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Excuse busting – Or how to go from fat to fit

Inspiration, Loosing Weight 3 Responses »

Oct 152009

I often work at show where I see “tons” (pun intended) of people. They walk by and look at the background and see that we work with weight loss and changes in health and lifestyle and they will often back up. The ones that stay the furthest away are often the ones that are in the most need of making a change. What they don’t know is my history and that I realize like any good coach that you can’t take anyone where they aren’t ready to go.

All I can do is tell my story. Just one short year ago I couldn’t run a block and this weekend I will run my first of what should be many 5k’s. We are going to be blessed with the perfect weather and I will at least finish and it will be a great day. Why so great? Let me explain.

A year ago I would not have even thought it possible. A year ago I was resolved that life at my age was just going to keep going downhill from here. I had given up. So when they avoid us like the H1N1 virus I understand perfectly where they are. They are still using the same faulty reasoning I used before I felt I had no other choice but to find an answer or die.

Here are some common excuses I hear often:

“I will do it soon or I will do it after the holidays (works for many this time of year)” Translation: I am not ready to do anything about it no matter how serious I know my condition is. I have watched people that could barely walk use this when I know they are just a few months from a wheel chair.

“I am too old” This was one of my favorites. I would justify that I didn’t have it left to do the workouts and whatever it was going to take to get the weight off. I had tried everything so my metabolism must be so slow that I was going to die fat and miserable. At 54 this year I feel better than I did at 30 so this one wasn’t working well for me.

“I am big boned or I have bad genetics”. My version of this was the 70’s must have screwed up my body worse than I thought cause I could not do anything to change my weight and my health. When it gets down to it and you burn up a big boned person verses a smaller boned person the difference is about 4 lbs. And oh genetics although often used is very, very, rare.

“I don’t have time to eat right.” I have even used this one. Another version is I can afford to eat right. I found out when you use this one long enough you can make is a self fulfilling prophesy. You will have time when you are out of a job because of your obesity and then you won’t have any money to spend of food. Truth here is if you don’t spend the money to eat right and exercise, you will spend it in health care.

“I enjoy food too much and diets are too restrictive…” Add on to this that diets have never worked and you have the excuse trifecta. What it really says I don’t have the discipline to do what it takes to change my lifestyle and habits. What they don’t realize here is that this excuse make them a perfect candidate for a coach and a support system.

Check in with me again and I will write up part two of this article as we examine the excuses for not doing exercise. What I found over the years I piled up the weight. I piled up the excuses. And I added more and more damage to my health and body. When I look at the research now I realize how much life and fun I gave up to hold on to my excuses. One year’s worth of work has change my life and many others around me. Was it worth it? Yes and in fact I hurts to think how easy it was and how much sooner I could have been enjoying my life more. But what it got down to was I had to be ready. I had to be willing. I had to find someone to talk to that could tell me they could help me get past all my excuses and life a fuller more healthy life. When is your day? You know you could finish out the year strong and well on your way to a new you for next year. What do you say?

The vacation is over. Now back to work!

Loosing Weight 1 Response »

Jul 152009

Last week was such a great time. It was mixed vacation and training to continue my efforts to become a better coach. All of it was energizing and fun for me. It was also a week that many people would have used the time to totally back down and let go. This would often had been the case.

A view over the Grand Canyon

Back in the day (as my son is so fond of saying) I would have said no let’s just hang out. I have some reading to do. This was code for I am so damn tired that I don’t want to go and do anything. Oh and I was too broke to afford to do anything fun, but that is a story for tomorrow’s post. I just didn’t have the energy and every part of my body was killing me. I always felt like I needed the rest.

I am coming up on a year anniversary in September. It will be a year since I started this journey and started to see the success. First month 25 lbs, second 20 lbs, and onto by the 8th month I was down 97 lbs from my original weight. That was a total loss of almost 20% of my body fat. Ah but the journey continues. Like going on vacation I could kick back and take it easy. I could slip back into old munching habits or what I call my “See food, Eat food” habit. After all I work hard. I deserve a break. What will a day or two (or three, four, etc) cost me. Time to celebrate! Time to let loose! NO! NO! NO! Those same ideas I had when I was 20. I thought back then I could eat and drink whatever I wanted. After all I was invincible.

I had no idea about the ideas of optimal health and longevity. I didn’t understand the value of family and loving relationships. I hadn’t seen the years pass by so quickly. Now before I go any further. I don’t want to set the bar so high to make me out a saint. I went on maintenance early to shake my metabolism up a bit. I increased my workouts and I was stuck for over three months because I needed more calories to keep up. I don’t during one meal eat more then I should or the wrong things. I do my best to plan my day around those activities and I work it off when I slip. I pay the price as well for my choices. I just don’t slip into the old mindset that I deserve to eat whatever the hell I want to. Food is fuel and when I fuel my body with junk I do pay a price.

Hopi Point and two happy trekkers

So you ask, Rick, what is the point of all of this? My point is that when you are on the journey to reach the best health you can have, there is always a diligence involved. It is an awareness of what you do for yourself and to yourself. Something I didn’t have or care to have at 20. There is no way to go back! Just each step is either forward or backward towards your goal. I lost 3 pounds on vacation! Oh and my wife (who has begun my program) lost 4 lbs and now is down a total of 16 lbs in a month. Hooray!

How did this happen. After all we were on vacation and we were supposed to have fun and eat new and exotic foods. It happened because, we watched what we ate. I had some good food but ate it in proper portions and amounts. I stopped (an new experience believe me) when I was full. I did my exercise routine at about half what I normally do because of my intensity recently and my body did need some recovery time. At the same time we walked the Grand Canyon one day for 6 miles. Awesome place for a workout!

What do you want out of life? Where do you want to be this time next year? Is your quality of life worth that candy bar or soda? Not my decision, but it is yours. Is it time to get off vacation and go back to work? Or are you going to take it easy for a bit longer? Let us know what you are thinking!

May your day be everything you wanted it to be, your future bright, and your health and body becoming stronger every day! I can say this part of the journey does not feel like it has such a steep uphill climb and each step it took to get here has been a small price to pay.

Family Health and Weight Loss With Those You Love

Loosing Weight No Responses »

Jun 242009

On my journey to help myself it now occurs often in my life that I am helping others. It is not often that I write about family because I don’t want to be the one to pressure them to get fit. I want to be an example and not a nag (you know what a nag is, an almost dead old horse that has been badly beaten). I also believe (to quote another horse analogy) you can lead someone to the well but you can’t make them do anything.

Now before I give you the impression that the person I am writing about is stubborn and not wanting to get healthy let me clear that up. I am writing today about my wife. She has been the most wonderful, supportive, understanding, caring, loving, and the list goes on and on. I do not deserve the beauty and the joy that this woman has brought into my life. And truth be known it was wanting to spend a much longer life with her that motivated me to start all this. She would also be the first to recommend me as a coach to someone else, but knows that I can be much more patient with someone outside my immediate family then someone that lives in the same house with me.

She patiently waited (times are tough and money tight, but it is getting better :=) )for me to release the weight and get off my program. She puts up with all of the comments like “Hey look how much I lost this week!” or the infamous “Do you see that new little muscle poking out here and there?” She has put up with it all and just waited.

Last week we got her on program. Not without some trepidation however. Once concern she had was how badly I was going to watch her every bite. I had to reassure her that this was her journey and not mine. I am only there for her when she has questions about her progress. I would help her with encouragement and only give advice when asked. I gave her my word. She began her journey.

Well this weekend was her first weigh in. Now me the caring husband wanted her to see double digits as is often the case between water retention and the beginning of any change in eating. We use a scale that calculates body fat percentage, water percentage and muscle mass percentage. I knew from her starting weight and percentages she is not one to retain water and so I wondered what her first number would be.

Well that morning she got on the scale and as I looked over her shoulder I paid close attention to her number (although quietly as I could). She had lost 6 pounds her first week! Now it was not the double digit number I had hoped for her and I guess I showed the disappointment on my face. She asked me if I was disappointed with her weight loss. So I had some explaining to do.

I explained that in fact no it was a significant weight loss for her first week. That in looking over her first set of numbers the 6 pounds was most likely very real for her and not just water weight. I was very happy! But that brought up the important question, was she happy with her weight loss and paying such close attention to the program. She grinned and said of course, who wouldn’t be happy with 6 pounds of fat gone?

So I wrote this all up for a lot of reasons. First as a reader of my blog you now know I have had several of the people that are most important in my life on the program. I am extremely proud of my wife and love watching her get healty and knowing I will have her around for maybe years more because of this shared journey.

I believe it to be the best way towards optimal weight loss and long term health benefits that come from being at your healthy weight. I also wanted you to see how careful I am with each and everyone I work with. It matters to me that you are successful and happy with your journey. We all know many of us had enough disappointments in our lives. Last but not least of it all, when it gets right down to it, the most important question is “Are you happy with your progress?” That will always be the answer that directs your success. It will be what gets you to follow your plan and do what is needed to get to your goals.

Do you need a coach? Not for me to answer. I just know that the success rate goes up exponentially for those you have support and make lifestyle choices after completing their weight loss phase. Won’t you join me on that journey? Either way be blessed today, enjoy the ride life has presented you with, and find a way each day to be happy to be alive.

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.

: 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.

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.

Optimal Health Choices – Primary Goals and Secondary choices

Loosing Weight 2 Responses »

May 112009

So once you work out your long term or “Primary Goal” you have to fuel it with the choices that you make along the way. These are “Secondary Choices”. So it begins by breaking down your goal over time. With health and weight loss I would begin with a year. So you primary goal defines where in a year you want to be. You attach vision, emotion and purpose to that goal. You picture it in your mind and often people are assisted by creating a collage of what that life would look like.

Now it is time to figure out how to get there. If my goal is a fitness oriented goal what is in the way of getting it done. First maybe is my current condition of my physical body. If I had not been working out then I need to start slow enough to not hurt myself right out of the shoot. Begin with increasing movement and adding a little bit at a time.

There is however a mental set of goals as well here. What am I going to do to get my butt out the door on the days I don’t feel like it? Oh it is too cold or too hot out, or I think I am coming down with something, whatever the reason, what will get you to go anyway? For me I had a list of the things that would not change if I didn’t keep working on them. For others it may be a list of the people they told they would do this or their blog readers, or just one more look in the mirror that says, “I can’t keep looking like this.” But trust me there will be mornings that you need something extra to get you out the door.

Perhaps one other thing that most people don’t take the time to think through is the idea of what we are going to do when we fail. What if I eat something I shouldn’t? What if I don’t work out today? What if there is a special occasion and today I just choose not to be on program? What do you do after those choices? I know the old me would lean towards losing faith in myself and my plan. The old me would slowly but surely start to give up. What I found out was that doesn’t work. One thing that works for me is to stop for a moment and look at the choice and the consequences and decide what I was willing to give up.

From there I need to look at why this was even a consideration at this stage of my plan and what my next move would be. Whatever I decided I needed to learn where I was in my journey so I could move on. No time for regret or excuses. No time for self pity or loathing. Just time to make another step, reset my goals, monitor the results of my choice and move on.

Clear you mind daily. Decide to live life on purpose and stop letting life direct you. We all make some mistakes. We all have victories and defeats. It is what we do with both that effect how we will live and love our lives. Use your secondary choices to reset your track to your primary goal and you will get there and have the life you worked for.

Optimal Health Choices – Where do I begin the journey?

Loosing Weight 1 Response »

May 012009

Weight loss is the beginning of any journey to optimal health. In order to get there we have to look at your daily choices and develop the motivation towards optimal health. In his new book “Habits of Health” Dr. Wayne Andersen talks about the Primary Choices that we can develop and commit to. He talks about the steps to go through.

Develop a mental picture of what you are setting out to achieve. After you have that picture in your mind, stop and make sure this is the result you want. If not go back to the development of that mental picture. It needs to be clear and look like what you want.
Quantify your goals. I will be my ideal weight in 12 months or I will have great stamina at the end of 12 months. Something you can measure your progress along the way.
He then talks about your statement for you picture needs to avoid comparative terms like “I will have better health.” Better then what? I know from my training that the mind doesn’t grasp the better than statement. A simple rewrite would say “I will have very good health.” Sounds like I am splitting hairs here but your definition will shift as you reach towards optimal health rather than just better than yesterday.
Focus on health not solving a problem. When I first started my journey “I will be able to walk upstairs without running out of breath…” was my problem statement. However now it is I will do 3-5 workouts each week and recover quickly and easily after every workout. Again a lifestyle health focus, not a problem focus.
Next is to develop it into an actual result. So taking the statement in step four it would look more like. “Three days a week I will be able to do 3 sets of weight training increasing the weight at least 5 pounds till I find my ideal muscle tone and will maintain that with aerobic exercise on the 2 days in-between for 45 mins.”

In order to do this with reasonable goals and clarity I need to first take a look at where I am right now. This is a needed step to set the starting point and work towards reasonable goals and expectations. More on that to come in future posts.

Optimal Health Choices – How do we make them?

Loosing Weight 1 Response »

Apr 272009

We all here the news, yet we keep doing what we want. We know the facts behind the obesity crises in our country and yet we eat what we want. We know as a country that exercise is good for us and that in our later days it will make us more flexible and enjoy life more. Yet we make the choices of the day based on what we want.

I read a recent article that said that a group of educated individuals where trying to figure out a way to legislate public policy that would help correct the obesity problem in the United States. As far as I can tell there is only one way to do this. Teach people about how they make decisions and inspire them to make better choices.

We love to hear success stories! We are inspired by reality programs when someone conquers their worst fear or struggle. Yet we sit back and watch and think, if only I could get someone to drive me past my struggle and fear I too could have that success. Now don’t get me wrong we all need a mentor or a coach to help with making lifestyle changes. However no matter how good the coach is, the decision has to start with us first.

It goes back to the why each time. Why lose weight? Why get healthy? Why do the work and apply the discipline in your life to make optimal health a priority instead of a dream we see on TV? We have to sort through all the emotions and feelings those questions bring up to get to a level of decision that it is time now to do something about it.

Watch for more on this in upcoming articles as we discuss how to set into place the basic habits of health that can change your life and the way you live it from here on.

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Coach To Lose

Excuse busting – Or how to go from fat to fit

The vacation is over. Now back to work!

Family Health and Weight Loss With Those You Love

Weight Loss – What if nothing changes?

Optimal Health Choices – Primary Goals and Secondary choices

Optimal Health Choices – Where do I begin the journey?

Optimal Health Choices – How do we make them?

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