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!

Focus on Your Weight Loss Success Not Your Mistakes

To be successful, we need to focus on success!  We become more self-confident when we look at all the good and right things we are doing for our health and well-being.  Think about your all your successes, then build upon all that has been going well.  Just starting a diet plan is a huge success as you have decided to take that first step to improve your life.  Then we learn about the plan, become organized and start the journey to weight loss.  These are the building blocks to successful thinking and dieting.

When we limit our thinking and focus on the mistakes we may have made on our diet plan, that "weighs" us down!  We don't want to become discouraged and give up!  If you do make a mistake, just get up, dust yourself off, get back on track and get back on plan.  It's OK to do this; I give you permission to do so!!!  Think about this:  what advice would you give to a friend who may have slipped up?  Be your own friend to yourself.  Be your own good motivational coach!

Losing weight, staying on plan requires a great deal of determination.  Greater success is likely, when we focus on the positive and all the success we have accomplished.  Being able to believe in yourself and all the good you are doing for your well-being will make your weight- loss journey a successful trip.

Align Yourself with Healthy Eating Choices

"Focus on what at you can have,
not what you can't have."
-Lynn Merritt

Focus on what at you can have, not what you can't have.  I said this years ago to my best friend as we started another diet together.  I still use my old faithful affirmation today as I continue my journey on my weight loss lifestyle.  I love this saying!

I think when we focus on the positive side of things, life is easier, we make the right choices that are the best for us, things are less stressful and we feel good!  When on a diet, we can make healthy choices or bad choices.   Behaviorally, when we focus on positive affirmations that help us make better choices, that leads us to positive actions.  I always like the glass to be half full, not half empty; therefore, we have to focus on what is the best and the right eating choice for us. We can change our focus away from bad food choices to focusing upon all the wonderful healthy eating choices that are out there.  All it takes is an easy shift in attitude.

Being committed to a lower carb, low glycemic, low fat diet for awhile now, I have learned to make changes and substitutions in what I eat as compared to what I used to eat.  For example, I made the choice to switch to low carb breads.  My sweetener of choice is Truvia.  My "hot chocolate" is unsweetened chocolate almond milk with truvia heated up on a cold morning.  When I go out to eat, salads have replaced fries as side orders and sauteed spinach has replaced pasta. I'm happy to say I have become very creative.  I don't feel deprived about these choices at all; I feel so happy that I have focused on making the best switch for my diet/lifestyle.  This comes so natural to me because I have aligned myself with  more positive thinking.  The best part is this:  I see and feel the amazing results of weight loss because of my positive alignment with all the right choices!  And, that is a really good feeling.

As you continue on your own weight loss journey, go ahead,  be creative, be committed and be in alignment with the best eating choices for you!  I know you can do it.  Lynn

Temptation: Be Assertive and Stay On Course

Here in the United States we are getting ready for the upcoming Holidays.  On deck is Halloween and the candy, Thanksgiving and the stuffing (I'm not just talking about the stuffing in the bird), Christmas and the celebrating.  I know I have readers from South Korea, United Kingdom, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Canada, South Africa and Denmark, and you have your special Holidays, so please apply this information to your most special days.  

With the upcoming Holiday traditions, temptation to go off your diet is strong.  As you know, I have been on the plan I follow for 13 months now.  In that year's time, I didn't go off plan on the Holidays.  I stayed strong and stayed on plan throughout the celebratory days.  I made it a point to do so.  In this blog entry, I 'll talk about strategies to stay on plan during our special days.  (I will admit to you that this year I turned 50 and I did "celebrate" abundantly on my big day!!!)  My only "cheat" in 13 months!  I forgave myself and moved on.

I learned if we choose to stay on plan during the Holidays these are good skills work with:

Assertiveness:  Remember the saying?   "Just say no."  You have to be able to assert yourself.  It's hard enough to say no to yourself, let alone family members who are not on plan.  The Holidays are so emotional too, so be strong.  Say no nicely, let people know you are on a diet.  Believe me it gets easier with practice.

Alignment:  Work with your healthy choices.  This is an exercise in self control and discipline.  If your diet plan and health means a great deal to you, stay on your course.  Your self esteem will increase when you stick to it.

Courage:  It does take a lot of courage to say no in the face of temptation.  You can do it.  You had the courage to start your diet in the first place, right?

Confidence:  Have the confidence in yourself to be in control.  Have the confidence to know you can get through these times.  You can do it. Tell yourself you can do it.  You are strong! 

I spoke of positive self-talk before.  Keep that dialogue going on with yourself during these times.  Be honest with people and your family, let them know you are making healthy lifestyle choices, even during the Holidays.  Most people are understanding.

Think about how wonderful you will feel if you stay away from temptation, stay in control, and stick to your plan.  I know you can do it. The Holidays are almost here; start practicing now!!!!

Is it Emotional Eating or Insulin Resistance?

Recently, I have had some conversations with people who claim they are emotional eaters.  That is, they feel the need to eat when they are stressed, feel depressed, are angry, have anxiety, have low self-esteem, are bored or trying to compensate for a lack of something in their lives.  Although, there very well may be people out there who do overeat and are overweight because of emotional reasons, I have come to the realization that there are a great number of people who think they are emotional eaters; yet, they just may be overeating because of a physiological problem called Insulin Resistance. 

It is interesting to note that The American Psychiatric Association has never made a statement that overeating or being overweight is a psychiatric disorder.  I also find it interesting that the DSM IV, which is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the most the most widely used psychiatric reference in the world, does not have a mental disorder diagnostic code for overeating.

Now, let's discuss Insulin Resistance, a big factor in Metabolic Syndrome.  As I said in a past blog entry, Insulin is the fat growth hormone which is produced by the pancreas and that allows glucose into cells where it can be utilized as fuel. Because of heredity and lifestyle, (consumption of too much carbohydrates and lack of exercise) cells can become resistant to insulin. This causes the pancreas to pump out more insulin than is normal to get glucose inside the cell. When this happens it is known as "insulin resistance" (IR)   Studies have shown that people with Insulin Resistance can experience brain dysfunction due to this hormonal imbalance.  This can give a direct link to depression and IR. 

When we are depressed, that is. physiologically depressed, we have lower levels of serotonin.  Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that makes us feel good, calms us and gives us a sense of overall well-being.  When we lack serotonin, that can make us feel depressed.  Now, eating too many carbohydrates cause an increase in serotonin levels, so our brain sends out more messages to eat carbs (carb cravings).  Because of these carb cravings, we cave into them physiologically, eat the carbs and our body pumps out the fat growth hormone insulin and we become overweight.  This is the vicious cycle of Metabolic Syndrome.

See what I am getting at here?  If you have Insulin Resistance (Metabolic Syndrome) maybe, just maybe, you are not really the "emotional eater" you thought you were!  Could it be your body responding to something very physical?  And not all those aforementioned emotional issues? 

As a person with Metabolic Syndorme, I have experienced this.  Since being on a healthy, lower carb, lower glycemic, lower fat diet/lifestyle, I have seriously lost those carb cravings and feel, physically, better than ever.

If you suspect you may have metabolic issues, talk to your health care professional about blood testing for Metabolic Syndrome.  Look for the kind of diet plan I follow,  commit to a realistic exercise program, get nutritional guidance and a make sure you have a support system that will help you change any unhealthy lifestyle choices.