Gwyneth Paltrow, on how she stays so fit:
"It's not an accident. It's not luck, it's not fairy dust, it's not good genes. It's killing myself for an hour and a half five days a week."
Enough said :)
Showing posts with label Motivation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Motivation. Show all posts
Saturday
Monday
Why Is Maintaining Weight Loss So Hard?
My friend is gaining back the 25 pounds she lost on the Dr. Berstein diet.
The diet was very effective in taking the weight off, but she's simply not able to follow it long term. It makes me think yet again about lifestyle and overall awareness of what keeps weight off.
There's more to keeping weight off than skipping egg yolks and getting vitamin B shots, or weigh-ins and point counts. It's more than just time on a treadmill or laps on a track. It's more than a goal, an objective, a dangling carrot.
It's about making a lot of small changes that will end in one big result. What good will eating the egg whites do if you still have the processed food in the pantry? What good will training for a yearly community run do if you still drive your kids several blocks to school every day? Sure you can eat the egg whites and stay away from the pantry for awhile, or you can turn your already tight schedule upside down even further to squeeze in time for the runs, but isn't that just so hard? Isn't that too hard?
It would be for me. I take my hat off to you for trying. I wouldn't be able to keep doing it.
Instead, healthy weight maintenance could fit your life like a comfortable pair of shoes - ones that you slide your feet into and would prefer to wear than to take off. They would add support to each step, without pinching or leaving blisters.
Like a pantry stocked with whole grain foods, instead of sugary cereal. Go ahead, have a snack! Or the mini-van that stays parked in the mornings before school, to be replaced by an umbrella on rainy days. Guess what - you won't have to look for parking. Oh sure in the beginning change is hard, but once you get used to it, you won't remember what the beginning felt like.
I think the major difference between myself and my friend is lifestyle. My exercise isn't a yearly event that's participated in and then finished (her community run). Mine is part of my day to day life which is set up in such a way as to leave me little choice. We have only one vehicle insured, so I have to walk the kids everywhere, for example. The work from home job that I've chosen is a paper route, all done on foot. She works from home as well, but at a computer doing customer service for a telecom company. She earns more money than I do (which enables her to afford to insure a second vehicle ;) Hmmm.
I could go on and on, and to be fair, there are equal pros and cons to different lifestyles. Some are just better suited to maintaining a healthy weight.
Why is maintaining weight loss so hard? Maybe because it's not at the top of the priority list.
The first step could be assessing what your priorities are. The next, figuring out what changes need to be made to fit that list. The next after that, accepting that not all the changes will be easy.
The objective, though, is to make the changes that best support the item on the top of the priority list, so that item is most likely to be achieved. Sure it's hard to brave the cold when you're walking and not in a heated car, but you know what? Maintaining a healthy weight won't be hard.
TenGone Home
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’)
The diet was very effective in taking the weight off, but she's simply not able to follow it long term. It makes me think yet again about lifestyle and overall awareness of what keeps weight off.
There's more to keeping weight off than skipping egg yolks and getting vitamin B shots, or weigh-ins and point counts. It's more than just time on a treadmill or laps on a track. It's more than a goal, an objective, a dangling carrot.
It's about making a lot of small changes that will end in one big result. What good will eating the egg whites do if you still have the processed food in the pantry? What good will training for a yearly community run do if you still drive your kids several blocks to school every day? Sure you can eat the egg whites and stay away from the pantry for awhile, or you can turn your already tight schedule upside down even further to squeeze in time for the runs, but isn't that just so hard? Isn't that too hard?
It would be for me. I take my hat off to you for trying. I wouldn't be able to keep doing it.
Instead, healthy weight maintenance could fit your life like a comfortable pair of shoes - ones that you slide your feet into and would prefer to wear than to take off. They would add support to each step, without pinching or leaving blisters.
Like a pantry stocked with whole grain foods, instead of sugary cereal. Go ahead, have a snack! Or the mini-van that stays parked in the mornings before school, to be replaced by an umbrella on rainy days. Guess what - you won't have to look for parking. Oh sure in the beginning change is hard, but once you get used to it, you won't remember what the beginning felt like.
I think the major difference between myself and my friend is lifestyle. My exercise isn't a yearly event that's participated in and then finished (her community run). Mine is part of my day to day life which is set up in such a way as to leave me little choice. We have only one vehicle insured, so I have to walk the kids everywhere, for example. The work from home job that I've chosen is a paper route, all done on foot. She works from home as well, but at a computer doing customer service for a telecom company. She earns more money than I do (which enables her to afford to insure a second vehicle ;) Hmmm.
I could go on and on, and to be fair, there are equal pros and cons to different lifestyles. Some are just better suited to maintaining a healthy weight.
Why is maintaining weight loss so hard? Maybe because it's not at the top of the priority list.
The first step could be assessing what your priorities are. The next, figuring out what changes need to be made to fit that list. The next after that, accepting that not all the changes will be easy.
The objective, though, is to make the changes that best support the item on the top of the priority list, so that item is most likely to be achieved. Sure it's hard to brave the cold when you're walking and not in a heated car, but you know what? Maintaining a healthy weight won't be hard.
TenGone Home
('
’)Thursday
Time Passes Anyway, Might As Well Have Something To Show For It.
You can't get overnight diet or exercise results - it's simply not possible. We need to remove this instant gratification expectation from our list of wants.
So... if we can't get overnight results anyway, then...
....if you've said no to the ice cream and not seen a drop in the scale the next morning, that's ok.
....if you've done sit ups and not woken up the next morning with six-pack abs, that's ok.
....if you've had ten glasses of water and not woken up looking ten years younger, that's ok too.
Because...
Months will pass, whether or not you do something about your goals. Time will pass regardless. If you spend each passing day waiting to change, time will pass without any change. But if you take a small step each day toward your goal, after enough time has passed, you will see the results you want.
Have you ever woken up to the first tank-top-and-shorts day of the season wishing you were ten or twenty pounds lighter, and thought to yourself "if I had been able to stick to the diet I tried starting in November, I'd be skinny right now."
Time passes anyway, might as well have something to show for it...
TenGone Home
('’)
So... if we can't get overnight results anyway, then...
....if you've said no to the ice cream and not seen a drop in the scale the next morning, that's ok.
....if you've done sit ups and not woken up the next morning with six-pack abs, that's ok.
....if you've had ten glasses of water and not woken up looking ten years younger, that's ok too.
Because...
Months will pass, whether or not you do something about your goals. Time will pass regardless. If you spend each passing day waiting to change, time will pass without any change. But if you take a small step each day toward your goal, after enough time has passed, you will see the results you want.
Have you ever woken up to the first tank-top-and-shorts day of the season wishing you were ten or twenty pounds lighter, and thought to yourself "if I had been able to stick to the diet I tried starting in November, I'd be skinny right now."
Time passes anyway, might as well have something to show for it...
TenGone Home
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’)Wednesday
Can't Wait....
...to add another toning exercise!!! At the moment I do 20 wall push ups every morning. THAT'S IT, because I've done more in the past and then given it all up. I'm too "all or nothing", which is part of the reason I over eat compulsively unless I count calories.
The wall push ups have been going well in that I feel my body being worked, but it takes very little time, so if I do forget to do them while my coffee is brewing, I can easily squeeze them in another time (as soon as I realize I've forgotten, I just head to the nearest wall, and voila - 2 minutes or so later I've completed my New Year's resolution :)
The problem is now that I want to add another exercise (I'm just itching to! lol), and the push ups habit is not fully secure yet. I know from past experience that if I over schedule myself all at once, the first day I'm too tired or busy will be my last day doing the exercises.
I need to wait a bit longer before I add on another exercise... must form new habits one at a time ;) Meanwhile, I'll just have to be patient!!
TenGone Home
('’)
The wall push ups have been going well in that I feel my body being worked, but it takes very little time, so if I do forget to do them while my coffee is brewing, I can easily squeeze them in another time (as soon as I realize I've forgotten, I just head to the nearest wall, and voila - 2 minutes or so later I've completed my New Year's resolution :)
The problem is now that I want to add another exercise (I'm just itching to! lol), and the push ups habit is not fully secure yet. I know from past experience that if I over schedule myself all at once, the first day I'm too tired or busy will be my last day doing the exercises.
I need to wait a bit longer before I add on another exercise... must form new habits one at a time ;) Meanwhile, I'll just have to be patient!!
TenGone Home
('
’)Sunday
Holiday Aftermath
Most people I know (who are willing to 'fess up ;) gained a pound or two over the holidays. I was lucky lucky lucky to barely (by the skin of my teeth) maintain my weight. I say lucky because I counted calories for only one day out of a seven day span that covered Christmas and New Years.
I think what helped me a lot is the fact that I'm simply not used to eating that much at one time any more, so my non-counting indulgences were a lot smaller. Plus I maintained my regular level of activity, rather than slowing down for the holiday season.
That makes me happy.
What makes me over the moon ecstatic though, like happier than I can say, is the fact that after six non-counting days I am back into my calorie counting routine with no difficulty. This has always been my biggest hurdle in the past - becoming derailed and being unable to get back on track. Not this time!
Yay!!! :) :)
TenGone Home
('’)
I think what helped me a lot is the fact that I'm simply not used to eating that much at one time any more, so my non-counting indulgences were a lot smaller. Plus I maintained my regular level of activity, rather than slowing down for the holiday season.
That makes me happy.
What makes me over the moon ecstatic though, like happier than I can say, is the fact that after six non-counting days I am back into my calorie counting routine with no difficulty. This has always been my biggest hurdle in the past - becoming derailed and being unable to get back on track. Not this time!
Yay!!! :) :)
TenGone Home
('
’)Tuesday
What Are Your New Year's Resolutions?
Traditionally, New Year's resolutions have been a set up for failure for me. I make them, and never stick to them. I don't know if a simple date on a calendar is motivation enough to make life changes that require will power and discipline.
Still, they're fun! Why not start each year with renewed ambition and optimism? So every year I make resolutions, regardless of my success or failure with them in the past.
This time around, I am in the enviable position of approaching the magic date on the calendar with one of my goals (weight maintenance) already achieved. I have new and improved dietary habits, as well as kept up with regular cardio exercise. What next?
Muscle toning is an area that I don't make time for at the moment. I think this is something I can resolve to start in the new year.
My plan is to choose ONE, and only one, exercise (to start with). In the past I've planned out a whole routine, and given up after a week because of the new time constraints involved. This year, however, I'm going to choose ONE activity that takes about five minutes, and insert it somewhere into my routine. Push-ups before brushing my teeth? Sit-ups while dinner is cooking? Not sure yet, but I will let you know what I come up with.
Time to put my thinking cap on!
TenGone Home
Still, they're fun! Why not start each year with renewed ambition and optimism? So every year I make resolutions, regardless of my success or failure with them in the past.
This time around, I am in the enviable position of approaching the magic date on the calendar with one of my goals (weight maintenance) already achieved. I have new and improved dietary habits, as well as kept up with regular cardio exercise. What next?
Muscle toning is an area that I don't make time for at the moment. I think this is something I can resolve to start in the new year.
My plan is to choose ONE, and only one, exercise (to start with). In the past I've planned out a whole routine, and given up after a week because of the new time constraints involved. This year, however, I'm going to choose ONE activity that takes about five minutes, and insert it somewhere into my routine. Push-ups before brushing my teeth? Sit-ups while dinner is cooking? Not sure yet, but I will let you know what I come up with.
Time to put my thinking cap on!
TenGone Home
Sunday
There Are No Excuses
A friend of mine has lost 26 pounds on the Dr. Bernstein weight loss plan.
She (with their support) is taking a three week break over the Christmas season. She knows she will "cheat" over the holiday season, and why pay for a plan she's not following?
Initially I thought how wise and realistic, both on her part and the part of the Dr. Bernstein staff. Let's not set ourselves up for failure, what with the festive season upon us.
But then I thought... isn't that the problem with weight loss programs, and with weight loss in general? There will always be a festive something or other around every corner. It's kind of like waiting for the best time to quit smoking, or the right time to get pregnant. There is no perfect time for anything - no time that things will be easy or free from the potential for setback.
There will always be a tomorrow, but if we want to accomplish our goals, we have to work on them today.
What about me - should I take a break? I'm about four pounds away from my target weight. Can I get through the Christmas season without gaining back some of the weight I've lost? Can I maintain my current progress, or better still, carry on towards my goal?
Of course I can! Just because there are more temptations around me doesn't mean I have to cave every day. Will I count calories on Christmas day? Nope!! Will I count them the day before and the day after? You bet. It's all about new habits and a more self improvment based lifestyle.
Here's to not letting the holiday season be my latest excuse!
TenGone Home
She (with their support) is taking a three week break over the Christmas season. She knows she will "cheat" over the holiday season, and why pay for a plan she's not following?
Initially I thought how wise and realistic, both on her part and the part of the Dr. Bernstein staff. Let's not set ourselves up for failure, what with the festive season upon us.
But then I thought... isn't that the problem with weight loss programs, and with weight loss in general? There will always be a festive something or other around every corner. It's kind of like waiting for the best time to quit smoking, or the right time to get pregnant. There is no perfect time for anything - no time that things will be easy or free from the potential for setback.
There will always be a tomorrow, but if we want to accomplish our goals, we have to work on them today.
What about me - should I take a break? I'm about four pounds away from my target weight. Can I get through the Christmas season without gaining back some of the weight I've lost? Can I maintain my current progress, or better still, carry on towards my goal?
Of course I can! Just because there are more temptations around me doesn't mean I have to cave every day. Will I count calories on Christmas day? Nope!! Will I count them the day before and the day after? You bet. It's all about new habits and a more self improvment based lifestyle.
Here's to not letting the holiday season be my latest excuse!
TenGone Home
Monday
How Can I Increase My Will Power?
It's simple, really. You just have to be aware when you reach that fork in the road, where one way is continuing on towards your goal, and the other way is heading away from it.
This is it, right here.
There's a difference between people who achieve their goals and people who don't, and that difference is the ability to continue on past the challenging spots. The ability to recognize the fork in the road, and to take the right path.
When you're having a really challenging moment, and you want that ice cream so badly you can already taste it, this is a fork in your road. This is when you step back and say "here it is, right here. The difference between people who succeed with their weight loss goal and people who don't. This is where I say NO if I am to succeed."
It's easy to say no if you're not hungry, or if it's food you don't like, or if it's the beginning of the day and you're freshly motivated. However the people who succeed are the ones who can say no when it's not easy.
So the next time your will power encounters a big test, see it as an opportunity to succeed. Recognize it as the fork in the road, the choice between the path towards your goal, or the path away from it. See it as the moment where you take matters into your own hands, and choose success.
This is it, right here.
TenGone Home
This is it, right here.
There's a difference between people who achieve their goals and people who don't, and that difference is the ability to continue on past the challenging spots. The ability to recognize the fork in the road, and to take the right path.
When you're having a really challenging moment, and you want that ice cream so badly you can already taste it, this is a fork in your road. This is when you step back and say "here it is, right here. The difference between people who succeed with their weight loss goal and people who don't. This is where I say NO if I am to succeed."
It's easy to say no if you're not hungry, or if it's food you don't like, or if it's the beginning of the day and you're freshly motivated. However the people who succeed are the ones who can say no when it's not easy.
So the next time your will power encounters a big test, see it as an opportunity to succeed. Recognize it as the fork in the road, the choice between the path towards your goal, or the path away from it. See it as the moment where you take matters into your own hands, and choose success.
This is it, right here.
TenGone Home
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