The Power of Choice – What is you self talk?

 Health & wellbeing, Inspiration, Life and style  No Responses »
Jun 292010
 

I get to enjoy going in to work every day and talking with some of the most interesting people.  Many of them I am sure think I over-analyze stuff all the time.  After all I am the computer geek so it is natural to be accused of this often.  I am also the guy that talks way too much about weight loss, health, and fitness to make most people happy.

Campers and staff of Camp Becket of the Becket...
Image via Wikipedia

Today was no exception.   I was talking about the trip up to the summer camp on the bus with the “at risk” kids on their way to be treated to loving one on one care all week.  I was then asked if I “had to” go back up on Friday to bring them back.  Which I responded with “No I don’t have to,  I get to!”  Well you know what I meant was the response.  To which I explained there is a difference.

The difference is in how you approach the task.  I hear it all the time from clients.  The ones that “have to” do something consider the sacrifice and the work they are doing as a chore or an unwanted task.  It is all about the food they miss or how tough it is to stay on track.  The one’s that “get to” consider it a chance to improve their lives and their health.   The things they get to do are simply part of the process towards being a better, healthier individual.

You see I am blessed.  I get to go to a gym 3-5 times a week.  I get to walk 2 miles during my lunches around a beautiful park and river run.  I get to pay attention to what I eat.  I get to compete with other walkers and runners after years of hating to run or walk any distance.  I get to go up on Friday and see the faces of a group of kids that this week may be the only week this year that they feel really appreciated and blessed.  They will be excited, they will be energized and they may even be a handful.  I am sure that it will be another blessing to be at their service and perhaps find one more opportunity to encourage and bless them on the way.

So if that is over analyzing then I will continue to do that to.  Cause, I get to choose the way I think, the way I feel, the way I handle challenge and the way I handle blessings.  You see I have found out it is a lot more fun to see life as a choice instead of a “have to”.  I come at it feeling empowered and motivated, instead of repressed and forced.  I get to enjoy life!  Hey maybe even tomorrow I will get to write another story from the joy of having a job and having people think I am cut from a different cloth than many.

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 Posted by Rick at 11:19 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

How do you recover from illness and injury during your weight loss?

 Exercise Help, Inspiration, Loosing Weight, The Why I Needed to Loose  No Responses »
Jan 292010
 

This last week was the first time in months that I was feeling so bad I had to take some time off from work and workouts.  I came down with a cold or flu and just before that I had pulled something in my back during one of my last weight trainings.  Reminder to self remember to stretch more.  So imagine for a few short moments coughing and sneezing with your back spasms that would normally bring me to my knees if I could just get out of bed.  That was just two days ago and this morning I was back up and walked out 2 miles.

No, I am no superman.  I did have to dig in and find that hero I wrote about recently. I had to get back at it as soon as I was able.  Why you ask?  Well because it was the workouts and the weight loss that turned what would have been a full weeks worth of illness to just half a week.  That’s right my recovery was faster because my body was stronger.  It wasn’t hauling around an extra 100 lbs.    It was not in the constantly worn down condition of no sleep and no reserves.  When I got back there where still people out from the same or similar bug.

A storm over the Grand Canyon
Image via Wikipedia

I went and got my back adjusted as I had gotten it out of alignment.  Feels much better today.  Again a recovery that would normally take a couple of weeks before I would even think of going back to working out.  In talking to the chiropractor we talked about recent vacations he had taken this last year and I commented that I used to think that action, fun-filled things like hiking and snorkeling where out of the question for me just one short year ago.  That this last year I had hiked the Grand Canyon for the full day and loved every minute of it.  I look forward to my next tropical vacation where I can get back in the water and enjoy the fish and swimming without feeling like I was going to run out of breath.

To answer the question I used for the title, I realized on my walk this morning that the way to recover is to start back at it.  It doesn’t matter if it was illness or lack of weight loss that slows us down.  It doesn’t matter that we are discouraged or feeling a bit let down.  It matter how we overcome that feeling.  It matters that we do what we can do.  Last week it was keeping the hands out of the chocolate jar at work.  This week it was going for a walk rather then slacking another day.  All of it based on choices that stacked up over this last year that made it even possible to do it in the first place.

That’s right loosing weight and working out made me stronger and recovery was faster.  Small price to pay to have along with it more energy and determination to keep going.  What goal are you working on today?  What are you willing and able to do to get there?  Think about it and DO Something about it today!

 Posted by Rick at 9:06 am  Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

Weight Loss Motivation: Short versus Long Term Success and Goal Setting Part 2

 Loosing Weight  2 Responses »
Sep 242009
 
Two mice; the mouse on the left has more fat s...
Image via Wikipedia

To continue on the idea that dieting does not have lasting results when really it is that we set our eyes on the short term effects rather than long term.  If you lost the weight then the diet worked for it’s original goal.  However did you have the lifestyle change and the long term desire for optimal health in mind when it was done.

See this is why diets in themselves don’t succeed for much more then 2 years.  Often times even less.  The goal to lose the weight was about solving the problem and not a long term outcome of being healthy.  Often people won’t even take it as far as reaching their ideal weight before they go back to the same habits that got them in a obesigenic  state in the first place.  Obesity will continue to plague them.

This manifests in the acceptance of poor habits being ok after you have been good for a while.  Motivation cannot come from a half hearted attempt to fix a problem.  It must be more outcome driven.  There needs to be a destination in mind to keep the journey going.  You build your habits around the outcome.  When you get to the top, you have a much clearer view to pick your next destination.  The journey continues from a better lookout point.

Now I am not saying that dieting is not important in the journey.  Having a phased approach where Phase 1 is reaching your ideal weight is essential to creating some form of destination structure.  It is one of the building blocks.  Or better yet it is like a runner’s starting blocks on the track.  It is where it all begins.  It is where the race begins.  But it is soon forgotten as they run around the track to the finish line.  Hopefully that will help you see that it is but one step of the journey to health.  It also from a coach’s point of view gives us an opportunity for a teachable moment.

Most people that come to us to lose weight are very much problem orientated.  They just want to feel better about themselves, lose some weight,  make a family member or friend happy, or make a medical issue better.  They want to solve a problem.  They really don’t have a fixed desired outcome in mind other than a short term problem of losing the weight.   They want it to work.  It does and the pressure is off either a little or a lot and then it comes time to talk about how good it can be now that they are moving in the right direction.

Next we can talk about how to keep motivated to go the distance to optimal health and longevity.  We will talk about how to set yourself up to feel better and live longer than just a short term goal.

 Posted by Rick at 1:29 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

What is the Motivation for change? How we handle weight loss:Part 1

 Loosing Weight  1 Response »
Sep 152009
 
Weight loss can seem like climbing a mountain.

Weight loss can seem like climbing a mountain.

Normally we are motivated to change when we reach a problem that is big enough we feel that we must change now.  This is often triggered in weight loss when we hear a comment, look in the mirror and notice how far we have let ourselves go,  or like a recent client wanted to look good for a high school reunion.

Now when I have someone come to me that has an event related request to lose weight I counsel them on this reason will not facilitate long term weight loss.  If they are ready to lose weight they must be ready to go the distance, not just shed a few pounds.  And like this client, they will promise me they are in for the full journey.  So off we go, only to find out later that often they will drop out of the journey after the event has passed.

So why does that happen?  Why when they have great success, and are often amazed how easy it was don’t they keep going?  Here is what I have learned is the steps to what Dr. Anderson’s “Habits of Health” refers to as “Conflict-driven” motivation.

First emotional conflict leads us to act.  This could be a report from the doctor’s office that we have high this or that.  Or it could be something like the before mentioned high school or family reunion.  You look in the mirror and realize they can’t see you like this.

At this point we are convinced things must change.  We must take some action.  We can do whatever it takes.  So we start with a decision and a promise to ourselves that we will do it.  So why does it appear that some of us do and some of us don’t?  What happens to that need for change and the emotion attached to it?  Come back tomorrow and lets talk about it.

 Posted by Rick at 3:09 pm  Tagged with: , , , , ,

Weight Loss, Exercise and Monitoring – Motivation to Change

 Loosing Weight  No Responses »
Sep 142009
 
We often need help in our weight loss journey

We often need help in our weight loss journey

Over the last three weeks I have been so busy that it was like going back to my old life. (before losing 100 lbs.)  I was tired every morning.  It was hard to get motivated to do my workouts and often I didn’t.  I was not getting my 7-8 hours of rest.  Life was on full speed with the gas running out quickly.

So what was the results?  I put on 6-7 lbs and reversed my progress.  I was at numbers I had seen 2 months ago.  It was discouraging to say the least.  What did it mean?  How come it came on so fast?  Had I really slipped paying attention that much.  I mean 7 lbs required that I had mindlessly eaten an extra  24,500 calories in 3 weeks.  That is almost 1200 calories a day.  No way I told myself.

The numbers don’t lie!  It takes 3500 extra calories to burn or gain a pound of fat.  What had changed?  Well, just a couple of days ago I got in my new heart monitor.  So I did a measurement today.  Just the stretching workout from the P90X routine burned 348 calories.  My bike ride into work was 248 calories.  Now take into consideration that the calories when the body recovers also keep my metabolism up and burning at a higher rate.  I should burn 2X248 (two bike rides) + 348 (stretching workout) = 844 calories.

Now add in the creamer I started to use in each cup of coffee and take out 800-1000 calories of workout each day the 1200 calories aren’t too hard to find.  What a wakeup call.  Had I not  been monitoring it I would have continued to lose ground.  I would have inched my way back up to being obese and suffering with all that brought.  This is why it is important to monitor and maintain your diligence when working towards an idea of achieving your optimal health.  It will not happen on it’s own!

Have you made some progress lately?  Is it hard to keep going for you?  Share your thoughts.  Come back soon as I continue to look at motivation and how to keep adding more success to an already long journey.  Lets take a look together about what motivates us to either take care of ourselves or what robs us from the steps to maintain our gains along the way.

 Posted by Rick at 10:27 am  Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,

Weight Loss and Exercise – Keeping it Going

 Loosing Weight  No Responses »
Sep 022009
 

Working_hardEach day my goal is to get up and do my exercise routine.  Normally it takes me about an hour.  I mix it up to keep it challenging my body all the time.  Now this time I am not writing to brag about my weight loss, or how much I work at making my health better.  Today I would like to talk more about getting through the urge to skip or stop on a day or in a moment of other health choices.

There are days when I wake up and I don’t feel like working out or meals I don’t want to watch what I eat.  My waking thought is I am too tired to stick to my plan.  Currently I am doing P90X and there are days I wake up unsure that I can “Bring It”.  This also shows up for me when I am eating outside the house and I have choices to make.  Do I make the right choices or do I splurge and just eat what I want?

Here is what I have discovered that works for me to keep going:

  1. Stop -  Take a look at the decision I am contemplating.  How does it effect my goals?  What are my reasons for not wanting to do it or to do something I know is not the best choice?
  2. Challenge -  Challenge the reasons.  Am I really too tired or just being lazy?  Do I remember what being lazy about my health got me before?  Do I really need to take a break?  Can I really afford to eat this?  What am I giving up?  What is my reward?
  3. Choose -  Make the decision.  I will or won’t but make the decision.  Then let it go!  Don’t beat myself up over it.  Just make the decision.  Be ok with rewarding myself when it is justified.

From there I keep track.  Am I making more choices that adds to my health or am I slipping backwards towards decisions that will worsen my health?  I am either moving towards optimal health or I am moving towards sickness.  It is my choice each time.  The clearer I am about my goals and choices the easier those decisions become.

It is ok to give yourself a break or reward.  Just keep going in the right direction more often and it will get better.  Oh an by the way.  You might not work off that piece of pie right then, but perhaps you can cut your calories the rest of the day to mitigate the damage.  After all it is your choice!

 Posted by Rick at 8:25 am  Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Weight Loss – What if nothing changes?

 Loosing Weight  No Responses »
Jun 102009
 

I am out there reading other peoples blogs and support forums all the time. I do it for a couple of reasons. I look for the reason that most people fail to do weight loss. I also look for the reasons they use not to stick with whatever program they are working with to loose weight.

BMI graph.
Image via Wikipedia

They fall into many categories and so I thought this might be a good start for a new set of posts. One of the first reasons people fail I would like to address is the information that is presented on so many fronts. Where ever you go to find weight loss information you will always read why their system works and others don’t. Heck I have been in that arena once or twice. I know what worked for me and I know all the other things that didn’t. I still don’t believe there is an easy solution and I believe that it takes a decision to stop the progression of obesity in one’s body.

So I typically dismiss the magic fixes right away. This includes all pills, herbs and patches. Why? Probably not for the reasons most people would think and that would be because they don’t work. Not at all, they do work for some people, heck even placebo’s work for some people. I dismiss them because they don’t start the process that changes habits. If I wave a magic wand and make you skinny, 95% of the time you will get fat again and come back for the wave of the wand. Why because it was quick, easy, and didn’t require you do change your habits.

However there are several ways to diet that at least begins that process. If you read other information you will see diets don’t work either. This one piece of information had me convinced I was going to have to do weight loss surgery to have anything give me a chance. The fact behind it however is that diets don’t work 85% (John Hopkins) of the time. Why? They often don’t work because people don’t take into account the shift in their metabolism and they don’t maintain the lessons they learned during the diet itself. Read any blog and they will tell you why diets don’t work (or at least other peoples diets besides theirs), but they will never tell you the way to fix it. Oh, and by the way if they don’t tell you for the other diets. They most likely won’t tell you for theirs either.

Obesity in International Perspective

Image by PeterForret via Flickr

If on a portion controlled (low calorie) diet then, you raise metabolism by slowly adding more calories back in. No secret. Just don’t jump back into adding the same number of calories back in that you ate before. Take the time to slowly increase your calories based on the amount of weight you lost. Add to that increased activity and exercise and your metabolism will re-adjust to normal. It will not normally stay broken as many articles would indicate. Don’t take my word for it, check with your doctor, dietitian, or nationalists. It will adjust back to a standard Basel Metabolic Rate for your age, sex, and activity level. This will minimalise the weight gain after you complete your diet and go back to “normal” eating. However if you still take in more calories than you use, you will gain it back.

I always suggest that weight loss is easy when you get a few things figured out. It gets even easier when you find someone to help you. But, if you are determined to do it and willing to take the time to find what works for you, you can reach an ideal weight and stay there. Whatever method it is, just make sure to make new choices to keep it when you get it. For if you go back to the same old habits and expect different results. You will get the weight back and all the problems that obesity brings to go with it.

 Posted by Rick at 5:00 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,
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