(WOW! TWO blog entries in one night! That's because I haven't posted one in awhile so -making up for that maybe?...A spin-off of thinking, which was inspired by the earlier post actually....)
To avoid sounding negative, I will preface this by saying there are many qualities in myself that I do like. One that I do not like, and continue to work on however, is ALL-OR-NOTHING thinking. When I'm onto something good I dive in head-first and give it my all, and although that sounds like a good thing, in fact it can lead to burn-out.
In running a half-marathon for example, if one were to go all-out at the beginning, there's a fair chance of not making it to the finish-line. One must conserve energy and spread it out over distance in order to endure to the fiinsh without hitting a wall, or "bonking."
From THE SCIENCE BEHIND BONKING:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-301--6263-0,00.html
"Consider the muscle-glycogen bonk, where the brain works fine but the
legs up and quit. Then there's the blood-glucose bonk, where the legs
work fine but the brain up and quits. Let's not forget the everything
bonk, a sorry stewpot of dehydration, training errors, gastric problems,
and nutrition gaffes.
And then there's the little-purple-men bonk. "After about 20-K, I
started to see little purple men running up and down the sides of these
cliffs," says Mark Tarnopolsky, M.D., who wears hats as both a leading
sports nutrition researcher and an endurance athlete. "I knew it was an
hallucination, but I stopped in the middle of the race to look at them
anyway," he says. "It was kind of crazy."
If you have run a distance race, chances are you have already become an
aficionado of the bonk. You remember how your form held until you hit
mile 18 and your feet turned into scuba fins. How your motivation held
until you faced that last hill and became preoccupied with the idea of
lying down on the pavement. Or, if you bonked thoroughly enough, how you
began to see beings that belong in Dr. Seuss. And you thought sports
nutrition was dull."
Well my pattern is that I tend to start hard, burning bright like a comet, then I burn out equally as fast. Why is it I can't seem to start steady, maintain momentum, and conserve and disperse energy over the long-haul? When it comes to my projects and goals, especially the ones regarding getting my health and fitness in order (the ones fraught with emotional baggage), I keep bonking?
I did it once...I made it to the finish-line without bonking...I lost 65 pounds. But then I regained some of that, a lot of it, in fact. (And I've yo-yo-ed back and forth several times since). Why is it that so many people who achieve their fitness/weight-loss goals end up doing that? I need to get to the bottom of my reasons, so that this time all the work has permanent results. Every time I gain it becomes harder and harder to lose it again.
It seems that I need all my ducks lined up just-so. I need the perfect alignment of emotional, mental, and physical factors in order to achieve success. Up until now I was trying to force it-I was mentally and emotionally ready but not physically, and was struggling to convince myself. Lack of willpower? Lack of focus? Just an excuse? No matter what the label for it is, it's an obstacle that must be overcome in order to achieve success. I wasn't "ready" because one of the components was missing.
I have consistently been able to launch a program in the midst of chaos (and sometimes chaos is a great instigator of project-launches), but in chaos I have difficulty in sustaining the progress of the project, because I struggle to keep all those balls in the air. I tend to need strict focus. Any deviation from the program can set me off-course to the point of no return. As much as it is a good idea to "keep your eye on the prize," I'm starting to think that if I'm looking that far ahead, I become overwhelmed and drop a ball (or two).
There has been a lot of chaos in my life lately that has pulled my attention away from my goals. Let me re-state that....that I have chosen to allow to pull my attention away from my goals. When I feel like my environment and my circumstances are beyond my control, I become distracted (and I inappropriately cope in such a way as to take me further from my goals). The chaos has become my distraction and my scapegoat for being inconsistent and unsuccessful. Success will come from learning how to remain focused amidst the chaos, while simultaneously reducing it.
I have come to the conclusion that I need to have long-term goals, but broken down into daily goals so I can focus on "one day at a time." It's not so overwhelming to just have to get through today. This big picture seems overwhelming and breeds negative thoughts such as "Why work so hard when it's an impossible goal?" Well one pound is not an impossible goal. I'll just keep doing that over and over. Thirty times. A whole bunch of "todays" will eventually get me to where I need to go.
When things have "come up" I have made bad choices.. I kept starting over tomorrow, when "today" went off the rails. That's not how to make progress...quite the contrary. I now know that I thrive on a consistent schedule (which I haven't been keeping), that is predictable, due to some
health issues and memory problems which I am choosing now to embrace as
challenges not obstacles. I am choosing to appreciate how they will provide me with
opportunities to employ coping strategies that will not only enhance this journey, but make it permanent.
I require a map or GPS to keep me on the right path. Bring in the science (and the math). My GPS is an app for my iPhone called LoseIt (which works in conjunction with my fitbit). My phone is always with me, and with it I can log all my nutrition (as easy as scanning a bar-code on the food package!) and exercise. No excuses-it's always with me. Seeing those numbers keeps me on the path. Back when I successfully lost 65 lbs I was tracking consistently. When I stopped tracking, I gained. Tracking is a pain, and not tracking is a way to stay in denial. If we deny our bad choices, we allow ourselves not to be accountable for them. That's why I ended up back at it. Tracking is so much easier with the science of electronics that does the math for me! (Everyone knows how I feel about math). ;-) The ease of gadgetry frees up my time to be "out there" in the world getting my exercise and eating properly.
It's time to set myself up for success. I feel like I am at last in a place where my mental, emotional, and physical components are all aligned to work together. I'm no longer just trying to convince myself to do it...and looking at it as a "chore." I'm taking it steady out of the gate so I'll have enough stamina to get to the finish-line, but just focusing on running to the next km marker. Consistency....One day at a time...
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Willpower- or NOT?
I'm pretty sure there are very few (if any) overweight people that get up in the morning, look in the mirror and say, "Wow I am SO happy that I'm carrying around this excess weight! It's so nice to become out of breath when leaning over to tie my shoes. I am really looking forward to spending hours in the changing room today to find an outfit for work that disguises how truly large I am, and I will look forward to paying more money at a larger-sizes store, since my size can't be purchased in mainstream stores. In fact I love how I look and it's no big deal that my cholesterol and blood pressure are high, I'm pre-diabetic, I can't keep up with my kids and my life expectancy is reduced because of my size. I embrace my dietary habits and never feel one bit guilty anytime I eat more food than anyone else at the table. I LOVE being me, just the way I am!"
I subscribe to a page on facebook called: I See Fit People. It is a very inspiring and supportive community of people (of every level of fitness) who share the common goal of aspiring to living healthier, and achieving an improved level of fitness. It was founded by Wendy, and she has two co-admins, Matt and Rachelle. (Consider "liking" the page-you won't be disappointed!)
The admins like to keep the page interactive, so often a question of the day is tossed out there to get a discussion going.
"Wendy's Question of the Day: How do you maintain the willpower?"
There were many responses. One in particular caught my attention:
"Willpower is a myth. there is nothing super natural or mystical about living healthy. No one needs willpower to pay bills, to brush their teeth, go to work etc. It is what you DO to live healthy. It is a choice and you live it.Willpower gives it a separate power that it should not have--like giving yourself permission to cop out..oh I lost the willpower etc. It is like when people refer to it as 'the weight' it is not 'the weight' you have to lose it is just added body fat that you need to use up. Nothing about any of this is as unreachable as people WANT it to be when they feel lazy. Get over it."
I felt compelled to respond:
"Well I for one, struggle with it and apparently based on well-publicized statistics, I'm not the only one. I guess some may choose to view that as weak and lazy (which is often how we overweight- okay- overfat people are viewed by those of you in a "normal" BMI range). Yes it is about choices. I guess some people are better at making good ones and sticking to them than other people are. But everyone has a story and it's not always about looking for excuses. Some people inherently have more challenges and more obstacles than others. And not everyone has the same level of education, or determination. It's not right or wrong it just is what it is. Success (in anything) comes from many factors that have to be lined up just right. The mental, the physical and the emotional readiness have to be synchronized. So those of you who have it all figured out please be patient with those of us who are still working on lining it all up. Each choice we make takes the power of our will to choose properly. Including whether to pay our bills, brush our teeth or go to work. Ya. Willpower. It does exist. It is required. Anyone who uses the lack of it "as an excuse" just isn't ready yet. (They also have no right to whine if they are not working on it). Some may have forgotten what it was like to be where they are, or if you are very fortunate maybe you've never been there. I can only hope that someday when I'm not here anymore I will remember the struggle for 2 reasons: so I'll never go back there, AND so I'll be patient and non-judgmental toward those who are still there. ♥ ;-)"
I must add that I have a pet peeve concerning people who make judgement calls that imply they are above others and have all the answers. I certainly hope I don't do that. In fact I try not to. I'm not saying I never judge people. I am human, but I strive to catch myself in the process, and make myself take a look at all the angles and possibilities rather than zoom in on one point of view. I guess it's the old cognitive therapy classes I took years ago that have stuck with me, thankfully.
I do understand, however, that when we become enthusiastic about something that helped us succeed, it is much easier to lose sight of other options, opinions, or theories that do not coincide with, or support our "cause." It becomes very natural for us, in our enthusiasm and based on our personal success, to judge and perhaps criticize others who do not share our views or follow the same path. We need to keep in mind that every problem usually has more than one solution, and what works for one person may not work for another. Something that one person may find easy or natural and straightforward may be a struggle for someone else. In fact something that is easy and straightforward for someone may not be so for that same person at another time, depending on other coinciding factors and circumstances.
Yes, we are responsible for our choices and should be making ones that lead us toward our goals not away from them. I do like her reference to "using up added body fat" vs. losing weight (which, unfortunately tends to get found later), and using up sounds like more of a deliberate act rather than losing, which seems inadvertent.
As much as I am fortunate enough to have the knowledge and education to know what my appropriate choices are, I still struggle to follow through on them, because there are other factors in play besides just knowing wrong from right. I do not want to forget these feelings as I move beyond them and leave them behind. I humbly hope that when it's my turn for success, I can be humble and hopeful for the success of others who will be struggling, as I am now.
I subscribe to a page on facebook called: I See Fit People. It is a very inspiring and supportive community of people (of every level of fitness) who share the common goal of aspiring to living healthier, and achieving an improved level of fitness. It was founded by Wendy, and she has two co-admins, Matt and Rachelle. (Consider "liking" the page-you won't be disappointed!)
The admins like to keep the page interactive, so often a question of the day is tossed out there to get a discussion going.
"Wendy's Question of the Day: How do you maintain the willpower?"
There were many responses. One in particular caught my attention:
"Willpower is a myth. there is nothing super natural or mystical about living healthy. No one needs willpower to pay bills, to brush their teeth, go to work etc. It is what you DO to live healthy. It is a choice and you live it.Willpower gives it a separate power that it should not have--like giving yourself permission to cop out..oh I lost the willpower etc. It is like when people refer to it as 'the weight' it is not 'the weight' you have to lose it is just added body fat that you need to use up. Nothing about any of this is as unreachable as people WANT it to be when they feel lazy. Get over it."
I felt compelled to respond:
"Well I for one, struggle with it and apparently based on well-publicized statistics, I'm not the only one. I guess some may choose to view that as weak and lazy (which is often how we overweight- okay- overfat people are viewed by those of you in a "normal" BMI range). Yes it is about choices. I guess some people are better at making good ones and sticking to them than other people are. But everyone has a story and it's not always about looking for excuses. Some people inherently have more challenges and more obstacles than others. And not everyone has the same level of education, or determination. It's not right or wrong it just is what it is. Success (in anything) comes from many factors that have to be lined up just right. The mental, the physical and the emotional readiness have to be synchronized. So those of you who have it all figured out please be patient with those of us who are still working on lining it all up. Each choice we make takes the power of our will to choose properly. Including whether to pay our bills, brush our teeth or go to work. Ya. Willpower. It does exist. It is required. Anyone who uses the lack of it "as an excuse" just isn't ready yet. (They also have no right to whine if they are not working on it). Some may have forgotten what it was like to be where they are, or if you are very fortunate maybe you've never been there. I can only hope that someday when I'm not here anymore I will remember the struggle for 2 reasons: so I'll never go back there, AND so I'll be patient and non-judgmental toward those who are still there. ♥ ;-)"
I must add that I have a pet peeve concerning people who make judgement calls that imply they are above others and have all the answers. I certainly hope I don't do that. In fact I try not to. I'm not saying I never judge people. I am human, but I strive to catch myself in the process, and make myself take a look at all the angles and possibilities rather than zoom in on one point of view. I guess it's the old cognitive therapy classes I took years ago that have stuck with me, thankfully.
I do understand, however, that when we become enthusiastic about something that helped us succeed, it is much easier to lose sight of other options, opinions, or theories that do not coincide with, or support our "cause." It becomes very natural for us, in our enthusiasm and based on our personal success, to judge and perhaps criticize others who do not share our views or follow the same path. We need to keep in mind that every problem usually has more than one solution, and what works for one person may not work for another. Something that one person may find easy or natural and straightforward may be a struggle for someone else. In fact something that is easy and straightforward for someone may not be so for that same person at another time, depending on other coinciding factors and circumstances.
Yes, we are responsible for our choices and should be making ones that lead us toward our goals not away from them. I do like her reference to "using up added body fat" vs. losing weight (which, unfortunately tends to get found later), and using up sounds like more of a deliberate act rather than losing, which seems inadvertent.
As much as I am fortunate enough to have the knowledge and education to know what my appropriate choices are, I still struggle to follow through on them, because there are other factors in play besides just knowing wrong from right. I do not want to forget these feelings as I move beyond them and leave them behind. I humbly hope that when it's my turn for success, I can be humble and hopeful for the success of others who will be struggling, as I am now.
Thursday, 26 January 2012
Looking for the magic
Zealots zealots everywhere....I wanna hitch a ride on that train! I align myself with like-minded fitness/nutrition-minded people for 2 reasons: so I won't be around bad influences, and so I'll be around good influences.
Although I get caught up in the wave of enthusiasm and can sometimes ride it right up onto the beach, other times I feel swamped by it and feel like I'm drowning while watching everyone else succeed. I know we are not supposed to be comparing ourselves to others, but I seem to be doing it all the time without realizing I'm doing it. Sometimes the success of others is inspiring, and sometimes it's defeating. I end up feeling like a failure..."Hey they can do it, why can't I?" I know it's a waste of energy that could be better used elsewhere....
This whole relationship I have with food and exercise is a mystery to me and a huge challenge to deal with.
Although I get caught up in the wave of enthusiasm and can sometimes ride it right up onto the beach, other times I feel swamped by it and feel like I'm drowning while watching everyone else succeed. I know we are not supposed to be comparing ourselves to others, but I seem to be doing it all the time without realizing I'm doing it. Sometimes the success of others is inspiring, and sometimes it's defeating. I end up feeling like a failure..."Hey they can do it, why can't I?" I know it's a waste of energy that could be better used elsewhere....
This whole relationship I have with food and exercise is a mystery to me and a huge challenge to deal with.
Friday, 13 January 2012
Telephone poles and finish lines.....
Doin' it for me! It's nice when the man loves us for who we are but sometimes they make us feel so beautiful we "drop the ball" without realizing that the situation has gotten out of control. Whenever I let myself go, I am much less happy and always angry and disappointed with myself. I think that negativity trickles out into my interactions with others. Rectifying my lifestyle to a healthier one is definitely causing a positive rather than negative trickle-out. So taking care of myself is benefiting them as well.
Some days it's tough, I'm not gonna lie. I have accountability partners in my step-daughter Tracey and daughter Emily, and I belong to some on-line accountability groups as well. We are in this together and we will get to our goals. The first step is the hardest (and I have that behind me now). I just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other, day by day and reach out for help-as there is strength in numbers! I set a small goal (such as 5 lb) to focus on then reward that achievement and set a new small goal and keep repeating (and must constantly remind myself not to obsess about the finish-line, just keep getting myself to the next telephone pole, or tree, or city-block).
I have a memo in my cellphone reminding myself why I want to do this, and refer to it when something/someone tries to lure me from my goals. Strong is the new sexy, and nothing can taste as good as feeling strong! But sometimes I need to remind myself, in the moment. I get sad when I see the huge journey in front of me and it seems almost impossible. Smaller chunks are much more manageable. I tell myself, "You will be so glad someday that you took those "goodbye" (before) pictures in your bikini, and did all those measurements, so that the sum of all those baby-steps will be more evident."
But for now it's all about waking up tomorrow-healthy food, 2L of water, and sticking to the program,. Then it's all about next week, sticking to the program, keeping hydrated, and moving closer to that finish-line, one telephone pole at a time.
Some days it's tough, I'm not gonna lie. I have accountability partners in my step-daughter Tracey and daughter Emily, and I belong to some on-line accountability groups as well. We are in this together and we will get to our goals. The first step is the hardest (and I have that behind me now). I just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other, day by day and reach out for help-as there is strength in numbers! I set a small goal (such as 5 lb) to focus on then reward that achievement and set a new small goal and keep repeating (and must constantly remind myself not to obsess about the finish-line, just keep getting myself to the next telephone pole, or tree, or city-block).
Friday, 6 January 2012
Training Prep- Bluenose Half-marathon May 2012
This weekend Tracey and I (and possibly Emily also) are gearing up to start our training for the Bluenose half marathon which will be May 20th, which will give us 19 weeks of training.
Our team-plan of action:
MiCoach RUN program with stroller and dog
Chalean Extreme/TurboFire Hybrid
Clean healthy eating with Daily Shakeology and one cheat-meal weekly
Daily individual logging of fitness and nutrition
Weekly stats
Personally, my plan of action:
3500cal deficit weekly with 1 lb/wk weight-loss goal (fitbit monitoring of calorie burn)
accountability through this blog, TF Challenge group(facebook) and coach Colleen, Team BB
accountability to Tracey and Emily
This weekend I will be setting Tracey up with MiCoach. She is downloading some good tunes for our ipods
We will also be doing some meal-planning and preparation.
We are looking forward to this!
Our team-plan of action:
MiCoach RUN program with stroller and dog
Chalean Extreme/TurboFire Hybrid
Clean healthy eating with Daily Shakeology and one cheat-meal weekly
Daily individual logging of fitness and nutrition
Weekly stats
Personally, my plan of action:
3500cal deficit weekly with 1 lb/wk weight-loss goal (fitbit monitoring of calorie burn)
accountability through this blog, TF Challenge group(facebook) and coach Colleen, Team BB
accountability to Tracey and Emily
This weekend I will be setting Tracey up with MiCoach. She is downloading some good tunes for our ipods
We will also be doing some meal-planning and preparation.
We are looking forward to this!
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Statistical Status Quo? ,,,or Beating the odds?!!!
Today not feeling well...flu I think. Trying to avoid the emphatic hurling that my husband did all night...so instead of engaging my own brain today I'll be quoting EvidenceBasedFitness.blogspot.com (then crawling back to bed):
Burning your boats....
He says statistics do not favour success...in fact of those who do succeed this year, most will ultimately fail. Real reassuring.....but maybe we can use the information from these stats to take steps that improve beating those odds....
"Success in weight loss or any self-improvement goal depends mainly on the ability of a person to adhere to a new behaviour. Quitting smoking is a good, simple example (albeit of a very difficult task): You succeed at quitting smoking by engaging in behaviours that do not involve smoking. Do or do not, there is no try. Taking a drag on a cigarette means you've relapsed and are no longer an ex-smoker.
Weight loss is not as simple of a goal. It can involve multiple behaviours, many of which involve changing substantial portions of one's day from both a time and a performance perspective. For instance, beginning to exercise is a behaviour that requires time investment. That means exercise has to DISPLACE another activity that you've grown accustomed to doing. Eating less or eliminating certain foods means the performance of eating changes. And then on top of it all, there's the social dimension of weight loss, which can mean displacing perfectly enjoyable activities that not only provide nutrition/caloric value but also contribute substantially to our sense of well-being and belonging (e.g. a weekly pub night, or after-work drinks and appetizers, or Sunday dinner with parents.)" Kim here: Not to mention the psycho-social aspect regarding our psychological relationship with food usage as a coping skill...if calories-in vs.calories-out were only that simple. That whole process gets thrown off by emotional eating. The only way to end emotional eating, or eating as (inappropriate) coping, is to replace it with a new, more useful and more appropriate coping skill.. Now back to EvidenceBasedFitness.blogspot.com:
"The most common theme I've discovered (and this is, in and of itself, just opinion and anecdote) from watching patients attempt to enact lifestyle changes and reading stories of people who have had overwhelming success, however, comes down to something perhaps equally as unpleasant as making a lifestyle change that you've failed at in the past: pain, and sometimes, fear. Unfortunately, this is, thus far, a fairly immeasurable quality, so making causal associations between pain/fear and dietary success is fairly difficult, though, with the right research team, not impossible.
When it comes to adherence to new behaviours, (and I'm not sure this has even been studied at all yet, in the way that I'm going to state it), is the introduction of a situation in which the pain of staying in the same place (or moving backwards) becomes so great that success is the only option. I have personally witnessed (though with limited verifiability) patients who, after suffering a serious hand injury that would affect their ability to earn a living, stopped smoking the day of the injury. These were people who had tried to quit in the past unsuccessfully and years later, are still smoke-free, even though the danger of affecting their hand function by smoking is pretty much gone.
In medical school, we're taught to try to find reasons for patients to change their lifestyle. Sometimes, it's an injury or a new diagnosis. Sometimes, it's being around for their loved ones. In most circumstances, it's the pain of the situation, or the pain of the fear that ultimately moves people to action."
(We've all heard of scared straight and we've all heard Dr. Phil's mention of the pay-off that someone is getting from continuing their bad behaviours, sometimes not readily obvious, but moreso with a deeper search...that comment was me again, BTW).
"Personally, I think that the reason why most people fail at their goals is because it's really not that painful to fail. If you fail, you'll get over it. Your waist size doesn't change, or it might even get a little bigger, but on the whole, your life is pretty good. There is a famous story of Alexander the Great, who upon landing on the shores of Persia, ordered his men to burn the boats, thereby removing all realistic hope of retreat. If your income was contingent on your ability to stay at a certain BMI, regardless of your beliefs about the BMI and whether you are an "outlier" or not, you'd get there and stay there. You would find a way to stay there. You might bitch and complain about it, but given the option of unemployment or BMI, my guess is most people would pick BMI. In a way, it's no different than doing your job. If you don't do your job, you get fired. Come hell or high water, when crunch time comes, you'll find a way to get that job done because you know the personal stakes are high.
Finding that intolerable state is what motivates successful change. Eventually, you may come to enjoy the new life you've created. I can't think of a single ex-smoker who regrets quitting smoking. I can't think of a single person who, after successfully losing weight and keeping it off, regrets making sweeping changes to the way they live. They tell me that the process of quitting/changing really sucked, but that they would never trade their old life for their new one. One patient of one of my mentors, after quitting smoking, kept putting the money he spent on cigarettes in a large jar. A few years later he bought a massively expensive sports car (I can't remember the make/model), which he enjoys far more than any cigarette he ever smoked (or so he tells me.) It doesn't mean you have to live a painful life forever. But enacting change without consequence of failure, I think, is embarking on a journey to which there is always a convenient exit.
So, as unpleasant as it is to contemplate, my challenge to those of you serious enough to take it, is to find that pain. If that means making your life intolerable to failure, then perhaps that's not a bad approach. Find ways to put yourself in situations where getting out is more painful than staying in.
It's 2012. Find your pain. Burn the boats."
So (Kim here again) I guess my quest is to find that pain....without it looming there as a consequence, relapse is inevitable. Has that been my missing link all along? SOMETHING has! I have the knowledge and the tools...I keep "getting it done" but then I end up back where I started. I can't seem to keep it permanent, and I am far from alone on this. Inevitably the consequences of gaining it all back have not been PAINFUL enough to keep me on the straight path. PEOPLE magazine this month features several former BIGGEST LOSER stars and how/why they've maintained (or not) their weight loss. It also revisits "They lost half their weight" PEOPLE featured subjects from each of the last 10 years, and the obstacles they face in maintaining (or not) their weight loss.
One more piece of the puzzle.
All very relevant to my 2012 theme of balance. I need to find the balance between the pain of being overweight/under-fit/unhealthy, and the physical, but more importantly emotional pain of working my butt off, and depriving myself of a few of the things I like in order to achieve homeostasis. I am convinced that will be the only way to get myself off the yo-yo roller-coaster. I've been setting myself up with fabricated consequences each time (which obviously don't stick), but haven't gotten deeper, to the core. Only by gathering all the puzzle pieces will I be able to assemble and complete it....
Have YOU struggled with this? OR have you found your balance...identified the pain you never want to revisit so that it is looming before you as a consequence if you stray from your path? I would LOVE for you to share your thoughts and insights!
Burning your boats....
He says statistics do not favour success...in fact of those who do succeed this year, most will ultimately fail. Real reassuring.....but maybe we can use the information from these stats to take steps that improve beating those odds....
"Success in weight loss or any self-improvement goal depends mainly on the ability of a person to adhere to a new behaviour. Quitting smoking is a good, simple example (albeit of a very difficult task): You succeed at quitting smoking by engaging in behaviours that do not involve smoking. Do or do not, there is no try. Taking a drag on a cigarette means you've relapsed and are no longer an ex-smoker.
Weight loss is not as simple of a goal. It can involve multiple behaviours, many of which involve changing substantial portions of one's day from both a time and a performance perspective. For instance, beginning to exercise is a behaviour that requires time investment. That means exercise has to DISPLACE another activity that you've grown accustomed to doing. Eating less or eliminating certain foods means the performance of eating changes. And then on top of it all, there's the social dimension of weight loss, which can mean displacing perfectly enjoyable activities that not only provide nutrition/caloric value but also contribute substantially to our sense of well-being and belonging (e.g. a weekly pub night, or after-work drinks and appetizers, or Sunday dinner with parents.)" Kim here: Not to mention the psycho-social aspect regarding our psychological relationship with food usage as a coping skill...if calories-in vs.calories-out were only that simple. That whole process gets thrown off by emotional eating. The only way to end emotional eating, or eating as (inappropriate) coping, is to replace it with a new, more useful and more appropriate coping skill.. Now back to EvidenceBasedFitness.blogspot.com:
"The most common theme I've discovered (and this is, in and of itself, just opinion and anecdote) from watching patients attempt to enact lifestyle changes and reading stories of people who have had overwhelming success, however, comes down to something perhaps equally as unpleasant as making a lifestyle change that you've failed at in the past: pain, and sometimes, fear. Unfortunately, this is, thus far, a fairly immeasurable quality, so making causal associations between pain/fear and dietary success is fairly difficult, though, with the right research team, not impossible.
When it comes to adherence to new behaviours, (and I'm not sure this has even been studied at all yet, in the way that I'm going to state it), is the introduction of a situation in which the pain of staying in the same place (or moving backwards) becomes so great that success is the only option. I have personally witnessed (though with limited verifiability) patients who, after suffering a serious hand injury that would affect their ability to earn a living, stopped smoking the day of the injury. These were people who had tried to quit in the past unsuccessfully and years later, are still smoke-free, even though the danger of affecting their hand function by smoking is pretty much gone.
In medical school, we're taught to try to find reasons for patients to change their lifestyle. Sometimes, it's an injury or a new diagnosis. Sometimes, it's being around for their loved ones. In most circumstances, it's the pain of the situation, or the pain of the fear that ultimately moves people to action."
(We've all heard of scared straight and we've all heard Dr. Phil's mention of the pay-off that someone is getting from continuing their bad behaviours, sometimes not readily obvious, but moreso with a deeper search...that comment was me again, BTW).
"Personally, I think that the reason why most people fail at their goals is because it's really not that painful to fail. If you fail, you'll get over it. Your waist size doesn't change, or it might even get a little bigger, but on the whole, your life is pretty good. There is a famous story of Alexander the Great, who upon landing on the shores of Persia, ordered his men to burn the boats, thereby removing all realistic hope of retreat. If your income was contingent on your ability to stay at a certain BMI, regardless of your beliefs about the BMI and whether you are an "outlier" or not, you'd get there and stay there. You would find a way to stay there. You might bitch and complain about it, but given the option of unemployment or BMI, my guess is most people would pick BMI. In a way, it's no different than doing your job. If you don't do your job, you get fired. Come hell or high water, when crunch time comes, you'll find a way to get that job done because you know the personal stakes are high.
Finding that intolerable state is what motivates successful change. Eventually, you may come to enjoy the new life you've created. I can't think of a single ex-smoker who regrets quitting smoking. I can't think of a single person who, after successfully losing weight and keeping it off, regrets making sweeping changes to the way they live. They tell me that the process of quitting/changing really sucked, but that they would never trade their old life for their new one. One patient of one of my mentors, after quitting smoking, kept putting the money he spent on cigarettes in a large jar. A few years later he bought a massively expensive sports car (I can't remember the make/model), which he enjoys far more than any cigarette he ever smoked (or so he tells me.) It doesn't mean you have to live a painful life forever. But enacting change without consequence of failure, I think, is embarking on a journey to which there is always a convenient exit.
So, as unpleasant as it is to contemplate, my challenge to those of you serious enough to take it, is to find that pain. If that means making your life intolerable to failure, then perhaps that's not a bad approach. Find ways to put yourself in situations where getting out is more painful than staying in.
It's 2012. Find your pain. Burn the boats."
So (Kim here again) I guess my quest is to find that pain....without it looming there as a consequence, relapse is inevitable. Has that been my missing link all along? SOMETHING has! I have the knowledge and the tools...I keep "getting it done" but then I end up back where I started. I can't seem to keep it permanent, and I am far from alone on this. Inevitably the consequences of gaining it all back have not been PAINFUL enough to keep me on the straight path. PEOPLE magazine this month features several former BIGGEST LOSER stars and how/why they've maintained (or not) their weight loss. It also revisits "They lost half their weight" PEOPLE featured subjects from each of the last 10 years, and the obstacles they face in maintaining (or not) their weight loss.
One more piece of the puzzle.
All very relevant to my 2012 theme of balance. I need to find the balance between the pain of being overweight/under-fit/unhealthy, and the physical, but more importantly emotional pain of working my butt off, and depriving myself of a few of the things I like in order to achieve homeostasis. I am convinced that will be the only way to get myself off the yo-yo roller-coaster. I've been setting myself up with fabricated consequences each time (which obviously don't stick), but haven't gotten deeper, to the core. Only by gathering all the puzzle pieces will I be able to assemble and complete it....
Have YOU struggled with this? OR have you found your balance...identified the pain you never want to revisit so that it is looming before you as a consequence if you stray from your path? I would LOVE for you to share your thoughts and insights!
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Love is all you need.
I LOVE Body for Wife and just have to quote that brilliant guy....
" let me ask a question: When has anything worthwhile in life been achieved without serious and sustained effort?... Love is all you need.
Perhaps you've made New Year's resolutions that have something to do with fitness. If so, it helps to remember that there are no quick fixes. There is no such thing as easy...
This year, fine-tune your male-bovine-droppings detector. You can't feel the love for a lie.
There's no need to be in a hurry to get fit. Love of exercise often takes time to develop. And like any good relationship, it must be nurtured if it's to grow. It also requires spending at least a little money, because those old "Magnum P.I." shorts from high school attract funny looks and chafe when you try to run in them.
Yes, money. Maybe you need a little more than love. (Sorry, John [Lennon].)
That cash needs to be spent wisely, especially in this economy...
I've spent thousands on Pearl Izumi, Lululemon, Nike and Reebok, and my ski equipment is worth more than my car. Like flowers, date nights and the occasional sparkly rock, this is money well spent. It keeps my relationship with exercise healthy... Search for your exercise soul mate. (Or three. In the fitness context, polyamory equals cross-training.)
The Internet can help you find love, and not just the eHarmony kind. It's a great way to get informed about diet and exercise — if one's cautious. We all need to learn how to separate the good information from the bad, just like life (hopefully) taught us to separate good relationships from bad ones...
Did you date a few/several/dozens of people before finding Mr. or Ms. Right? That's OK with exercise too. It's fine to keep searching for what works for you. Something may be a great calorie-burner, but if it doesn't fulfill your emotional needs or is just not available, then it makes sense to move on or at least relegate it to the B list of your rotation...it's hard to consistently stick to doing something long-term if you don't enjoy it.
There are a host of factors to consider: finding something that works and that is affordable, accessible and makes you feel good. But there are more options than you imagine — a world of physical activity is out there waiting to be discovered.
... it's also true that love can arise where you least expect it — if you want it to. I used to hate running, but after a number of failed efforts we finally found each other, in a "When Harry Met Sally" kind of way. (Gak.)I wanted to become a runner because I knew how practical, efficient and effective an exercise it is. So I tried. And I hated it, and I quit.
Then I tried again, and I hated it, and I quit.
Then I tried again, and I hated it, and I did not quit. And one day, I was running through a Canadian winter snowstorm and U2 was on my iPod telling me it's a beautiful day, and I thought: "It sure is."
2012 will tick away, second by second, no matter what we do. So it makes sense to approach this as a gradual, incremental progression toward awesome. The Venus de Milo wasn't carved in a day, and neither shall be the new you.
Fell is a certified strength and conditioning specialist in Calgary, Canada.
james@bodyforwife.com
" let me ask a question: When has anything worthwhile in life been achieved without serious and sustained effort?... Love is all you need.
Perhaps you've made New Year's resolutions that have something to do with fitness. If so, it helps to remember that there are no quick fixes. There is no such thing as easy...
This year, fine-tune your male-bovine-droppings detector. You can't feel the love for a lie.
There's no need to be in a hurry to get fit. Love of exercise often takes time to develop. And like any good relationship, it must be nurtured if it's to grow. It also requires spending at least a little money, because those old "Magnum P.I." shorts from high school attract funny looks and chafe when you try to run in them.
Yes, money. Maybe you need a little more than love. (Sorry, John [Lennon].)
That cash needs to be spent wisely, especially in this economy...
I've spent thousands on Pearl Izumi, Lululemon, Nike and Reebok, and my ski equipment is worth more than my car. Like flowers, date nights and the occasional sparkly rock, this is money well spent. It keeps my relationship with exercise healthy... Search for your exercise soul mate. (Or three. In the fitness context, polyamory equals cross-training.)
The Internet can help you find love, and not just the eHarmony kind. It's a great way to get informed about diet and exercise — if one's cautious. We all need to learn how to separate the good information from the bad, just like life (hopefully) taught us to separate good relationships from bad ones...
Did you date a few/several/dozens of people before finding Mr. or Ms. Right? That's OK with exercise too. It's fine to keep searching for what works for you. Something may be a great calorie-burner, but if it doesn't fulfill your emotional needs or is just not available, then it makes sense to move on or at least relegate it to the B list of your rotation...it's hard to consistently stick to doing something long-term if you don't enjoy it.
There are a host of factors to consider: finding something that works and that is affordable, accessible and makes you feel good. But there are more options than you imagine — a world of physical activity is out there waiting to be discovered.
... it's also true that love can arise where you least expect it — if you want it to. I used to hate running, but after a number of failed efforts we finally found each other, in a "When Harry Met Sally" kind of way. (Gak.)I wanted to become a runner because I knew how practical, efficient and effective an exercise it is. So I tried. And I hated it, and I quit.
Then I tried again, and I hated it, and I quit.
Then I tried again, and I hated it, and I did not quit. And one day, I was running through a Canadian winter snowstorm and U2 was on my iPod telling me it's a beautiful day, and I thought: "It sure is."
2012 will tick away, second by second, no matter what we do. So it makes sense to approach this as a gradual, incremental progression toward awesome. The Venus de Milo wasn't carved in a day, and neither shall be the new you.
Fell is a certified strength and conditioning specialist in Calgary, Canada.
james@bodyforwife.com
The Chiropractor
I am so pumped about my first-ever visit to the chiropractor today, that I just HAD to blog about it. She said given my health history it was no wonder I have absolutely no energy. Ever. She thinks it's workable and that treatment can make a huge difference. I LOVE her optimism and I feel it too. I might even be able to like running (rather than just make myself do it because I should). Looking forward to that possibility. I want to fall in love with it, maybe even crave it. YAY...that would be SO COOL! Finally I have hope for my future health. All along I have wished I could get past this lethargy but honestly was unsure if I would have to fight to achieve everything for the rest of my life. Maybe finally I will feel vibrant again, and not have to force myself to do everything.
I shopped for base leggings with heat reflecting technology today, (comfort will limit my obstacles...and excuses...haha) and also for some vibram five-finger barefoot runners. Didn't buy yet, but I'll let you know.
This is transition week. It's all about walking (not running...yet), clean-eating (not rigid portion-control...yet), and it's all about planning and prep...had to charge up my dead fitbit today. Tomorrow-game ON! Running stroller, toddler and greyhound, and away we go!
I shopped for base leggings with heat reflecting technology today, (comfort will limit my obstacles...and excuses...haha) and also for some vibram five-finger barefoot runners. Didn't buy yet, but I'll let you know.
This is transition week. It's all about walking (not running...yet), clean-eating (not rigid portion-control...yet), and it's all about planning and prep...had to charge up my dead fitbit today. Tomorrow-game ON! Running stroller, toddler and greyhound, and away we go!
2012 is my year
So I guess this blog makes me accountable. I'm putting it out there for all the world to see. No more extremes. Time for BALANCE. My theme for this year is balance. I seem to do things in the extreme: all-or-nothing frame of mind, especially when it comes to nutrition/weight-loss/fitness. I've decided that this roller-coaster is making my life more complicated and that if other people can balance me-time with family-time, balance fitness programs with other responsibilities, balance friends and family, balance their finances and balance their time schedules, then I should be able to do so. Hey, why not?
I have decided to enlist the help of some tools, and as well factor in some accountability. Instead of jumping in full-force then burning out like a comet and quitting, I have decided that transitioning into a permanent lifestyle will fit more with my theme of BALANCE. I will have to be careful about keeping my "toolbox" simple. I tend to over-complicate things, which leads to initial success then burnout. Instead of sprinting when it comes to projects, It's time for endurance.
Tools: Cozi Calendar and phone app, MiCoach pacer, fitbit, livestrong daily plate, BB WOWY gym, TurboFire program, clean eating, phone apps, Chalene Johnson PUSH (book)
Accountability: this blog, coach Colleen and her group, fitbit friends, facebook, fitness partners Emily and Tracey
Help also from: counseling, naturopath, meditation?
Goals: BALANCE, consistency, and permanent change without extremes. Bluenose Half marathon in May. Beat last year's time of 2:45, body fat loss with muscle gain.
More on the specifics of all this later.
Consistency (and persistence) is what will get me to my goals, and keep me pushing past them toward new goals.
I have decided to enlist the help of some tools, and as well factor in some accountability. Instead of jumping in full-force then burning out like a comet and quitting, I have decided that transitioning into a permanent lifestyle will fit more with my theme of BALANCE. I will have to be careful about keeping my "toolbox" simple. I tend to over-complicate things, which leads to initial success then burnout. Instead of sprinting when it comes to projects, It's time for endurance.
Tools: Cozi Calendar and phone app, MiCoach pacer, fitbit, livestrong daily plate, BB WOWY gym, TurboFire program, clean eating, phone apps, Chalene Johnson PUSH (book)
Accountability: this blog, coach Colleen and her group, fitbit friends, facebook, fitness partners Emily and Tracey
Help also from: counseling, naturopath, meditation?
Goals: BALANCE, consistency, and permanent change without extremes. Bluenose Half marathon in May. Beat last year's time of 2:45, body fat loss with muscle gain.
More on the specifics of all this later.
Consistency (and persistence) is what will get me to my goals, and keep me pushing past them toward new goals.
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