It's been awhile since I've been here, dispensing my advice for positive and enjoyable weight loss. The truth is, I haven't quite figured out what I thought I'd figured out three years ago, and my journey to good health continues. Because of this, I'm changing the format of A Positive Weigh to chronicle my journey as I commit to changing my current circumstances.
The other day, I embarked upon a Couch to 5K training program. It's three days per week for a total of nine weeks. At the end of the program, if I follow it consistently, I'm supposed to be able to run an actual 5K without stopping or walking. Because the program is available as an app for my iPhone, complete with voice prompts on when to walk and when to run, I figured I'd give it a try.
I've always wanted to be a runner, but it seemed like an impossible goal. How many fat girls do you know who are runners? I kept telling myself I'd start once I'd lost all of my weight. That day hasn't come, and since I've tried the sit-on-your-ass-and-get-fit program without much success, I decided I might need something a bit more hard-core.
Last Saturday was Day 1 of Week 1. It was hot and humid, but I put my hair up, laced up my sneakers, grabbed my iPhone, and took off down the road behind my house. The first 60-second run segment wasn't too painful, although I was a bit unnerved by my stomach roll bouncing up to hit my boobs as I ran. This must be why everyone says to get a good sports bra.
By the next run segment, I was gasping for breath, certain that my lifeless body would be found along the side of the road, my iPhone still commanding, "Run, NOW!"
I had a choice: I could either quit or modify the program so that I could finish it. I chose the latter. During the run segments, I'd run as much as I was able and then walk the rest. Sometimes it was only five or ten seconds' worth of running before I'd be gasping for air and struggling to remain upright from the pain in my legs. I'd also failed to bring water with me (on a 90+ degree day). Every painful breath across my parched throat made me resolve to never make this same omission again.
It's bad enough that running on the flat parts of my route was extremely difficult since I'm so out of shape, but the hilly parts of the road were impossible. It was all I could do to run for longer than a few seconds; no way could I handle running and breathing and hauling my sorry ass up those hills at the same time.
In the beginning of the session, I wondered if my neighbors were looking out their windows at the fat girl struggling to keep running and walking. Halfway through, I no longer carried if they did. Quitting simply wasn't an option. I was going to finish this so that I could post my success on facebook. Isn't it ridiculous what keeps us going sometimes?
When the voice prompt finally alerted me that my session was over, I limped on weakened legs up the road to my house, breathing heavily, sweating profusely, but supremely proud that I'd finished.
"Conditions are never just right. People who delay action until all factors are favorable are the kind who do nothing." - William Feather
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Value the Journey
Even though most of us consider reaching our weight loss goal as defining our success, there is much value in the journey itself.
At no other point during the weight loss process will you get to enjoy so many positive victories. Think about it. Every day your body is changing in a multitude of ways. You might not have been able to sit on the floor comfortably last week but here you are, today, losing track of time while playing with your grandson. Clothes that were too tight only a few weeks ago now are baggy. Perhaps you're breathing easier due to not having to carry around so much weight. Maybe your collarbones are making an appearance for the first time in your adult life, or you received a compliment from a co-worker about your weight loss. All of these things help to keep you on the path to your goal and affirm that you are closer to it every day. These non-scale victories can give you much-needed motivation to keep going even when the scale is not cooperating.
The journey to thinness can also be a period of great learning. We can get to know ourselves more intimately as we explore the reasons we are overweight. As the layers of weight peel away, we can't help but reveal more of who we truly are inside. The act of shedding weight along with the process of learning why we are overweight prompts a release of mental baggage that has kept us imprisoned and afraid to truly live.
It is the journey itself that teaches us the most. Enjoy it while it lasts.
"Success consists in getting up just one more time than you fall." -Oliver Goldsmith
At no other point during the weight loss process will you get to enjoy so many positive victories. Think about it. Every day your body is changing in a multitude of ways. You might not have been able to sit on the floor comfortably last week but here you are, today, losing track of time while playing with your grandson. Clothes that were too tight only a few weeks ago now are baggy. Perhaps you're breathing easier due to not having to carry around so much weight. Maybe your collarbones are making an appearance for the first time in your adult life, or you received a compliment from a co-worker about your weight loss. All of these things help to keep you on the path to your goal and affirm that you are closer to it every day. These non-scale victories can give you much-needed motivation to keep going even when the scale is not cooperating.
The journey to thinness can also be a period of great learning. We can get to know ourselves more intimately as we explore the reasons we are overweight. As the layers of weight peel away, we can't help but reveal more of who we truly are inside. The act of shedding weight along with the process of learning why we are overweight prompts a release of mental baggage that has kept us imprisoned and afraid to truly live.
It is the journey itself that teaches us the most. Enjoy it while it lasts.
"Success consists in getting up just one more time than you fall." -Oliver Goldsmith
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Baby Steps
Does this sound familiar? You decide to get serious and lose the weight once and for all. You give up all of your favorite foods, cut calories to starvation levels, resolve to exercise for an hour each day, and stop your TV-time snacking habit. All at the same time. Starting today.
The first day goes well, but by Day Three, you are hungry, and feel deprived and overscheduled. You give up because the program you created for yourself is impossible to maintain for any length of time.
Why not try creating small, achievable goals for yourself? Instead of cutting out all of your favorite foods, try choosing to avoid foods that have sugar in them for a week or two. Keep everything else that you do the same. Then cut out foods that contain refined flours. So far so good, right? A couple of weeks later, try replacing your evening snacks with smarter choices such as crunchy veggies or a handful of nuts. You might eventually want to give up this habit altogether, but if you try to make too many changes at once, it can be overwhelming.
A baby-steps approach works well with exercise too. Don't plan on exercising full-bore for an hour a day right at the start. Instead, aim for small blocks of time that fit in your schedule on a regular basis. You can always increase the amount and frequency of exercise as you lose some weight and feel more inclined to move.
By incorporating small changes gradually, you'll create the momentum needed to reach your goal. And without too much pain!
"If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always gotten." -Anonymous
The first day goes well, but by Day Three, you are hungry, and feel deprived and overscheduled. You give up because the program you created for yourself is impossible to maintain for any length of time.
Why not try creating small, achievable goals for yourself? Instead of cutting out all of your favorite foods, try choosing to avoid foods that have sugar in them for a week or two. Keep everything else that you do the same. Then cut out foods that contain refined flours. So far so good, right? A couple of weeks later, try replacing your evening snacks with smarter choices such as crunchy veggies or a handful of nuts. You might eventually want to give up this habit altogether, but if you try to make too many changes at once, it can be overwhelming.
A baby-steps approach works well with exercise too. Don't plan on exercising full-bore for an hour a day right at the start. Instead, aim for small blocks of time that fit in your schedule on a regular basis. You can always increase the amount and frequency of exercise as you lose some weight and feel more inclined to move.
By incorporating small changes gradually, you'll create the momentum needed to reach your goal. And without too much pain!
"If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always gotten." -Anonymous
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Make A List - Check It 9,087 Times
It sounds so basic, but making a list of all of the reasons why you want to lose weight can be an extremely powerful tool. Try to think of even the small, everyday improvements in your life that can be realized through succeeding at your weight loss goals. Your list might include wanting to be able to play on the floor with your children, get off of blood pressure medication, wear a certain size of clothing, ride on a rollercoaster, or fit into an airplane seat more comfortably. Whatever your reasons are, write them down. When you are tempted to eat off-plan, take out your list and read it to remind yourself of what you're working for. Actually picture yourself succeeding at every item on your list. Reviewing your list frequently and visualizing yourself achieving your goals are extremely helpful in maintaining your focus.
"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." - Carl Bard
"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." - Carl Bard
Monday, March 31, 2008
Lose the Excuses
How many times has this happened to you? You're doing well on your diet - losing weight, staying motivated - and all of a sudden something happens in life that sends you running straight for the chocolate chip cookies.
After you've eaten the cookies, you tell yourself that you couldn't avoid it because you were so stressed / sad / tired / depressed / anxious / worried / (insert favorite excuse here).
Hmmm.... did those cookies jump into your mouth? Or did you put them there? Who was in control in this situation? Was it you, a thinking, breathing human being, or the cookies, a lifeless, non-thinking food?
My point is that when we fall off the wagon, it is because we CHOOSE to fall off the wagon. We make the decision, right then and there, that we would rather give up our goal of losing weight for the momentary comfort that eating off-plan provides.
The next time you are faced with a stressful situation, look at it this way: Will the food really solve your problems? Will your bills get paid, will your husband apologize, and will your children become more mannerly simply by diving head first into a carton of ice cream? Of course not! You will still have the same problems, but now you will also have the guilt of breaking your diet as well as the disappointment from seeing the resulting gain on the scale. Now you have two more problems to deal with!
Food isn't medicine. It is food. Stop using life's challenges as an excuse to keep you from achieving your goal.
"If you will call your troubles experiences, and remember that every experience develops some latent force within you, you will grow vigorous and happy, however adverse your circumstances may seem to be." - John Heywood
After you've eaten the cookies, you tell yourself that you couldn't avoid it because you were so stressed / sad / tired / depressed / anxious / worried / (insert favorite excuse here).
Hmmm.... did those cookies jump into your mouth? Or did you put them there? Who was in control in this situation? Was it you, a thinking, breathing human being, or the cookies, a lifeless, non-thinking food?
My point is that when we fall off the wagon, it is because we CHOOSE to fall off the wagon. We make the decision, right then and there, that we would rather give up our goal of losing weight for the momentary comfort that eating off-plan provides.
The next time you are faced with a stressful situation, look at it this way: Will the food really solve your problems? Will your bills get paid, will your husband apologize, and will your children become more mannerly simply by diving head first into a carton of ice cream? Of course not! You will still have the same problems, but now you will also have the guilt of breaking your diet as well as the disappointment from seeing the resulting gain on the scale. Now you have two more problems to deal with!
Food isn't medicine. It is food. Stop using life's challenges as an excuse to keep you from achieving your goal.
"If you will call your troubles experiences, and remember that every experience develops some latent force within you, you will grow vigorous and happy, however adverse your circumstances may seem to be." - John Heywood
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Change the Background Noise
What is your first thought when you get up in the morning?
For me, my first thought upon awaking used to be about my weight. And then, my second, third, fourth, and eight-hundred-fifty-seventh thoughts reinforced my belief that I was hopelessly fat, and would be for the rest of my life.
The thoughts that we have tend to run like tapes in the background of our lives. We tend to think and therefore reaffirm the same thoughts over and over again until we come to believe them. The only way to break out of this pattern is to change the background noise and create a new message in your mind.
Try this: every time a negative thought pops into your mind, replace it with a positive one. For example, if you find yourself saying, "I can never lose weight," replace that with "I lose weight easily." If you always say, "I am so fat" when you see your reflection in the mirror, try saying, "I am getting thinner every day."
It takes some practice to get in the habit of noticing your negative mental talk, but if you can become aware of it, you are on your way to overcoming one of the greatest obstacles to weight loss success.
"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." -Henry Ford
For me, my first thought upon awaking used to be about my weight. And then, my second, third, fourth, and eight-hundred-fifty-seventh thoughts reinforced my belief that I was hopelessly fat, and would be for the rest of my life.
The thoughts that we have tend to run like tapes in the background of our lives. We tend to think and therefore reaffirm the same thoughts over and over again until we come to believe them. The only way to break out of this pattern is to change the background noise and create a new message in your mind.
Try this: every time a negative thought pops into your mind, replace it with a positive one. For example, if you find yourself saying, "I can never lose weight," replace that with "I lose weight easily." If you always say, "I am so fat" when you see your reflection in the mirror, try saying, "I am getting thinner every day."
It takes some practice to get in the habit of noticing your negative mental talk, but if you can become aware of it, you are on your way to overcoming one of the greatest obstacles to weight loss success.
"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." -Henry Ford
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