MYST 199: Holiday Survival Guide

When people are on a weight loss journey, the winter holiday season is often viewed as a gauntlet of slow death. Oh, the parties and food are wonderful, but the bathroom scale often reflects gains and as a result, feelings of self-recrimination, despair, guilt, and depression pollute the underlying mood of the season.

I have one piece of advice:

STOP IT!

Yes, you actually are in control of your emotions. You are letting a few days of the year wreck all the positive progress from earlier in the year, and set you off with a negative mindset as you enter the new year. That is a plan for disaster. (And you know I’m right, because you’ve done that in the past.)

Ignore those parties. Or rather, enjoy them! Spend time with your friends and family. Eat! Drink! (Don’t drink and drive.) And stop worrying about those few days. The reality is that you probably have between five and ten events between the US Thanksgiving and New Year’s where you are likely to exceed your calorie budget.

That’s it. Just five or ten meals. If you eat three meals a day, you eat 1,095 meals a year. Are you really going to let ten meals (mathematically, that is 0.9% of all the meals in a year) turn you into an emotional and dietary wreck?

I hope not. It’s not the smart option.

What you should do is to do as I always say: eat the foods you really love and try to eat controlled portions. If you exceed your budget, don’t sweat it. This is a lifelong journey. We need to be able to have fun while still making progress towards our goals.

Not my Christmas meal, but doesn’t that look appealing?

I hope you have a safe, happy and wonderful holiday season! And come back next week for episode 200!

You can enjoy this and still reach your weight loss goals!

Photos via Pixabay, but Wirdefalks (Chrismas Dinner), and Couleur (Champagne)

All photos published on Pixabay can be used for free. You can use them for commercial and non-commercial purposes.

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Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. Follow his Facebook page to learn how to better use social media. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen.

MYST 198: I Feel Guilty

In this holiday season, many of us tend to eat more than might be optimal. I posted on my LoseIt page about my upcoming Christmas Dinner and a friend named Gordon responded with “Enjoy….no guilt!”

And I thought, “I never feel guilty about what I choose to eat.” And why should we feel guilty? It is our choice to eat (or not eat.) No one else sets the rules about our dietary choices. We aren’t breaking any laws, other than the laws we impose upon ourselves.

If we choose to eat too many calories (or maybe the “wrong food”, although I disagree with that concept), we are making a choice. And with every choice comes consequences. If we choose to stick to our budget, we enhance weight loss. If we choose to exceed our calorie budget, we will slow our losses (but only temporarily, unless we never get back on track–which is another choice!)

Try to remove the guilt from our already-too-difficult-journey. Make sensible choices. Eat the food you love, but strive to eat the correct portions.

Enjoy life! Don’t put yourself into an emotional prison, with walls and bars constructed of your own guilt.

The choice is yours!

You are NOT guilty when you make a choice!
Don’t put yourself in a prison of your own making.

Photos via Pixabay, but TryJimmy (Prison Cell) and Geralt (Guilty)

All photos published on Pixabay can be used for free. You can use them for commercial and non-commercial purposes. You do not need to ask permission from or provide credit to the photographer or Unsplash, although it is appreciated when possible.

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Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. Follow his Facebook page to learn how to better use social media. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen.

MYST 171 Consistent

Success is all about one step at a time and never quitting. And the only way that happens is if you consistently focus on just one thing:

The next step.

Maybe your focus is the next pound. Or the next mile you are going to run. Maybe you just need to focus on the next meal.

Weight loss is simple, but not easy. But if you learn to consistently focus on just the next step–and that step may be as small as walking past the box of donuts at the office–you will develop good habits that will carry you to success.

What is the boy and dad focused on? Going to college? Playing football? No. Just the next step.

Picture via Pixabay, by FGARDUNO

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Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. Follow his Facebook page to learn how to better use social media. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen!

All images are Creative Common Zero.

MYST 161 Just Say No

What are you going to do when you are offered a special treat during this holiday season?

Photo via Pixabay, by Silviarita

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Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. Follow his Facebook page to learn how to better use social media. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen!

All images are Creative Common Zero.

MYST 140 : Cheat Meals

Of course, I never cheat when I log my food!

Do you have “cheat meals” or “cheat days” in your diet plan? Stop! You are reducing your chance of long term success!

I don’t mean “stop eating foods not on your diet plan” but rather “stop calling them cheat days.” You are setting yourself up for failure if you need to have cheat days in order to stay on your path. And at the same time, you are setting up your scapegoat for your eventual failure.

Photo via Pixabay, by tswedensky.

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Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. Follow his Facebook page to learn how to better use social media. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen!

All images are Creative Commons Zero.

MYST 132: Buffers

We talked about “trigger foods” in MYST 107. What about the opposite idea–a “buffer food”?

 

Simple chemistry in this episode
Simple chemistry in this episode

Photo via Pixabay by Gellinger.

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Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. And you can read his really nice, contemplative blog. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen!

All images are Creative Commons Zero.

MYST 115: Holiday Tips

It’s almost the holiday season here in the United States of America and that means food! Lots of food! And most will be decadently rich and calorie-laden. It is very common to add a few pounds during the holidays. However, that can be avoided. This episode will give a few simple tips to keep you focused and successful, and still allow you to enjoy yourself!

Delicious Pistachio Dessert
Delicious Pistachio Dessert

Photos via Pixabay.com by xBertrand1.

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Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. And you can read his really nice, contemplative blog. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen!

MYST 111: Weight Loss and Politics

Yes. I actually dared bring politics into my podcast. Besides religion, politics is major one of the most polarizing topics. It can quickly bring out the ugly side of people.

Don’t worry. I don’t get too bad. (Just a little bad.)

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Photos via Pixabay.com by PeteLinforth.

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Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. And you can read his really nice, contemplative blog. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen!

MYST 101 Diet Disasters

What are you going to do when–not if–you have a diet disaster? How are you going to move beyond the realization that you made bad choices and move towards success?

This bus is moving toward it's planned route. What are you going to do when your personal diet-bus crashes?
This bus is moving toward it’s planned route. What are you going to do when your personal diet-bus crashes?

Photo via StockSnap.io, by Alex Wong.

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Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. And you can read his really nice, contemplative blog. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen!

All photos published on StockSnap.io are licensed under Creative Commons Zero

MYST 94: Planning Ahead for Success

Benjamin Franklin supposedly once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Are you planning your weight loss success? Listen to find out the benefits of planning.

When you plan your day, you know the path to success.
When you plan your day, you know the path to success.

Photo via Unsplash.com, by Bruno Belcastro

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Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. And you can read his really nice, contemplative blog. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen!

All photos published on Unsplash.com are licensed under Creative Commons Zero