by IcennaEmach | Sep 19, 2011 | Uncategorized
The seated cable row is a mid back exercise that once learned correctly can be adapted efficiently into most types of training programs. Great for the posture muscles and suited for those who aim to feel lean and tall, this exercise is a back to the basics must do. No pun intended!
For the novice exerciser it serves as an added challenge to the full body supported machines typically used in most gyms.
For the intermediate exerciser, it serves as a challenge in intensity as weight is increased, fully mobilizing body stabilizer muscles not typically used with many machine weights.
And for the advanced exerciser, the cable row can be used to build thicker and stronger latissimus dorsi muscles when various training techniques are utilized smartly.
Regardless of your experience level, proper form is essential. Once learned however, it’s almost like riding a bike.
Learn it well once and you’ll never forget it!
Here’s a few essential techniques to keep in mind and to get you looking like a pro. Of most importance is that you keep a flat upper back, hinge forward from the waist with a high chest and face forward/chin up position like my good friend and client Cynthia is illustrating in the picture.
Preparation
Sit slightly forward on bench or floor and grasp cable attachment. Place feet on vertical platform. Slide hips back positioning knees with slight bend.
Execution
Pull cable attachment to waist while straightening lower back. Pull shoulders back and push chest forward while arching back. Return until arms are extended, shoulders are stretched forward, and lower back is flexed forward.
Repeat with confidence and a little attitude as you get feeling grooved with this dynamic exercise!
Comments
Begin with light weight and add additional weight gradually to allow lower back adequate adaptation. Do not pause or bounce at bottom of lift. Do not lower weight beyond mild stretch. Full range of motion through lower back will vary from person to person. The illustration as demonstrated by my client above, is highly flexible in the lower and upper back regions so her forward flexion is advanced. Notice however that she keeps intact a high chest and flat upper back as shoulders are drawn down and back. A+ for her. And what about you? Got Posture?
Our Wealth is in Our Health,
Kim
by IcennaEmach | Sep 5, 2011 | Uncategorized
The most superb linguine and clam sauce I ever had was with John at Nobbs Hill Café in San Francisco. Its flavor was so amazing! I had enjoyed clam sauce at a number of wonderful restaurants both here and in Europe, and this was the most delectable clam sauce I’d ever eaten.
I asked the server to tell me what they did to bring out the beautiful mellow garlic flavor, because clearly it was magical. The chef very graciously came to our table to explain.
“Fresh garlic sautéed slowly in fine olive oil.”
What? Certainly he was not telling me his cooking secret!
He was however. Fresh garlic. Fine olive oil – extra virgin. Extra virgin . . . refined, so it would not break down as quickly when heated. Sautéed slowly. That was the secret.
The chef knew that even extra virgin olive oil will break down at temperatures above 225° F. and not only would their subtle phenols be destroyed, but the higher temperatures would add a degree of bitterness to what should be the garlic’s mellow taste.
He explained that no matter how hectic it might be in his kitchen, he would never cut corners by turning up the heat under his slowly cooking fresh garlic and olive oil.
His disciplined, simple approach to cooking resulted in the absolute best linguine and clam sauce I ever had.
Garlic and Olive Oil Simplicity
We humans tend to complicate matters. We tend to think there are deeper secrets than the simple actions others take to succeed. When people ask me what I eat for dinner and I say, 1 serving lean protein, 4 servings fresh vegetables, and one serving of a complex carbohydrate, they are often taken aback. “Certainly, you are doing something else and are not telling me! Where’s the protein powder? ” Where do you buy your fish? Do you really have a carbohydrate at night? Do you eat organic vegetables only? This can’t be! Eating is so much more complex!
Well Not Really
Simplicity allows us to appreciate the execution more than the cleverness of our plan. Complexity is mostly about being clever. Simplicity is about execution. In eating simply, and in eating cleanly, lays appreciation in the enjoyment of eating.
The only place for complexity is in the minds of the uninitiated. Surgery can be complex, but not to surgeons. Building huge structures can be complex, but not to architects and engineers. Rocket science is complex, but not to rocket scientists.
What you and I do at the dinner table and what we need to focus on is back to the basics of feeling good about what we enjoy eating that is healthful and diverse. There’s no room for complex surgery at the dinner table. There’s no room for building huge structures at the dinner table. And there’s no room for rocket science at the dinner table. There’s only garlic, good olive oil, and slow cooking. And hopefully a dollop of interesting conversation.
Don’t Misunderstand – Simple Isn’t Easy
Simple doesn’t mean easy. Telling the truth is simple. Telling the truth can be both difficult and painful. Being clear and helpful often isn’t easy either. Try writing instructions for tying a shoe and you will see that it’s not easy. And yet, shoe-tying is simple – for most folks.
Listening to people is simple. Actually doing it isn’t easy. It often requires self-discipline.
Apologizing is simple. Yet, sometimes it is the hardest thing in the world to do.
Letting go is simple but it is never easy.
Garlic and Olive Oil
The more times we can eat with the simplicity of garlic slowly sautéed in olive oil the better our healthy life becomes. The better our healthy life becomes, the more “happy normal” we become. Getting rid of food complexity and too many choices in our lives is far more valuable than devising a clever eating scheme that gets our attention briefly, but has no staying power.
For an interesting read that focuses on taking the mystery out of eating, author Michael Pollan in his book Food Rules: an Eater’s Manual, does an incredible job of helping readers apply 3 basic yet often ignored food rules to their daily lives:
1. Eat food (you’ll be surprised how what we often eat is not really food).
2. Eat mostly plants.
3. Don’t eat too much.
There’s little scientific research in his book stating that “humans haven’t needed nutrition science to survive in the past several millennia, and neither do we,” however, Dr.Pollan, professor at the University of California, Berkeley, does refer readers to his other book In Defense Of Food for the science behind his rules in his more recent book.
One Last Secret
Complexity is usually just a lot of simple things played out in a smart sequence.
So, what’s your garlic and olive oil?
Looking good, feeling good and performing great is central to good health!
by IcennaEmach | Aug 29, 2011 | Uncategorized
The work I am doing now requires more skills and discipline than I typically exert. It is especially taking more discipline because I’m working on a more concise writing style and my personal blogging deadlines are looming. At the same time, I am working with a renewed vigor on my training runs preparing for an upcoming 10 mile run. Eating well to run well is requiring more focus and discipline than I recently have been accustomed to.
All of this makes me think about discipline, and especially of the commonly held myths about discipline.
Discipline is Not Willpower
I remember reading a story about a guy who wanted to practice his guitar more. He put sticky notes on his calendar to remind him to play the guitar. Yet, after a busy day at work, he would come home, sit down, relax and watch TV, forgetting to play the guitar. One day, it dawned on him. He realized that the reason he wasn’t reaching for the guitar was that it was in his closet. He took his guitar out of the closet and placed it between the couch and the TV. He could not watch TV without moving his guitar out of the way. Pow! Instant improvement. He practiced the guitar every evening.
Discipline is Not Willpower
Discipline is setting up the perfect environment to achieve the goals you have.If you want the perfect book for this, read Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, by Chip and Dan Heath. Switch tells us that it is so hard to make lasting change because there is a conflict that’s built into our brains. Our minds are ruled by two different systems—the rational mind and the emotional mind—each competing for control. My rational mind wants my body to be a fit, lean, running machine. My emotional mind wants to relax with a good book poolside and enjoy the rest of the day after a busy workday with clients.
If you have already read Switch but still haven’t changed your environment to accomplish what you want to do, then read it again.
Success Breeds Success
Start by finding something moderately challenging. Build the appropriate environment to succeed. Once you get into a steady flow of daily activities, you begin to expand your goals to accomplish something more.
The key is to put just enough pressure on yourself so that you feel challenged, yet not so much that you feel overwhelmed by the tasks. Gradually, without thinking about it much, you begin instinctively to make plans for more accomplishments. And this is what we call the beginnings of lifestyle change! I’m not referring to the tasks that are set initially that are contrived (such as with our guitar player whose goal it was just to practice daily). I am referring to the intricate webbing, endless adaptability, and fascinating transformations that takes place inside our heads when we accomplish what we set out to accomplish thereby automatically desiring to do better! For a fascinating read on the gap between science and self-help, Norman Doidge, M.D.in his book, The Brain That Changes Itself, expands in great detail on the stories of personal triumph and how the science of the brain can be utilized to better ourselves.
Back To the Guitar Player
Remember that guitar player? He had an original goal to practice more. He set a time to practice. He practiced his guitar. He stopped. No pressure – just doing the time. What we don’t see going on in his brain is the increasing desire that builds as he practices daily. Hmmm… “Maybe I can buy another song book tomorrow after work?” Hmmm… “Maybe I can take a few lessons on Saturday afternoons?” You get the idea. Our guitar friend started with setting up the right environment by placing his guitar in the living room next to the TV. After a few weeks, his visions were greater. His desire was greater. His motivation for more intricacy was greater.
There is one other thing our guitar friend did that I didn’t tell you about. In the early stages of playing, he rewarded himself for practicing his guitar. He watched TV after he practiced his guitar. Guess what happened after a few months. His guitar playing became his own reward, and he stopped watching TV completely after work.
Does this sound a little hokey? It does. I admit. But, it’s called changing lifestyle, and you can apply this to bettering your health. I am confident that when you feel great about moving more and being in a solid exercise flow, you will feel more inspired to eat better and to train more.
This approach requires inside out thinking – going within yourself to determine What Matters, as discussed in the About page of BodySmartInc. In the case of our guitar playing friend, he determines that practicing the guitar is What Matters to him.
What is it that Matters to you?
Discipline is the Ladder
Discipline is the ladder that will get you from where you are to where you want to be. If you desire to be more active, set a time and minutes per week to engage in an activity. Don’t worry about what is the best activity, just do what you like. Specificity will come later, as our guitar playing friend can attest. When you can do the minutes without flinching, increase the frequency and let the intricate webbing of your mind unfold and stir excitement. This is the “trick”, although not a trick at all, to making your health a lasting lifestyle change. This, is the “happy normal”, you can obtain.
Discipline is the ladder you can set against the wall that is between you and what you want. It’s not something to be longing for; it’s something you can accomplish by starting small, setting up the best environment, being consistent, rewarding your accomplishments, and then building on your successes.
Where do you want to place that ladder? What is the wall you want to climb over so you may have a “happy normal”?
Looking good, feeling good and performing great is central to good health!
Kim
by IcennaEmach | Aug 22, 2011 | Uncategorized
Imagine that you are not really a builder but you are a very handy person, someone who is handy enough to cobble together a beach shack, your dream getaway. Because you are so handy, you think of yourself as a builder and you do it. You buy a spot on the beach, you buy some lumber, some plywood, some drywall, some shingles, a keg of nails and you roll up your sleeves and go to it. You build a place where you, your family, and a few good friends can get away and just unwind and have fun.
The big problem is that you have built your home on sand. You are soon horrified to discover that everything in it is becoming topsy-turvy. The floors tilt, the window panes crack, the staircase has shifted so much your guests have put a ladder up to the window in their bedroom to use instead of the stairway. As things shift, you think, “This is horrible, this house wasn’t built on a solid foundation. I built on sand! I’ll never be able to fix this, but if I don’t keep on trying, I’ll die.”
In this parable, you are tremendously fearful. You know that in spite of your investment in buying the beach plot and in spite of all of your hard work in building your dream getaway, in spite of the continuous and exhausting patchwork, you are constantly doing; your dream beach house is disappearing. You are so frightened. It is all tumbling down and when it does you will simply die. Your dreams, your hopes, all shattered. Your family, your friends, so disappointed. It is all so terrible, you will just die!
But That’s Not Really What Happens
When you stop the frantic patchwork, the house will fall apart. That part is true. But everyone will get out. Your friends, your family, you, all of you will get out . . . safely. It is true that you will not have a beach-house retreat – for a while. But that will only be temporary. You can rebuild. When you do, you will need a solid foundation obviously. It would be foolish to rebuild on sand. But everyone will make it out alive. A new beach-house will be built, this time on a solid foundation of piling deeply driven to withstand the shifting sands. No one will die – not even from mortification. Life will go on
It’s Really Not Death We Fear
That fear of death is actually misplaced. The ‘Builder’ thinks its death he or she fears. But what the ‘Builder’ fears is truth. “Death” isn’t death in this parable. It is the truth that is feared. The Builder did it wrong. The Builder could not sustain their house built on sand. The Builder was going to let some people down, was going to disappointment those who were near and dear to him. That truth even when it is not death, but when it is harsh and painful and fearful, often gets confused with death, with something we want to avoid, with something we do not want to face.
But We Always Live
What the Builder does next is What Matters. Because we all live, we will feel anger, disappointment, grief, sadness, inadequacy, and a whole raft of other emotions. They pile up beside us like the tilted floors, shifted staircase or cracked windowpane in the dream-house built on sand. But when we reflect and examine how those feelings came into being then the obvious next step is to rebuild with a solid foundation and more knowledge. And to gain more knowledge it makes sense to seek out better teachers who can teach us the fundamentals of building a solid foundation that will resist the shifting sands.
We are all builders in one way or another as we strive to live more healthful, leaner, and energetic lives. We have all let a few houses fall but what we do next is What Matters most. Looking good, feeling good and performing great is central to good health!
Kim
by IcennaEmach | Aug 1, 2011 | Uncategorized
Many of you have been reading my blog for a couple of years now. And it has occured to me that often times I write very differently than other health writers. This may be viewed as a positive trait by some yet a negative trait by others. Hopefully you are in the former group!
The reason I mention this is that one of my readers recently brought to my attention, that although my blogs are interesting( thanks!), they often lack “step by step approaches” to bettering his health.
Well this got me thinking, and what it evolved into was a 17 hour weekend of pondering and writing on the topic of ABOUT. I asked myself the question my reader was basically asking me “What are your blog posts about? And Why do you write the way you write?
Below is what I came up with. Many thanks to my questioning reader. If it wasn’t for him I may not have done the needed work to help me, and in turn help you get closer to your vision of what your healthy life can be!
What is This Blog ABOUT?
It is about becoming lean, fit, healthy, and strong by focusing on the 5 essentials of healthy living you see on the clipboard.
It is not about focusing on the gimmicks of weight loss tactics that surround us daily in the media. It is about the The BodySmartWay of bringing health, pleasure, and satisfaction back to the way we live by focusing on keeping our health needs simple, realizing that movement is life regardless of disabilities, surrounding ourselves with positive influences that encourage our efforts, understanding the need for human help in change, and progressing through lifestyle challenges without the high stress factor of desperate attempts.
Inside-Out Approach
Most of my adult life I’ve taken an inside-out approach to living. An inside-out approach to healthy living means focusing on all the areas of our healthy lives we have control over instead of those areas we have little control over. It means paying less attention to the goal, whatever it may be such as weight loss, decreased blood pressure, decreased blood sugars, increased bone mass etc. and emphasizing only the skills we have or can acquire to arrive at the goal.
What Did I Do?
As a young adult, I had a propensity to break everything involving fitness down to the most detailed of factors. When I was 14 and planning the outline of training runs I would implement to obtain my personal best 10 kilometer run, it occurred to me that there were many things I could control in aiming to achieve a faster time.
I listed everything that came to mind that I could control to give me a faster time. Here’s a peek at a partial list as noted in my journal of May 1977.
1. Eating better to run faster
2. Inspiring articles to run faster.
3. 8 hours of sleep to run faster.
4. Daily stretching to run faster.
5. Relaxation exercises and afternoon naps to run faster.
6. Appropriate recovery days to run faster.
7. Eating less to lose 8 lbs to run faster.
8. Carbohydrate loading to run faster.
9. Running faster shorter distances to run faster.
10. Keeping hydrated to run faster.
My full list included many more details of an ideal training regime. I tell you this for two reasons. One is to say that an inside out approach with all its controllable features is a great start for bettering ourselves and our individual goals. But the second reason I tell you this is to illuminate what I learned that is even more important than simply trying to control everything in my life. What I learned about myself convinced me that although an inside-out approach is great thinking, it must be a “Focused What Matters Most Approach” that ultimately aids in achieving healthy living goals. Let me illustrate.
Here’s What I learned About Myself
I learned there are many things I can control in my life and in running faster in general.
I loved writing a grocery list each week of healthy foods that could help me run faster. I loved just going out and running at an easy pace with no regard for time. I loved consuming just the right amount of water as suggested by the Runner’s World Magazine Team; I loved stretching my limbs out under the oak tree on our front lawn after a long training run. This was all good stuff as a child growing up. It set the stage for feeling confident that I could control my destiny.
I soon realized however, that for all my hard work in controlling the above features to become a faster runner, I was really taking the easy way out. It was a rough but needed reality. I conveniently got bogged down in all the minutia of how to run faster, and chose to ignore the 2 most beneficial controllable factors on my list that could make me a faster, more efficient runner. I’ll tell you what these are in a moment.
Within 3 months of implementing these two factors from my long list, I ran my first sub- 40 minute 10 k run. Always priding myself on taking an inside out approach to running and learning I finally came to terms with what was really occurring. I focused on those things I could control that were easy. That’s correct, easy. Those articles I read about in Runner’s World Magazine that were going to take me to the next level as a runner: stretching, drinking more water, taking naps, carbohydrate loading, and running slow and long were easy to implement. I enjoyed all this detail. But….
I was derailed in my thinking. I was derailed by all the seemingly important detail I read about. I allowed all the easy to implement information to become most important while ignoring the 2 most significant items on the list that were holding me back from reaching my 10 kilometer running goal. Sadly, I conveniently ignored these two factors :
1. More intense fast short training runs.
2. Eating Less.
Leaving the long list behind and scribbling a few sentences aimed at helping me run my first sub-40 minute 10 kilometer race, I wrote:
1. What Matters Most: Run faster, harder, shorter distances in training.
2. What Matters Most: Lose 8 pounds.
How Can This Blog Help Me, I’m not a Runner?
Many of you want to lose weight, become more fit, and increase your chances of maintaining the lifestyle you enjoy currently. You are aware that high blood pressure, high blood sugar, increased cholesterol, and high triglycerides are all markers of a poor quality of life to come if you do not make lifestyle changes now. You also may realize you are tired of living in the constrained box of life that comes with increased body mass indexes. You know a change in your body weight not only reflects better on how you look, but also in how you feel about your life, your relationships, as well as your attitude about life and living in general.
We Are Inundated With Too Much Information For Real Change to Occur.
On a daily basis we are inundated with do-this-don’t-do-that kind of thinking.
• Sip this juice to rid yourself of diabetes.
• Eat this fruit to drop a size in two weeks.
• Reduce back pain with this one super exercise.
The list goes on. The “How-To” articles are endless. We do not need more dieting techniques to try out, exercises to implement, more vitamin pills to swallow, more varieties of waters to drink, or a more abundant range of food items from which to choose.
“Experts” have told us what to do and how to do it for far too long. Ironically, we are not becoming any leaner as evidenced by our government’s 2011 health statistics. And paradoxically we are becoming less happy in our desperate attempts to lose weight and become lean, fit, energetic, engaging, and satisfied with our lives people
Through the BodySmartWay’s complimentary articles, online and telephone coaching/training sessions, and products, it is my hope you realize there is a better way of being while striving to obtain a more lean and fit body image. You will hopefully see that gaining a BodySmartWay perspective, allows you to smartly de-emphasize the actual weight loss goal, better health numbers, less body joint pains, or just a more physical way of being, and concentrate on the most important behaviors that Really Matter Most in reaching your personal lifestyle goals.
Having been in the fitness fields my entire adult life, and having worked with hundreds of clients of diverse backgrounds, I am excited to report there is a definite trend in a smart direction. Savvy people do not want to be anxious desperate dieters haphazardly trying out advertising dieting tactics and fitness tips with no clear vision of how it makes sense in their lives.
What is That Direction?
People are becoming smart about exercising. They are becoming smart about eating for health, and yes, for pleasure too. And people are relaxing and working in balance, forming meaningful relationships, and realizing the value of why dieting without perspective and with too much needless information is short lived.
Worlds are Changed by Perspective. Lifestyles Can Be Changed By Perspective.
We are gaining a new perspective and it shows. We know we need more inspiration, and less ineffective information. We know we need more people helping people make sense of living a life of health, pleasure and satisfaction, while improving in a meaningful manner that is sensitive to individual lifestyles, ways of learning, and ways of being. Fortunately, the more I engage with people, the more hopeful I am they are becoming increasingly savvier in their lifestyle approaches. They are realizing the old ways of dieting and striving to live a healthful engaging life are old style thinking. Increasingly, today’s consumers, I am happy to report are refusing to get inundated with all the healthy living hype and are focusing on What Really Matters Most in achieving healthy, fulfilling, more fit, lithe lives!
This Blog is about What Matters Most
I Hope it Helps.
Best Regards,
Kim Miller
by IcennaEmach | Jul 11, 2011 | Uncategorized
Do you ever wonder why you are successful at managing your career, your kids, your budget, and your often crazy social calendar, but for some mad reason, you can’t manage your weight? You’ve got what it takes – you just need a little coaching.
“Do not look for expensive cures, new age fads.
Examine your thinking.”
~ © Alison Stormwolf ~
This Advice from poet Alison Stormwolf, is projected on a screen before each health seminar I host. This candid saying serves as a reminder that healthy living is about controlling our minds. On first appearances, it seems out of place in a healthy living seminar. However, as the weeks progress, members within the group are not only more aware of the mindset needed for healthy change, but are more capable of producing the actions needed to live a more healthful, energetic, and carefree life.
With no mention of weight loss as an outcome of the group health coaching seminar, you may be thinking, “So…. tell me ….how much weight do the members lose?” Good question, since losing weight is on many people’s minds as we enjoy mid summer activities. Let’s revisit this question of weight loss for a moment though, as some perspective needs to be shed in order to get up to speed on why focusing on health living perspectives vs. dieting information results in not merely a leaner, lighter, stronger and more beautiful body, but is a more effective and savvier approach than the old school mentality of “munching on celery while secretly craving corn bread.”
A little healthy living perspective on information overload
“I Can’t Think!” is the title of a recent health article by Sharon Begley in Newsweek magazine. Decision Science has only recently begun to make sense of research on how the brain processes information, but scientific evidence is suggesting we are living in an age of info-paralysis that is very difficult to prevent. Scientists repeatedly show that increased information leads to objectively poorer choices, and often times down – right bad decisions. In our health information overload society where we’re inundated with “do this – don’t do that, eat this – not that” kind of logic, it seems we are doomed for failure when it comes to healthy living and weight loss attempts.
What is a person to do? Psychologist Joanne Cantor author of the book Conquer Cyber Overload and Professor emeritis at the University of Wisconsin, says, “it is so much easier to look for more and more information than sit back and think about how it fits together.” When it comes to dieting, you’ve probably surmised, this is what’s happening to many of us who read countless articles online, in our e-mails, in e-books, paper books, not to mention( sigh) all the dvd’s, cd’s and I pod downloads we listen to in the hopes, by osmosis, we’ll lose weight, get fit, and live happily ever after. If our busy lives could be that easy!
Growing body of evidence
There is a growing body of evidence concluding that a more reasoned, mindful behavior style approach is not only more effective to weight loss, but most effective in keeping weight off for good. Increasingly, many coaches today trained in the area of positive living and healthy weight loss are turning their clients on to a behavior style approach for lasting change.
Coach Kellie hall of Atlanta, Georgia explains to her clients how behavior change is most difficult initially, but that the results can be life altering . “Change is most difficult in the beginning, in large part due because our habits are ingrained in the neural pathways in our brain. By repeating a new behavior over and over, and in small increments, such as eating fruit for dessert instead of pie, we are forging new pathways in the way we think and act.” Thanks to neuroplasticity which is the ability of our brain to change in response to new experiences, we have the capacity to change our habits, creating new neuropathways, and experiencing life in a whole new, more engaging, more meaningful, and more effective manner.” This new behavior which was once monumental, she explains, “becomes automatic when a behavior style approach is fostered.”
In my field of health coaching, potential clients are coming in restless. They know they need to lose weight, but they also realize changing behaviors is no longer an option. This is a good thing however, as it signifies a needed mind-shift that is necessary for real and lasting change to occur. In the past I would have to convince people of the merits of losing weight through behavior change, but now they are increasingly coming in with a driven sense of purpose for a smart plan that compliments their lives but yet is inspired by their own talents, strengths, motivations, and desires. I like to kid my clients and say what I do is make them smart. In reality, they are the smarty pants. I just nudge them along until they see how to make sense of applying the most personally meaningful health information smartly, just as they do with their own careers, families, and social affairs.
Stop the Busy work
In your desire to lose weight you may have found it easier to keep reading the vast amount of information, than to process what appears to be most important. If this is you, here’s where to begin. Make no bones about it, smart savvy readers know traditional dieting is not the answer to losing weight. We are looking for solutions to lose weight, feel better, and look better, and know that ultimately changing behaviors is a definite must do. Here’s how to begin. Read the following.
Note the mind-shift needed and start putting healthy living into action today!
Step One: Use movement to inspire you
Mind-shift needed
Movement has the capacity to inspire a vision of how we want to live and feel.
Action
Move more daily. Tell someone. Start today. Worry about the details later.
On the opening day of my healthy living seminars, I encourage clients to begin their daily routines with exercise. The act of moving our bodies makes us feel better about ourselves, has the capacity to inspire a vision of how we want to live. And it makes us feel better about our lives in general. Movement sparks in us a desire to do better at whatever we do!
One client of mine illustrates this ability of exercise to enhance her life when she tells the group, “I went for a walk yesterday and without even trying I ate less at dinner.” This is the power of what exercise can do. “It makes me feel more alive”, says another member, “It makes me realize there are other things to do besides eating.” Don’t get me wrong”, she continues, “I still enjoy eating, and I know it’s ok to like to eat, but I am beginning to feel more satisfied and in control of how much I really need to eat. Eating is more enjoyable when you know you did a little work for it.”
As a health coach I encourage people to expand on these thoughts. Talking cements these connections in place so we’re more apt to continue healthful ways. We don’t get all emotional. We simply tell it like it is and carry on. This, to me, is the beauty of how others who are in similar situations can propel themselves forward. Exercise, combined with articulating connections undoubtedly helps us to see more clearly the possibilities of how we can, and will lose weight. Tell a friend. Tell a spouse. Your life is important. But just go out and exercise! We’ll work on the details later.
Step Two: Seek Progress Not Perfection
Mind-shift needed
Seek progress not perfection. Do not use perfectionism to quit trying.
Action needed
Take baby steps. Start small with exercise and healthy eating changes.
Coach Kate Larsen said it best in her book, Progress Not Perfection: Your Journey Matters, when she illustrates the importance of progress as a means of measurement instead of perfectionism Too often it seems we get caught up in this all or nothing attitude. You’ve heard it before, “I’m going to lose weight; I do nothing half way and this includes weight loss!” These people typically fail, and often are the ones that use this approach as an excuse to stop trying to lose weight and get healthy. “I’m a capable person. If I’m going to do this it will be with gusto – exercising 2 hours a day and eating nothing but clean food. That’s just the way I am!” It may sound heroic, but the truth is, ironically these actions reflect the opposite. They have used perfectionism as an excuse to stop trying.
Don’t let this be you. Weight loss is not about being perfect. The true heroes persevere, and do not use this mindset as an excuse to give up. A persevering mind is a strength. Let this be you.
Step Three: Focus on what really matters in weight loss
Mind-shift needed
Savvy people don’t get caught up in all the hype of dieting tactics. They get down to business and get the job done.
Action needed
Stop reading expert advice tips. Get real. Eat less of whatever you eat and get started now.
“Should I eat only protein and vegetables at dinner time? Should I eat fruit with every meal or just in the morning?” Here’s my best advice to you if you feel inundated with do- this not- that kind of information – stop reading. It’s paralyzing you into inaction. Here’s what you need to know. You will lose weight if you eat three quarters to half of what you normally eat during most meals of the day. That’s it. “Really”, says one client, “I am so tired of all the information out there.” When asked to describe what he feels is holding her back from losing weight, she pauses and says, “I just eat too much. But then sometimes I hardly eat, and then I eat again too much.” I can’t tell you how often I hear this in training and coaching clients. It’s ok though. Awareness is the first stage of weight loss.
We all know what to do. We’ve just allowed ourselves to get consumed with tidbit dieting techniques because that is how advertising affects us. However, advertising cannot get all the blame. Too often we use dieting techniques as a diversion to keep from doing the real work of eating less.
Make it your job to focus on decreased food consumption regardless of what you typically eat. As with exercise, we can work on the details later. It’s not necessary to change everything all at once. Eating less works! And it works with whatever foods you are familiar with eating. You will see beautiful results. You will feel beautiful results. Think about this. Really! We are silly. “We must start thinking rationally again!” By the way these are not my words, but the words of one group member that lost 17 pounds in 11 weeks.
Step Three: Weigh yourself to keep awareness
Mind-shift needed
Don’t be afraddy cat of the scale. It’s a valuable tool that keeps you aware. Recognize the power of accountability.
Action needed
Weigh yourself daily; naked if you must. Record to further cement your conviction.
Awareness is Key Factor to Weight Loss
Weigh yourself. It’s ok. A daily “weigh in” compels us to be aware. You will hear different opinions on this, but those who weigh themselves daily hold themselves accountable increasing their resolve. Weighing ourselves helps because it compels us to be aware. If you don’t think this is true, then consider if you ever purposely did not weigh yourself after a day or two of eating too much. You did this because you did not want to deal with reality. Getting on the scale daily is a tough discipline to establish, not physically of course, but mentally.
We love to be weighed when we know we’ve lost weight, but the challenge is to weigh ourselves after a full day of eating too many calories. This is where most people stop.
Go ahead, get on the scale. Let reality set in and get going again. Keep in mind that it is all about progress not perfection. You will lose the weight you need to lose to feel better and look better if you keep this mindset and commit to simply continuing on. “Think of it this way”, says one client who lost 42 lbs, “It’s not like you are starting all over again when you get on the scale and your weight is up, you are just continuing with trying to reach your goals and life goes on. If I got upset about a weight increase every time it happened, I’d never lose weight. I have to keep on moving. It’s the only way. And the sooner you realize it, the better. “
It is insight such as this that has helped me as a health coach and trainer realize that weight loss is best done in the context of joyful living. And this is the 5th mindful connection that if acquired can help you not only lose weight and keep it off, but will elevate your life in ways you’ve never imagined.
Step Three: Live joyfully while losing weight
Mind-shift needed
We change best in the context of positive living.
Action needed
Exude confidence and good cheer as you go about your weight loss journey.
Live joyfully while losing weight. Sounds a little hokey I admit, but this field of health coaching changes not just those who I assist, but it has changed me as well. Years ago, I never fully realized the impact positive living and attitude had on our ability to change. Like everyone else, I did not discount its significance, but I never gave the idea that we change best in the context of positive living the status that it deserved.
Since the time I began coaching, I’ve learned much about what positive living really means, and especially what it means in changing some of my own behaviors. What prompted me to include positive living into my own seminars is that I was seeing a pattern of how people dealt with weight loss.
Many people literally tried to make their life miserable while striving to obtain a desired weight. One 40ish male said he was going to work out 3 hours a day until he lost 20 lbs. I thought to myself at the time that reality TV was making his life miserable.
Another woman said she was not going to go out with friends until she was thin. Another client admitted that in years past she would punish herself while dieting by not letting herself go on vacation until she weighed a certain amount. Maybe these extremes are not indicative of how you lose weight, but what I know is that we have to stop the insanity of punishment as a means to better ourselves.
During times of behavior change we need to be driving ourselves in the opposite direction. We need to ask ourselves how to establish an environment that is conducive for healthy change.
Scientists know rewards are central to continued behavior change. We should be rewarding ourselves after a day, week, or month of behavior changes. Our brain functions best with a reward system and scientists have unlocked the secret that cements the newly learned brain connections so necessary for lifelong change. I tell my clients, “Go ahead. Make your environment beautiful. Reward yourself for doing a fine job. Go to the movies. Go out and enjoy your vacation. Have a party for friends and enjoy it all. What really is the point of losing weight if we are not experiencing life as it is now?”
In essence, whether our goal is to lose a few pounds or many, waiting to be happy and content with all things in our life before we begin a plan of healthy living should not be a prioroty. Go ahead and begin today. Follow these five mind-shifts, and get moving with a more enlightened, smart, and savvy weight loss approach illustrative of today’s new generation of smart weight loss losers!
Our Wealth is in Our Health,
Kim
[email protected]
904 501 6002
