BEST QUOTE OF THE WEEK



Reality check: you can never, ever, use weight loss to solve problems that are not related to your weight. At your goal weight or not, you still have to live with yourself and deal with your problems. You will still have the same husband, the same job, the same kids, and the same life. Losing weight is not a cure for life. ~Phillip C. McGraw, The Ultimate Weight Solution: The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom, 2003

REMEMBER, IT'S NOT WHAT YOU ARE EATING, BUT WHAT'S EATING YOU!!!!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

WEEK 4 EXCERCISE

Ouch, this one's going to hurt!!!!  This week our committment is to exercise 6 DAYS this week.  Only one day off!!!!  It may be walking, running, swimming, zumba or working out at the gym, but it has to be SOMETHING!!!! 

NO EXCUSES!!!!


This is the secret ingredient to weight loss and health!!!  Can't get around it, so GET MOVING!!!!!

If you hit a plateau on your journey, I guarantee this week will knock you off it.  If you haven't really made any eating changes or commitment, then this is the week for you.  Once you start exercising, you will be less hungry and also more motivated to stop the bad eating habits.

When you know you have to walk at least 15 mins briskly to work off just one cookie, you'll think twice about the cookie!!!!

Moderate excercise is sufficient.  You don't need to over exert yourself.  My goal heart rate is about 140 beat/min.  At that pace, I am only slightly out of breath and feel great afterwards.  I used to over excercise and then could not figure out why nothing was happening!!! 

DON'T OVERDO IT, JUST DO IT!!!!

Food for thought.......................


Good Luck everyone!!!  Look forward to your comments and success stories!

Monday, January 17, 2011

WEEK 3 THE PLAN


The Plan

It has only been two weeks people, can you imagine?!!!!!  Can you give up something for two weeks?  Can you change something for two weeks?  It takes only 21 days to change a habit for good, so let’s get excited about week 3....

We have made it through no sugar, no carbs (well almost!!!), some exercise and making better choices.  But where do we go from here?

We need a plan~~

Those who fail to plan, plan to fail!!!!

There has to be a program or a plan for your success.  For some it will be U-Weight loss or Weight Watchers, for others it might be their own plan, but in the end it MUST be a PLAN!!

I am using the weight watchers plan of writing everything I eat down, eating a limited amount of calories and avoiding sugar.  It is my own plan since I have been on every weight loss plan on the planet!!!!  I don’t want to view this as another weight loss plan that I going to fail, but a lifestyle shift that will last a lifetime!!!  I want to also do the Body for Life for Women plan...which will start in week 4 – Exercise!!!

What will you do?  I cant answer that for you or give you the PLAN.  That you have to seek out on your own!  Good Luck~~

Please continue on the AVOID SUGAR plan.  I have lost almost 10lbs by avoiding sugar, making better food choices and eating less!!!  I am realizing WHY I eat and addressing those issues....once I allow the feelings to happen, I am less apt to feel the compulsion to eat.  

AVOIDANCE is my biggest food trigger.  If I have a big task at hand, I will head to the kitchen to avoid getting into the work!!!!  So when I find myself doing that, I start the job at hand and say time to get it done and then it will be gone and the need to avoid will be over!!!!!  PROCRASTINATION only makes the job at hand worse!!!!

What will be your PLAN?!!!

TIP OF THE WEEK

Thanks Shawna for this valuable tip of the week!!!

If you want to lose a certain number of pounds, think of a bag of potatoes 5lb bag or 10lb bag.

Carry that bag of potatoes around with you for a while and see how it feels. That is what it is like to carry that extra weight on your body!!!

On the flip side...when you lift that bag of potatoes that is how much weight you have lost....do you want it back on again?!!!!

Whenever you feel temptation looming,....think POTOATOES!!!!! 
 

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Week 2: Commitment No Carbs Week


How did the abstinence from sugar go last week?  Did it fee like you were making a commitment?  If you were not 100% do not fret, because we are now entering week 2, commitment of the 12 weeks to better!!!!

COMMITMENT is also known as promise, pledge, vow, obligation, dedication, loyalty, faithfulness, responsibility.  We have a responsibility to look after our bodies and we are making a public pledge to eat better!!!.

Are you really serious about getting and feeling better?  Then this week is for you...the commitment is about drawing a line in the sand and making a promise to yourself and the team that we are going to do this and we are going to do this together.

So what is it that we are doing?  This week we are going to show our commitment by having a NO CARBS  week.   Think Atkins Diet..Google it if you wish.  You can find details of low carb diet/food options.  This one will be tough, but we weathered the storm last week with no sugar, so this should not be so bad.  It is only one week, only 7 days!!!!  No carbs also means NO SUGAR.   Sorry, but we do have to show our COMMITMENT by doing this for a week!!!

What are carbs?  Add these to the NO EAT ZONE;  Refined foods such as White Bread, Pasta, Rice, Cereal, Cookies etc.

But wait, there are good carbs too....you are allowed to eat Whole Grain foods, Rice Pasta, beans and fruits.  The more fibre the better, so again, read your labels.  When in doubt, fresh is best.
 
 Some food ideas: 
Breakfast;  fruit smoothie with yogurt and juice, porridge or hot oatmeal, eggs, one whole grain slice of toast with cheese or butter, Peanut butter is OK too!!!
Lunch:  Salad with tuna, beans, hard boiled eggs, oil and vinegar dressing or a burger without the bun with salad.  Try a Wendy’s salad. High in fat, but better than a burger, fries or sub!!!!  Any salad, vegetable or fruit.  All proteins and fats are ok.  You can have bacon and eggs, but no toast!!!!  Omelette with cheese, chicken fingers, but no fries etc.
Dinner:  Meat and veg basically.  Just keep that in mind and you won’t go wrong. 
Snacks:  Dried fruit, banana, nuts, veggies dipped in humus, water, water, water.

Warning:  Popcorn as a snack is a no-no...very high in Carbs.  Avoid it for this week.

If you can keep away from Carbs this week, I promise you will be rewarded next week.

         Avoid Fast foods
·         Plan ahead, bring your lunch...even a few slices of meat and salad go a long way.  Add in an apple/fruit and some almonds or dried fruit to snack on and you are good to go!!!

TIP OF THE WEEK

It is not what you are eating, but what is eating you!!!

In the book Women, Food and God, the author asks you to ask yourself why do you eat when you do and why do you eat what you eat?  Sometimes it is self-sabotage.  We just do it even though we know it is bad for us.  For others it could be habit, boredom, stress, worry, laziness, avoidance, anger, fear, sorrow, lack of acceptance, feeling of failure etc.  Keep a log of when you reach for the food and write down what you are feeling when you get those cravings?  You have to go there!!!.  You MUST allow those feelings to happen.  Quit eating your feelings.  What is the worst that can happen?  Let the emotion happen and it will pass.  Just like using your will power, it is only for short periods of time and then the feeling passes.    Embrace those feelings and understand them.  Once you conquer those feelings and no longer bury them, you will be ready to move forward.

LETS SEE IF YOU REALLY MEAN IT THIS WEEK!!!!


Monday, January 3, 2011

Week 1 - Detox

So it's week one officially.  Time to DETOX.  Rid you body of toxins like alcohol, sugar, carbs, etc.

This week the goal is to have NO SUGAR for one week.  That is the only thing you are not allowed!!! 

You will be amazed at how much sugar there is in everything we eat.  Check your labels!!!  Yup and alcohol is not allowed this week since it is also full of sugar!!!
NO SUGAR...It's only one week, so you can do it!!!

Find substitues...fruit, herbal teas, etc  There are some great detox programs you can use too.  Wild Rose from health food stores is an effective one.

Also drink lots of water which will help flush your system.

Check in next week for the continuing plan and don't forget to read the previous blogs especailly Happy New Year that explains the program.

Good Luck everyone!!!

TIP OF THE WEEK

WILL POWER BY THE HOUR
Can you imagine exercising 24/7?  It would be impossible to do.  So, it is good to know that we do not need to exercise our will power 24/7!!!!  That too is not possible.  Oprah said we only need to exercise our will power in very small quantities at only certain points of the day.  So when you get that sugar craving....believe me today I have been going mad over my sugar loss!!!, just use a little bit of will power and resist...Trust me, the moment will pass and you will have success!!  

Saturday, January 1, 2011

12 Week Plan


Week 1    Jan 3
Detox

Week 2    Jan 10            
Commitment

Week 3    Jan 17
Plan

Week 4    Jan 24                    
Exercise

Week 5    Jan 31                    
Refocus

Week 6    Feb 7              
Learn

Week 7    Feb 14    
Share

Week 8    Feb 21
Adjust
    
Week 9    Feb 28
Live

Week 10  Mar 7
Change

Week 11  Mar 14
Stay the Course

Week 12  Mar 21
The Beginning

Happy New Year

So this is the first post on the journey to 12 weeks to better!!!!

My first goal is to be brief and to the point!


My second goal is to be honest and hope to inspire us all to be better

My intention was to start the new year off right and lose weight, be healthier and be happier!!!  So I decided to recruit coworkers and friends to see if they too wanted the same things.  So I designed 12 Weeks to Better so we had a program to follow, but we could all do our own thing as long as we were following the topic of the week!!!

For me, accountability was key.  I needed to stay in touch with others to keep me on track and not fall off the wagon so to speak.  This blog is part of that plan.  Let's all lose and win together!!!  Please join and follow along!!!!

What to expect in up coming weeks:  Tip of the Week, Nuggets of Nutrition, Weight Loss Progress Chart, Progress Card, Star Rewards, Suggested Reading and more.....

This program is the collaboration of man y different programs extracted from many different books and programs.  I am a product of those who have succeeded before me!!!

Good Luck everyone!!!

INSPIRATION CORNER

Success is not a race, be patient.
Success leads to success.
Success is always a work in progress.
Success doesn't come to you--you go to it
.

Success is a journey, not a destination. Focus on the process.
Some people dream about success... while others wake up and work hard at it.
Success is achieved and maintained by those who try-and keep trying.
Everyday is a good day to SUCCEED!
If at first you don't succeed-try, try again

When you get to a plateau, think of it as a landing on the stairway to your goal. And maintenance is a lifelong plateau, so a bit of "rehearsal" for maintenance isn't the worst thing in the world.

"Any experience can be transformed into something of value. Everything depends on the way you look at things. You cannot have the success without the failures.

What are stumbling blocks and defeat before you, can be stepping stones to victory if you remain determined.

In all your adversities there lies the seeds of equivalent advantages. In every defeat there is a lesson showing you how to win the next time.

I wake up every day with the realization that this is it, that there's only one shot at this life and I can either enjoy the ride and live it to its fullest and to my highest potential or I can stay the way I am.

Make the decision, then do something - no matter how small - toward accomplishing what you want.

Persevere and you will win the prize.

You get whatever you settle for.

Your past does not equal, nor does it dictate, your future.

One definition of insanity is: Doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different result.

Do you choose to simply know the path, or do you choose to walk it?

We fail because we don't strike the iron while it's hot. We don't take immediate action toward achieving what we want. We decide to wait until tomorrow, or next week, or even next month.

It comes down to a simple question: what do you want out of life, and what are you willing to do to get it?

Be specific in what you want, and use specific words. Empower yourself, and become the person you dream about

Listen closely: the only time it's too late to change yourself is when you're dead. Until then, you're simply making excuses or lying to yourself.

If you didn't need a pill to get fat, why would you need one to get unfat?

You won't fail if you're not perfect, you'll fail if you're not committed to improving yourself slightly each day.

Rather than aiming for being perfect, just aim to be little bit better today than you were yesterday.

We can reverse years of damage to our bodies by deciding to raise our standards for ourselves, then living differently. Old wounds heal, injuries repair, and the whole system improves with just a few changes in what we put into our bodies and how we move them.

"Anything is possible, It's your choice whether or not you choose to make IT happen."

What would you attempt, if you knew you could not fail?

Discipline is remembering what you want.

"You have failed only when you quit trying. Until then, you're still in the act of progression. So, never quit trying and you'll never be a failure.---Tommy Kelley

"If we defend our habits, we have no intentions of quitting them."

"When one approach is not working to reach the desired goal, that's not a reason to abandon the goal. Instead, it is time to devise another approach."------Ralph Marston

If you want what you do not have, you must do what you have not done.

Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels.

IT'S NOT ABOUT HOW GOOD YOU ARE BUT HOW BAD YOU WANT IT!!

Food for Thought: The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Strengthen Your Desire! Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat.

Your body keeps an accurate journal regardless of what you write down...

Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future. ~ Deepak Chopra ~

He who gets up one more time than he falls, makes it through...

Determination today leads to success tomorrow!

Quitting is NOT an option.

I can do this...I know I can. It's just going to take time & patience.

Start doing what's necessary, then do what's possible, and suddenly you'll be doing the impossible!

"My life tomorrow will be the result of my attitudes and the choices I make today."

In this age, which believes that there is a short cut to everything, the greatest lesson to be learned is that the most difficult way is, in the long run, the easiest! --Henry Miller

My world is expanding as my butt is shrinking!

"Don't sacrifice your future for a momentary pleasure"

"Never give up on a dream just because of the length of time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway."

A year from now, you may wish you had started today- Robert Schuller

"If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you
always got"

"Never trade what you want the most for what you want at the moment"

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream;
not only plan, but also believe.
- Anatole France

Great changes may not happen right away, but with effort even the
difficult may become easy.
- Bill Blackma

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every
time we fall" confucious

"The greatest thing you have is the 24 hours in front
of you.
The past is gone; the future is distant.
Today you CAN succeed.
Set a goal you can achieve in the next 24 hours."


"Only those who risk going too far can
possibly find out how far one can go..."
-T.S. Eliot

"The fishermen know the sea is dangerous and the storms are
terrible, but they have never found this sufficient reason to remain
on shore." Vincent Van Gogh

"Obstacles are what we see when we take our eyes off the goal." Rita
Davenport

"The odds of hitting a target go up dramatically when you aim at
it."
Mal Pancoast

"Things that seem hard are not always that hard. Put one foot in
front of the other, and you'll get to the end."

"Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your Destiny." Frank Outlaw