Put Yourself on the Schedule for Weight Loss Success

From personal experience, I know that if I don't schedule when I am going to move my body, it just doesn't happen. Somehow they day has gotten away from me and I crash on my bed one pooped pup.

To assure that doesn't happen, I plan my exercise routine for first thing in the morning. Well, second. First I drink a big glass of water with a squeeze of lemon...then I put in my 15-20 minutes routine. Then I know it is done and I can check that off my list for the day.

It is great to start my day with 2 positives within the first half an hour--really sets the tone for success!

You are as important as any other person, business or task. You schedule in other meetings and commitments...and you can schedule yourself in, too. Maybe you don't want to exercise first thing in the morning like I do (and so does the First Lady, btw)...that's okay, but decide when you will and then put it on your schedule so you don't "forget" or have the day slip away from you!

Fear and Money Challenge Health and Weight Loss Success

I've been having a lot of shoulder pain lately. Certain motions were excruciating, in fact, which kept me from doing some exercises. Which frustrated me and hindered my health and fitness goals.

Why I waited so long to see the Chiropractor about it, I don't understand. After all, aren't I the one telling other people, "sometimes we all need help--and there is no shame in getting the help you need"? Of course...and the cobbler's kids are the ones without shoes.

Actually, I do know a couple reasons I waited so long:

1. Fear
2. Money

These are probably the two biggest reasons most people do, or don't do, things in life.

In this case I was afraid that he would tell me there was nothing he could do...that I had damaged my rotator cuff. On the surface that seems like a reasonable fear. But I had had a similar pain in the other shoulder a couple years ago that I was able to heal without surgery. So why was this time different? That I truly do not know.

That's the thing about fear. You can intellectually know that the fear is not reasonable, but that doesn't mean the fear will go away. For me there was enough gear of potential surgery that I put off seeing my healer until I couldn't stand it any more. Not smart. I could probably have fixed it a lot more quickly if I had not been so stubbornly stuck in fear.

Then there is money. Going to see a doctor costs money and even though I pay through the nose for health insurance every month I basically have catastrophic coverage. I am very glad that I haven't had to use it, but that means I am really paying out of pocket for my visits to the Chiro...so I wasn't thrilled with the idea of dropping a couple hundred bucks over the course of treatment. Of course, that is not a bad price to pay when considering the alternative (massive pain and/or surgery.) And, if I had gone in sooner, it probably would have been fewer visits and less money.

We do the same thing with our weight loss goals...we put off buying the right shoes because we don't want to drop $100...and then we injure our bodies because we don't have the proper support. We are afraid that we will look stupid at the gym because we are fat...so we don't go...and we stay fat.

We all, myself included, deserve to remember that our fears are in our head...and as real as those fears may be, they can be overcome. And usually, when we face them we are so much better off. The truth is rarely as scary as the stuff we make up in our imagination!

We also deserve to remember that the sooner we act, generally speaking, the less it is going to cost us in the long run. I'm not saying throw money around like there's no tomorrow...I'm just saying we deserve to look at the dollars we are spending now (or could spend now) and compare it to the real cost of not taking that action. In my case, getting proper medical care, but it could be buying healthier foods, proper exercise attire, getting some training on how to get the most out of exercise equipment, or even investing in cooking lessons. All these things cost money, but in the long-run will save us money, enable us to reach our weight loss success goals and enhance our lives. And quite possibly save them!

Excuses, Excuses, Opportunity to Stay Stuck

There are always a gazillion reasons to put off implementing changes that we KNOW will benefit us in the long run. The timing isn't right, it costs too much, we don't have time to learn something new, it is just a hassle, we're stressed and want life to be easy.

These can be accurate and very real, but they are also excuses that we can allow to sabotage our efforts to improve our lives.

I've been facing this regarding my computer...my old one (it is about 6 years old) is dying. Its speed has dropped to a crawl. Only some of my programs work--others are randomly disappearing. I can't turn it off because if I do it won't restart and then I have to restore it.

Seems like a lot of bother to stick with something that is supposed to be a tool to make my life easier. But I know it. I'm comfortable with it. New computers have a different operating system and I'll have to learn that. Plus, it costs a lot of money to buy a new computer. Not to mention the time to research what I need, and what I want, in a computer. In other words, getting a new computer means I will have to change, I will have to break out of my comfortable rut.

The final straw? I have to access the internet from someone else's computer because that functionality has been lost. So yesterday afternoon I went out and bought a new computer. After dragging my heels and limping along for a month now, I have a shiny new computer. Of course it is still in the box...but it is a start. It is a step in the direction. Next I'll take another step, then another.

We do the same thing about reaching weight loss goals...we make lots of excuses...because changing is HARD! Or at least we think it is.

Recognize any of these?

• "I don't have time."
• "It is too hot to cook healthy foods."
  
• "I'm too tired."
• "I'm sore...my feet hurt...my back hurts...I can't breathe..." (insert any of a myriad of physical ailments, real or perceived.)
• "I don't know how to exercise" (or cook healthy, or shop for healthy foods...)
• "It is too hard, I'd have to prepare different foods for my family..."
• "It is too expensive to eat healthy and to work out"
• "I don't belong to a gym/ I can't afford to join a gym"
• "We are just so busy right now, I'll make time when ___" (fill in the blank)
• "I don't want to be seen in public exercising because I'm ashamed of my body"
• "I'm too fat to go to the gym"
• "We're going on vacation (or to my parents) and I want to enjoy myself"
• "I'm so busy at work and I'm so stressed...I just want to unwind when I get home"
• "Food is the way I relax, it is how I socialize"
  
• "I have given up so much, there isn't anything else I can give up"
• "Summer is time for picnics, barbecues and beer"

Even when our justifications are accurate (which most of the time they aren't--at least not 100%) they are really just excuses to keep us from moving forward.

This is why it is helpful to look at the changes we make to achieve weight loss as small steps, not radical changes. It is so much easier to take one small step at a time. We can make all sorts of complex plans and set goals to lose 10 pounds a month, but if it is too big then it is such a challenge it seems overwhelming...and it is just easier to push it off and push it off, until finally the final straw happens that forces a change. Maybe that straw is that your body no longer functions and you have a serious illness (like my computer.) It is so much easier to make the changes when you can afford to take small steps, rather than forced complete overhaul.

When we make small changes the results aren't as fast and sexy...we may not have the shiny new computer appear on our desk in a day or a week...but they are much more likely to stick.

Think of the small changes like learning the new computer system so that we ultimately have this slick machine. Contrast that with a crash-course or crash diet, you may get some immediate results, but if I rebuild my computer and give it a fresh "coat of paint" it is still the same old machine that will need to be replaced soon.

Your body is an incredible, powerful, machine...just like a computer, only better! Don't wait until your computer crashes to take care of it! Start with the small maintenance items that you can do NOW and you will keep that machine running smoothly for years to come.