Tag Archives: exercise

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Weights and Balances (Year 4 Issue 20) October 12, 2016

october-12-2016

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Weights and Balances (Year 3 Issue 41) March 9, 2016

WB Mar 9 2016

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Exercise Motivation: Engineer Your Change/Success

Accepting accountability for what you do or eat is a foundation of leading a healthier lifestyle.  You control what goes into your mouth and you control what activities you participate in.  So getting your head set right, is the first step toward a healthier lifestyle.  When exercising motivation can easily evaporate so it is important that you find many different ways to keep you motivated.

Some suggestions are:

  • Giving yourself a reward for exercising/moving for X# of days. (non food!)
  • Find success stories to read to help keep you inspired.
  • Find motivational quotes to put where you will see them.
  •  Talk positively to yourself! Give yourself positive feedback! Congratulate yourself!
  • Create a fitness journal
  • Join an online group that is fitness focused
  • Blog about your exercise
  • Make yourself accountable have a friend to ask you how it is going.
  • Publish your updates in social media (peer pressure)
  • Read about fitness and activities that you enjoy.
  • Purchase special clothing to wear while you are being active.

Remember you are the author of your story and your success.  Do what it takes to reach your goals!  Reward yourself for every success no matter how small!  Keep going even when you do not feel like it! Sometimes you have to do just what you need to do just because you need to do it!  Your body will thank you later!

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Weight Watchers Beyond the Scale (Part 4) Settling In

I am half way through my first week on the new program and I am still feeling very positive about the changes to the program.  Things are starting to settle in as I have only had to make minor changes to my normal eating.

BREAKFAST:
Today I fixed my oatmeal breakfast for the first time since the plan changed.  I forgot to add my frozen fruit that I have in the freezer but enjoyed my oatmeal with almonds and cinnamon.  I keep forgetting to add my frozen fruit!  I did remember yesterday and added dark sweet cherries to my oatmeal and it was delicious! Breakfast isn’t going to be a big deal to modify IF I can stop forgetting to add my frozen fruit to it!

EATING OUT:
My 5th day in and I had my first eating out challenge.  I reviewed the menu the day before online which helped a great deal.  I was invited to lunch at a local Greek Restaurant and chose chicken kabob with roasted vegetables.  It was great and from what I can figure very Smart Points friendly too!  Large chunks of roasted chicken with large chunks of green pepper, onions and tomatoes.  Very tasty!  I only ate half and took the rest home to have for another meal.

SUGAR SUGAR/HORMONES
One of the “targeted” items on the SmartPoints plan is sugar and I battled with some hard candies earlier this week.  I suspect those candies will most likely affect my weigh in results this first week of SmartPoints.  To make it even more complicated my sugar cravings were tag teamed with the female monthly hormone cycle.  We are so quick to dismiss the affect hormones have on our eating and cravings but they are directly related.  One friend online said there is no way that hormones would affect her weight loss because she no longer has a monthly cycle.  In humorous style, I said “Just because that ship has sailed it doesn’t mean the wind can’t flutter your sails!”  Why there might not be typical physical signs of the cycle, the hormones do continue to cycle every month.  Even post menopausal women continue to feel “bloated” “puffy” etc. long after that time has passed each month but don’t often connect that to their hormone cycle.  I can safely say the monthly hormone cycle was most likely the basis of me keeping my hand in the candy jar for a couple of days this week.  I am trying to avoid them the rest of this week!  This time of year we are bombarded with sugared everything being pushed at us! But, I know how to say “no, thank you” and move on.

BEYOND THE SCALE- FITPOINTS
This past summer the Weight Watchers meetings were focused on being happy and how to be happy.  Research has shown that happy people make better food choices which is one of the concepts behind the new name “Beyond the Scale.”  There is more involved to losing weight than the number on the scale.  Which brings me to FitPoints.  We are no longer encouraged to exchange our FitPoints for food.  Many have been very disappointed with this new approach as they have been used to exercising more to eat more.  Weight Watchers is taking the stance that we should be exercising to feel better not just to eat more.  I couldn’t agree more since it appears those with activity monitors can rack up FitPoints for almost nothing!  I still enter my activity manually as I do not use an activity monitor and my points are about the same as they were before the program switch which doesn’t seem fair but since I am not using them, it really doesn’t matter in the big picture as I am one who has always held the belief that I am exercising to be healthy so I am not sure if it is even necessary for me to count them anymore.  I hope Weight Watchers will come up with a good compromise such as for every ten FitPoints you earn, you will have one additional SmartPoints to use in your daily points total.  Or something like that.  I think it isn’t an even exchange with the increased points being earned by those with fitness monitors and maybe that kind of formula could work.  Just my two cents.

THOUGHTS
Something you know something but yet you refuse to acknowledge it which I choose to call it conditional amnesia better known as denial.  I KNOW Weight Watchers works BUT I keep second guessing myself and keep wondering how I am supposed to be able to lose with having more daily points.   I KNOW to trust the program and not to panic but I keep having waves of second guessing myself and Weight Watchers on their approach.  I still hear my two-year old toddler self trying to playing with my head.

My weekly Weight Watchers weigh in is on Saturday morning and I am hoping for a “down” no matter how small.   My results will be in my summary/wrap up post I will post on Sunday or Monday.

Beyond the Scale