Weight Loss Resolution Success Tips

Weight Loss Resolution Success Tips

Well, we are in the 4th week of January 2012 and by next week the majority of individuals who have set New Year’s Resolutions will have gone back to old familiar habits. Now if you have set a new resolution I am not trying to be the voice in your head to say, “Oh, you might as well give up now because by next week you will have anyway.” Believe me, I want you to succeed more than anyone because I was on the same track year after year when it came to trying to lose weight and getting fit. I was very successful at losing weight and especially successful and speedy about putting the weight back on. Yes, I was a very successful yo-yo dieter. This up and down journey led me to whom I am today, a Registered Dietitian and Personal Fitness Trainer. I was so tired of the pain of failure year after year and finally dedicated my life to a pursuit for answers…answers that I now love to share with others to help them find success.

Because I am what I am, many friends and acquaintances feel compelled to share with me their wellness goals even though they are not my clients. I often laugh when I walk into a room and others make excuses about what they are eating, like I am the food police, ugh! Not a role I like or want. Being a Registered Dietitian can be a blessing and sometimes a curse as I see individuals feel the need to hide from their food or activity choices when they see me. So eat up and enjoy, I am not here to judge, just help when asked.

As you know, every year tons of new inventions, fitness programs, diets, and/or household appliances promise weight loss or fitness success. So why so many and why don’t they seem to work? Which one really has the answers? “Will this one work for me?” The simple truth…they all work! Beware, not all are created equal and some can even be harmful so I encourage you to be careful and always seek the advice of a Registered Dietitian and/or Licensed Nutritionist for sound nutritional and wellness advice. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics will often provide book reviews of the newest diet plans, so check them out at Eatright.org.

So, back to our topic of “Weight Loss Resolution Success Tips.” To be successful, the better question is how can you have the “right” one work for you? First select one that has good reviews and apply these simple tips:

1. Know specifically what you want. Many times resolutions are vague statements like, “I want to lose weight or get healthy.” Set a specific goal like “I want to lose 10# in 3 months.” This is realistic and measureable. Many times individuals set the bar way too high and starve to reach it. Any time we are in “starvation mode” we set ourselves up for failure.

2. Why is the reason you want it? I encourage you to search your heart on this one because this will be your new mantra as you talk yourself through resisting the temptation of old unhealthy habits that have led you to where you are today. If this reason is not tied to your deep emotions and desire, that chocolate delicacy will win out every time!

3. Make a realistic plan and stick to it. Your plan should be focused on changing the environments and schedules that have created your current situation. Evaluate your pantry and the foods you have around you. Create easy access to healthy foods and difficult for indulging on your weakness foods. We all have them. What are yours? Just for a while go “cold turkey” on these, eventually you will have the control to eat them again, but initially it is too easy to fall into old habits. Create a schedule that will set you up for success, include at least 16 minutes of exercise and grow this to 32 minutes daily. ATP Fitness™, shows you how to include exercise in your day no matter your schedule or location and how to maximize your results, more on this later.

4. Have Fun and look for the positives in your changes. Our brain will easily adapt to changes, this is called neuroplasticity, but our brain will resist making these changes permanent if we associate them with negative emotions or thoughts such as “I hate to exercise” or “I am depriving myself of my favorite foods.” Instead, associate the changes you are trying to make to something positive. A client of mine decided she would change her thoughts from “I hate to exercise” to “I love the way I feel after I exercise” which is helping her stay on course and make moving her body joyfully a part of her life. Find the words that will link positive emotions to the changes you are making. What we enjoy, we always want to do more!

5. Seek support, encouragement, and an accountability partner. Working primarily with women has made me realize we are creatures that are more likely to do things for others than ourselves. Our health and self care are often neglected because of this. Embrace the idea it is not selfish to take care of yourself but actually a requirement to be a better caregiver, friend, spouse, and to be more productive. Remember on the airplane they state to put the oxygen on yourself first before helping those around you. Same goes for everything in life. Find the friends and acquaintances that will support your goals and be an active part in helping you succeed.

6. Believe in your success! Anytime you change your behaviors, thoughts, perspectives, and activities your body and brain respond. It cannot help it, it is the way it was designed. Trust that as you make small but consistent changes that embrace a healthy lifestyle, the result WILL BE a healthier, leaner, more energized body. Don’t give up when you don’t SEE the results, you are changing from the inside out.

Today’s author: Sandie Lynch. ATP Consultants, LLC provides services that help educate, coach, support, and encourage you on your journey to Attain Top Performance (ATP) in living the life you want. Join Sandie in her ATP Fitness sessions on Monday evenings as she teaches 5 key principles to honor the body and how to create permanent change and maximize your results. Find out more at http://home/wholisu6/dev.wholisticwomanretreats.com.atphealthandfitness.com and contact Sandie today on how to start your journey to wellness and life of success!

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What “Triggers” Can Make Us Fat?

 

Our Environment

Is your environment making you fat? Well, ok, maybe not existing in your environment, but there could be “triggers” in your environment that may be sabotaging your success for a healthier you!

Have you ever seriously considered what are the “triggers” that send you into a ‘tailspin” (no pun intended) from your best “laid out” diet or fitness plan?    How many times have you made a New Year Resolution (as many of you are doing now) to lose weight, get fit, or just eat better, and by February or, if you’re lucky, March you are back to your old habits?

Have you ever wondered why it is “just so hard” to stick to something new even when it IS what you really want! What is keeping you from being successful?

“Triggers” for sabotage can come in many forms.  What are yours specifically? Come to our Wholistic Women mini retreat session “Eat, Drink, and Be Merry” and find out!

I know for me, it was when someone noticed I had lost a little weight,  it was like the “approval” I needed to “let up a little” and before I know it….“BAM” back to my old habits within a day or two, and the weight seemed to “JUMP” back on with force, like jello!  (get the visual? :))

Seriously, there are many reasons we don’t do what we say we want to.  Attend the “Eat, Drink, and Be Merry”  Wholistic Women Retreat mini session on January 12th, 2011, from 7:00 pm until 9:00 pm and you will receive valuable information on what are the most common and potentially dangerous “triggers” for sabotage, and then be coached on discovering your “triggers” and guided in creating an environment of success!

Still not convinced you have “triggers” that sabotage your success and the need to eliminate them?

Some “triggers” could actually surprise you, like the fear of success“What???  No Way!!!” You say, “how could someone be afraid of being successful in the very thing they want; like feel better, look better and live better? That is absolutely preposterous!”  No, HONESTLY, this is a “trigger” for some and for more than you think, it could actually be yours!?!  Wouldn’t you like to know if it is?

Another “trigger” could also be what and when you eat!    Now, I know what some of you are thinking, “ok here’s the catch, this is another one of those diet plans where you have to eat certain foods at certain times.   Been there done that!”   Sorry, not in this program, we just want to help you be successful with something that will actually work for you.    Although, many individuals are not aware how much power the food we eat possesses, and how certain nutrients at specific times can actually help avoid times of weakness and temptation, especially when “willpower” is NOT enough! When you learn how to eat, when to eat, and what to eat, you will gain the power to overcome the vulnerable “hunger trigger!

Learn how to enjoy your food and put an end to the “love/hate” relationship you have with food and your body.  We are created to enjoy life and “Eat, Drink, and Be Merry!” Start this year!     Come to the Wholistic Women Retreats mini session and start eating with joy and eliminate the “triggersthat steal it! Learn how to design the environment that will create the success you want.

Come hungry for self-awareness and leave EMPOWERED and JOYFUL!

In Joy…. Sandie

Sandie Lynch, Registered Dietitian

Go to Wholistic Woman Retreats for specific location and details and Sign up today!

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Food Addiction?  How do we stop eating when we need to eat?

Food Addiction? How do we stop eating when we need to eat?

Food Addiction? How do we stop eating when we need to eat?

Have you ever been eating a bag of chips and think “I need to stop” as you reach in to grab another handful?  How about when eating out you unbutton your pants so you can get more in?

Excess weight is one of the biggest contributors of acute and chronic disease and premature death.  What causes us to keep eating when we know we “should” stop?  Certain foods cause us to lose control, and inhibit our ability to stop.  Also, the combination of certain ingredients trigger the pleasure centers of our brain to keep us “chowing down” although we fear we could be at risk of exploding if we don’t stop soon :/.   These ingredients when combined in such a way overrides the center in the brain that says, “this is not good for me and I want to stop” but instead says, “this is too good to worry about that now, another bite would be good.”    Studies have shown this combination of ingredients trigger the same centers of the brain of Cocaine and other addictive drugs.  Thus the question….have we made food our next addiction of choice?

Is there anything we can do to break the addiction when we still need to eat?  At least with other addictions one can stop cold turkey and eliminate it.  What can we do about food?  Is there hope?  Yes, indeed! Participants of the “Food is Love….or IS it?”session will learn what foods to avoid and what foods to prepare and eat that say “Love” in reality!  Learn what foods  Harvest your Best Self!  See you at the retreat! (https://wholisticwomenliving.com/session-topics/)

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