Daily Dose of Encouragement
MaryMBacon
Posts: 94 Member
Good Morning everyone. Have you ever used a GPS and taken a wrong turn? Of course we all have ~ and what happened? It said "recalculating route" Of course it did not say "you screwed up you should drive around aimlessly give up and then go home and start over"
There will be times when you go off track ~ weeks you might have a slight gain or meals where you give into temptation. Just think to yourself "recalculating route" and get right back on the path to good health.
You don't have to be perfect to arrive at your destination, Just keep going ~ you deserve it!
Have a great day
There will be times when you go off track ~ weeks you might have a slight gain or meals where you give into temptation. Just think to yourself "recalculating route" and get right back on the path to good health.
You don't have to be perfect to arrive at your destination, Just keep going ~ you deserve it!
Have a great day
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Replies
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Thanks for the motivation....I need to remember that one once in awhile!0
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I like it!!0
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Do you know what really boosts your metabolic rate ~ proper sleep. Resarch has found that there is a strong correlation between lack of sleep and increased weight. Reduced sleep increases ghrelin (those gremlins that make you eat
which is a hormone that increases appetitie as well as causes a sluggish metabolism throughout the day. Happy Friday ~ don't stay up too late 0 -
Thanks for the motivation...I'll keep that with me and keep moving on...0
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Thanks!! This is just what I need - Realism!! 0
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Sleep Sounds good. 4am workouts are starting to be a killer.0
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Often when I scan a barcode in "public" this will spark a flurry of well meaning diet advice, Much of which is myth. I usually just smile and nod, not wanting to say "You're wrong" to people who are just trying to help, but it is important to separate myth from truth. The biggest myth is that you need to eat all day to stabilize blood sugar ~ unless you have a metabolic disorder, your body can regulate it's own blood sugar just fine by eating 3 meals per day. Food does affect metabolic rate but not by very much. Skipping breakfast will slow down the metabolism until you eat (again not by much but every little bit counts) however those mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks provide such minimal boost to the metabolism, they are really not worth worrying about. Eat if you're hungry, don't when you're not.
Skipping breakfast was shown in children to substantially lower IQ (until lunchtime) the difference was greatest in Kindergarten children. In adults it doesn't so much lower the IQ but it does affect memory and recall.
So DO eat breakfast and get your brain working at it's best, even if you have to start small, such as by eating half a banana. Research has also found that people who eat a fruit or vegetable in the morning are far more likely to achieve the recommended "5 a day"
The Best way to boost your metabolic rate is strength training, a great cardiovascular workout will burn a lot of calories but strength training builds muscle and muscle burns calories at the highest rate, even at rest, so be sure you're doing both.
Have a great "on target" day everyone!0 -
Happy Tuesday everyone!
Its time for a refresher in loving yourself. In my practice I keep hearing. "How can I say I love myself if I think I'm ugly" or " How can I love myself like this" or " how can I really say I love myself when I don't want to be like this" the answer is how can you not!
Your knees are amazing. think about how they lift ALL of you up, with only your foot as a counterweight and manage to pull you up and over each step on a flight of stairs. Your body allows you to talk and communicate, It allows you to move around, use a computer, Your body, as big or small as it may be still does some amazing things for you.
While good health may or may not come in ALL sizes the good news is good people and beauty do come in all sizes. It's important to feel good about yourself, so no matter what size you are, get a great outfit that really fits you well, One of my favorite tips is to do your nails often, because it's impossible to reach into a bag of chips with freshly painted nails, and if you're on pinterest there are some very cute ideas for nail art you can do yourself. It's a great distraction during those evening snack attack hours ~ definitely keeps you from being able to eat, and you'll get all kinds of compliments to help you feel good.
As for wanting change, You love your children and your best friend and mom, no matter what size THEY are but you still want what is best for them. This is no different. You love your kid when they get C's but you still encourage them to study and do their homework. You love your kids no matter what size they are but you do make them eat vegetables because it's healthy. You make them go to bed on time because it's healthy. Loving yourself very much will NOT Mean you give up on changing your body and losing weight, exactly the opposite. The more you love yourself the more you'll want what's best for your health.
and lastly stop saying "I'll be happy when I lose X# of pounds" You won't you'll be X# of pounds lighter when you lose the wight, there is absolutely no reason you need to wait for that to happen to be happy. Be happy now, Be in love with yourself now, and enjoy this journey of health.
Have a beautiful day!0 -
I agree with you 110%, what an uplifting way to start my day. Thank you0
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The identity that you hold yourself has so much impact on how you behave. It's so important to hold a positive identity. As an example when I hear people say "I can't believe I was so stupid" I always want to correct them to say "I can't believe I made such a stupid mistake" You see the difference between "being stupid" or "Making a stupid mistake" is huge. In one case you are helpless to change this behavior, in the other case you're likely to never do this again. Why is this important , because while no other human being on earth would be so rude to us, When we say "I'm fat' we define ourselves in a way that is not helpful on our journey of health. We ARE mothers, wives, husbands, daughters, sons. We ARE animal lovers and we ARE busy people and We are beautiful human beings on a journey of health. We are not "Fat" Our weight does not define us.
We HAVE some extra pounds and we HAVE health concerns and we can HAVE a goal to achieve improved fitness, but our weight problems do not ever define us.
The self talk matters, so if you're tired of opening the closet and "nothing fits" make a date to clean the closet, put out the clothing that fits well and treat yourself to an outfit that fits well if you need to. Box up what really doesn't fit but keep handy what is just a "little tight" because it will fit soon Be kind to yourself in your thinking, and never let a problem, a bad decision, or a challenge define you. Have a great weekend 0 -
Thanks!0
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Staying motivated is not always very easy. Some days the scale can be downright mean-spirited. Some days we just have a craving for a trigger food and some days we're just not feeling it.
But living healthy and losing weight is a marathon not a sprint, it's a slow-cooker process not a microwave. It's so easy to get into a slump and lose our motivation.
What works for me is writing these tips and helping others. Reviewing my affirmations, and celebrating success. I have a few quick tips I would love to share.
Give yourself a weekly "allowance" every single day that you stay on target under calorie goal or every day that you ate 5 veggies or exercised you get $1 or whatever you can spare if it's more or less it doesn't matter. , or even a reward for each of these things. If you don't do the behavior you don't put the cash in and instead you could donate it to a charity or put it somewhere else.
this CASH goes into an envelope marked GOAL and with the goal written right on it.
You may not spend any of this money until you reach your goal and you promise yourself right now that if you quit or give up that cash goes to charity.
Every time you succeed you put that cash in the envelope and as the envelope accumulates cash it becomes extremely motivating the more that is in there the more you can't wait to reach your goal. When that goal involves weight loss, it makes a great new clothes fund!
The reward is for behavior, and behavior is 100% within your control. You control what you eat, when you eat, how much you eat and when and how long you move your body, the goal can be your ultimate weight goal or the half-way point, because if you have a lot to lose, it really does help to get some nice clothes that fit you along the way.
Another way I stay motivated is to have more than one goal and track more than one way. We all likely track weight but it's very motivating to track measurements as well as percent body fat. I also track how much weight I can lift. I take spin classes so there isn't much to track there, but if you run tracking how far you can run or how fast you can run can be very motivating. The reason for this is, on a given week the scale may not move much but if you are now running 5 miles instead of 4, you can smile and celebrate your improved fitness.
How do you stay motivated? What works for you?0 -
the other day I was feeling so frustrated, I had a perfect day, well under my calorie goal, and it said tome "if every day was like today, you'd still have a ways to go in 5 weeks" well not exactly like that but that's how I felt.
If you feel frustrated all you have to do is enter something high calorie (don't eat it just put it in there) maybe a 17 servings bag of chips or the longhorn steakhouse chocolate stampede THEN hit "complete this entry" and see where you'd be in 5 weeks without this hard work. ~ it's a MUCH bigger difference, instead of 10lbs lighter I'd be 10 pounds HEAVIER so it lets me think I'm really "losing" 20lbs that way.
Just be sue to go back and delete the food you didn't really eat
Have a happy halloween, and remember leftover candy ~ It's better to waste it than waist it!0 -
From my latest blog post ~ HOliday survival guide
Set a reasonable goal Your holiday goal can be to maintain. If your goal is to lose 2lbs a week you might set your goal to 1/2 pound a week for the holidays. A goal to lose 2lbs per week is fine if you're feeling motivated and confident and don't mind saying "no" a bit more often. Whatever your goal is write it down and stick to it.0 -
Studies show people who wait until January 1st to start a healthy eating plan gain more weight over the holidays ~ and can never lose it. Don't Wait, set a goal to eat well starting now. Even if your goal is to maintain over the holiday season, set SOME goal and hold yourself accountable. It will pay off. What is your goal for between now and January? do you want to maintain? lose? or just gain a little bit?0
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http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/top-10-holiday-diet-tips-of-all-time Great blog post from web MD wonderful "real people" tips to stay on track over the holidays0
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Studies show people who wait until January 1st to start a healthy eating plan gain more weight over the holidays ~ and can never lose it. Don't Wait, set a goal to eat well starting now. Even if your goal is to maintain over the holiday season, set SOME goal and hold yourself accountable. It will pay off. What is your goal for between now and January? do you want to maintain? lose? or just gain a little bit?
I WILL consolidate my new Wii Zumba Core habit. That alone will have a big impact on daily calories burned and since everything is either targeting cardio, core, or both at the same time - I am hoping for a byproduct of tightened abs.0 -
My latest blog post what to do when your exercise plan just isn't working out.
http://coachmarybacon.com/1/post/2013/11/what-to-do-when-your-exercise-plan-just-isnt-working-out.html0 -
I hope you all had a beautiful Thanksgiving ~ weather you stayed on track or not just bless and release. It's a new day. Be sure to move your body daily as this helps you feel healthy. Pack a protein bar when you head to the mall and don't go hungry. Eat a sensible meal before heading out to shop and pack a snack in case you need it.
Exercise keeps stress levels down and helps you sleep better at night.
Lack of sleep increases hunger. This holiday season remember don't burn the candle on both ends, stay healthy.0 -
Today is Sunday ~ set yourself up for Success by Planning your meals, Going shopping for lots of low cal portable and healthy snacks ~ at least some of which you can keep handy in your purse to avoid temptation when you're out shopping. Put exercise on your calendar for the upcoming week. Plan to succeed.0
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Read a Great article today in the New England Jounal of Medicine on What works and What doesn't so I'm working on a blog post on that topic.
What does work that we knew about ~ Eating breakfast and eating more fruits and veggies
What does NOT work ~ and this surprized me ~ setting "reasonable" goals. It kind of makes sense when you study coaching and read the article, kind of an OMG moment but if you set the goal to lose 10lbs you will lose 10lbs so if you really need/want to lose 70lbs set the goal for 70lbs, you will lose the 70lbs faster and with a higher chance of ultimate success if you make that your goal.
so as a coach I advise you to set your REAL goal even if it's BIG but agree to celebrate success at the smaller intervals.
So for example MY own goal is to lose another 70 lbs
I will treat myself to a Massage when I've lost 15 lbs
I will treat myself to a new pair of pants every 10lbs (they start falling off and looking lousy much faster than tops do)
I will treat myself to a clothes shopping trip in 30 lbs0 -
wow Plateaus suck!! All I can say they SUCK!!
I keep saying in my head "what would you tell a client?" and I'd say if you're eating healthy and exercising be patient, The truth is I've been eating healthy and exercising and for some strange reason not losing and despite all the weight lifting the body fat percent stays the same. I regret not takin measurements at the start because I keep getting complimented on my weight loss (smile and nod) and just wondering how on earth I can look smaller yet weigh the same and have the same percent body fat. My legs DO look smaller to me when I'm at the gym on that leg press machine.
Then 3 days ago I got my fitbit. I'm a nurse practitioner in a doctors office, so I am up and down the halls all day long. I chose "lightly active" because I stand a lot like a teacher. ~ WRONG.
I was somewhat surprized to see how little activity I logged the first day, sadly my fitbit doesn't sync with the phone so I had to disable negative calorie adjustments.
the way this neat little device works with MFP is that at the end of the day if your activity is more than you said you get extra calories, in fact it actually updates whenever you sync (you lucky iphone users)
So I reset myself down to sedentary and on day 2 walked at lunch and that day earned 37 calories from "fitbit adjustment" What that means is that on every workday I had been eating 250 calories too many because I thought I was lightly active when in fact I am not. 37 calories over "sedentary" for walking 20-30 minutes up a rather steep hill, I am truly sedentary the rest of the day.
The great thing about this is, it actually won't let you "double dip" so when I came home from the gym this morning I had 137 extra calories from fitbit, they vanished when I entered the spin class, so I got credit for the workout, but I won't get double credit.
the other change I made is to leave out the food scale so I am more accurately tracking.
There is always a reason for the plateau, we just have to keep searching, Rest assured it's not genetic, it's not a curse, and we call CAN do it.0 -
Yo yo dieting actually WON'T kill you ~ researchers found that's actually a myth. However, it is a bummer going up and down, so forgive yourself for the past, and know that it's always safe to try again.0
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Read a Great article today in the New England Jounal of Medicine on What works and What doesn't so I'm working on a blog post on that topic.
What does work that we knew about ~ Eating breakfast and eating more fruits and veggies
What does NOT work ~ and this surprized me ~ setting "reasonable" goals. It kind of makes sense when you study coaching and read the article, kind of an OMG moment but if you set the goal to lose 10lbs you will lose 10lbs so if you really need/want to lose 70lbs set the goal for 70lbs, you will lose the 70lbs faster and with a higher chance of ultimate success if you make that your goal.
Can you send us the link? Or at least the citation (author / title / which NEJM issue) so that we can look it up in Google Scholar? I'd be very interested in reading the whole thing.0 -
Read a Great article today in the New England Jounal of Medicine on What works and What doesn't so I'm working on a blog post on that topic.
What does work that we knew about ~ Eating breakfast and eating more fruits and veggies
What does NOT work ~ and this surprized me ~ setting "reasonable" goals. It kind of makes sense when you study coaching and read the article, kind of an OMG moment but if you set the goal to lose 10lbs you will lose 10lbs so if you really need/want to lose 70lbs set the goal for 70lbs, you will lose the 70lbs faster and with a higher chance of ultimate success if you make that your goal.
Can you send us the link? Or at least the citation (author / title / which NEJM issue) so that we can look it up in Google Scholar? I'd be very interested in reading the whole thing.
My summary is at http://coachmarybacon.com/blog.html
The full article is http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa1208051#t=articleDiscussion
Enjoy IT's a summary of A lot of original research ~ very thorough and a huge eye opener when you consider how we've been taught to be reasonable. My theme for the new year is to stop being reasonable and start being REAL! 0 -
Remember you're doing great, checking into MFP daily, tracking what you eat through the holidays is hard work. You are ahead of the curve. If results aren't where you want them, just ask for help. Just by being here and tracking your food and moving a LITTLE BIT more than you "have to" you're doing awesome. Don't wait 10 more days, get back on track now. You can do it, you are worth it.0
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Christmas is over and what are we doing with the leftovers. There are lots of great and healthy things to do with ham or turkey, but you know what I mean, the cookies, the candies. Why not just, clean them out. You can pack them up and give them away, freeze them in small packages, or even ***gasp*** just toss them. Cookies are not nutrition, they are not fuel, they will either go to waste or go to waist ~ your choice.
Having said that I am one that it pains me to throw food away, which Is why it helps to remind myself food is essential fuel and nutrients, cookies are a treat, cookies to my taste buds are like music to my ears, or a beautiful sunset to my eyes or a massage to my skin. cookies give me sensory pleasure but not fuel.
whatever you do, do not restart your "diet" on 1/1 and finish all the junk in a rush before then.
coming soon.... I'm doing a lot of writing on unconscious eating habits, great info ~ will post more soon.0 -
So how have you all been. OK it's back to work lol January is here and it's time to get back that nose-to-the-grind motivation. Forgive yourself for the holiday indiscretions and start fresh again now.
Try adopting just ONE healthy habit per month. it takes roughly 21 days to create a new habit. Pick one thing you could do better and focus on that.
January's habit for me and my Balanced Bliss followers is eating without distractions. Distracted eating results in "eating amnesia" and recent studies showed that people distracted 1) ate more 2) remembered eating less 3) didn't enjoy the food as much and 4) got hungry faster.
This holds true for watching television, using a computer, driving and having an argument, however fortunately pleasant conversation is not a problem.
Create a space for eating, put out nice table linens and keep this space the cleanest and most clutter free possible. IF you work or pay taxes or anything at the table ~ clear out the "Evidence" before meal time ~ such as with a portable file folder holder.
For more information and links to the studies you can visit my blog at www.coachmarybacon.com and the book "Intuitive Eating"
I will hopefully get a chance later today to import that blog article to MFP.
Have a great month!0 -
wow, you can lose weight 2x faster just by tracking your intake ~ congratulations you're already here, now just stick with it!0
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Good morning and Happy Monday. My name is Jill and I want to be a part of the real people group! Thank you for the topics you have posted so far.
I've been a yo-yo dieter for too many years and honestly I've hidden behind all this fat too! I've been looking for comfort and acceptance in food rather than looking within myself. I'm afraid to face this but I know I need to. I've had a lot of positive things in my life happen yet I don't see myself as worthy of them so I self-destruct. I don't want to lose the positive. I want to make changes. I would love to have a Daily Dose of Encouragement.
I know that was heavy, but putting it out there is the firs step right? If I this is the wrong forum for this please let me know...otherwise I look forward to meeting new friends. 0
