foxfieldco
09-21-2004, 03:42 AM
Weight Watchers eTools article of the week: Let TurnAround™ Be Your Umbrella
~ Get Under the TurnAround™ Umbrella!
Anyone who has seen Singin' in the Rain will remember that memorable scene where Gene Kelly sings and dances in a rainstorm under his umbrella. Unfortunately, not many people feel that carefree and lighthearted while struggling with weight loss. But what if you had a "magic" umbrella that protected you from the main challenges you face in your weight-loss efforts?
The Umbrella Approach
In a way, the Weight Watchers TurnAround™ program provides that magic umbrella. By using an umbrella approach to weight loss, TurnAround makes it possible to cope with weight-loss challenges effectively. As long as you use all four spokes of the umbrella system, you can find protection from the storm of obstacles you'll face when trying to lose weight. TurnAround's umbrella system consists of:
Food Plans. The main – if not sole – reason that you joined Weight Watchers was probably to learn how to eat effectively in order to lose weight. But ask yourself why this goal was important to you. Was it because you wanted to be able to lose weight while still enjoying a meal at a fancy restaurant, or learn to cook healthy foods for you and your family? Maybe you just wanted to understand the best ways to keep your portions at a modest and healthy size.
Whatever the reason, TurnAround offers you the information that you need to be successful at weight loss. By having the flexibility to choose from two different food plans, either the Flex Plan or the Core Plan, you should be able to find the resources that are specifically important to you and that are geared toward the ways you find it easiest to lose weight. And no matter which plan you're following, you'll find lots of healthy, delicious recipes in our Recipe Search, so you never get bored with healthy eating.
Activity. Weight loss can best be thought of as a balance between the energy you take in through what you eat, and the energy you burn off through activity. By using the POINTS® Activity System, which allows you to earn Activity POINTS values that you can choose to use towards food or save to boost your weight loss, you'll be taking full advantage of TurnAround's weight-loss plan. What you put in your body is important, but what you do with that food energy can make a big difference in how effectively you lose weight.
Behavior. Since joining Weight Watchers, it's likely that you've adopted some healthy behaviors, like eating better, including more activity into your routine and taking more pride in yourself and your appearance. But turning these healthy behaviors into real lifestyle changes is the key to maintaining long term success in your weight-loss goals.
You may have heard your Leader or other Meetings Members discussing Weight Watchers Tools for Living the positive practices and ways of thinking that you should look to for inspiration in accepting healthy behaviors as a lifestyle change. Take another look to see how Weight Watchers Tools for Living can help you through your weight loss journey. Maybe adopting some Empowering Beliefs can help you boost your self confidence, while envisioning a Motivating Strategy will allow you to preview how great you'll feel once you've met your goals.
Support. But perhaps most important is the support that you receive from other Meetings Members and your Leader. Pulling through a hardship alongside others who have also experienced that obstacle can be a great comfort. And don't forget how the support of family and friends can be a great motivator as well.
~ 25 Ways to Shake Up Your Routine
Today could be the best day of your life. Really. You don't have to win the lottery or get a promotion, all you need to do is give your attitude a spring-cleaning — even if spring is still a couple of months away.
"Attitude is everything," says Tina Tessina, a Long Beach, California psychotherapist and author of The Ten Smartest Decisions a Woman Can Make After Forty (Renaissance, 2001). "That's why it's so important to fill your life with goals and activities that you enjoy, as they will help lift your spirit."
Here are some ways to tap into your enthusiastic alter-ego.
Freshen Up Your Routine
"The biggest problem with sticking to a routine is that you risk getting caught in a rut — this causes boredom to take over your entire life," says Tessina. Instead, blow off some of your daily habits and bring a sense of freshness to each day. Try these suggestions:
Wear bright red today.
Eat breakfast in your backyard (weather permitting).
Try cooking a new cuisine, such as Vietnamese, Spanish or Cajun.
Call your partner just to say "I love you."
Splurge on flowers for the office or dining room.
Pose for a portrait by a professional photographer.
Go window shopping with a friend.
House swap with friends for a change of scene.
Wear a bold new lipstick color.
Dance in the moonlight on a balcony or in your garden.
Push two armchairs together and give your partner a foot massage while he or she reciprocates.
Think Young and Playful
"I always suggest going back to childhood, and remembering what you liked then," suggests Tessina. "Sports? Hiking? Bicycling or roller skating? Swinging on the swings? Dancing around to music? There are adult versions of all these activities. When you're doing them, notice the sights, sounds and the way your body feels, so you enjoy the moment." Try these ideas:
Choose three simple activities you liked as a child (such as watching the clouds, riding a roller coaster or making mud pies). Indulge in them all in one weekend.
Buy rain boots and jump in puddles after it rains.
Leave funny notes for your partner in his/her underwear drawer or briefcase.
Organize a weekly Pictionary or Trivial Pursuit tournament at work.
Invite friends over for takeout and a night of charades.
Relive old memories by looking through photo albums.
Take on New Challenges
Don't let fear of change, the security of habit or sheer laziness hold you back from living your life to the fullest. Here are some possible new opportunities:
Take up a hobby with a feel-good factor, such as sailing or drama classes.
Volunteer to do charity work.
Learn a skill you find appealing but a little daunting, such as upholstering or making jewelry.
Make peace with your parents.
Start your own walking club.
Write that novel or screenplay.
Go to a travel agent and organize that trek across the Himalayas or trip to Paris you've always wanted to take.
Look for a job you don't dread going to every morning.
~ Forging Friendships
In our busy, modern world, we may lose out on day-to-day human contact — our partners work late, we often live at a distance from our families. We can even do our banking, bill paying and shopping on the telephone or over the Internet. So having a good circle of buddies is more important than ever.
Good friends are there for you whether you call at four in the afternoon or four in the morning. They confirm that you are likeable and make you feel that your emotions, experiences and observations are important.
And, though your kids, husband and hobbies may provide you with emotional sustenance, there's no substitute for the mutual affection, trust and camaraderie that occurs when great friends get together.
A Friend Indeed?
Because we feel confident around our friends, they can bring out the best in us and provide an opportunity to seek support, shoot the breeze and work through our feelings. But, though some friendships remain in the honeymoon period for life, others become jaded.
You may start to wonder if a friend is still a friend when you no longer have anything in common, feel repeatedly let down or do all the giving in the relationship. If you feel constantly angry, irritated, hurt or uninterested when in contact with a once-close friend, your relationship may have reached its end.
It helps to know what kind of character traits comprise a good friend. Keep an open mind. Okay, so the woman you chat with at yoga seems very new-age and you don't know a soy bean from a lentil. But maybe asking her about her lifestyle could be your first talking point. Conversation can act like a litmus test for new friends.
According to relationship counselor Wynne Simons, 'If you want to make good, supportive life-long friends, look for people who listen as well as talk, are respectful of other people's opinions, take the initiative in organizing social outings, have a positive attitude on life, are able to be intimate without being indiscreet and seem to have a similar moral code to yours.'
Friends Till the End
And in the end, no matter how busy you are, you should make the time for friends. 'Don't just tell your friend, 'You know I'm always there for you.' Show her, 'says Simons. 'If she's been sick, invite her over for a few home-cooked meals. If she's depressed, call her often to give her the opportunity to talk.'
Keeping Friendships Alive
There's no excuse for neglecting your friends. You can easily keep in constant touch by:
Going to the gym or shopping together.
Buying season tickets to the theater or enjoying a movie together a couple times each month.
Sending a quick e-mail or making a quick call to say 'I'm thinking of you.'
Noting important dates on your calendar, such as your friend's mammogram or work review. Make sure to give her a call to show your support.
But it's not all give, give, give. There are great things to be gained from having good friends.They can always be relied on to:
Provide a shoulder to cry on.
Take your fears or upsets seriously and offer great advice.
Feed your self-esteem with comments about how you're intelligent, attractive or deserving of better treatment.
Provide a real-life role-model for being a better person, co-worker or friend.
Watch your kids at a second's notice.
Enthusiastically coo, 'I love that film!' when you suggest renting You've Got Mail - again!
~ Affirmations for Motivation
"Life is 90 percent perception, 10 percent reality," says JoAnn Dahlkoetter, PhD, a Stanford University sports psychologist and author of Your Performing Edge (Pulgas Ridge Press, 2002). Thoughts and words are tremendously powerful, she says, and affirmations—or positive self-statements—are a good way to transform them into results.
"People are shocked when they become aware of what a negative, running commentary they are always making to themselves," says Tina Tessina, PhD, a psychotherapist in Southern California and author of It Ends With You (New Page, 2003). Comments like "you'll never succeed" or "you'll always have a weight problem" come from our fears and insecurities, as well as from negative barbs peers or parents have slung at us in our youths, says Tessina. "Affirmations counteract those negative messages and, when repeated enough, eventually change our mental landscape and empower us to reach our goals."
Because our bodies and minds are so intricately connected, sometimes the brain can't distinguish between what is actually happening and what we're imagining, explains Dahlkoetter. So when we create a statement or image of success, the body will believe it. This is where affirmations come in.
Many people, include Dahlkoetter and Tessina, have had great success using affirmations. There are a few guidelines, but once you get the hang of creating them, the sky's the limit. To write powerful affirmations, use the first person ("I" or "my"), include your name, then make a dynamic positive statement about one of your goals. Here are a few examples. I, Cathy, am moving closer to my weight goal of being a size 8. Or: I, Lisa, find my weight-loss program easy and fun to follow and I'm very successful at it.
"Losing weight is a major life change, and change is hard!" says Tessina. "Without internal support, external support does not work. Affirmations are an excellent form of internal support."
But once is not enough, warns Dahlkoetter. Once you have created good affirmations, say them twice, then repeat them several times throughout the day, especially when you feel vulnerable. (Aloud is best.) You can also tape-record yourself saying them and listen to the tape frequently. Write them down and leave them in key spots, like on your fridge or computer. Visualizing your ideal self at the same time will enhance the power of your new positive thinking.
Affirmations can be universally effective, but Tessina suggests figuring out what your personal weight-loss motivation is and building that into your statements. It doesn't matter whether it's looking great in your new size-6 wardrobe, being more attractive, or living longer. Once you master affirmations, you can apply them to any area of life.
~ Maintaining Weight Loss
Taking pounds off is only the first part of the weight-loss journey. Keeping them off is as important, and for some people, can be even more challenging than initial weight loss. "While you're losing weight you're very focused — there's a specific end goal," says Suzanne Henson, RD, director of the EatRight Weight Management Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. "But when it comes to maintaining weight loss, you have to have a different mentality."
While you're losing weight, you have the gratification of watching the numbers on the scale get smaller and of hearing compliments from friends and family. Maintaining weight loss is less glamorous, however, and you have to figure out ways to replace that outward gratification and praise from others with an internal reward system. Instead of being motivated by the numbers on the scale, motivation has to start coming from how you feel — stronger, more energetic and less moody.
Sometimes, reaching a goal weight can be scary. "Some people are afraid of success," says Dale Reynolds, author of A Slim Book on Weighty Matters (Woodland Hills Publishers, 2003). They worry that their lives will change, that they won't be able to maintain their weight loss, or that relationships with friends may change — particularly if those friendships revolved around food, she says.
Others, says Henson, think that losing a certain amount of weight is going to solve the problems in their life. "But that is just not the case."
How can you maintain your weight loss? Here are some tips:
Be realistic.
Losing weight will improve your health and give you more energy, but it won't cure a bad marriage or make a hateful job bearable. If weight loss brings up issues that you aren't sure how to handle, talk them over with a trusted friend or seek the help of a mental health professional.
Exercise.
Regular exercise is the key to maintaining weight loss. Record how often you walk, run, swim or cycle and refer back to it if the pounds start to creep back on. You'll probably find you're letting workouts slip.
Weigh yourself regularly.
Hop on the scale daily, weekly or monthly — whatever you're most comfortable with. If you've gained a pound or two, look back. Have you been eating larger portions? Exercising less? Figure out where you've strayed, and get back on track fast. "It's much easier to deal with two to five pounds than with twenty," Henson says.
Reward yourself.
Treat yourself to a manicure, a vacation, an afternoon in the hammock or a day off from work to celebrate maintenance milestones.
Keep up the good work.
Continue to read labels, measure portions and track what you eat. "This is a journey, not a destination," Reynolds says. "You have to keep working."
~ Get Under the TurnAround™ Umbrella!
Anyone who has seen Singin' in the Rain will remember that memorable scene where Gene Kelly sings and dances in a rainstorm under his umbrella. Unfortunately, not many people feel that carefree and lighthearted while struggling with weight loss. But what if you had a "magic" umbrella that protected you from the main challenges you face in your weight-loss efforts?
The Umbrella Approach
In a way, the Weight Watchers TurnAround™ program provides that magic umbrella. By using an umbrella approach to weight loss, TurnAround makes it possible to cope with weight-loss challenges effectively. As long as you use all four spokes of the umbrella system, you can find protection from the storm of obstacles you'll face when trying to lose weight. TurnAround's umbrella system consists of:
Food Plans. The main – if not sole – reason that you joined Weight Watchers was probably to learn how to eat effectively in order to lose weight. But ask yourself why this goal was important to you. Was it because you wanted to be able to lose weight while still enjoying a meal at a fancy restaurant, or learn to cook healthy foods for you and your family? Maybe you just wanted to understand the best ways to keep your portions at a modest and healthy size.
Whatever the reason, TurnAround offers you the information that you need to be successful at weight loss. By having the flexibility to choose from two different food plans, either the Flex Plan or the Core Plan, you should be able to find the resources that are specifically important to you and that are geared toward the ways you find it easiest to lose weight. And no matter which plan you're following, you'll find lots of healthy, delicious recipes in our Recipe Search, so you never get bored with healthy eating.
Activity. Weight loss can best be thought of as a balance between the energy you take in through what you eat, and the energy you burn off through activity. By using the POINTS® Activity System, which allows you to earn Activity POINTS values that you can choose to use towards food or save to boost your weight loss, you'll be taking full advantage of TurnAround's weight-loss plan. What you put in your body is important, but what you do with that food energy can make a big difference in how effectively you lose weight.
Behavior. Since joining Weight Watchers, it's likely that you've adopted some healthy behaviors, like eating better, including more activity into your routine and taking more pride in yourself and your appearance. But turning these healthy behaviors into real lifestyle changes is the key to maintaining long term success in your weight-loss goals.
You may have heard your Leader or other Meetings Members discussing Weight Watchers Tools for Living the positive practices and ways of thinking that you should look to for inspiration in accepting healthy behaviors as a lifestyle change. Take another look to see how Weight Watchers Tools for Living can help you through your weight loss journey. Maybe adopting some Empowering Beliefs can help you boost your self confidence, while envisioning a Motivating Strategy will allow you to preview how great you'll feel once you've met your goals.
Support. But perhaps most important is the support that you receive from other Meetings Members and your Leader. Pulling through a hardship alongside others who have also experienced that obstacle can be a great comfort. And don't forget how the support of family and friends can be a great motivator as well.
~ 25 Ways to Shake Up Your Routine
Today could be the best day of your life. Really. You don't have to win the lottery or get a promotion, all you need to do is give your attitude a spring-cleaning — even if spring is still a couple of months away.
"Attitude is everything," says Tina Tessina, a Long Beach, California psychotherapist and author of The Ten Smartest Decisions a Woman Can Make After Forty (Renaissance, 2001). "That's why it's so important to fill your life with goals and activities that you enjoy, as they will help lift your spirit."
Here are some ways to tap into your enthusiastic alter-ego.
Freshen Up Your Routine
"The biggest problem with sticking to a routine is that you risk getting caught in a rut — this causes boredom to take over your entire life," says Tessina. Instead, blow off some of your daily habits and bring a sense of freshness to each day. Try these suggestions:
Wear bright red today.
Eat breakfast in your backyard (weather permitting).
Try cooking a new cuisine, such as Vietnamese, Spanish or Cajun.
Call your partner just to say "I love you."
Splurge on flowers for the office or dining room.
Pose for a portrait by a professional photographer.
Go window shopping with a friend.
House swap with friends for a change of scene.
Wear a bold new lipstick color.
Dance in the moonlight on a balcony or in your garden.
Push two armchairs together and give your partner a foot massage while he or she reciprocates.
Think Young and Playful
"I always suggest going back to childhood, and remembering what you liked then," suggests Tessina. "Sports? Hiking? Bicycling or roller skating? Swinging on the swings? Dancing around to music? There are adult versions of all these activities. When you're doing them, notice the sights, sounds and the way your body feels, so you enjoy the moment." Try these ideas:
Choose three simple activities you liked as a child (such as watching the clouds, riding a roller coaster or making mud pies). Indulge in them all in one weekend.
Buy rain boots and jump in puddles after it rains.
Leave funny notes for your partner in his/her underwear drawer or briefcase.
Organize a weekly Pictionary or Trivial Pursuit tournament at work.
Invite friends over for takeout and a night of charades.
Relive old memories by looking through photo albums.
Take on New Challenges
Don't let fear of change, the security of habit or sheer laziness hold you back from living your life to the fullest. Here are some possible new opportunities:
Take up a hobby with a feel-good factor, such as sailing or drama classes.
Volunteer to do charity work.
Learn a skill you find appealing but a little daunting, such as upholstering or making jewelry.
Make peace with your parents.
Start your own walking club.
Write that novel or screenplay.
Go to a travel agent and organize that trek across the Himalayas or trip to Paris you've always wanted to take.
Look for a job you don't dread going to every morning.
~ Forging Friendships
In our busy, modern world, we may lose out on day-to-day human contact — our partners work late, we often live at a distance from our families. We can even do our banking, bill paying and shopping on the telephone or over the Internet. So having a good circle of buddies is more important than ever.
Good friends are there for you whether you call at four in the afternoon or four in the morning. They confirm that you are likeable and make you feel that your emotions, experiences and observations are important.
And, though your kids, husband and hobbies may provide you with emotional sustenance, there's no substitute for the mutual affection, trust and camaraderie that occurs when great friends get together.
A Friend Indeed?
Because we feel confident around our friends, they can bring out the best in us and provide an opportunity to seek support, shoot the breeze and work through our feelings. But, though some friendships remain in the honeymoon period for life, others become jaded.
You may start to wonder if a friend is still a friend when you no longer have anything in common, feel repeatedly let down or do all the giving in the relationship. If you feel constantly angry, irritated, hurt or uninterested when in contact with a once-close friend, your relationship may have reached its end.
It helps to know what kind of character traits comprise a good friend. Keep an open mind. Okay, so the woman you chat with at yoga seems very new-age and you don't know a soy bean from a lentil. But maybe asking her about her lifestyle could be your first talking point. Conversation can act like a litmus test for new friends.
According to relationship counselor Wynne Simons, 'If you want to make good, supportive life-long friends, look for people who listen as well as talk, are respectful of other people's opinions, take the initiative in organizing social outings, have a positive attitude on life, are able to be intimate without being indiscreet and seem to have a similar moral code to yours.'
Friends Till the End
And in the end, no matter how busy you are, you should make the time for friends. 'Don't just tell your friend, 'You know I'm always there for you.' Show her, 'says Simons. 'If she's been sick, invite her over for a few home-cooked meals. If she's depressed, call her often to give her the opportunity to talk.'
Keeping Friendships Alive
There's no excuse for neglecting your friends. You can easily keep in constant touch by:
Going to the gym or shopping together.
Buying season tickets to the theater or enjoying a movie together a couple times each month.
Sending a quick e-mail or making a quick call to say 'I'm thinking of you.'
Noting important dates on your calendar, such as your friend's mammogram or work review. Make sure to give her a call to show your support.
But it's not all give, give, give. There are great things to be gained from having good friends.They can always be relied on to:
Provide a shoulder to cry on.
Take your fears or upsets seriously and offer great advice.
Feed your self-esteem with comments about how you're intelligent, attractive or deserving of better treatment.
Provide a real-life role-model for being a better person, co-worker or friend.
Watch your kids at a second's notice.
Enthusiastically coo, 'I love that film!' when you suggest renting You've Got Mail - again!
~ Affirmations for Motivation
"Life is 90 percent perception, 10 percent reality," says JoAnn Dahlkoetter, PhD, a Stanford University sports psychologist and author of Your Performing Edge (Pulgas Ridge Press, 2002). Thoughts and words are tremendously powerful, she says, and affirmations—or positive self-statements—are a good way to transform them into results.
"People are shocked when they become aware of what a negative, running commentary they are always making to themselves," says Tina Tessina, PhD, a psychotherapist in Southern California and author of It Ends With You (New Page, 2003). Comments like "you'll never succeed" or "you'll always have a weight problem" come from our fears and insecurities, as well as from negative barbs peers or parents have slung at us in our youths, says Tessina. "Affirmations counteract those negative messages and, when repeated enough, eventually change our mental landscape and empower us to reach our goals."
Because our bodies and minds are so intricately connected, sometimes the brain can't distinguish between what is actually happening and what we're imagining, explains Dahlkoetter. So when we create a statement or image of success, the body will believe it. This is where affirmations come in.
Many people, include Dahlkoetter and Tessina, have had great success using affirmations. There are a few guidelines, but once you get the hang of creating them, the sky's the limit. To write powerful affirmations, use the first person ("I" or "my"), include your name, then make a dynamic positive statement about one of your goals. Here are a few examples. I, Cathy, am moving closer to my weight goal of being a size 8. Or: I, Lisa, find my weight-loss program easy and fun to follow and I'm very successful at it.
"Losing weight is a major life change, and change is hard!" says Tessina. "Without internal support, external support does not work. Affirmations are an excellent form of internal support."
But once is not enough, warns Dahlkoetter. Once you have created good affirmations, say them twice, then repeat them several times throughout the day, especially when you feel vulnerable. (Aloud is best.) You can also tape-record yourself saying them and listen to the tape frequently. Write them down and leave them in key spots, like on your fridge or computer. Visualizing your ideal self at the same time will enhance the power of your new positive thinking.
Affirmations can be universally effective, but Tessina suggests figuring out what your personal weight-loss motivation is and building that into your statements. It doesn't matter whether it's looking great in your new size-6 wardrobe, being more attractive, or living longer. Once you master affirmations, you can apply them to any area of life.
~ Maintaining Weight Loss
Taking pounds off is only the first part of the weight-loss journey. Keeping them off is as important, and for some people, can be even more challenging than initial weight loss. "While you're losing weight you're very focused — there's a specific end goal," says Suzanne Henson, RD, director of the EatRight Weight Management Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. "But when it comes to maintaining weight loss, you have to have a different mentality."
While you're losing weight, you have the gratification of watching the numbers on the scale get smaller and of hearing compliments from friends and family. Maintaining weight loss is less glamorous, however, and you have to figure out ways to replace that outward gratification and praise from others with an internal reward system. Instead of being motivated by the numbers on the scale, motivation has to start coming from how you feel — stronger, more energetic and less moody.
Sometimes, reaching a goal weight can be scary. "Some people are afraid of success," says Dale Reynolds, author of A Slim Book on Weighty Matters (Woodland Hills Publishers, 2003). They worry that their lives will change, that they won't be able to maintain their weight loss, or that relationships with friends may change — particularly if those friendships revolved around food, she says.
Others, says Henson, think that losing a certain amount of weight is going to solve the problems in their life. "But that is just not the case."
How can you maintain your weight loss? Here are some tips:
Be realistic.
Losing weight will improve your health and give you more energy, but it won't cure a bad marriage or make a hateful job bearable. If weight loss brings up issues that you aren't sure how to handle, talk them over with a trusted friend or seek the help of a mental health professional.
Exercise.
Regular exercise is the key to maintaining weight loss. Record how often you walk, run, swim or cycle and refer back to it if the pounds start to creep back on. You'll probably find you're letting workouts slip.
Weigh yourself regularly.
Hop on the scale daily, weekly or monthly — whatever you're most comfortable with. If you've gained a pound or two, look back. Have you been eating larger portions? Exercising less? Figure out where you've strayed, and get back on track fast. "It's much easier to deal with two to five pounds than with twenty," Henson says.
Reward yourself.
Treat yourself to a manicure, a vacation, an afternoon in the hammock or a day off from work to celebrate maintenance milestones.
Keep up the good work.
Continue to read labels, measure portions and track what you eat. "This is a journey, not a destination," Reynolds says. "You have to keep working."