foxfieldco
09-04-2004, 06:43 AM
Weight Watchers eTools article of the week: Identify Your Inner Strengths
~ Focus on Willpower
If there's ever been a goal that you really wanted to achieve like earning a college degree or landing a hard-to-get job you probably know that determination and a sincere effort are key factors in accomplishing your objectives. But what would have happened if you never bothered to enroll in school because you didn't think you were smart enough, or figured that the job market was too competitive, so you wouldn't even waste the stamp to mail your resume?
Without assertiveness and willpower, the goals that you are striving for become much less attainable. The same holds true in weight loss. Thinking that losing weight is too difficult for you attempt is certainly not going to help you lose the weight you want to lose. And since you really do want to lose weight, why not take the same determination and assertiveness that you used to achieve your past accomplishments, and apply them to this new goal of weight loss?
> Goodbye Won't-power, Hello Willpower
You may have heard your Leader or other Meetings Members talking about Empowering Beliefs, an effective resource from Weight Watchers Tools for Living, which can help you recognize and use your willpower and other inner strengths. Wanting to lose weight alone will not guarantee that it will happen. But pairing this desire with the belief that you are capable of losing weight can make all the difference in your weight-loss efforts.
So stop telling yourself that you won't be able to lose weight because you're too heavy, the overweight gene runs in your family, it's too hard because of your children or spouse these excuses are just that, excuses, and they're getting in the way of your inner strength. Instead, tell yourself that you have every resource that you need to achieve your weight-loss goals, then use those resources to your advantage. Tell yourself that you will lose weight, and watch what a little positive thinking can accomplish.
Use Your Natural Resources
Believing in yourself can be much easier when you know what you have to offer yourself in order to achieve your goals. For example:
Calling on the inner resources that have helped you in the past may give you the confidence to really give weight loss a go. When faced with a challenge, people often look to their own patience, sense of humor, commitment, focus, or desire. What are your best inner qualities? Can they help you through your weight-loss journey?
Does having the flexibility of two weight-loss plans with TurnAround help you feel more in control of your efforts to lose weight?
Are there resources on WeightWatchers.com that can help keep you motivated and enthusiastic? Maybe trying a new recipe from the Recipe Search or watching your progress in the Progress Charts?
~~~
~ 7 Ways to Improve Your Attitude
You're having one of those days where nothing is going right you're late for work, your computer crashed, you spilled coffee on your brand-new shirt. By the end of the day, you find yourself zombie-like in front of the television, asking yourself "Where is my life going? Where did I go wrong?" Indeed, a simple shift in attitude at some point during your waking hours could have turned your day around. But how do you do it? Set realistic, achievable steps, suggests Stephanie Marston, Ph.D., a family therapist in Santa Fe. Start with small things to improve your attitude and well-being.
Take a Friend to Lunch: Try taking a friend to lunch or dinner. Not only will you get a nice visit in with a friend you care about, but the act of generosity will likely boost your spirits.
Listen to Your Favorite Song: Carry a portable CD or tape player with you and listen to your favorite tunes. A recent study in the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia found that music decreased anxiety experienced by patients before surgery.
Discover the Extrovert in You: "Merely acting extroverted will make you feel happier," says William Fleeson, Ph.D., a psychology professor who studies happiness at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Fleeson suggests acting assertive, bold, adventurous, and talkative to practice being an extrovert.
Take Ten: Give yourself ten minutes out of every day to re-connect with yourself, suggests Marston. "We live in a fast-paced culture where we're all moving at warp speed with ridiculous to-do lists," she says. If we take time to be quiet, we can get in touch with our values and priorities. "With some adjustments and time, soon our outer life will be matching up with our inner life," she says.
Count Your Blessings: A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that individuals with a more grateful outlook on life exhibited a heightened state of well being. According to the study, "research has shown that gratitude is linked with positive emotions including contentment, happiness, and hope." At some point during the day, make a simple list of five or ten things that you are grateful for in your life.
Shake It Off: Try not to take things personally. Instead, develop the habit of looking at other people's actions as just the way they are and less of a personal statement about you. Keep in mind that you can't make another person change but you can change your own thoughts.
Just Say Om: Cultivate your spiritual side. This could mean checking out some meditation classes (often yoga studios are a good source), exploring the local religious centers in your neighborhood or asking a friend to recommend a good spiritual book.
~~~
~ The Secret to Weight Loss? Think Positive
As the seasons change, the sweaters move back into storage and out come the tank tops, the shorts and ugh, even the bathing suits. The very thought of squeezing yourself into one of those stretchy, skimpy things now is simply horrifying. But maybe a little self-image horror is just the catalyst you need to jumpstart your weight loss?
Nope. A study conducted at the Stanford University School of Medicine found that people who started a weight-loss plan feeling happiest with their bodies were more than twice as likely to lose weight as those least satisfied with their bodies.
Think Positive
Martha Lourey Bird, a fitness consultant from the University of New South Wales in Australia, agrees. "[The right] mindset and mood keeps you doing it," she says, "and exercise works as a mood enhancer."
So there it is a neat cyclic effect. You stay positive and plan to eat well and exercise. The exercise keeps you happy so you eat well and exercise and well, you get it. Pretty soon, you're well on your way into that svelte suit.
1, 2, 3 Summer!
You can do it! Here's how:
Mindset. Start here first. Accept yourself as a valuable, beautiful person. Talk to friends, doctors and other health professionals to identify how you can improve your health and appearance.
Food. Lose those "bad" tags for food. Start keeping track of what you eat, and search around for which foods will give you the most energy for the calories. Don't beat yourself up when you falter. Stay positive!
Exercise. Find an exercise you enjoy and you will more likely stick with it. Vary what you do: skip, swim, garden, vacuum, walk the dog it all counts as exercise and helps you toward your goal.
Indulge. Be nice to yourself and keep that positive mindset going! When you hit a milestone, do something decadent: Get a facial or buy a new lipstick!
~~~
~ Exercise That Empowers
Exercise is a powerful tool for self-improvement. Its benefits range beyond physical benefits to mental ones, from increased self-confidence to stress reduction. Not only will you see results, you'll feel them inside.
"Exercise is success or failure based on your own effort and on how you perceive your abilities," says Cee Cee Cunningham, a certified athletic trainer and spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise. Exercising gives you a sense of accomplishment, and it can trigger changes in your overall mental state, helping you focus, relax, cope and otherwise gain better control over your life.
Here are some exercises that can build your inner strength as much as your outer strength. They may help you shed a few pounds, too.
> Yoga
What It Is: A series of postures and deep-breathing exercises practiced as part of an ancient Indian system of philosophy.
Physical Results: Firms and tones muscles and increases flexibility.
How It Empowers: Increases self-confidence. "Yoga is not about changing who you are, but accepting who you are," says Ginger LaRoche, owner and certified yoga instructor at In Yoga in Marina del Rey, California. "When you get into a posture, you concentrate on how you feel and begin to become conscious of who you are." She adds, "You become awake in your life and therefore make better choices."
Yoga can also help you de-stress. Debbie Barnett, an instructor at Eric Mattingly's Cross-Training Fitness Center in Dallas, Texas, says, "You focus on deep breathing, which enables you to fully relax. When we get enough oxygen, we can fully relax and handle anything better, from losing weight to rush-hour traffic."
> Pilates
What It Is: Exercises done on specially designed equipment (or in modified form on mats) that help build your "core" your back, abs, inner thighs and hips.
Physical Results: Once you get your core stronger, your whole body becomes stronger. Pilates also increases flexibility.
How It Empowers: "Pilates improves your posture," says Melissa Siple, an American Council on Exercise master trainer and Pilates instructor in Warwick, Rhode Island. "It gives you a more confident carriage, which translates into a more confident character."
"It also increases your sense of control and self-awareness," says Cunningham. "It makes you feel more capable of everyday tasks."
> Weight Training
What It Is: A routine involving lifting weights to develop muscle free weights and weights on the bench.
Physical Benefits: Improves strength and builds muscle, which increases your calorie building at rest.
How It Empowers: Ever feel like weight training takes forever? Good. That means you're focusing and improving your concentration. For instance, "When you do a bicep curl, you concentrate on moving that muscle; you learn how to focus on it," says Derek Barton, a spokesperson at Gold's Gym International in Venice Beach, California. "Take that skill back to the office and apply it to any project."
Robin Dimaggio, a drummer based in Los Angeles and a member of Gold's Gym, says strength training has taught him how to pace himself. "I used to go onstage and play really hard, right away, and I lost my energy too soon. Since I've been exercising, I've learned how to pace myself, and I can get through a show more comfortably."
> Running
What It Is: Something many of us avoid.
Physical Benefits: Enhances endurance, aids in weight loss, and improves cholesterol, blood pressure and overall health.
How It Empowers: "You see someone who can't make it through it a 10-minute run, and soon they're doing fine with a 45-minute run," says Cunningham. "Runners really find a stick-to-it-ness."
Transfer that skill to work projects and relationships, and you're sure to find success. "There's also a release of endorphins, which can lead to stress and anxiety relief," says Cunningham. "And running is a great time to get introspective and contemplate the events of the day and how to deal with them."
~~~
~ 5 Ways to Energize Your Life
Your to-do list is enough to make you tired: Pick up dry cleaning, go to the gym, learn software, plan birthday party, prepare for tomorrow's meeting, et cetera. If only you had the energy to get it all done.
You can have more vim and vigor with just a few diet and lifestyle changes, like the ones below. Yes, do try these strategies at home, not to mention at work or at school. You won't be sorry.
Don't skip meals: To maintain your energy level, your body breaks down the food you eat into glucose, otherwise known as blood sugar the main fuel for your brain and sends a steady stream of it to your body's cells.
"To feel energized throughout the day, your blood glucose level should stay within a certain range," says Neva Cochran, MS, RD, a nutrition consultant based in Dallas. If your blood glucose drops too low which can happen if you go too many hours without eating you could feel lightheaded and lethargic, says Cochran. Your best bet: "Don't go more than four hours without eating something nutritious," Cochran advises.
Balance meals with carbohydrates, protein and fat: It's important to get a balance of food types -- no matter which plan you're on. "A combination of carbohydrates, protein and fat helps moderate blood glucose absorption so that your blood sugar rises gradually," says Cochran.
On the other hand, if you eat only carbohydrates, your blood glucose level could rise and drop quickly, leaving you hungry and low on energy within an hour or two after eating. Similarly, if you only eat protein, you'll get calories but they won't kick in fast enough to make you feel energized, says Cochran, because your meal's missing that carbohydrate-exclusive sugar-boost.
Activate your day: Even though you may feel pooped after your workout, moderate exercise can actually give you energy. "As you exercise, you use blood glucose," Cochran explains. Your body then pulls glycogen (the stored form of carbohydrate in the liver and muscles) into your bloodstream, which can ultimately make you feel more energized as your blood glucose level rises. To increase your general energy level, add more activity to your day. Cochran recommends revving up your daily routine, for example, by pacing when you're talking on the phone and taking the stairs at every opportunity.
Get an hour's more sleep. To function at your best, the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) recommends at least eight hours of sleep a night for adults. But according to a recent NSF poll, on average, adults sleep just under seven hours nightly during the work week.
With a chronic sleep deficit, you may be able to execute low-level mental chores such as figuring the tip on your lunch check, but it may take you longer. And say good night to multitasking and making sound judgment calls especially in crisis situations. All told, "anything that's not routine is difficult to do if you're tired," says Andrew A. Monjan, PhD, MPH, chief of neurobiology at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.
Nix caffeine. Granted, caffeine can be a quick picker-upper, because it stimulates brain cells. But if you have trouble getting to sleep at night, "avoid caffeine after lunch," advises Sonia Ancoli-Israel, PhD, director of the sleep disorders clinic at the Veterans Affairs-San Diego Health Care System. Besides obvious sources of caffeine coffee (103 mg caffeine/6 oz cup), tea (36 mg/6 oz cup) and cola beverages such as Diet Coke (46.5 mg/12 oz) take stock of your diet's hidden caffeine sources.
~ Focus on Willpower
If there's ever been a goal that you really wanted to achieve like earning a college degree or landing a hard-to-get job you probably know that determination and a sincere effort are key factors in accomplishing your objectives. But what would have happened if you never bothered to enroll in school because you didn't think you were smart enough, or figured that the job market was too competitive, so you wouldn't even waste the stamp to mail your resume?
Without assertiveness and willpower, the goals that you are striving for become much less attainable. The same holds true in weight loss. Thinking that losing weight is too difficult for you attempt is certainly not going to help you lose the weight you want to lose. And since you really do want to lose weight, why not take the same determination and assertiveness that you used to achieve your past accomplishments, and apply them to this new goal of weight loss?
> Goodbye Won't-power, Hello Willpower
You may have heard your Leader or other Meetings Members talking about Empowering Beliefs, an effective resource from Weight Watchers Tools for Living, which can help you recognize and use your willpower and other inner strengths. Wanting to lose weight alone will not guarantee that it will happen. But pairing this desire with the belief that you are capable of losing weight can make all the difference in your weight-loss efforts.
So stop telling yourself that you won't be able to lose weight because you're too heavy, the overweight gene runs in your family, it's too hard because of your children or spouse these excuses are just that, excuses, and they're getting in the way of your inner strength. Instead, tell yourself that you have every resource that you need to achieve your weight-loss goals, then use those resources to your advantage. Tell yourself that you will lose weight, and watch what a little positive thinking can accomplish.
Use Your Natural Resources
Believing in yourself can be much easier when you know what you have to offer yourself in order to achieve your goals. For example:
Calling on the inner resources that have helped you in the past may give you the confidence to really give weight loss a go. When faced with a challenge, people often look to their own patience, sense of humor, commitment, focus, or desire. What are your best inner qualities? Can they help you through your weight-loss journey?
Does having the flexibility of two weight-loss plans with TurnAround help you feel more in control of your efforts to lose weight?
Are there resources on WeightWatchers.com that can help keep you motivated and enthusiastic? Maybe trying a new recipe from the Recipe Search or watching your progress in the Progress Charts?
~~~
~ 7 Ways to Improve Your Attitude
You're having one of those days where nothing is going right you're late for work, your computer crashed, you spilled coffee on your brand-new shirt. By the end of the day, you find yourself zombie-like in front of the television, asking yourself "Where is my life going? Where did I go wrong?" Indeed, a simple shift in attitude at some point during your waking hours could have turned your day around. But how do you do it? Set realistic, achievable steps, suggests Stephanie Marston, Ph.D., a family therapist in Santa Fe. Start with small things to improve your attitude and well-being.
Take a Friend to Lunch: Try taking a friend to lunch or dinner. Not only will you get a nice visit in with a friend you care about, but the act of generosity will likely boost your spirits.
Listen to Your Favorite Song: Carry a portable CD or tape player with you and listen to your favorite tunes. A recent study in the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia found that music decreased anxiety experienced by patients before surgery.
Discover the Extrovert in You: "Merely acting extroverted will make you feel happier," says William Fleeson, Ph.D., a psychology professor who studies happiness at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Fleeson suggests acting assertive, bold, adventurous, and talkative to practice being an extrovert.
Take Ten: Give yourself ten minutes out of every day to re-connect with yourself, suggests Marston. "We live in a fast-paced culture where we're all moving at warp speed with ridiculous to-do lists," she says. If we take time to be quiet, we can get in touch with our values and priorities. "With some adjustments and time, soon our outer life will be matching up with our inner life," she says.
Count Your Blessings: A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that individuals with a more grateful outlook on life exhibited a heightened state of well being. According to the study, "research has shown that gratitude is linked with positive emotions including contentment, happiness, and hope." At some point during the day, make a simple list of five or ten things that you are grateful for in your life.
Shake It Off: Try not to take things personally. Instead, develop the habit of looking at other people's actions as just the way they are and less of a personal statement about you. Keep in mind that you can't make another person change but you can change your own thoughts.
Just Say Om: Cultivate your spiritual side. This could mean checking out some meditation classes (often yoga studios are a good source), exploring the local religious centers in your neighborhood or asking a friend to recommend a good spiritual book.
~~~
~ The Secret to Weight Loss? Think Positive
As the seasons change, the sweaters move back into storage and out come the tank tops, the shorts and ugh, even the bathing suits. The very thought of squeezing yourself into one of those stretchy, skimpy things now is simply horrifying. But maybe a little self-image horror is just the catalyst you need to jumpstart your weight loss?
Nope. A study conducted at the Stanford University School of Medicine found that people who started a weight-loss plan feeling happiest with their bodies were more than twice as likely to lose weight as those least satisfied with their bodies.
Think Positive
Martha Lourey Bird, a fitness consultant from the University of New South Wales in Australia, agrees. "[The right] mindset and mood keeps you doing it," she says, "and exercise works as a mood enhancer."
So there it is a neat cyclic effect. You stay positive and plan to eat well and exercise. The exercise keeps you happy so you eat well and exercise and well, you get it. Pretty soon, you're well on your way into that svelte suit.
1, 2, 3 Summer!
You can do it! Here's how:
Mindset. Start here first. Accept yourself as a valuable, beautiful person. Talk to friends, doctors and other health professionals to identify how you can improve your health and appearance.
Food. Lose those "bad" tags for food. Start keeping track of what you eat, and search around for which foods will give you the most energy for the calories. Don't beat yourself up when you falter. Stay positive!
Exercise. Find an exercise you enjoy and you will more likely stick with it. Vary what you do: skip, swim, garden, vacuum, walk the dog it all counts as exercise and helps you toward your goal.
Indulge. Be nice to yourself and keep that positive mindset going! When you hit a milestone, do something decadent: Get a facial or buy a new lipstick!
~~~
~ Exercise That Empowers
Exercise is a powerful tool for self-improvement. Its benefits range beyond physical benefits to mental ones, from increased self-confidence to stress reduction. Not only will you see results, you'll feel them inside.
"Exercise is success or failure based on your own effort and on how you perceive your abilities," says Cee Cee Cunningham, a certified athletic trainer and spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise. Exercising gives you a sense of accomplishment, and it can trigger changes in your overall mental state, helping you focus, relax, cope and otherwise gain better control over your life.
Here are some exercises that can build your inner strength as much as your outer strength. They may help you shed a few pounds, too.
> Yoga
What It Is: A series of postures and deep-breathing exercises practiced as part of an ancient Indian system of philosophy.
Physical Results: Firms and tones muscles and increases flexibility.
How It Empowers: Increases self-confidence. "Yoga is not about changing who you are, but accepting who you are," says Ginger LaRoche, owner and certified yoga instructor at In Yoga in Marina del Rey, California. "When you get into a posture, you concentrate on how you feel and begin to become conscious of who you are." She adds, "You become awake in your life and therefore make better choices."
Yoga can also help you de-stress. Debbie Barnett, an instructor at Eric Mattingly's Cross-Training Fitness Center in Dallas, Texas, says, "You focus on deep breathing, which enables you to fully relax. When we get enough oxygen, we can fully relax and handle anything better, from losing weight to rush-hour traffic."
> Pilates
What It Is: Exercises done on specially designed equipment (or in modified form on mats) that help build your "core" your back, abs, inner thighs and hips.
Physical Results: Once you get your core stronger, your whole body becomes stronger. Pilates also increases flexibility.
How It Empowers: "Pilates improves your posture," says Melissa Siple, an American Council on Exercise master trainer and Pilates instructor in Warwick, Rhode Island. "It gives you a more confident carriage, which translates into a more confident character."
"It also increases your sense of control and self-awareness," says Cunningham. "It makes you feel more capable of everyday tasks."
> Weight Training
What It Is: A routine involving lifting weights to develop muscle free weights and weights on the bench.
Physical Benefits: Improves strength and builds muscle, which increases your calorie building at rest.
How It Empowers: Ever feel like weight training takes forever? Good. That means you're focusing and improving your concentration. For instance, "When you do a bicep curl, you concentrate on moving that muscle; you learn how to focus on it," says Derek Barton, a spokesperson at Gold's Gym International in Venice Beach, California. "Take that skill back to the office and apply it to any project."
Robin Dimaggio, a drummer based in Los Angeles and a member of Gold's Gym, says strength training has taught him how to pace himself. "I used to go onstage and play really hard, right away, and I lost my energy too soon. Since I've been exercising, I've learned how to pace myself, and I can get through a show more comfortably."
> Running
What It Is: Something many of us avoid.
Physical Benefits: Enhances endurance, aids in weight loss, and improves cholesterol, blood pressure and overall health.
How It Empowers: "You see someone who can't make it through it a 10-minute run, and soon they're doing fine with a 45-minute run," says Cunningham. "Runners really find a stick-to-it-ness."
Transfer that skill to work projects and relationships, and you're sure to find success. "There's also a release of endorphins, which can lead to stress and anxiety relief," says Cunningham. "And running is a great time to get introspective and contemplate the events of the day and how to deal with them."
~~~
~ 5 Ways to Energize Your Life
Your to-do list is enough to make you tired: Pick up dry cleaning, go to the gym, learn software, plan birthday party, prepare for tomorrow's meeting, et cetera. If only you had the energy to get it all done.
You can have more vim and vigor with just a few diet and lifestyle changes, like the ones below. Yes, do try these strategies at home, not to mention at work or at school. You won't be sorry.
Don't skip meals: To maintain your energy level, your body breaks down the food you eat into glucose, otherwise known as blood sugar the main fuel for your brain and sends a steady stream of it to your body's cells.
"To feel energized throughout the day, your blood glucose level should stay within a certain range," says Neva Cochran, MS, RD, a nutrition consultant based in Dallas. If your blood glucose drops too low which can happen if you go too many hours without eating you could feel lightheaded and lethargic, says Cochran. Your best bet: "Don't go more than four hours without eating something nutritious," Cochran advises.
Balance meals with carbohydrates, protein and fat: It's important to get a balance of food types -- no matter which plan you're on. "A combination of carbohydrates, protein and fat helps moderate blood glucose absorption so that your blood sugar rises gradually," says Cochran.
On the other hand, if you eat only carbohydrates, your blood glucose level could rise and drop quickly, leaving you hungry and low on energy within an hour or two after eating. Similarly, if you only eat protein, you'll get calories but they won't kick in fast enough to make you feel energized, says Cochran, because your meal's missing that carbohydrate-exclusive sugar-boost.
Activate your day: Even though you may feel pooped after your workout, moderate exercise can actually give you energy. "As you exercise, you use blood glucose," Cochran explains. Your body then pulls glycogen (the stored form of carbohydrate in the liver and muscles) into your bloodstream, which can ultimately make you feel more energized as your blood glucose level rises. To increase your general energy level, add more activity to your day. Cochran recommends revving up your daily routine, for example, by pacing when you're talking on the phone and taking the stairs at every opportunity.
Get an hour's more sleep. To function at your best, the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) recommends at least eight hours of sleep a night for adults. But according to a recent NSF poll, on average, adults sleep just under seven hours nightly during the work week.
With a chronic sleep deficit, you may be able to execute low-level mental chores such as figuring the tip on your lunch check, but it may take you longer. And say good night to multitasking and making sound judgment calls especially in crisis situations. All told, "anything that's not routine is difficult to do if you're tired," says Andrew A. Monjan, PhD, MPH, chief of neurobiology at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.
Nix caffeine. Granted, caffeine can be a quick picker-upper, because it stimulates brain cells. But if you have trouble getting to sleep at night, "avoid caffeine after lunch," advises Sonia Ancoli-Israel, PhD, director of the sleep disorders clinic at the Veterans Affairs-San Diego Health Care System. Besides obvious sources of caffeine coffee (103 mg caffeine/6 oz cup), tea (36 mg/6 oz cup) and cola beverages such as Diet Coke (46.5 mg/12 oz) take stock of your diet's hidden caffeine sources.