Tag: #WW

The Water Secret

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In the early days of video games, my mom used to like to play Super Mario Bros. I remember I used to sit with her in my younger brother’s room, and we would talk while she played the game. I didn’t really enjoy the game, but I thought it was funny that she did. So, I would watch her make Mario jump up to hit the floating box until the mushroom popped out and be absorbed by Mario turning him into Super Mario!

If we were in a video game, water would be the mysterious super nutrient that would endow magical powers to empower weight loss. It does a bunch of interesting things, but for this post, I am going to share 5 big ones;

  1. Drinking water curtails drinking high-calorie drinks.
  2. Drinking water prior to meals may help decrease appetite.
  3. Drinking water after meals can help with digestion.
  4. Drinking water boosts energy during workouts.
  5. Drinking water may boost your metabolic rate.

One thing I like about having a daily water goal is that it’s not complicated. All I have to do is to just drink water throughout the day and keep moving forward. “Let’s a-go!”

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Take a Break to Reflect

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Did you do today’s challenge? Did you take an intentional break? I wish I could tell you I did, but I didn’t, and today was a real pressure cooker. When there is a lot of stress, it makes good sense to take a break from it, but instead, I just kept pushing. Does this happen to you? When things get really stressful, I get consumed with doing whatever it takes to get it done. It’s complicated too, because (for me) stress can be a motivator. Stress gets me moving, and I focus on the work at hand and tune everything else out. But… at the same time, I have to be careful that stress doesn’t trigger old habits, like snacking under pressure.

If you read my blog, looking for an expert, I would feel like a fraud. I am not an expert, I am still figuring out this weight loss journey every single day. What I am (I can say this confidence) is a learner. The path to personal growth is through honest reflection, so here it is – I had a moment after dinner when I didn’t really want to go upstairs and work out. At that moment, I turned to my husband and said, “I’ve got to work out, or I won’t do it and this whole thing can fall apart.” By “whole thing” I meant all my habits. Thinking in these terms is called, “black-and-white thinking”

Did I resort to this misguided thought to push myself? Deliberately piling on more stress after an extremely stressful day. Or, did I really believe that ALL my habits would disappear if I didn’t go for a 20-minute cycling class at the moment? Could my answer be a bit of both? I don’t regret working out, that’s not the point, I do feel really good post-workout. I am concerned by the thought of not working out, if I didn’t do this one thing, then all my good habits would go away. This heuristic thinking is not helpful for me in the long run because I am attempting to change my life. Change can only truly arrive if I stop repeating past mistakes.

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Goals are Good

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Yesterday was a strangely exhausting day. I started this post last night but found that I was too tired to finish it so here we are. The May Challenge was to share a goal with someone. I shared mine with my sister on my ride to work. The thing about goals is there is a right way and a wrong way to go about them. When goals are vague they are less likely to actually happen. You have to have a plan for a goal that you really want to achieve. Here is what I know about goals

  1. Goals are good. They help to focus energy and effort. We all want something and a goal keeps that desire alive.
  2. When setting a goal be very specific. Name the goal, say when you will work on it (like the time of day), and how you will work on it (real action).
  3. A goal needs a deadline. A little pressure to achieve something is not always a bad thing. Just keep it in perspective.

I realize thinking back that the goal I shared with my sister didn’t meet my own criteria. It’s way harder when. goal has to do with something I don’t really want to do but I need to. The goal would benefit me and my family, but I hate the idea of doing it. It only underscores the important role attitude plays when I have to do hard things. I’ll get there, eventually. If you are feeling this way about your weight loss – don’t beat yourself up. But also… do the work reflect on why there is a block.

Today’s challenge is to listen to a favorite song. I have many favorites but lately, I’m loving this one:

The video is weird but the song is great (to me).

It speaks to longing and reflection, and a wish to go back in time to someplace special and intimate. I kind of think about life as walking a trail – where one foot steps forward as the other lingers in the past. I know this is true for me. I am who I was and also who I am becoming.

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Thank you…

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The human body is made up of complex systems. It is said that there are 86 BILLION neurons in the brain. Your body is a highly connected structure made up of organic molecules interacting within cells, hooking into tissues connected to organs. All of these systems are interconnected, all working together in harmony. Amazing.

Yet so many of us who are actively trying to lose weight take our bodies for granted. It’s easy to forget to be grateful for what we already have. So often, many of us are self-critical and sometimes even feel loathsome about our outward appearance to others.

So for today, I took a long look in the mirror. I took in my form and thought about all the things my body does for me. I said, “Thank you, for letting me move in the world. Thank you, for letting me spin and dance (albeit without any sense of rhythm). Thank you, for letting me hug those I love. Even if it’s not forever, I am so grateful for what my body can do today.

I truly feel better about myself. Now, the journey continues with a refreshed sense of deep gratitude and self-love. Thank you, readers, for coming on this journey with me. Onward!

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Do a Favor for Someone

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All day long I felt like I was on a secret mission. I was on the hunt to do a favor for someone. It was an interesting feeling because it felt like I was taking an active stance for kindness. All I kept thinking was I am a force for good… even if, it’s just a few small acts. Whether I was helping a friend, lending a hand with a colleague’s project, or just doing something thoughtful for my husband. I can go to sleep tonight knowing, I made things just a little nicer for the people in my life. This knowledge filled me with a great deal of happiness. See there is joy on the journey.

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What’s Your Why?

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Today is the first day of the #MayChallenge and today’s mission is an important one: “Write your why…” I’m not sure how many times I have written this (but here goes again) a weight loss journey takes a whole lot of effort and care! I know, for sure, I’m not alone on this. Given that weight loss is so challenging for so many of us there has to be a good reason why anyone would want to take it on.

Before I tell you my why, I want to tell you a story first. I was having lunch with a close friend who is also losing weight. She told me that she and her husband went out to dinner with a few other couples the other night. Everyone was eating and drinking, and she was feeling left out of the fun. One of her friends said to her, “Don’t you think you should just enjoy your life? You’re older now, and you’ll never be the size you were when you were younger. Wouldn’t it be better just to be happy now, instead of being miserable and missing out?” After my friend told me her story, she asked me what I thought.

I imagined her feeling neglected at the dinner, and I said, “It depends on what you really want. If you want to lose weight then there is no reason you shouldn’t have that. If your extra weight isn’t impacting your health, and you are happy with how you feel about yourself insofar as your mobility, and appearance; then (if all those things are yes) maybe she is right.”

Knowing why weight loss matters to you is an essential thing. I know why I want to lose weight. My why helped me through the hardest part of this latest chapter of my weight loss journey, it helped me gather the energy to start the process again. Yes again… I got to goal and then Lifetime before COVID. After months of lockdown, without being able to go to Spin class, or being able to attend in-person Weight Watcher meetings, I slowly (and steadily) put on weight. Working from home was consuming, and food was a comfort during some scary times.

No, I didn’t put on all of my lost weight. However, I certainly gained way too much. In the aftermath of all of that, I could have given up on weight loss. I could have just accepted the fact that I would never be like I was when I was younger, and I could get along being “good enough” for my older self. The reason I didn’t is because I really understand why I am doing this. I am doing this for me. Life feels better when I’m healthier. I am happy with where I’m at right now, I have energy and I see myself progressing. I think at any stage in life, it is human nature to aspire to learn and grow. I don’t have to be at goal to be happy with myself. I’m happy right now because I know I already have everything I need to be successful.

As I end this post, I can’t help but think of Rose. She is a fellow member of my Weight Watcher community. How do I describe her, so you might know her a little bit? Rose is a mature stylish woman. She is so funny and pokes fun at us and herself. She is living her life on her own terms, challenging herself in ways that are both wise and inspiring. When I think about loving myself enough to do this, she comes to mind because she lives by example.

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

–Martin Luther King Jr. 1960
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Be Curious!

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Chances are good, that if you are reading this blog, then you are interested in weight loss, and/or improving your health. Being part of a caring community makes such a difference because you know you’re not alone there are plenty of people like you. I always say this, but then something struck me during my WW meeting this morning, even though we are all on a weight loss journey, all of our experiences are so very different.

A friend next to me shared her struggles, and I could feel myself getting pulled into her story because it resonated so deeply. Her hardest meal of the day was dinner. Me too friend! But then as I listened I soon discovered my reasons are different. Dinner is a problem for me because during the workday, I make hundreds of decisions, and by the time dinner rolls around I have decision fatigue. I handle this by having a plan for dinner, Here I am sitting next to a friend who has the same problem yet my solution would be useless to her. We are the same but not the same.

Weight loss is a journey that is meant to teach us something important about ourselves. While it’s easy to relate and see yourself in others’ problems, what works for them may not work for you. What then? It may seem daunting but you need to think about yourself. A friendly way to begin is by being curious about one thing. Here are some ideas to start you off:

  1. How many nights do I eat dessert?
  2. How much sugar am I eating?
  3. How does my weight fluctuate from day to day?
  4. How can I apply what I’m learning about health/nutrition?
  5. How do I feel right before and right after a workout?
  6. How does mindful eating impact my hunger levels?
  7. How does the quality of my sleep impact motivation?
  8. How do my community/family/friends help or hinder me?
  9. What habits are or are not sticking?
  10. What would happen if I changed (…)?

Being self-aware unlocks so much of this process. Invest some time and do an inquiry into yourself. See what you learn, because there is no one in the world who is like you. You are unique and worthy of study – turn an “admiring lens” (Gravity Goldberg) on yourself and appreciate all that you are and all that you give back to the world.

A habit tracker is another great way to be curious about yourself.

Stress Test

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I found out some stressful news today. I have to travel to NYC for professional development. I thought it would involve a trip to Penn and an Uber to the school. Turns out, the school is an hour away from Penn, so taking the train would just add another hour to the commute! After some, vigorous texting back and forth with my friends, we decided to drive. After coming to terms with our new plan, she said: “I’m going to need lots of snacks.” So being a good friend I listened…

After buying snacks, I promptly went to Carvel with my husband and got a small Carvelite ice cream cone with chocolate sprinkles (15 points). This took me out of my healthy eating zone but it was a great cone. Stress comes and so many of us look for comfort in food.

Here is what I also did today – I completed my 45-minute training class on the Peloton. I tracked everything I ate (37 points later). I drank all my water, and I weighed and measured my portions. I prepared a healthy dinner and figured out the point values by calculating the nutritional information in the app. I ate mindfully. So, overall, I would say this was a good day on plan. Honesty is the best policy when it comes to weight loss. It requires us to be fully present in our actions pretty much all the time. If it’s worth it to me – I can make it happen.

High Utility Habits

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Do you have a junk drawer at your house? A drawer is a drawer that you allow yourself to just throw in whatever you want without any organization whatsoever. The only requirement is that the drawer can close. Out of sight out of mind. Until the tape is needed, or the little scale (don’t judge I do own two scales the little one is more precise with grams than the big one). The dog brush that untangles knots is there, right next to scented tartlets…

Some things are useless – like expired coupons or expo markers when there is no whiteboard in my kitchen. Some things are high utility objects, things I use every day like the tape, or pens you see in there. I think I have a condition that I always need office supplies on hand – but that’s a topic for another time.

In some ways, the habits I’m trying to cultivate are similar to this collection of stuff I hide away in my kitchen. Some habits are high utility – like tracking and movement goals. If I make those habits more accessible I am going to be more likely to lose weight. Others like meditation and bedtime routines are nice (and very good for me) but are not as likely to make or break my week when it comes to shedding weight.

Planning out dinners is a high utility habit
Weighing & Measuring is a high utility habit
A variety of foods helps
Making meals at home is a high utility habit
Helpful put in nutricial information is easier than adding recipes on the WW app

So what habits are you trying to cultivate? As you think about it consider which ones are the most important – the ones you want to have on hand because they really make a difference.

Thanks for reading, and if you feel like it -leave a message, and let me know what you are thinking about.

A Little Imagination

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I went for a walk today with my husband and our pup Sadie. It was cold and sunny, a welcome change from the soggy (unseasonably warm) grey weather of late. Along the way, we passed the telltale signs of post-holiday remains: condensed boxes tied neatly at the curb, a perfectly shaped Christmas tree rolled on its side, and houses stripped bare of their colorful lights. Then all of a sudden a splash of whimsy

Hello Mr. Narwhal

I just love a holdout. It sparked a little joy and optimism inside me like if you just look around you’ll find something special in the ordinary. Something that captures the imagination… I think it is very important to flex the imagination while trying to achieve any big goal. Especially when progress can be slow; as it sometimes is when it comes to weight loss. Think of it this way, imagination is the intellectual gift we give to ourselves. It is not something that is only reserved for artists, poets, and musicians. To imagine is to be human – it is innate to who we are and sustains us when the going gets tough.

Today has been a good day on plan. I hit my water goal, I am within my points, cooking dinner I planned out my meals for the week, and I had a very rigorous workout this morning followed by this leisurely walk that inspired this post. All of these tiny little goals knit together to form a strong foundation for my future success. No, I’m not perfect, as you can see by looking at my habit tracker… but the transformation to daily healthy habits is underway. I got this and if you believe it – so do you.