Not A Diet A Life Style Change!
May 28, 2008
One of the words that I hate most in the english language is the word “DIET”. Whenever we mention that word immediately we start thinking about all the forbidden foods and our hearts start to race and our mind kicks into overdrive and before you know it we talk ourselves right out of it, saying I’ll start a diet later. We immediatley start thinking of all the foods and snacks we will have to give up and we are defeated before we start.
Possibly one of the ways to change this is to thnk of it as a healthy lifestyle change. Rather say “I am going on a diet” say “I have decided to make a lifestyle change that involves eating healthier and exercising.” Now doesn’t that sound better then the word diet. Almost immediatley you start thinking of ways you are going to change and how you are going to do it and how much better you are going to feel.
To begin with you need to research healthy eating. We all know or are aware of food guides. You just have to Google the word and you’ll find lots of information of food guides, nutritional articles the list goes on. Next as I stated before, you need to develop the habit of meal planning. Here is where you can really become creative and experiment with foods. Eating is not meant to be boring so get creative with all your meals from breakfast to the evening meal.
It’s okay to snack of course but snack on the right foods like carrots, nuts, fruit etc. I like to have a fruit snack every afternoon it helps me to get energized during that slow down phase we all seem to have mid afternoon. My choice of fruit is a ruby red grapefruit and sometimes a banana, I just find it gives me that bit of natural sugar and revives me. I like to use fruits in my yogurt and I will add nuts to it as well.
Have fun experimenting with new foods that you have never tried before. There are an awful lot of vegetable and fruits out there so go on try them, you may surprize yourself and really enjoy them. Make a decision to try one new fruit or vegetable per week and see how many new concoctions you can come up with. I like to scour the vegetable and fruit section of my local grocery store looking for new and different varieties. It’s actually kind of fun to see the reaction on my husband’s face when I introduce him to something new and it keeps our meals interesting.
Knowing what to eat, how much to eat and what is healthy along with exercising and getting enough sleep are all area’s to factor in when developing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Stretch Marks a Problem!
May 25, 2008
I don’t know about you but when I was pregnant I managed to get some pretty nasty stretch marks. I tried every trick in the book to prevent them, like plastering myself with Crisco shortening, lathering on Vaseline and any other concoction someone told me to try. Most of the advice came from my mother and her friends. Nothing I tried helped and I ended up with nasty stretch marks all over my abdomen and inner thighs. I know now this occurred because of the inability of my skin type to stretch.
Today there are plenty of products out there designed to fade or eliminate stretch marks. I have to admit I haven’t really tried any and I am more into the natural approach to everything, right down to making my own hand cream and suntan lotion. I like to know what I’m putting on my skin just as I like to know what is in any pill or medication I am taking. Although you don’t swallow a cream…yuck!…the skin is a living organism and whatever you put on your skin is absorbed into your body, so I want to know if it’s good for me and my body.
Here is a recipe that I came across for stretch marks and I am certainly going to try it. The ingredients are all natural and I like the fact that I can make it myself and holy cow if it works that’s even better. I just thought I’d share it with you in case your like me and you like the all natural approach to skin care. I love the smell of vanilla, it’s soothing and pleasant to the senses I just know that by the ingredients its going to feel very pleasant on the skin and being all natural I know it’s good for me from the outside in.
Enjoy!
Stretch Mark Cream
1/4 C cocoa butter
1 Tablespoon wheat germ oil
1 teaspoon light sesame seed oil
1 teaspoon apricot kernel oil
1 teaspoon vitamin E oil
2 teaspoons grated beeswax
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Mix together all ingredients except the vanilla extract. Heat the
mixture gently until the cocoa butter and beeswax have melted; stir
well. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, if
desired. Allow to cool completely. Store in a clean jar with a tight-fitting lid.
One Delicious Meal
May 25, 2008
Try this delicious chicken dish followed by a decadent mud cake and don’t feel one bit guilty. It is not only delicious but low in fat, so enjoy. Who says dieting has to be tasteless!
Attitude is Everything
May 24, 2008
If you you’ve tried every diet on the planet, every exercose program from the latest fitness guru,have every piece of fitness equipment in your basement and failed repeatedly to achieve your weight loss goals you probably need a “a check up from the neck up.”
To be successful at losing weight you first must realize it won’t happen overnight. Let’s face it it took more than a few days to reach the point where you are right now, so cut yourself some slack and expect it to take awhile before you see measurable results. Believe in yourself, take a leap of faith and follow some basic principles.
First of all what kind of “self talk” (you know the conversation that runs through your head continuously) is going on? What kind of conversations do you have with yourself? What kind of negative self talk has kept your from achieving your goals in the past? If you had the chance to change it would you? The good news is you can turn the tables on negative self talk beginning right now by retraining or should I say reprogramming your self talk.
Positive affirmations is a good starting point because when spoken aloud with authority and belief affects your attitude, focus’s your thinking and leads to a course of action.
Begin by first writing your affirmations on paper. Take some time for this exercise and write down what you desire to achieve. For example you could say “I want to lose 25 pounds by August 1, 2008, and reach my desired weight of 125 pounds.” That’s a good goal and one that is very attainable, however the wording needs some restructureing.
The word “want” gives the impression that what you desire is always in the future, and all our subconscious mind understands is the here and now. It doesn’t have the capacity for understanding the concept of time, so everything is in the moment. So by telling your mind you “want to lose 25 pounds by August 2008″ that is what you will continue to get ”want” without the fulfillment.
Now, what if you were to write this “I am healthy and fit weighing 125 pounds.” What are you telling your subconscious mind now? It’s important to phrase your affirmations as if you have already achieved it, be crystal clear because what you affirm is exactly what your subconcious mind will bring you.
You can use affirmations for any area of your life you wish to change. For example you can write “I enjoy my healthy new exercise program”, or, “I love the healthy foods I eat.”
Remember to use the present tense. “I acknowledge achievement in all my weight loss goals.” “I have the skill and talent to exercise every day.” “I am a winner.” “I am grateful for all of my accomplishments no matter how small.”
When you first start saying your affirmations aloud you may feel silly and awkward, it doesn’t matter, continue to speak them aloud with as much conviction and belief you can muster. It’s taken a long time to train your subconscious to use negative self talk, but if you will just persevere with speaking them aloud, firmly and with confidence you will be amazed at how quickly you can turn your thoughts around.
So Your Going To Start Dieting?
May 20, 2008
Wow, here it is the first day after the long weekend, well in Canada anyway and you’ve decided to get yourself in shape and shed a few pounds. Let’s face it, summer is on the way, your shorts and tank tops are anxious to be worn and there is no room for those winter “fluffies “that may have accumulated on your body.
Before you start starving yourself and drink so much water your floating, why not first make a plan. This is one of my favourite sayings : “If you fail to plan….plan to fail”.
Now that you have made the decision why not do some research first. The first thing you should do is calculate your body mass index by going to http://www.obesityinamerica.org/bmi_calculator, you will also find a BMI table that you can download. This will help in determining where you are now, and what your ideal weight should be according to your sex, height etc. Your next step should be finding the best possible diet plan for you. There are countless numbers out there, so be diligent and find the one that is right for you. Remember we are all different so you must decide which plan provides the best options for you. Diets are not like pantyhose, ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL!
I found that by keeping a daily journal of what I ate, when and how I was feeling at the time helped me to know what my triggers were. If at all possible contact a nutritionist who can help you with meal planning. I found that if I planned my meals one week in advance I had less tendency to grab the first thing that came to mind, especially in our busy society today. Meal planning also helps you in the grocery store. You know what you are planning to have and with your list, always go shopping with a list, you shop accordingly.
It’s nice to have support during this time so if you have a friend who is dieting as well, do it together. It’s great having a friend or buddy you can talk to when it gets a little tough. I guess one of the biggest pieces of advice I could give is don’t set your goals to high in the short term. Set realistic goals that are achievable like 2 pounds per week to start with. Make it achievable and when you reach that goal move on to 10 pounds a month and so on. By setting and achieving realistic goals you put less pressure on yourself and when you achieve the goal it motivates you to keep on going. Remember the best way to eat an elephant is “One Bite at a Time”. Never lose sight of where you are going and keep that vision of the new you in your mind.
Exercising will help increase your heart rate and metabolism but if you haven’t exercised in a while go easy at first. Take a walk each day or if that’s not possible 3 times per week. Free weights can help you build muscle and can be done even while you watch TV. Don’t go rushing out and buy a whole bunch of weights, believe it or not you can use canned vegetables and fruits, unopened of course, just like you would a purchased weight. There are lot’s of ways to start your exercise program just remember to combine cardio (walking, biking etc) with weight training and go easy and let your body become accustomed.
Dieting, though sometimes a challenge, but when approached with a plan will help create the new, slimmer and healthier you.
Dieting and Fitness
May 20, 2008
When it comes to living a long and healthy life, there are two necessary ingredients: diet and fitness. While some believe that they are one thing all together, nothing could be further from the truth. It is quite possible to have a perfectly healthy diet with deplorable fitness habits. It is equally possible to be very physically fit with less than savory eating habits.
There’s a clever little line in the Jimmy Buffet song “Fruitcakes” when his ‘lady’ is lamenting:
“I treat my body like a temple
You treat yours like a tent”
I can’t help but think of this line whenever I think about all the people around the world who are going on these, garbage in, garbage out diet plans hoping to achieve the weight loss success of those who are endorsing these products.
To be completely honest, it is possible to shed pounds through diet alone. It is difficult but possible. It is also possible to be physically fit and have a few extra pounds hanging around. To a large degree we are what we eat. If we consume a high fat low substance diet our bodies are going to lack the fuel required to burn the fat. At the same time if we aren’t providing our bodies with the tools it needs to build muscle it doesn’t matter how many weights we lift.
When it comes to diet and fitness, the best results are achieved when they work together rather than separately. Use your fitness routine to burn excess calories and use your diet in order to properly provide your body the nutrients and fuel it needs to build muscle. I’ve heard many times in my life that a pound of muscle weighs less than a pound of fat. While this is not true at all, a pound is a pound regardless; a pound of muscle occupies less space on the body than a pound of fat. Pound for pound, I would much rather mine be composed of muscle than fat. Dieting alone does not build muscle and that is something you will do well to remember in your efforts.
You should also realize that as you are building muscle you may be shedding inches while not showing a great deal of progress on the scale. It is very important that you keep this in mind throughout the weight loss process. Do not measure your progress by the scales alone or you will achieve misleading results. The problem is that far too many people do just this and get frustrated and give up when they are actually making progress. Do not allow yourself to be a victim of the scales. Look in the mirror, try on your tight pants, and measure your waistline. Measure your success by how you feel after climbing a flight of stairs not by how many pounds fell of the scale this week.
By incorporating fitness into your diet routine you are also enabling your body to burn off any extra calories you may have consumed during the day. This means that if you want to have a small ‘cheat’ during your day, you can make up for it by burning a few more calories than normal in the evening. This isn’t something that should happen often but an occasional occurrence isn’t going to make or break your diet.
You should also look at dieting and fitness as a ball and glove type of relationship. While you can play ball without the glove, it seems to work so much better if you have both. Diet and fitness when combined can create fantastic weight loss results for those who take them both seriously. The thing to remember is that neither works as well alone and neither will work unless you are willing to do the work. You must make this a priority in your life in order to achieve the best possible results.
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The Right Frame Of Mind
May 13, 2008
I am sure all of you have heard about or even have a copy of the Secret, but what is it truly trying to tell us. When I was faced with the awesome task of dieting my mind set was very poor. All I ever thought about was my weight and how I looked. I constantly had the image in my mind of being overweight, out of shape and very unattractive. I never really thought at that time, by changing my thoughts I could change whatever I wanted to. Now everyone knows about the secret but there is a secret in applying it.
To constantly see yourself as you are is asking the Universe to continue to give you that. All it knows is your constant thoughts, not what you want. Now, instead of seeing you as you are now, visualize yourself as if you have achieved your desired weight loss goal. Keep that picture in your mind, see yourself in shape, down however many sizes you want to be, healthy, full of energy, enjoying every moment of your life. It’s important, if possible, to add every one of your senses to this visualization. Feel yourself slippping on those new slim jeans, look at the joyful expression on your face as you admire yourself in that full length mirror, feel those admiring looks from your loved ones and friends, enjoy the drive to your local boutique to shop for more of those flattering clothes. See any scenario you want but keep it in your mind. There is a saying “Be, Do, Have”. BE the person you want to be Now, DO what’s needed and HAVE your outcome.
Visualization can be used in any area of your life to help you achieve anything. If you want to quit smoking see yourself as a non-smoker. Do you want to be debt free, then visualize. Just remember BE, DO, HAVE. This will help you a great deal, in achieving any goal and soon your visualization will become your reality.
