Nearly 7 miles completed and Saucony held up great! My shoes are a lot damper than they were two hours ago, but hoofin it in the rain will leave you more than a little wet. Still, these aren’t saturated, which is great news. My feet feel great and my Achilles is fine. I didn’t need an extra round of ibuprofen after all. I did get sort of dizzy on the walk, but a shot of trail mix and some water helped. 🙂
I was in Walgreens today, shopping for a light afternoon snack. No sooner than I laid hand to the part skim cheese I retrieved from the dairy section, my eyes zeroed in on a disturbing headline on one of the magazines by the checkout aisle. Emblazoned on the cover of In-Touch was an image of a very pregnant Kim Kardashian in an ill-fitting top; the caption under the cover photo and headline read: 205 Staggering Pounds.
It’s staggering this is even a headline
Excuse me, forgive me as I cringe and up-chuck my dairy. Now, maybe it’s just me. Perhaps I live in a candy coated sub-reality where 205 pounds just doesn’t seem like news; but come the eff on, Really? Just how out of touch is In-Touch magazine?
I’m not condoning being overweight. The problems associated with excessive weight are clear and pretty staggering. However, Kim is pregnant in this photo; as such, she definitely deserves a break. Since when did a bun in the oven and a size 16 become the straw that broke the camels back?
I clipped a few standout phrases to attach to my mirror this week. The power of suggestion is one of our most powerful tools in weight loss/ maintenance. What about you? Which personal sayings have really resonated with you on this journey?
This summer, my body was practically ravaged by mosquitoes. I mean, if mosquitoes have a number one dish they prefer above all others, it appears I am on the menu. Every day, I had a new set of mosquito bites to accompany ones I received only hours before. I sprayed on every type of repellant product I could get my hands on, wore long dresses, closed all my windows and nearly caused my then boyfriend to freeze to death in an AC refrigerated apartment, only to find myself victimized again the next day. And then, an entire summer and 100 plus bites later, it came to me. A light came on in my consciousness. I finally remembered what I’d been missing! The key to my grief…
I forgot to put a damn window screen in.
On the road to dream fulfillment, most of us get… distracted. We forget to put our screen up. We get so worked up about what we’d like to do, want to do, and plan to do, that we produce excuse after excuse after excuse to keep ourselves from actually DOING anything at all. And when things don’t work out, we usually complain. ALOT…
I can’t resist an extra slice of pie, so I might as well enjoy it. I hardly ever have it anyway…
I don’t care what that Trainer says. No way am I going to run that extra quarter of a mile.
Well, guess what? If left unchecked, your foul mouth might just talk you right out of getting the things you want. Leaving your backdoor open for negative thoughts to invade your space is never a good idea.
They may sound harmless at first, but these puny little negative words have a big bite, and if you let them, they will criminally drain you dry and leave you dead in the water on your path to success. The words can’t and no are foul-mouthed language for the life changer, and in most cases, they cannot and will not do anything to evolve you (unless they are actually preventing you from doing something naughty).
And the worst part? These are words that have no actual power. They only have the power you give them.
It’s one thing when someone else tells you that you “Can’t”…
It’s one thing when someone else tells you “No”…
It’s an entirely another when you say it to yourself, and actually have the nerve to believe it!
It funny how much those two very puny, basic words enter our vocabulary on a daily basis. I dare you to go ahead and test yourself! Keep a little log of each thing you said can’t or no to in a given day. It will amaze you.
How many of those can’t or no’s were applied to your weight loss goals today? How many times did you refuse to push yourself just a little harder at the gym? How many no’s did you launch at that little voice in your head when it tried to prevent you from overindulging at lunch or dinner?
Do you see a pattern here?
BREAKOUT YOUR SOAP AND REPELLANT AND STOP SELLING YOURSELF SHORT.
Do you know what a Go-getter is? A Go-Getter is a person that refuses to let the words can’t and No enter their vocabulary. This is the type of person that is also known as a Do-er. Go-Getters do not wait for life to hand them the keys to success. They simply GO after it. Use the Go-Getter mentality to meet your weight loss goals. See the goal you have set for yourself and have the GUTS to go after it! Close your eyes for a moment. Envision your goal. See yourself diligently working the steps that are required to meet that goal. Now, here comes the tricky part…
Refuse to let anything or anyone (including yourself) get in the way.
If you want to be successful at making a positive change and sticking with it, you have to not only really really want it, but also believe that it is yours for the taking. Yours has to be the winning mentality–even in the rough times and ESPECIALLY during the tough times.
Life is what you believe it to be. If you believe you won’t win, you won’t. If you say nay, then nay you will have. BUT, when you can resolve to repeatedly say YES I CAN, especially to success, success will eventually come to you. You just have to latch on to it with a firm and stable grip! The words we think and say are powerful. Combat the negative charmers in your mind who threaten to seduce your will and rob you of your dreams. For every negative thought you can produce, there is always a positive thought available to replace with it. Screen out all of the internal and external garbage. Learn now to be your best ally and trust me, you’ll be well on your way to meeting your goals and then some.
Remember to dream big, and aim high!
Have you ever started a weight loss program only to end it less than 48 hours after you began? For some of us, even 24 hours wasn’t enough before the mean ‘ol glutton and sloth monster dropped in and delivered that fatal uppercut that flattened our best laid plans . This might be the kind of thing that happens to you all the time.  You might be so used to getting knocked out in the ring of Diet and Exercise, you’ve actually started to believe that you’ll never be successful. In fact, you’re pondering whether you should throw in the towel once again. Well, you can put down those Cheetos now young Rocky. Where there is failure, there is opportunity. There is alot to learn in failure, but the most important lesson you can learn is how to be resilient.  We demonstrate resilience when we learn to fail up.  We get right back up after a fall, learn from our experience and try, try again.   Resilience during weight loss looks sort of like this:
Resilience =   Time ( Good days – Bad days)
That’s right, it’s simple math. It also means bad days are allowed!   All this fighting can make you woozy sometimes!  Yes, it’s fairly normal to have bad days, slip ups, down times, moments of weakness, and pit stops. Sometimes our bodies just need that break. So do it, BREAK. Take some time off, regroup, allow yourself to have a piece of cake or two (within reason of course). Learn from that experience. Discover what triggers you, what cause those failures to occur and design a way you can make a change.
Then, get your gloves back on and try again, because what you CANNOT do is allow those break periods to become the norm. In weight loss, the amount of good days you have will bring you the results you need in time.  If you have no good days and twenty bad days, then guess what? You will have NO RESULTS.  Whenever you fail, you need to pick yourself up, get fired up, get moving and live to fight another day in the ring. Hopefully, with better technique to aid you.
I know, I know. I can already hear you saying: But it’s hard.
And I agree with you. But, let me ask you this, who ever said life (or weight loss for that matter) would be easy?
You and I already know that there are alot of things in life that you do each and everyday that are HARD.  You get up and go to work or school each day…That’s hard. You make sure the kids are ready for school, clean, fed, healthy and happy…That’s hard.
There are a plethora of things that are hard, and guess what, you manage to survive them.  The ring of life is hard, very hard, but if you want a shot at that title or that championship, then you have to get up and get swinging again; so what if you take two on the chin while you’re in there?
Does it mean you’ve worked any less harder? That you’re any less capable?  Sure, you took two (or twenty two) taps on the chin, but you’re not down and you’re certainly not out.  Not unless you put yourself out (and only YOU can do that).
So get up, and fight again young Rocky. Keep exercising, keep watching what you eat; and be sure to add some variety to those areas next time. In TIME, you will get there.
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
There comes a time in our weight loss journey when we have to come to a place of acceptance. I’m not talking about giving up or giving in, but of (as my mother always says), giving down; a laying down of all the fighting, all the struggling, all the pleading, and the begging, and the barganing to find that place of… serenity.
Life is a gift that is meant to be enjoyed, but if we focus all of our efforts on trying to achieve perfection and meeting all expectations (everyone elses and our own), it will pass us by as a soulless, empty, and un-fulfilling experience.
We have to know that we are more than adequate, right now. Right now, as you are today, you are more than adequate for all that life has to offer. Anything additional you do to perfect your experience in this world is just icing on the cake. Whatever your struggle, or handicap, know that you will meet the challenge head on, and in time, find the satisfaction and peace you are searching for. In the meantime, don’t deprive yourself all the pleasures of life. Don’t wait until “I’m a little bit thinner”, or a “little bit richer”, or a “a little bit better”. Live your life, and live it to your fullest. Live it until you’ve lived it up.  Have that cookie, call that girl, take that trip, buy those shoes. You deserve it! Was it good? Do you feel better now? Now get back to healthy living!
Did you know your perceived level of happiness has a direct affect on your overall health? Yeah, well no crap, right? Well, this idea may not be quite as ‘half-baked’ as some may have originally thought. A recent study published by R. Veenhoven in the Journal of Happiness Studies demonstrates a link between our overall feelings of elation, and increased benefits in the areas of life satisfaction and longevity.
That said, clearly the opposite can be true.   If our weight makes us feel sad, undervalued, frustrated, or reckless, these sort of stresses may not only manifest themselves in our eating habits and our overall lifestyle choices, but can also cause serious damage to our physical, mental and emotional health as well.
How do you fight the dreaded unhappiness bug?
1. Get Motivated
Don’t have your own cheering section? Fire yourself up! And don’t hold back. Sometimes, we need a little fire under our backsides to get moving, and only WE possess the match to set the flame.  So go ahead, pick your poison.  Maybe yours is a recent “fat” pic, or the tinsy-winsy bikini you’ve been saving for a planned vacation, or a pair of jeans you haven’t worn since your college days. Whatever it is, attach it to your bathroom mirror or go ahead and hang it on the back of your closet door, but resolve that you’re going to DO IT this time.  You ARE capable and those jeans hanging from that door is going to serve as your constant reminder that you can and will make it.
2. Look for Inspiration
Ever see a movie where an Actor is too good in a role? You almost start to believe he or she truly BECAME the character he or she played. Well the truth is some actors are not simply, well, acting. It’s a special tool they use called Method. It involves “channeling” the essence of the character they want to BECOME to bring authenticity to a role. They do this by researching a role extensively, and (to some lesser degree), living the life of the character they’re playing for the life of the production.  But wait, here’s the best part! Method is not limited to actors, we can benefit from it as well.  When we choose to model the positive qualities of characters or persons that inspire us, in many ways, their successes become our own. It is that re-configuration of our psyches that allow us to access levels of achievement that we once believed we were not capable of.
3. Accept Your Fears ( and then set them to rest)
Hey life is scary. Believe me, I know. Even as I write this post, I’m healing from a breakup, and I just want to roll up into a ball sometimes. It’s a daily battle to get up and hit the re-start button. But I do. There are times in our lives when we just freak out and want to run. Some of us run to our private havens, shut the door and lock ourselves inside. Some of us just run. However, we can’t outrun the fear of the unknown indefinitely. Sometimes, we have to stop, take inventory and face our fears head on. Life throws dirt on us, but that dirt can be the soil we need for a fresh start. All we need to do is STOP, bury our fears, and allow new life to take hold.  Stop torturing yourself. Lay your negative thinking to rest TODAY. Stop running from your health battles, so you don’t end up losing the war in the process. Resolve to start today with a positive word or two and let that positivity infect you.  Make that effort to say, “I will eat healthy today” or “I will workout today”, instead of “I can’t (whatever excuse)” or “I don’t (fill in the blank)”.  If you start your day on a positive note, that positivity is more likely to follow you for the day’s duration.
BeComing Nutrition 