Weight Loss Revolution: Step 1 - Journal It!

I stated in my last post that I am tired of diets. I am also tired of hearing depressing statistics about how much weight Americans are gaining yearly. I just read a 2007 article posted on the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health website stating, “If the rate of obesity and overweight continues at this pace, by 2015, 75 percent of adults and nearly 24 percent of U.S. children and adolescents will be overweight or obese.” Are you kidding me? Seventy-five percent of adults by 2015? That’s really soon and I hope they were off in their numbers, but this should scare everyone straight.

Let me also say that I do not believe everyone is born to be thin. I am not classically thin. My percentage of body fat is pretty good, but I am thicker. I also have a lot more muscle on my frame than a lot of women because I lift weight a lot, therefore I weigh more. We cannot base everything on a scale. However, it can be your guide. You know if you need to lose a few pounds. I could probably stand to lose about 10-15. Just don’t attempt to lose weight and exercise because someone else wants you to do it. You have to want to be healthier for you and you only.

I am proposing we take baby steps right now to improve our health. I am not calling for a New Year’s resolution. I am simply saying that each and every one of us needs to take a very small step in changing our behavior and our health. I am never going to tell you to quit eating carbs and start eating low-fat everything. What I am saying is take it one step at a time. Example: If you drink 2 or more sodas per day, start paying attention to how many you are drinking and drink one less.

What is the best way to know how many you drink per day or how much you are eating? Start keeping a journal. This is step #1. Keeping a journal is the simplest and easiest way to improve your health. If you start keeping track of what you are eating and when, you will know better how to make changes. Don’t worry about tracking calories, carbs or fat grams.

Here’s what I want you to keep track of in your journal:

1. What did you eat? Just what you ate to begin with and if you had one helping or more. Later you can start keeping better track of serving sizes.

2. What time did you eat? Just the time of day will be sufficient.

3. How did you feel when you ate? How hungry were you when you started eating? How did you feel afterwards? For example, were you only a little hungry when you started eating and then really full when you stopped? Or were you really bored when you started eating, were you tired, depressed, anxious, happy, stressed, etc?

4. How much sleep did you get last night? You can log what time you went to bed and what time you got up if it makes you feel better.

5. What are you thankful for today? After logging all of the other stuff, I want you to quickly think of one thing you are thankful for today. Write that down. No one else has to see this but you. If you don’t feel you have a whole lot to be thankful for, just use being thankful for being alive or thankful for something small like your eye color, having hair, etc. Start anywhere and continue this daily.

Don’t make any excuses about having to wait to start a journal until you have gone out and purchased one. I don’ t care if you use the back of old envelope. You can also find free journals online. Get started right this second.

This journal is for your eyes only. I want you to be the one to really give it a look. Keep this journal for a week or two. After that, take a look at the journal and see where you think you could make some changes. Maybe you find yourself snacking needlessly on junk in the middle of the afternoon when you are tired or bored. Start preparing for that mid-afternoon slump by bringing healthy snacks. Ger up and take a quick walk in the afternoon to wake yourself up before the snack. You may find you have more energy. Are you eating breakfast every morning? Is it the right kind of breakfast? Do you have enough energy? Are you getting enough sleep?

Sleep can play a key role in your health. I will post more on sleep later. For now, start your journal and find out where you are. Happy journaling!

This post can also be found at www.livingpositivelywell.com

New Year's Resolution or Revolution?

Happy new year everyone. It is January 4th and this is officially the beginning of my new year as I see it. I start back to work today after a nice week off and has it been a lazy one. I spent most of my time playing Wii with my 7 year old and doing crafts. It was a lot of fun and it is time with my family that I would never give up.

I know this is the time for everyone to start their New Year’s Resolutions. I am sure you have on their to lose weight, right? Who doesn’t? I was at the grocery store on New Year’s Eve. I was walking through the center aisle when I came across a book rack filled with diet and exercise books. I was not in the least bit surprised by this being New Year’s Eve. Many people started their resolutions at the first of the year and diet book sales are probably through the roof. Glaring at me were titles such as, The Full Plate Diet, YOU on a Diet, The G.I. Diet, The Big Breakfast Diet, and The Eat Clean Diet to name but a few. I cannot deny the fact that I have been more than interested in reading diet books over the years. I have always looked for the final diet that would be the answer to all of my own weight issues. I was looking for the inspiration that I needed and not finding it in these books. I was young and didn’t have family to inspire me to take better care of myself. I am not exactly overweight, but I have always struggled to keep my weight under control. I have tried numerous diets for very short periods of time only to lose weight and gain it back.

Well, I for one am sick and tired of diets! I am tired of the celebrities and “doctors” promoting all of these fad weight loss plans encouraging yo-yo dieting and unrealistic practices. These practices have not worked and our country has gotten fatter and fatter despite the billions spent on the diet industry.

I have an idea. It’s not a new idea. I want to make 2010 the year that we all stop the crazy
“dieting” and restrictive eating practices. Make this the year to become healthier and leaner not because we think we aren’t skinny enough. No, I want you to love your body and who you have become. Take a good look at your body’s abilities this year. Are you still able to walk or run? Are you able to utilize your body for the purposes for which it is meant? If so, then be thankful! Thank your body and take better care of it. Be appreciative of your body this year. Become a better role model for your family this year. Don’t cut out all of your favorite foods. Enjoy them in moderation and stop punishing yourself when you do enjoy them. Just get back to eating healthier for the next meal. Stop feeling deprived. If you know that you are overweight and need to take off a few pounds than do it, but do it slowly. You did not gain that weight in a week and you aren’t going to lose it in a week. If you had started losing weight slowly six months ago, you would be thinner by now right? Start now and see where you are six months from now. Do not obsess over it. Treat your body as your vessel. This vessel of yours needs to be maintained. You wouldn’t pour garbage into your gas tank and expect your car to run well so why would your body?

Make this the year that you see your doctor. What is your family’s health history? Does heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer, strokes, etc run in your family? If so, what can you do to prevent these diseases? Let 2010 be the year we begin to prevent disease instead of having to treat more and more people for preventable disease and illness. Let’s take back our health and this will eventually help us lower our healthcare costs.

One of my favorite stories is about an 84 year old man that I met a couple of years ago. He came to a trail run that I had planned. I was curious about this man and so I ran alongside him. He was fully capable of chatting the entire way and he told me his incredible story. He had been in his sixties when he discovered he had cancer. He was given 6-12 months to live. He decided he was not ready to die and gave up smoking. He became a vegan and gradually took up running. He was cancer free at the time of our run and said that he had run approximately 24 marathons at that point. He had not been physically active prior to his sixties and was a smoker. This was clear proof that you can change your lifestyle at any age.

I hope that I am never in his situation. Cancer runs through my family like a freight train. Those that do not die of cancer live to ripe old ages. Both of my living grandparents are close to 90. I want that to be me someday. I want to improve my quality of life years and live well like the 84 year old man I met that day. My grandfather turns 90 in March. He is still living in his own home. His mind is very clear. He has been helping my aunt build a home across the road from his by drawing up some of the plans and overseeing some of the work being done. He is quite capable of making his own decisions and still gets around well. I want to be like him. He is my inspiration.

Skip the resolutions this year. You will have forgotten them by February anyway. Resolve to change your life - period. Take baby steps and you can make these changes permanently. I will be with you along the way. Good luck and I hope you live a long happy and healthy life.

Christmas Spirit

Since it's Christmas Eve, I feel compelled to talk about Christmas spirit. I hope during this holiday season everyone is able to find theirs.

This year I feel more holiday spirit than ever before. This sounds amazing since I live in Wilmington, Ohio the small town that has been featured again and again on the news recently. This is the town that DHL decimated. Even though I know that more than half of the households in Wilmington have at least one person without a job, the people here have hope. This brings me great joy. My father is out of work, my husband is currently laid-off, my brother and his wife have seen their income slashed in half while adding three babies to the mix but we are all still happy and healthy. We are all doing what we can to make ends meet. We are slashing our costs. We spent a lot less on Christmas and we are all going to spend the holiday together. This year could not be more joyful than that. We have these three baby girls to spend Christmas with this year. They are all healthy and strong. We have my seven year old daughter who is so incredibly excited about Christmas that she can barely stand it. I love this holiday!

I have focused so much less on buying material things this year and instead have handmade many of my gifts. I have put my love and joy into the gifts that I am giving this year. Instead of worrying about everyone having enough presents on Christmas and making sure I don't spend more on one person than another, I haven't worried about it at all. And I could care less if I get a single present. The best present for me this year is my family and the joy that we can share.

I know this post might be a little over the top cheesy. I can't help it. When you have seen nothing but depressing news about your hometown for over a year, you would be over the top cheesy too if you find reasons to celebrate. Even with our tight times, I know that I am truly blessed and I am better off than so many people around the country this year. If you are one of those suffering, you are in my family's thoughts and prayers. For the rest of us, please count your blessings and take time to relish them this holiday season.

I wish everyone a wonderful holiday and a joyous new year.

What I Believe...

I decided to compile a list of things I believe are essential to living a happier healthier life.

· Living with a positive mindset can take you anywhere.
· As I state in the “About Me” section of this blog, I believe wellness is a state of physical, mental, emotional, financial and spiritual well-being. I believe in taking a holistic approach to your health.
· Negativity is contagious and can suck you dry and can ruin your ambition.
· Positive energy is also contagious, but can fill you with joy.
· Giving back to your community gives you more than you can ever possibly give. I truly believe that my life is better when I am serving others.
· You must have faith in your own abilities and follow your passion.
· Exercise helps me think clearer and is an amazing mood lifter.
· Age is just a number. You are only as old as you allow yourself to feel. .
· No one can MAKE you feel a certain way. You can only feel a certain way about someone’s actions. You choose how to react.
· Everyone has the right to a bad day on occasion.
· Dave Ramsey’s book Total Money Makeover may have saved my marriage.
· That financial disagreements can tear a family apart.
· Communication is key to any relationship, but must be based on honesty.
· You can boost someone up without knocking them down.
· We must learn to not only forgive others, but learn to forgive ourselves.
· We all have to learn how to deal with stress (good and bad stress) in more effective ways.
· Pharmaceutical drugs and surgery are not always the answer.
· Living on less and having less stuff is better for the spirit.
· Natural and preventive treatments are underutilized. I can’t even find the words to stress how important these are to a better healthcare system and overall well-being, longevity and quality of years.

This list could have been twice as long, but the bottom line is that we have power over our behavior, actions, reactions, beliefs and feelings. We may not be able to control the actions of others, but our lives do not have to be defined by them. Live true to yourself and pay your good fortunes forward and you will live positively well.