Check out this site:
http://www.finishstrongmovie.com/
It's a great source of inspiration and a way to tap into your ability to do the work that needs to be done so that you can reach your goal!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
"Thinking differently" Thursday
Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples, don't count on harvesting Golden Delicious. ~Bill Meyer
Is that a great quote or what?!?! No matter what we do, no matter how much weight we lose, no matter how hard we've worked, it all comes back to how much you've changed your beliefs. If you lose 100 pounds but still believe you're a fat person, you will eat your way back to your highest weight. You have to change your core belief system FOR GOOD if you want change to be lasting change.
This week, when you find yourself being swayed by the negative thoughts--the ones that eventually keep you from doing the hard work--write the thought down. Once you've done that, take a look at the words, and think about how they've affected your life so far. What good has come from them? What change have they inspired? You already know the answer, but you have to walk yourself through the exercise to get the impact of it.
Now, think about what words you can use to replace that negative message. "It's hard right now, but I need to keep moving forward." Or, how about "I don't want to do this, but I know I will be proud of myself when I do." Or, what about "My family needs me right now, but I owe myself at least 5 minutes to take care of ME, too." We need to stop ignoring, minimizing, chastising, judging, labeling, and negatively prioritizing our needs at the expense of others' needs. We also need to be really honest with ourselves by realizing and admitting that we continue to do so in order to give ourselves permission to eat the food that comforts/calms/distracts/de-stresses/and keeps us company.
Plant a seed that will harvest Golden Delicous or Jonas Gold--crab apples are easy to grow but really distasteful to swallow. Rake up the old seeds, clear out the field, and plant brand new seeds. Will some crab apples still pop up between our Golden Delicious and Jonas Gold? Yes. But they will be few and far between and much easier to harvest and destroy.
Have a great weekend!
Is that a great quote or what?!?! No matter what we do, no matter how much weight we lose, no matter how hard we've worked, it all comes back to how much you've changed your beliefs. If you lose 100 pounds but still believe you're a fat person, you will eat your way back to your highest weight. You have to change your core belief system FOR GOOD if you want change to be lasting change.
This week, when you find yourself being swayed by the negative thoughts--the ones that eventually keep you from doing the hard work--write the thought down. Once you've done that, take a look at the words, and think about how they've affected your life so far. What good has come from them? What change have they inspired? You already know the answer, but you have to walk yourself through the exercise to get the impact of it.
Now, think about what words you can use to replace that negative message. "It's hard right now, but I need to keep moving forward." Or, how about "I don't want to do this, but I know I will be proud of myself when I do." Or, what about "My family needs me right now, but I owe myself at least 5 minutes to take care of ME, too." We need to stop ignoring, minimizing, chastising, judging, labeling, and negatively prioritizing our needs at the expense of others' needs. We also need to be really honest with ourselves by realizing and admitting that we continue to do so in order to give ourselves permission to eat the food that comforts/calms/distracts/de-stresses/and keeps us company.
Plant a seed that will harvest Golden Delicous or Jonas Gold--crab apples are easy to grow but really distasteful to swallow. Rake up the old seeds, clear out the field, and plant brand new seeds. Will some crab apples still pop up between our Golden Delicious and Jonas Gold? Yes. But they will be few and far between and much easier to harvest and destroy.
Have a great weekend!
Monday, April 20, 2009
The Program Doesn't Work...
If you ever want to make the hair on my neck stand up, utter the words "the program doesn't work" with nothing to back up your words. This seems to be happening quite a lot lately, and I feel the need to vent, so pull up a chair or log off immediately.
Doing the program is not about starving yourself. It's not about going to the gym or working out several hours a day and not eating properly to refuel yourself. It's not about "getting in the points" but paying no attention to the quality of them. It's not about regularly eating below your points and then complaining that you're "starving all the time." DUH!!! This is not a "design your own" program. We give you guidelines to follow FOR A REASON! You can be flexible within the guidelines, but you should be following the guidelines and THEN doing your spin. It's hard to help a struggling member when there's no tracker to look at ("keeps track in his/her head" or "I eat the same thing so I don't need to write it down"), when there are no good health guidelines checked ("I don't have enough points to get in the oils and milks"), when no meeting is attended (those of you who attend regularly know what I mean), when activity is not tracked ("I don't ever use those activity points anyway" or "the machine said I burned 1000 calories in 30 minutes") OR when activity is avoided like the plague.
Look, we give you the basics, but YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW THEM! You can keep verbalizing all of your old excuses (I'm really not into it, I have too much going on in my life, I'm in menopause, It's too hard to make choices at the ballpark/soccer field/pool, I don't want to "punish" my family, I travel all the time and it's so tough to find good things to eat, My job is a challenge, None of my friends have to worry about their weight, I'm too stressed right now, It's too hard to do this, and, my personal favorite, I need to take a break from this. Frankly, and this is going to hurt the feelings of some of you, kids, those words are, almost always, your built-in excuses to keep eating what you want whenever you want it. There are a few times when logistics prevent us from staying on as members (loss of job, health issues, etc.). It's HARD WORK to change. I know that. Remember? I do the program, too. BUT...only in doing the hard work will you get eventual and lasting results. The hardest part of losing weight is not what you put in your mouth but what you put in your head.
We ALL have stuff going on in our lives that challenges our choices. Some of us are verbal about it; others of us are not. But, trust me, we all have challenges. There are some of us who feel the need to say "no one has it as tough as I do right now." You would be surprised, people, at what your neighbor has going on--you just don't KNOW about it. So, acknowledge that life might stink right now, but don't minimize other people's struggles to be less than yours and don't magnify your issues to be ten times worse than everyone else's so that you can, once again, use food to comfort and de-stress yourself "because you deserve it."
Do you want to lose weight right now?"
If so, what are you willing to do in order to make that happen (not what you are NOT willing to do but what you ARE willing to do)?
Will you do that today?
Then, get to work!
So, if you don't want to lose weight right now, then say you don't want to lose weight. Accept it and move on. Stop beating yourself up. But don't blame the program--it works if you do it! If you DO want to lose weight, then embrace all that you have to offer and all that you are believing you will accomplish, and enjoy the journey...
Doing the program is not about starving yourself. It's not about going to the gym or working out several hours a day and not eating properly to refuel yourself. It's not about "getting in the points" but paying no attention to the quality of them. It's not about regularly eating below your points and then complaining that you're "starving all the time." DUH!!! This is not a "design your own" program. We give you guidelines to follow FOR A REASON! You can be flexible within the guidelines, but you should be following the guidelines and THEN doing your spin. It's hard to help a struggling member when there's no tracker to look at ("keeps track in his/her head" or "I eat the same thing so I don't need to write it down"), when there are no good health guidelines checked ("I don't have enough points to get in the oils and milks"), when no meeting is attended (those of you who attend regularly know what I mean), when activity is not tracked ("I don't ever use those activity points anyway" or "the machine said I burned 1000 calories in 30 minutes") OR when activity is avoided like the plague.
Look, we give you the basics, but YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW THEM! You can keep verbalizing all of your old excuses (I'm really not into it, I have too much going on in my life, I'm in menopause, It's too hard to make choices at the ballpark/soccer field/pool, I don't want to "punish" my family, I travel all the time and it's so tough to find good things to eat, My job is a challenge, None of my friends have to worry about their weight, I'm too stressed right now, It's too hard to do this, and, my personal favorite, I need to take a break from this. Frankly, and this is going to hurt the feelings of some of you, kids, those words are, almost always, your built-in excuses to keep eating what you want whenever you want it. There are a few times when logistics prevent us from staying on as members (loss of job, health issues, etc.). It's HARD WORK to change. I know that. Remember? I do the program, too. BUT...only in doing the hard work will you get eventual and lasting results. The hardest part of losing weight is not what you put in your mouth but what you put in your head.
We ALL have stuff going on in our lives that challenges our choices. Some of us are verbal about it; others of us are not. But, trust me, we all have challenges. There are some of us who feel the need to say "no one has it as tough as I do right now." You would be surprised, people, at what your neighbor has going on--you just don't KNOW about it. So, acknowledge that life might stink right now, but don't minimize other people's struggles to be less than yours and don't magnify your issues to be ten times worse than everyone else's so that you can, once again, use food to comfort and de-stress yourself "because you deserve it."
Do you want to lose weight right now?"
If so, what are you willing to do in order to make that happen (not what you are NOT willing to do but what you ARE willing to do)?
Will you do that today?
Then, get to work!
So, if you don't want to lose weight right now, then say you don't want to lose weight. Accept it and move on. Stop beating yourself up. But don't blame the program--it works if you do it! If you DO want to lose weight, then embrace all that you have to offer and all that you are believing you will accomplish, and enjoy the journey...
Attention, Team BELIEVE...
We are meeting at Hampden Park at 6:15 pm today, RAIN OR SHINE!!! There are no whiners or complainers on this team, so wear a rain coat, bring an umbrella, get yourself one of those plastic ponchos or a rainbonnet like your grandma used to wear. Don't use the rain as yet another excuse that "it's just not meant to be." It's meant to be, and it will happen--tonite at 6:15. See you at the park.
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