Beyond the New Year's Weight Loss Resolution

"I'm in it to win it"
-Geno Auriemma, head coach, UCONN Huskies Women's Basketball team

With the coming New Year, a typical New Year's resolution is to lose weight, go on a diet.  My blog entry today is to give some motivational pointers to go beyond the resolution.  We must push and inspire ourselves to make that commitment, then go beyond it.

It sure would be nice to have a motivating coach, one who pushes us harder and further to be the best we can possibly be in order to keep us on track, stay inspired and committed to our diet and healthy lifestyle.  For most of us; however, sticking to that healthy lifestyle is a personal thing that only we can do for ourselves.  We need to be our own coach! 

Here are some inspirational points to consider for your New Year diet resolutions:

- Find that thing inside you that drives you to succeed.  What is the real reason to commit?

-Become your own mentor who completely cares about and believes in you.

-Have high expectations of yourself, your goals and ambition.

-Stay focused on your weight loss plans and get it done.

-Be your own leader, no one else is going to do it for you.

-When your resolution is not going easy, reach deeper inside yourself and make it happen.

-Expect greatness from yourself and maintain a level of excellence to do well with your plan.

-Continue to plan things out and stay organized with your healthy goals.  Pave your path.

-Always move forward and keep your plans rolling. 

I believe when we put emotions behind our weight loss and health goals, we develop a mindset that cannot be beat.  This winning combination inspires us to continue to step up to the challenge and take the prize of a better life!

With regard to my weight loss, I'm proud to say I'm a loser; yet, I am in it to win it.  Are you in?

Have a Happy and Healthy New Year.

Act, Dream, Plan, Believe.........

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe. - Anatole France

The other day, I was very impressed with an old friend who decided to start the diet plan I follow last week!  Wow, to start a diet right before the holidays is very commendable.  She decided to take action on her weight loss goals.  No wavering, excuses, nor reasons not to start now!  She said she absolutely believed she could do it.


That made me think about my own weight loss thinking and how I tend to live my life in two ways. On one hand, I'm a very practical person.  I organize and plan my weight loss goals out.  On the other hand, I'm also what I'd call visionary.  I like to dream about and deeply believe in attaining those goals.  I have come to recognize, when I combine both those facets of my life, I'm more successful with my weight loss.


To act, is to take the first step.  The best way to do this is to find and commit to a weight loss plan that suits you.  It is important to learn everything about and understand the plan, seek out support and assistance and then go for it.  Just do it.  Continue to commit.


To dream, is to actually "see" yourself meeting your weight loss goals.  See yourself more healthy.  Dream about wearing clothes that fit properly and enhance your appearance.  See yourself getting around better and feeling like you have more energy.  As you become more confident about your dreams coming true, they DO become more of a reality!


To plan, is to be organized.  Attaining weight loss requires planning and organization for the best and most optimal results.  It is necessary to organize your food choices, food shopping, food preparation, and you must always have the right or proper, healthy food on hand no matter what circumstance.  Have your plan set in your mind for sticking to your diet whether you are going out, traveling, attending parties, family gatherings or celebrating holidays.  It is imperative you organize time in your life to exercise.  Also, plan some time for utilizing support groups or supportive people either in person or online.

To believe, is to really believe in yourself.  Know you can do this; you can stick to plan and lose weight, become healthy.  I deeply believed I could "do this thing" (my personal mantra) and no one could dissuade me, not even myself.  I had that much conviction and belief in my weight loss journey.  


I encourage you all to continue to act upon, dream, plan and believe in your own weight loss goals.  Always continue to inspire yourself!  Always, have the confidence to stay on track and most of all, truly believe you can do it!

Every So Often "Shake" Up your Exercise Routine

So, I'll admit it, I'm not any expert on exercise routines.  To be honest, I exercise not because I really, really want to go to the gym, but I do exercise regularly because I have to do that for my health.  I do; however, want to know more about exercise so when I'm in the gym, I'm getting the most out of my time spent there.  I talk to the professional trainers there and my spouse is a former Bodybuilding Champion, so  I feel I get good, practical advice from helpful people.   My blog entry today is to share that with you and tell you about my latest crazy time at the gym. 

Here are some exercise tips for getting the most out of your time spent working out.

-Whether you go to a gym, workout at home or take a walk or run, do that at least 5 times a week for 30 mins.

-If you have been doing the same workout over and over again for the past several months, your body will start to get used to it and the workout benefit will not be as great.

-If you are a beginner, change up your workout routine about every 6 weeks.  This resets your body, because, as I said above,  if you are doing the same thing all the time, you will not see as much change as you would like to see for your efforts.

-If you are more advanced, change up your workout every 4 weeks.

-Find new ways to make your exercise routine FUN!!!  And some suggestions are:
     1.  Partner up with a workout buddy.
     2.  Go out and play sports like tennis, golf, cycling.  Make this activity a social thing.
     3.  Find a hobby that requires physical exercise.  I am an extreme winter water metal detectorist
           and I'm getting excellent exercise while finding cool treasures!
     4.  Use your TV to workout to DVDs, dance to music on your Ipod or dance CDs.
     5.  Get exercise and relax at the same time by taking a walk or run in nature, ie, in the woods, at a
           park or at the beach.    
     6.  Go to a group fitness class with a good instructor who is enthusiastic and knowledgeable.

The last point I make, go to a fitness class, is where my funny story comes into "play"  I decided to "Shake" up my exercise routine and I had been hearing people talk about how much they liked their Zumba classes.  Now, Zumba is a dance fitness program created to combine Latin and international music with dance in an effort to make exercise fun.  At my gym there are Zumba classes as part of the membership.  Last night, I got up the courage and took my first class.  Let me tell you, it was fun, I loved the music, but I felt like I was Lucy in the I love Lucy Show.  You know, when she would try to sneak into Ricky's show routine and totally mess up the act!!!  Yes, that was me!! 

Nevertheless, I tried something new, found that I liked it, could laugh at myself and literally did "Shake" up my exercise regime!  So, everyone get out there, do something new and get a jump start on exercise, even before the New Year.

During this Holiday Season: Plan to Stay on Plan

The Holidays are now upon us.   It is a time to celebrate with family, friends and food. I know a number of people who have been working on losing weight this past year or have even started a new diet just before the holidays.  If you have been working on your weight loss plan, you may want to plan to stay on plan and not sabotage your weight loss goals during the holiday season!  By making a commitment to yourself and your health, you can enjoy the holiday season and celebrations without abandoning your weight loss goals.  I know I plan to stay on plan, so here are some points to consider while celebrating the holidays and sticking to your healthy lifestyle: 

-Don't think diet, rather think about eating healthier and your choice of weight loss plan is simply your lifestyle.

-Tell your friends and family you are working at a weight loss goal.  Help them better understand your choice of foods and the reasons why you are eating healthier.

-Eat before going to a holiday celebration or party.  Most likely, you will be less likely to be hungry and fill up on snack foods, sweets and drinks.


-Reduce or avoid alcohol .  Instead, drink plenty of water or sparkling water with lemon or lime.


-Prepare or bring low-fat, healthier dishes to gatherings or parties.


-Avoid skipping eating before the big holiday meal. You don't want to be starving and then make the choice to eat sweets and other unhealthy foods.

- Relax and enjoy the joy of the holidays. If you do cave, and have desserts, for example, just get right back on track, right back on plan.

-Do keep up your exercise regime.  It will help you maintain your weight loss, give you more energy and help you to deal better with any holiday stress. Exercise will keep your focus to stay on plan with your weight loss goals.

During this holiday and gift-giving season, give yourself the greatest gift of all, the gift of health and well-being and make it your joy to stay on plan. 

Have an Attitude of Gratitude This Thanksgiving

Our Holiday of Thanksgiving is soon to be here.   The busy part of the Holiday is joyous with the food, family and friends.  For those of us who are on a diet and desire to stay on plan, we may have to make adjustments to the typical traditions of Thanksgiving.

Being mentally prepared for "Turkey Day" is so important. Let's face it, it is a big "eating" Holiday.  You may want to decide if you want go off your diet for one day or stick to it .  If you do go off plan, get right back at it the very next day.  If you make a commitment to stay on course, be strong, stay on plan, and be mentally prepared ahead of time to do this.

Whether or not we go off our diets, or stay the course this Thanksgiving Day, I suggest we take some time to reflect upon, what I call an Atttitude of Gratitude.  Thanksgiving is a time of remembrance for what we are thankful.  An Attitude of Gratitude means focusing on what we do have, not on what we don't have. Take the time, on this Holiday, to think about all the things for which you are most grateful .  Remind yourself about what is truly good and makes you happy in your life.

As our Thanksgiving Holiday arrives reflect on the love, joy, kindness, goodness in your heart and all the positive reasons be thankful.  Let your Attitude of Gratitude shine through in all you do!

Happy Thanksgiving to all,

Lynn 

The Power of Support

Support for our weight loss goals is so important.  I do believe we do so much better when those closest to us, family and friends, encourage us to stay on our weight loss plan and support us as we make the healthy choice to improve ourselves.  Another group that can be extremely helpful is our peer group.  Those people who are on the same plan as us can be of tremendous help.  There are various ways our relationship with those who support us can help us lose weight, boost our self-esteem and encourage us to keep on going.

When following a weight loss plan, we all have our ups and downs. (and I'm not just talking about the scale!)  When the down happens, the best defense to stay way from failure is resilience.  When we have a good support system in place, the power of that provides a good perspective if discouragement or self-doubt set in.  Supportive people can help us focus on the bigger picture of our success, hopes, determination and strength. 

When seeking support for your weight loss goals, embrace those who whole-heartedly encourage you to keep going and stay on plan.  Surround yourself with others who are positive, who reinforce, serve and sustain your choice to get and stay healthy.

Stay away from those people who pass judgments or discourage you from making the best personal choice for your weight loss.  If you come across anyone who interferes with your plan or dismisses your good intentions for your most healthy weight loss goals, stay away from and, by all means, don't listen to them!

I have surrounded myself with people who encourage me to stay on track.  Luckily, I have a good group of family and friends who do support my efforts at weight loss.  I have found wonderful online support groups that are going through the same issues as me on the plan we follow.  These new friends have provided a wonderful sense of support because they live, know and work the same plan.  To those who are not the most supportive, I have learned to just say no, not to listen to them and instead focus upon the best support for the transformation of my own health.  I encourage you to do the same and continue to seek out the best support for you!

When the Bottom Line is Your Well-Being, What is Your Net Worth?

Actually, this title sounds like something from a financial statement; however, the topic here is about self worth, self esteem and self confidence.  Believe me, self esteem is a precious resource that money cannot buy, but with the value we put into it, we can experience it   

According to Nathaniel Branden, PhD in his book, The Power of Self-Esteem: An Inspiring Look At Our Most Important Psychological Resource, “Self-esteem is the experience that we are appropriate to life and to the requirements of life. More specifically, self-esteem is having the confidence in our ability to think and to cope with the basic challenges of life."  Also, having the "confidence in our right to be happy, the feeling of being worthy, deserving, entitled to assert our needs and wants and to enjoy the fruits of our efforts.”

Our self esteem begins to be developed during our childhood and youth.  The family is the first group we have reference to about ourselves, then we go to school and socialize with friends outside of  the family.  This is how we learn to see ourselves through our interaction with others.  This starts at an early developmental stage of our lives.  If our family dynamics are such that we are criticized by family, then our our feelings of self worth begin to develop on a lower level.. Our low self esteem strips us of our self confidence as we then start to go out into the world of school and society. If our family dynamics are good, yet, we are criticized by our friends, this sets us up at a very early age to think poorly of ourselves, and makes us feel we do not deserve to be happy.  Everybody is different and has different experiences in life.  Low self esteem can also develop later in life as we develop relationships with others and /or start listening to that inner self critic.

When it comes to the issue of weight, low self esteem can lead to weight problems.  These thoughts of unworthiness can lead us to assuage our feelings with the comfort of food and that leads to emotional eating.  At the same time, if we have problems with metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, diabetes, that conundrum of problems can throw us off hormonally,  make us crave carbs, make us depressed and physically makes us gain weight (because insulin is the fat growth hormone).  To top it all off, if you are a woman with PCOS Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/polycystic-ovary-syndrome/DS00423) you may be overweight, have excess hair on the face and body and have acne.  What woman wouldn't be depressed and have issues with low self esteem with those symptoms?

There are so many issues to be discussed when speaking of the correlation of being over-weight and low self esteem.  I'm sure there have been many studies done on this very issue.  Recently, within a more personal context, people have told me they have low self esteem and self confidence and that affects their life because they:

feel disgusted with themselves for gaining weight

lack the confidence to go to social functions like parties, reunions, to the beach

finding clothes to fit is a stressor and they get down on themselves

feel they lack the will power to attempt a weight loss plan

think negatively about themselves

don't like their picture taken because of the excess weight

All these aforementioned issues (which just scratch the surface of this topic) are due in part to low self esteem and low self confidence.  These issues can be dealt with by improving self esteem.  By just taking that first step and committing to a weight loss plan, you can begin change these problems.  I'm not saying it's easy; but it is doable and necessary!  I know this can be turned around because it happened for me when I got on plan and began to lose weight.  My self esteem and confidence did change for the better.

Some tips on developing a better sense of self esteem are the following:

-Join a support group, either in person or online.  You need to have positive acceptance and feedback.  the more places to find that, the better.

-Try to think more positively about yourself. Replace negative self- talk with positive.  Avoid toxic, negative people who bring you down.  Negative people give & get negative feedback.

-Don't dismiss your achievements,  your determination or compliments from others.

Improving our self esteem increases our confidence and is a first step towards finding happiness and more fruitful life. You gain this confidence by believing in you, finding you do have self worth, believing you are special, and that you deserve a good life. Your well-being is your bottom line and you are worth it!