUFF:
I accumulated collections of this and that, things I could never possibly use all of, but just wanted to HAVE for some reason. Teacups. Depression Glass. Fireking Jadeite dishware. Shoes. Dale of Norway Sweaters. Quilts. Coffee mugs. Bakeware. Cake pans. Candy making moulds. Cookie cutters. Cookbooks. If I was going to take an interest in something, I wanted ALL OF IT. As MUCH of it as I could obtain.
Excess. Much more than I could possibly use, much more than I could possibly need in ANY circumstance.
What I didn't realize was this attitude extended to my life situation also. I did this with food. I packed excess energy on my body. I filled up my fat cells and carried the long-term energy around with me because I ate more than I needed for my immediate needs. Being fat is a form of hoarding. It is eating much MORE calories than I needed, setting emotional reasons aside it truly was hoarding food on my person.
Excess. Much more than I could possibly use, much more than I could possibly need in ANY circumstance.
When I realized what I was doing to myself, because of my tendency towards excess (gluttony, really, but not limited to food), I had a realy hard look at myself and evaluated what I was going to do about it.
I determined that I would BEGIN PRACTICING CONTENTMENT. Paul talks about contentment in Philippians 4:11 "For I have learned to be content in whatever the circumstances". WHATEVER the circumstances. He LEARNED to be content. That means he wasn't before, but made it a priority to learn it and practice it.
I am well in to my journey of learning and practicing contentment. Some days are easier than others. But every day I have the choice to BE content in my present circumstance. Whether that circumstance is my desire to bring my body in to energy balance and rid myself of the excess energy stores I was hoarding (fat), whether it is selling all but my 6 favorite teacups on Ebay, whether it is giving all but 2 of my quilts to Goodwill, WHATEVER the circumstance, I am learning to be content with what I have, and to only accumulate what I NEED.
This includes food. I stopped hoarding food in my house, and I stopped hoarding calories in my fat cells. Letting it all go. Letting that desire for excess ANYTHING just go away by practicing contentment has been one of the greatest gifts I can give myself. Simplifying my plan, simplifying my life, all of that has lifted such a heavy burden, both on my physical person (fat), AND in my possessions (our garage is CLEAN and UNCLUTTERED!) is such a peaceful feeling.
I also noticed it in the area of weight loss. I was not bothered when I had "only" lost half a pound or 1 pound in a week because I was not frantic to accumulate SUCCESS. I was CONTENT to let the process that I had committed myself to over the long haul really work itself out by me being diligent and doing the work. So whether I lose 4 pounds in a week or 1/4 of a pound, I am practicing contentment.
So this Memorial Day, will you begin practicing contentment? Will you put down the burden of that urgency to accumulate, be it food, pounds, weight losses, success, WHATEVER it is, and practice contentment?
Rinse and Repeat!
One of the opportunities we have is to pursue happiness. That is really what, for me, this process of getting healthy is all about. I am exercising my right to pursue happiness.
My own personal journey to health has taught me many things. One is forgive yourself early and often, love yourself, and always do what is BEST for yourself in every circumstances. It meant learning that what was BEST for me wasn't always what I necessarily WANTED to do or FELT like doing at the time.
You see, I have wrestled, for much of my life until recently, with a tendency towards excess.
And in this country it is not hard to pursue excess. Because hey, if some is good, more is better.....RIGHT?
In the area of STUFF:
I accumulated collections of this and that, things I could never possibly use all of, but just wanted to HAVE for some reason. Teacups. Depression Glass. Fireking Jadeite dishware. Shoes. Dale of Norway Sweaters. Quilts. Coffee mugs. Bakeware. Cake pans. Candy making moulds. Cookie cutters. Cookbooks. If I was going to take an interest in something, I wanted ALL OF IT. As MUCH of it as I could obtain.
Excess. Much more than I could possibly use, much more than I could possibly need in ANY circumstance.
What I didn't realize was this attitude extended to my life situation also. I did this with food. I packed excess energy on my body. I filled up my fat cells and carried the long-term energy around with me because I ate more than I needed for my immediate needs. Being fat is a form of hoarding. It is eating much MORE calories than I needed, setting emotional reasons aside it truly was hoarding food on my person.
Excess. Much more than I could possibly use, much more than I could possibly need in ANY circumstance.
When I realized what I was doing to myself, because of my tendency towards excess (gluttony, really, but not limited to food), I had a realy hard look at myself and evaluated what I was going to do about it.
I determined that I would BEGIN PRACTICING CONTENTMENT. Paul talks about contentment in Philippians 4:11 "For I have learned to be content in whatever the circumstances". WHATEVER the circumstances. He LEARNED to be content. That means he wasn't before, but made it a priority to learn it and practice it.
I am well in to my journey of learning and practicing contentment. Some days are easier than others. But every day I have the choice to BE content in my present circumstance. Whether that circumstance is my desire to bring my body in to energy balance and rid myself of the excess energy stores I was hoarding (fat), whether it is selling all but my 6 favorite teacups on Ebay, whether it is giving all but 2 of my quilts to Goodwill, WHATEVER the circumstance, I am learning to be content with what I have, and to only accumulate what I NEED.
This includes food. I stopped hoarding food in my house, and I stopped hoarding calories in my fat cells. Letting it all go. Letting that desire for excess ANYTHING just go away by practicing contentment has been one of the greatest gifts I can give myself. Simplifying my plan, simplifying my life, all of that has lifted such a heavy burden, both on my physical person (fat), AND in my possessions (our garage is CLEAN and UNCLUTTERED!) is such a peaceful feeling.
I also noticed it in the area of weight loss. I was not bothered when I had "only" lost half a pound or 1 pound in a week because I was not frantic to accumulate SUCCESS. I was CONTENT to let the process that I had committed myself to over the long haul really work itself out by me being diligent and doing the work. So whether I lose 4 pounds in a week or 1/4 of a pound, I am practicing contentment.
So this Memorial Day, will you begin practicing contentment? Will you put down the burden of that urgency to accumulate, be it food, pounds, weight losses, success, WHATEVER it is, and practice contentment?
Rinse and Repeat!
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Happy Weekend! Happy Holiday Saturday Weekend!
Today is a day to celebrate because it is a HOLIDAY WEEKEND!!
How will you celebrate? I'll tell you how I will NOT celebrate:
I will NOT celebrate by thinking I can "relax" my eating plan and take a vacation from my body.
I will NOT celebrate by sabotaging myself TODAY to take the pressure off Monday. How THAT would look if I chose to do it would be that SINCE I knew I was going to be celebrating Memorial Day with friends and family at a BBQ, I was anticipating that stressful situation (because I chose to make it stressful and all about what I could "eat" or not instead of focusing on the social aspect) I decided to be "bad" on my "diet" TODAY so that I could then just say "well I'm already off, I might as well ride this tide and start over on Tuesday".
Have you ever done that? Have you ever pre-sabotaged yourself so that you could really cut loose "guilt free" on the occasion you wanted to?
Say you have a Birthday tomorrow, would you go off plan today so that you could relieve the tension of "having" to stay on your "diet" on your Birthday?
I used to do that ALL THE TIME, when health was NOT my primary concern. When the scale, and the number it read wasn't even my primary concern. I recognize that I used to get that attitude when all I was really worried about was NOT GAINING WEIGHT.
I had to really dig down deep and make a decision towards OPTIMAL HEALTH when I decided that my journey wasn't simply going to be about NOT GAINING WEIGHT.
What is your goal? Do you enter your weekend thinking "as long as I can maintain this week I'm happy". Really? That is GREAT thinking if you are in maintenance, but are you in maintenance? If not, then the most appropriate thing to do in order to continue to move towards what you SAID you wanted is to make a plan for the weekend and stay on your plan.
I know all about "but it's hard on the weekends I'm so unstructured, whereas I'm structured with my schedule during the week and so it is easy."
Well I ask you, who is in charge of your schedule on the weekends? YOU! You can fix that whole "unstructured/unscheduled" thing in 5 minutes on a Friday evening by taking out a piece of paper and creating a loose structure for your weekend. Either that, or just get comfortable having your Program running in the background, as the wallpaper so to speak of your weekend, so that structured OR unstructured there is one constant, and that is your eating plan. Your purposeful, intentional eating plan, the one that you said you wanted to do in order to get where you want to go.
There is a great little feature on your cell-phone called an "Alarm" which you can even set JUST for Saturdays and Sundays to repeat.
Set your alarms to go off every 3 hours on Saturdays and Sundays. This is your "eat and drink" alarm. When you wake up, first thing, drink 8 ounces of water, and then every time the alarm goes off (should be 6 times), eat a Medifast Meal (or your Lean and green) and drink 16 ounces of water. Then drink 8 more ounces of water at bedtime and you are good to go!
There! Now you are "structured".
Do you see what you are really saying when you are saying "but it's so hard when I'm not structured like during the week"? You are saying that you have no intrinsic motivation to do this plan. You are saying that you can do this only when you don't have to think about it, only when you are so distracted by other things that yummy food thoughts can't enter your brain. You are saying that you lack the foresight and the planning capabilities to take care of yourself over the weekend, that you are simply responding in an undisciplined and spontaneous way to things that happen TO YOU over the weekend.
You are letting life happen to YOU instead of YOU happening on LIFE.
Is this you? Are you letting life happen to YOU?
I know that for much of my adult life I allowed life to happen to ME. This made me a victim. A victim of my own making.
Do you wake up on Monday mornings (or on this Holiday weekend, Tuesday morning) and feel like you were a victim of the weekend? Then STOP IT! Honestly, stop being a victim. Be a victor instead. Schedule your weekend. Schedule your meals. Do a little bit of planning and preparation so that you don't allow yourself to be tossed around like a boat with no sail on a choppy sea, with no direction.
Maintain. Your. Course.
Rinse and Repeat!
How will you celebrate? I'll tell you how I will NOT celebrate:
I will NOT celebrate by thinking I can "relax" my eating plan and take a vacation from my body.
I will NOT celebrate by sabotaging myself TODAY to take the pressure off Monday. How THAT would look if I chose to do it would be that SINCE I knew I was going to be celebrating Memorial Day with friends and family at a BBQ, I was anticipating that stressful situation (because I chose to make it stressful and all about what I could "eat" or not instead of focusing on the social aspect) I decided to be "bad" on my "diet" TODAY so that I could then just say "well I'm already off, I might as well ride this tide and start over on Tuesday".
Have you ever done that? Have you ever pre-sabotaged yourself so that you could really cut loose "guilt free" on the occasion you wanted to?
Say you have a Birthday tomorrow, would you go off plan today so that you could relieve the tension of "having" to stay on your "diet" on your Birthday?
I used to do that ALL THE TIME, when health was NOT my primary concern. When the scale, and the number it read wasn't even my primary concern. I recognize that I used to get that attitude when all I was really worried about was NOT GAINING WEIGHT.
I had to really dig down deep and make a decision towards OPTIMAL HEALTH when I decided that my journey wasn't simply going to be about NOT GAINING WEIGHT.
What is your goal? Do you enter your weekend thinking "as long as I can maintain this week I'm happy". Really? That is GREAT thinking if you are in maintenance, but are you in maintenance? If not, then the most appropriate thing to do in order to continue to move towards what you SAID you wanted is to make a plan for the weekend and stay on your plan.
I know all about "but it's hard on the weekends I'm so unstructured, whereas I'm structured with my schedule during the week and so it is easy."
Well I ask you, who is in charge of your schedule on the weekends? YOU! You can fix that whole "unstructured/unscheduled" thing in 5 minutes on a Friday evening by taking out a piece of paper and creating a loose structure for your weekend. Either that, or just get comfortable having your Program running in the background, as the wallpaper so to speak of your weekend, so that structured OR unstructured there is one constant, and that is your eating plan. Your purposeful, intentional eating plan, the one that you said you wanted to do in order to get where you want to go.
There is a great little feature on your cell-phone called an "Alarm" which you can even set JUST for Saturdays and Sundays to repeat.
Set your alarms to go off every 3 hours on Saturdays and Sundays. This is your "eat and drink" alarm. When you wake up, first thing, drink 8 ounces of water, and then every time the alarm goes off (should be 6 times), eat a Medifast Meal (or your Lean and green) and drink 16 ounces of water. Then drink 8 more ounces of water at bedtime and you are good to go!
There! Now you are "structured".
Do you see what you are really saying when you are saying "but it's so hard when I'm not structured like during the week"? You are saying that you have no intrinsic motivation to do this plan. You are saying that you can do this only when you don't have to think about it, only when you are so distracted by other things that yummy food thoughts can't enter your brain. You are saying that you lack the foresight and the planning capabilities to take care of yourself over the weekend, that you are simply responding in an undisciplined and spontaneous way to things that happen TO YOU over the weekend.
You are letting life happen to YOU instead of YOU happening on LIFE.
Is this you? Are you letting life happen to YOU?
I know that for much of my adult life I allowed life to happen to ME. This made me a victim. A victim of my own making.
Do you wake up on Monday mornings (or on this Holiday weekend, Tuesday morning) and feel like you were a victim of the weekend? Then STOP IT! Honestly, stop being a victim. Be a victor instead. Schedule your weekend. Schedule your meals. Do a little bit of planning and preparation so that you don't allow yourself to be tossed around like a boat with no sail on a choppy sea, with no direction.
Maintain. Your. Course.
Rinse and Repeat!
Thursday, May 23, 2013
To BE or not to BE.....
Free!
I am free to eat whatever I want, whenever I want, in whatever quantity I want. Thing is, I WANT only that which will allow me to attain and maintain a healthy weight.
I am free to find my true potential in every area of my life. The extra weight kept me a prisoner to the "hope" and the "desire" and the "longing" to "lose weight" and so I never had room for any other dreams in my mind. Getting healthy opened up ALL of my dream potential! I now dream of running the Paris Marathon. I now dream of getting my Masters and then my Ph.D in Nutrition with an emphasis on Obesity Science. I now dream of being a public speaker nationwide to tell people they don't have to be held captive by their fat suit any longer, they are FREE to choose the better life. And it IS a better life, in my estimation. Everything is easier and less stressful now that I'm not an overweight or obese individual. Do I still have problems and stress? Yes, but they aren't compounded by my inability to move around, to breathe fully, to sleep well, or to make a good first impression. So, yeah, better!
I am free to be the best ME I can be. And I can't put a dollar figure on that, so when people tell me "but the food is expensive" I don't even know what to say anymore. Being fat is expensive too. It will cost you EVERYTHING you have, it will take attention away from your family, it will make your vacations less fun because you can't go horseback riding. You can't go swimming in the ocean. You can't jet-ski. You can't paraglide. You can't hike, bike, or do the limbo. You aren't FREE to do ANY of those things, and I remember always being the one covered from head to toe with a cover-up and a hat, sitting under the umbrella with a good book (which was never so good) and a margarita while everyone else was playing volleyball or building sand castles.
And I will never be that person anymore. She wasn't me. I wasn't her. I never felt comfortable in my fat suit, it was as if I was screaming from inside "wait, this is wrong...this isn't me! I'm in here!"
It felt so foreign to have my chest resting on my steering wheel whenever I drove anyplace. I felt so invisible walking around airports or school campuses or shopping malls because no one, and I do mean NO ONE wanted to make eye contact with me or smile at me. Be careful, oooooh be careful not to step in any designer women's clothes stores because I'll catch the scornful look of the sales lady as she thinks "there's nothing in HERE for YOU".
Yes it is a cruel world for the obese individual. I remember well. Because I WAS a morbidly Class 4 SUPER obese individual for most of my adult life.
I remember getting married at a svelte 122 pounds. I had yo-yo'd with my weight for high school and college, getting a handle on it, then gaining a few, then getting a handle on it, then gaining a few.
Then I got married, and somehow proceeded to gain 10 pounds a year for 10 years.
Don't ask me why. I don't have an answer for you. I've never succumbed to the therapy chair to try to unravel the mysteries of why I did that to myself. I have never felt the need, I knew I wasn't an abused child in any way, just a shy one. I knew that I used food for comfort, entertainment, stress release, and to feel loved. Thing is, that food never truly gave any of that back to me. Do you know what it gave back to me? Heartache. Remorse. Shame. Sickness. Plantar Fasciitis. A sore back. Snoring. Sleeplessness. Guilt. Feelings of inadequacy. Obesity-related Depression. Doesn't sound like the things that a friend gives you, does it? Unless it is a co-dependent relationship.
When I decided to CHANGE that relationship I had with food is when the tide turned for me. Or rather, I TURNED THE TIDE for MYSELF. You see, hope is NOT a strategy. Hope is the underlying mechanism to cause us to develop a strategy, but we must take that step and then implement that strategy in order for our hope to be realized. But not just any strategy, the strategy that WORKS, the strategy that will yeild results.
"Hoping" you will lose weight while simultaneously acting in a manner in which you don't stay on plan makes as much sense as "hoping" you'll win the lottery but failing to buy your ticket. It is the WRONG strategy to realize the hope that you have, therefore your hope will NEVER materialize if you don't buy that ticket. Same thing with the Medifast 5&1 Plan. You can "hope" all day that you will "lose weight this week" but then head off to Auntie Ethel and Uncle Joe's BBQ where Ethel has made her world-famous award-winning blue-ribbon Lemon Meringue Pie, and you can spend all 3 hours you are there dancing circles around that pie, thinking about that pie, longing for a piece of that pie, then creating so much tension around that pie that you absolutely MUST have a SLIVER in order that your brain will cease TORMENTING you about that PIE!
I CAN control what I put in my mouth for 24 hours. And that's all I need to do. That is my part. To have a plan, and to execute that plan TODAY. Just today. I am FREE to take my health in whatever direction I want to. But to do NOTHING or to give this plan half of the attention it deserves, to take bites licks and tastes thereby rendering the plan powerless to effect a real change in my life is NOT a strategy which will ultimately lead to long-term success.
And the "I lost weight anyway!" sentiment? Great. I'm happy for you. I'm happy that you momentarily validated a strategy that will fail. No, I'm not really, but if you believe the lie you are telling yourself that you can continue to do a version of the plan and have long term success, I just need to pipe in and be a voice of reason for you to tell you "nope, won't happen". Because you are treating this as a diet still. And diets fail. You are sneaking things and hoping you will "get away with it" by "at least I'm no gaining weight" or "I still lost 1/4 pound this week so it must be OK". Good luck with that.
I want everyone to succeed! But you've been doing this "your way" all your life, and where has it ultimately gotten you? Are you ready to submit to THE plan and be FREE to choose optimal health?
Are you ready?
Rinse and Repeat!
I am free to eat whatever I want, whenever I want, in whatever quantity I want. Thing is, I WANT only that which will allow me to attain and maintain a healthy weight.
I am free to find my true potential in every area of my life. The extra weight kept me a prisoner to the "hope" and the "desire" and the "longing" to "lose weight" and so I never had room for any other dreams in my mind. Getting healthy opened up ALL of my dream potential! I now dream of running the Paris Marathon. I now dream of getting my Masters and then my Ph.D in Nutrition with an emphasis on Obesity Science. I now dream of being a public speaker nationwide to tell people they don't have to be held captive by their fat suit any longer, they are FREE to choose the better life. And it IS a better life, in my estimation. Everything is easier and less stressful now that I'm not an overweight or obese individual. Do I still have problems and stress? Yes, but they aren't compounded by my inability to move around, to breathe fully, to sleep well, or to make a good first impression. So, yeah, better!
I am free to be the best ME I can be. And I can't put a dollar figure on that, so when people tell me "but the food is expensive" I don't even know what to say anymore. Being fat is expensive too. It will cost you EVERYTHING you have, it will take attention away from your family, it will make your vacations less fun because you can't go horseback riding. You can't go swimming in the ocean. You can't jet-ski. You can't paraglide. You can't hike, bike, or do the limbo. You aren't FREE to do ANY of those things, and I remember always being the one covered from head to toe with a cover-up and a hat, sitting under the umbrella with a good book (which was never so good) and a margarita while everyone else was playing volleyball or building sand castles.
And I will never be that person anymore. She wasn't me. I wasn't her. I never felt comfortable in my fat suit, it was as if I was screaming from inside "wait, this is wrong...this isn't me! I'm in here!"
It felt so foreign to have my chest resting on my steering wheel whenever I drove anyplace. I felt so invisible walking around airports or school campuses or shopping malls because no one, and I do mean NO ONE wanted to make eye contact with me or smile at me. Be careful, oooooh be careful not to step in any designer women's clothes stores because I'll catch the scornful look of the sales lady as she thinks "there's nothing in HERE for YOU".
Yes it is a cruel world for the obese individual. I remember well. Because I WAS a morbidly Class 4 SUPER obese individual for most of my adult life.
I remember getting married at a svelte 122 pounds. I had yo-yo'd with my weight for high school and college, getting a handle on it, then gaining a few, then getting a handle on it, then gaining a few.
Then I got married, and somehow proceeded to gain 10 pounds a year for 10 years.
Don't ask me why. I don't have an answer for you. I've never succumbed to the therapy chair to try to unravel the mysteries of why I did that to myself. I have never felt the need, I knew I wasn't an abused child in any way, just a shy one. I knew that I used food for comfort, entertainment, stress release, and to feel loved. Thing is, that food never truly gave any of that back to me. Do you know what it gave back to me? Heartache. Remorse. Shame. Sickness. Plantar Fasciitis. A sore back. Snoring. Sleeplessness. Guilt. Feelings of inadequacy. Obesity-related Depression. Doesn't sound like the things that a friend gives you, does it? Unless it is a co-dependent relationship.
When I decided to CHANGE that relationship I had with food is when the tide turned for me. Or rather, I TURNED THE TIDE for MYSELF. You see, hope is NOT a strategy. Hope is the underlying mechanism to cause us to develop a strategy, but we must take that step and then implement that strategy in order for our hope to be realized. But not just any strategy, the strategy that WORKS, the strategy that will yeild results.
"Hoping" you will lose weight while simultaneously acting in a manner in which you don't stay on plan makes as much sense as "hoping" you'll win the lottery but failing to buy your ticket. It is the WRONG strategy to realize the hope that you have, therefore your hope will NEVER materialize if you don't buy that ticket. Same thing with the Medifast 5&1 Plan. You can "hope" all day that you will "lose weight this week" but then head off to Auntie Ethel and Uncle Joe's BBQ where Ethel has made her world-famous award-winning blue-ribbon Lemon Meringue Pie, and you can spend all 3 hours you are there dancing circles around that pie, thinking about that pie, longing for a piece of that pie, then creating so much tension around that pie that you absolutely MUST have a SLIVER in order that your brain will cease TORMENTING you about that PIE!
I CAN control what I put in my mouth for 24 hours. And that's all I need to do. That is my part. To have a plan, and to execute that plan TODAY. Just today. I am FREE to take my health in whatever direction I want to. But to do NOTHING or to give this plan half of the attention it deserves, to take bites licks and tastes thereby rendering the plan powerless to effect a real change in my life is NOT a strategy which will ultimately lead to long-term success.
And the "I lost weight anyway!" sentiment? Great. I'm happy for you. I'm happy that you momentarily validated a strategy that will fail. No, I'm not really, but if you believe the lie you are telling yourself that you can continue to do a version of the plan and have long term success, I just need to pipe in and be a voice of reason for you to tell you "nope, won't happen". Because you are treating this as a diet still. And diets fail. You are sneaking things and hoping you will "get away with it" by "at least I'm no gaining weight" or "I still lost 1/4 pound this week so it must be OK". Good luck with that.
I want everyone to succeed! But you've been doing this "your way" all your life, and where has it ultimately gotten you? Are you ready to submit to THE plan and be FREE to choose optimal health?
Are you ready?
Rinse and Repeat!
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