Making a Lifestyle Change: Syncing Your Mind With Your Goals

This post is a bit off my normal gardening topics. But in regards to the name of my business and this blog, On The Right Path - it's fits.

NOTE: At 53, this blog isn't about fad dieting, selling any product, or being super thin. It's about making good choices. About the choice to be healthy, and make the most of the years God blesses us to have left. For ourselves and our families. 

Making a Lifestyle Change: Syncing Your Mind With Your Goals

The old saying, "You can't think yourself thin," is both true and false. No, I suppose in reality, you can not just think about ten pounds lost and it will be gone. (Now wouldn't that be sweeeeet!?) But you can put yourself in the frame of mind to be positive - to lose that ten pounds!

With that said, one of the "tools" I engaged to get started with my journey down this "get healthy" path - was my mind. In fact, I began calling myself "My Own Winter Project." Putting ourselves first, even when it comes to our health, is not always easy for women. Still to be there for our families, we need to! But where to start? I wasn't eating all that bad. I mean I had maintained my weight for almost ten years. But obviously, I needed to change something as it had began to creep back on. 

It was time to engage the brain. It's a powerful tool, that can help us succeed or fail. 

Mind games 

No, not the kind teenagers play with their parents! Ugh! I don't wish those on anyone!
These mind games you will play with yourself. This anology helped me make good choices, with food and exercise and to stay focussed. 

If your overweight or dealing with any other kind of addiction from pop, coffee or worse, you already know how to play.

• If I am sad, its OK to comfort myself with this bag of chips.
• If I'm celebrating, its OK to eat two pieces of cake.
• If its a potluck, I don't want hurt anyone's feelings, its OK to eat a little of everything.
• If I had a bad day at work, its OK to drink the whole bottle of wine or case of beer.

You get the idea...

But this project is about YOU. So delve into your mind and find your competitive side. (Frankly I didn't know i had one. But guess what? I did!) And my control freak side said,  "Game on! Let's do this."

So when I reached for that extra dessert at parties, on the break room table or at a family gathering, this is what I ask myself, "Who am i cheating?" Of course, the answer is you!

In weight loss your basically your competing against yourself. Your goals. Your health. 

So change your mind set too: When you decide your worth it -it makes it easier to choose

Start here: Tell yourself...

• I am worth sticking to my plan.
• I am strong enough to make good choices.
• I am going to stay on this journey I decided to take.

.

Think of Food as Fuel 

Without it our body won't work correctly. With too much sugar, you will have insulin spikes, and crashes. With too much sodium, you will have bloating. And so on. But fuel your body and your mind correctly, with proteins, healthy carbs, and veggies. And you will be on the right track to win your health back!

When faced with  "choice swap." 

This is when you are tempted by the "unhealthy food choices,"  but decide to do a "healthier food swap." Often this takes planning ahead. Packing snacks and lunches will become second nature to you. BIGGEST TIP EVER: NEVER, and I mean EVER just leave the house with a snack or plan. Example:

• I choose not eat the jelly donut > Instead I choose to have a whole grain English muffin with sugar free jelly. You still get the soft chewy feel of the donut and the sweetness of the jelly of less than a third of the calories! 
• I choose not have a bag of chips > Instead I choose to have rice cakes, mini carrots or 100 calorie bag of popcorn. With this choices, you get fiber and low calories to boot.

As for any journey you need to set goals and do some planning ahead for a smooth trip. Starting with where you want to go and how you will get there.


Next, as my husband tells me, with every project, comes the need for new tools. Well, since I was my own project, it was time to invest in new tools to make it happen, right?

My husband and I in August 2013.
My weight, 158.
Game on- time to get fit and healthy! 

My Winter Project: Me!  

Below are a few of the tools I used to complete the project. 

(Reality check: the journey is never over!!) 

First Tool: Set Goals! 

Every good journey or endeavor requires a good set of goals. 

• Lose ten pounds. 
• Fit in my current pants comfortably. 
• Be healthy and fit! 
• Get back on track with portions 
• Make good choices

Now goals are meant to be accomplished. So good job hitting those first goals! AND I know you will. But wait! Your not done! And for pete's sake, don't grab that bag of chips and head for the couch as a reward! 

No, no, instead its time to re-evaluate. Time to set NEW goals! Choose an upcoming event, vacation, even seasonal piece of clothing to fit in. Once your close to your goal weight sign up for a walk or run to challenge yourself. Whatever you do, this journey isn't ever over - so keep moving your goal out and higher! 

Second tool: Accountability

Find a way to hold yourself to what you set out to do!

My Fitness Pal App

Accounts are free from the Google Play store or online.
Your can set your own goals or let the app set them for you. It's important to log daily. 

The app has many saved foods from its loyal members, but it also has a barcode scanner for items you can't find. Just use your smartphone on camera and scan the food package. Granted the best foods for us are fresh and not packaged, but you have to start somewhere! And many fresh foods are already in the app.

Digital Bath Scale 

This will be your "new competitor" (formally the "Evil Number Goddess")

After a bit of research, I went with an Eat Smart scale from Amazon. It was reasonable and has been fairly accurate for under $30. The My Fitness Pal app also has a place to record your weight to keep track of your progress!
     
Weighing yourself once a week is a healthy way to keep yourself accountable. Be careful. When your traveling this journey they can become addictive. Twice a week weigh-ins are ok. After that, try and step back. Your weight will vary day to day, just from the amount of water or sodium you consume.

FITBIT Activity Tracker

A few months into this project, I added a Fitbit One activity tracker. (I was down 16 lbs by then, and had decided to shoot for meeting a healthy BMI. ) I can not say how much this little device has changed my fitness level. 

The Fitbit is as much a gadget, as it is a mind tool. You can challenge yourself, your friends, your family meet a daily goal. You need another 500 steps to meet your daily goal? Get up and get going!








So now you have a few of the tools to get you started...  or you know where to get them- just click on the links! (BTW I get nothing from these links! Just sharing my journey! )

Put yourself and your health first. Make a commitment to yourself. And asking God for a little strength daily doesn't hurt either!

Coming next... Third tool: Portion control! as part of, My Winter Project: Me!

On The Right Path: Making a Lifestyle Change

WARNING! This post is a bit off my normal gardening topics. But in regards to the name of my business and this blog, On The Right Path - it's fits.

NOTE: At 53, this blog isn't about fad dieting, selling any product, or being super thin. It's about making good choices. About the choice to be healthy, and make the most of the years God blesses us to have left. For ourselves and our families. 

September. 2013: I walked into my doctor's office and got on the scale. Yes, the dreaded, "May I please remove my shoes, socks, jewelry? Oh, wait! I need to pee!" (Yikes, did I poop this morning!) - weigh in! 

The appointment was regarding another unrelated health issue, but the scale reading, well, lets just say had crept up past what I had regarded as my "comfort zone." 

Now most of us have a pretty good idea before we even meet the, "Evil Number Goddess" that we need to shed a few pounds. Our pants are getting tighter. We have developed muffin tops from maybe eating a few too many muffins. (Or that's who I'm blaming.) And yes, for the most part, the blame does fall on what we are eating! But we are the ones putting in our mouths. Guilty as charged! 

2004

But this journey isn't  a new one for me, and as it is for many. It is a constant need for lifestyle change. As child and through my early teen years I struggled with my weight. I loved chips and ice cream. And in large quantities. An after school snack might have been a couple tablespoons of peanut butter and chocolate chips. My mom tried to encourage me to cut back, but I just didn't get it. Then in ninth grade, and an interest in the opposite sex, at 160 lbs, I made what I thought were good changes. I ate supplementing various diet products, and lost 30 lbs. (You will notice throughout this blog that seems to be my magic loss number.)

Still in 2004, there I was back, and this time hovering around 180 lbs. and wearing a size 18! At that point I was older, had had children,  but still no wiser on the nutrition aspect. I went to the doctor and learned my blood pressure was too high. I left with a script, well, just didn't work for me. As a person who is extremely sensitive to medicine, the side effects were awful. So two weeks later I was back in the same doctors office asking what could I do instead of meds. Good old, magic words: A low sodium diet and exercise.

So that's what I did. For more than two hours I scoured the grocery store for lower sodium foods. What I learned back then amazed me and changed many of my eating habits. Still, one thing I didn't change was eating processed foods. A goal I am still working towards today. 

2005

And the exercise.. Walking was my (and still is) my premium form of exercise. You can not go wrong with a good long walk. You need no equipment. Just comfy supportive shoes and well, for me my pooches, a good friend or my IPOD make it even more enjoyable. 

2005: Over a years time, I lost 30 lbs. I fit nicely in a size 10, and felt comfortable with where I was at, the148-152 pound range. Or what I called, was "my happy weight" range. Basically, I had stalled, or hit a plateau and called it good. 

Basically I maintained for almost 10 years. Which considering I had had a hysterectomy in 2008, wasn't all that bad. (Off topic warning again, if anyone is going through one, please check out the, Hystersisters website- awesome sight!)

2013

2013: So back to that dreaded "Evil Number Goddess" and last year's doctor appointment. There I was again, starting to gain some of the 30 lbs. I'd lost - back. Not a bunch, just 8 lbs.... but we all know where it was headed. 

After running a couple thyroid test to rule out any health issues, all came back normal. Ok, so I had no excuses. It was time to lose ten pounds! And then the techy side of me kicked in. 

I downloaded the My Fitness Pal app from Google Play store on my smartphone and logged in. (note: you can also join and log on their website.) At first, I didn't team up with any friends, but just stalked the forums and listened. But then I learned how supportive adding friends to my account could be. Most I did not even know except through the app. The people are amazing. Their journey's are amazing. But the goal for all, is not only about the "Evil Number Goddess," but about being healthy and what is known as NSC = Non Scale Victories. 

NSV are: Fitting in your favorite jeans again, or buying a smaller size. Going for a walk for twice as long as you did when you started your journey. Lifting a few pounds more than you did before. Chasing after your children or grandchildren without becoming winded. Just loving yourself again.

Its taken me a a year to meet my goals in this journey and loose 31 pounds and roughly 22 inches overall., and get to a healthy BMI of 22!

2014

My next blog will offer insights on what I have learned to help myself - to get On the Right Path. 

I am not selling anything. Though the business part of me I wishes I could say some magic pill or product helped me lose the weight- but it didn't.  It's nothing mind blowing. Just a lot of common sense. If your interested subscribe to my blog and tune in soon... for the this ongoing saga!

If I can do this - So can you!