Weight Loss success is more often than not Mind over Body. Here are some strategies that will help you overcome the sense of deprivation that often accompanies dieting.
Know yourself! Know when your most vulnerable moments are. Know when you are most susceptible to being sabotaged by your partner’s sneer, your mother’s disbelief, your sister’s insistence that you don’t have it in you. (Families are so supportive, aren’t they?) Understand that your decision to change challenges their status quo and families are known to resist change (Don’t rock the boat!). Once you understand where your Achilles’ heel is, develop a list of strategies to deal with the issue when it rises. Arm your mind: if you understand where they are coming from, it is easier to be less defensive and submissive. Arm your fridge: should you be swayed by these difficult moments to binge, have a whole fridge of allowable snacks so that even though you indulge in 2, 3 items, there is no harm done.
Plan your day ahead. If you must have a snack before bedtime, make sure that you have low-fat, high protein snacks accessible in the fridge so that you do not opt for what’s left over from dinner instead. There is less likelihood that you will sabotage your weight loss program if you have nutritious and allowable snacks available at all times.
Eat 5-6 smaller meals a day (3 meals plus 2 snacks). Make your body think "abundance", and it will expend more calories. Do not skip meals as this makes you body go into “starvation mode” and your body will respond to that by shutting down your metabolism.
Measure yourself before you start your weight loss program and once a week after that. Measure your upper arms, chest, waist, hips, upper thighs, ankles, wrist. Record your measurements faithfully. If you are following your weight loss program carefully, you will notice a change in measurements very quickly. You will lose in inches; your clothes will feel looser. This will give your mind positive re-inforcement. Do not weigh yourself everyday. Your weight is not really an accurate measure of your progress because weight is dependent on time of day and hormonal fluctuations.
Exercise 4-5 times a week. Work towards doing 30 minutes of cardio (walking, running, cycling) and 15 minutes of weight training. Use visualization to make exercise an active part of the New Beanutiful You.
Reward yourself in ways other than food. Buy a new dress. Go see a movie. Take a weekend trip. Go dancing. Enjoy the new lifestyle you have created for yourself. See it not as a short term goal; instead focus on making the changes lifelong habits. You will forever be eating well, exercising well, taking care of yourself so that you will look great, feel great, be great!Be proud of yourself: you have trained your Body to be an extension of the Mind!
The Midas Story Revisited
The Midas story is often seen as a parable that warns against greed. What if there is another meaning to the tale which suggests that Midas' problem is not that he asked for gold, but that he did not ask for more.How to Know Your Body
Knowing oneself is the basis of emotional, physical and spiritual health. Henry V, one of the most celebrated Kings in English history understood that his success as a King could come only with intimate knowleged about his people's situation. We can use the same dynamics of the "Body Politic" in coming to terms with our body.