DAY 24 Echoes in My Mind & Question Three

Hello Journal,

I had a funny experience this week...I lost track of time (there is that time management thing again) and it was almost 7:30 pm, and I hadn't done my exercise yet. Well, I thought...MyGuy is going to get home soon...I can skip today and do it tomorrow....screeeech!! My thoughts are jerked to a halt...and what do I hear?? Echoes in my mind of Sean Anderson's words about decisions: are they iron-clad...or elastic??? (here) I laughed right out loud, loaded the Richard simmons CD, and away we danced! LOL! Thanks, Sean. :-)

So today is on to Question 3 from Bob Greene's 5 Questions (I started here).

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Questions 3:  Why have you been unable to lose wt, or to maintain wt loss in the past?

My Answer:  Didn't make the changes permanent... this time kept off the lost 70 to 80 lbs, but it's been a struggle... haven't made more progress towards goal... haven't been willing to make stricter changes, to give up my “drug”... don't think I really believed it would work or I could sustain a " diet" ... that is what it will take from here on down?

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When I wrote this answer back in Jan of 09 I still hadn't found a way of eating that I enjoyed, that I could see myself doing for life. Now I have, and it's made all the difference, like the missing piece to the puzzle. I just knew I had to get out of the "diet mentality". It had to be for life. I didn't CARE who promoted it, sold it, recommended it, or proclaimed this or that was THE answer. If it wasn't something I could live with for life, forget it.

I hear soooo many people complain that they lost weight, then re-gained it, and just don't know what happened. Well, I can tell you what happened...real simple. The same thing that happened to ME, over and over.

The Diet Mentality. If you stopped doing a nutrition plan and went "back" to old habits (whether slowly or in a blitz) then you were on a diet...something you go ON then later go OFF. And if we didn't CHANGE INSIDE, then of course we will go back to what we have known all our life...either right away...or later, under stress.

In Dr Phil's book, The Ultimate Weight Loss Solution, he has a whole section where he warns about "instinctual drift." We need to remain aware and careful to make healthy choices, especially in times of stress and pressure. We have the tendency to revert to our prior learned behaviors...those second-nature habits that got us into trouble in the first place.

I still remember from years ago hearing a speaker talk about the difference between those that are willing to make the EFFORT necessary to achieve a thing, and those that were not...he painted such a word picture, that it stuck.

He vividly described those that take the path of least resistance as "floating downstream like a dead fish"...making the least effort, just giving in...

Then there were those that decide...CHOOSE to keep trying, never to quit...to have the courage and determination to go against the current, and swim upstream, like the salmon that gives everything within them to swim upstream, in order to reach their place of birth. I am familiar with that image, living here in Oregon. 

I finally stopped listening to all the statistics trying to tell me what percentage of people lose weight, and how many keep it off, etc etc... I don't care anymore. I will not be defined by cold dead statistics...I will create my own future by my choices now.

Now, I AM willing to change inside, and to make this permanent. Some days are easier than others...but I will not stop "swimming upstream."

From Dr Phil's book:  "You must never relax your watchfulness over your thoughts, feelings and actions...failure to self-monitor is one of the top reasons why people allow their weight to creep back on."

My verse for today: "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped."

My quote for today: "Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire." --Arnold H. Glasow

Enjoy the Journey,

Loretta

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DAY 20 Five Questions & Why

Happy Caturday, Journal!

There is a Cowboy proverb that says: "Speak your mind...but ride a fast horse."


I was going to talk about the 5 Questions that Bob Greene

(Oprah's trainer) asked a few months ago...then yesterday I read a differing point of view from Janice Taylor, at her humorous blog Our Lady of Weight Loss. She offered her own 5 Questions as a sort of rebuttal.


I guess I will just wade in with my own point of view, and have a fast horse ready. ;-)

The 5 Questions were designed to help those who wanted to lose weight get to the bottom of their issues. I had done a lot this type of work already, using Dr Phil's excellent book Self Matters. But these were short, so I figured why not?

Here are the 5 Questions:

1. What are you really hungry for?
2. Why are you overweight?

3. Why have you been unable to lose wt, or to maintain wt loss in the past?

4. What in your life is not working?

5. Why do you want to lose this weight?

Pretty basic stuff...yet having to write out an answer that isn't flip or shallow can be revealing and helpful.

Janice Taylor pointed out that 3 of the 5 questions posed by Bob Greene were "why" questions, which--in her opinion--weren't all that useful. She feels you should just focus on action NOW.

Well, sometimes finding out the why, if possible, helps. We are all so different, I think it helps to be able to individualize the plan.

For instance, let's say my foot hurts...REALLY hurts. If I didn't ask WHY it hurt, I would be treating symptoms, not the cause. I might:

dig around for a splinter

try a foot rub

put a cast on it

wrap it in an ace bandage

amputate!


If I had made the effort to find out WHY...that it was my cutsie shoes, then I could have just bought more sensible shoes, rather than a hit or miss approach.

There is a time to re-visit the past...RE-VISIT, not live there. Not to wallow in it, stuck and feeding on the negativity. But rather, to be honest about it, forgive mistakes and poor choices, learn from it, and move on to an ACTION-ORIENTED SOLUTION.


While it may not be necessary, I have found it helpful. It has nothing to do with blame...everything to do with UNDERSTANDING.

The overall objective is: to find your own Purpose in life, then take the necessary action to achieve it.

More specific to weight loss: My Purpose is to regain health and lose weight. Then make an ACTION plan to achieve that goal.

Since I am not going to write much on Sundays from now on, starting Monday I plan to talk about my answers to Bob's 5 Questions.

I think the progress I am finally making is due in part to facing these kinds of questions honestly, and then moving on to an action-oriented solution.

Off to exercise now....

From Dr Phil's book: "...change must come totally from within you. This is where the real power to create lasting results is found, and what you are about to do here will give you that power."

My verse for today: "Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him for God is our refuge."

My quote for today: "Conditions are never just right. People who delay action until all factors are favorable are the kind who do nothing."--William Feather

Enjoy the Journey,

Loretta

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