Mindful Eating...let's use our tool!
Here's a couple of motivational blogs...enjoy and stay with your tool! Debbie
Today - Hot off the Eating Coach presses...
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Posted: 27 Apr 2012 02:48 AM PDT I'm a tool lover. Very few things feel as good to me as having some repair come up and being able to go to my neat and tidy toolbox, open the lid or drawer and pull out the perfect tool for the fix. Being that my toolbox is still growing (and that I'm an exericse physiologist -- not a repair man or mechanic), I don't always get to experience the profound pleasure of having just the right tool already in my box for every situation -- sometimes I have to make do with a less-than-perfect fit in the tool-for-job catagory.Here's the thing though -- I would have a greater number of less-than-perfect fit in the tool-for-job situations if I only had one or two tools in my tool box. You know the old saying "If you only have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail"? Well, sometimes that what we like to do with weight loss. If all you know is dieting -- that's the tool you're going to use for every weightloss problem. If you grew up working out right up to the point when you're about to keel over -- that is what you're going to see as the perfect tool for the weight loss job. If you grew up and never learned how to manage your weight -- maybe you don't have any tools in your toolbox . (Heck -- maybe you don't even have a toolbox). But here's the thing: Restrictive eating (calorie cutting) is a tool. Mindfulness is a tool. Exercise is a tool. Goal setting and execution is a tool. Supportive groups of friends and family is a tool. Cutting back on your sugar consumption is a tool. Motivational reading is a tool. For most of us, our weight gain came on for more than just the plain and simple reason that we ate too many calories. There are usually underlying factors that have driven this behavior. Acknowledging those means accepting that the solution may require more than one tool to fix the problem. Many jobs require a number of tools to complete (Not everything can be as well designed as IKEA furniture where one cheaply made allen wrench will work as the only tool we need). What tools do you have available in your toolbox? Small dinner plates? The option of cooking your meals and eating in for the next month? The ability to get outside (or come here) to get moving more than you have been? Do you have a group of friends that will ACTIVELY support you in making these changes? It's time to do an inventory of what tools you have in your box. If you don't have what you need, it's time to start planning how you're going to acquire them. A well-stocked tool box is never a bad thing (unless you're just used to calling a repair man -- because guess what?? No one can fix this problem for you -- no matter how well stocked their box or how much you are willing to pay them). And then the most important thing -- put those tools to work. Figure out which ones will work each day and USE THEM! Nothing gets done without action! 
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Making eating a little bit more difficult Posted: 26 Apr 2012 02:04 AM PDT Choosing the larger chocolate bar or supersizing a combo meal at a fast-food joint may increase a person’s sense of importance, according to a new study published in the Journal of Consumer Research.Researchers had participants read one of two articles. The first said that “63 percent of the 1,000 most influential Americans are fit," while the other said that “63 percent of the 1,000 most influential Americans are overweight." Participants were then offered the choice between five different sized candies. The people *****ad the second article, which said most influential Americans are overweight, were more likely to choose the larger candy bar, while people *****ad the first article were more likely to choose the smaller portion. --Core Performance What influences are you filling your life with? Recently, I have read a number of studies that indicate we are much more susceptible to subtle outside influence than we would like to think. The question this raises for me is: If our behaviors are so easily influenced, can we make this work for us instead of against us? I think so. We don'****ch very much TV in my house. The reason is that the TV is downstairs. Now -- one set of stairs is not very much of a barrier. There are comfy couches and a warm and welcoming environment if I go downstairs. But, because it is not right there in front of my, say in the living room, kitchen or bedroom, it takes more work to just flip the TV on without thinking. And so, I don't. It's always a conscious choice to turn it on. So, could I take that information and make it work to help strengthen my eating behaviors? Yup. Same principle applies. Let's talk about whole foods and potato chips. Whole foods take work. An apple needs to be washed (or at least have the cursory wipe on the jeans, right?) Quick enough to do but it takes work. And then there's all that chewing! More work -- which is one of the reasons we don't eat a whole bag of apples while we're sitting in front the of TV. Potato chips on the other hand need nothing. Open the bag and you're off to the races. Eat as many as you want, they don't require much attention once you start. Same with carrots and M&M's. Celery and hummus vs. Girl Scout cookies. It doesn't take very much extra work to make eating seem like a less desirable passtime. So what to do with this information? Maybe it's time to stop buying the chips, cookies, M&M's, etc. Your spouse, kids, guests will be fine without you having them on hand. Maybe all of you will learn to appreciate the taste of carrots, apples, celery, etc more when you don't have the junk to snack on. Either way, I bet you'll find you're munching less because it's less rewarding. And you'll rack up those 9 uneaten bites easier!
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Do you care enough to pick yourself? Posted: 25 Apr 2012 02:30 AM PDT The question isn’t whether or not you should wait to be picked, the question is whether you care enough to pick yourself. --Seth GodinEver heard yourself or someone else day "That lucky ______. That should have been me!" I think it's odd that we've grown up with the notion that we need to wait to be picked. Picked for the kickball team. Picked for the dance. Picked for the right job, right promotion, the right school..... Maybe it's time to stop waiting to be picked. Waiting for someone to pick you to help. Waiting for Bob to show up at your house. Maybe it's time to pick yourself. Spend your time (and your money) on picking people who can help you to get where you want to go. That's what Oprah does (and yes....I know she's Oprah with an Oprah sized wallet but my point is still valid). Maybe today is the day you need to pick yourself for your team first. You're not the add-on to an all-star cast -- you are the star!.
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Wow, lots of good stuff here Debbiejean. I really need a reminder of all this. I'm bookmarking this page.
Thanks.
Hugs.
Jan
Thanks.
Hugs.
Jan
Bay to Breakers 12K May 15, 2011 (1:54:40) First 5K 5/23/11 (41:22)
Half Marathons: Napa: 7/18/10 (4:11:21) 7/17/11 (3:30:58) 7/15/12 (3:13:11.5)
SJ Rock and Roll: 10/2/10 (3:58:22) Run Surf City: 2/6/11 (3:19:54)
Diva: 5/6/12 (3:35:00)
HW/SW/CW 349/326/176
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
Half Marathons: Napa: 7/18/10 (4:11:21) 7/17/11 (3:30:58) 7/15/12 (3:13:11.5)
SJ Rock and Roll: 10/2/10 (3:58:22) Run Surf City: 2/6/11 (3:19:54)
Diva: 5/6/12 (3:35:00)
HW/SW/CW 349/326/176
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
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