MYST 186 Simple and Easy

Things can be simple. Things can be easy. Some things are both. But not weight management.

The rules of weight loss–whether it is CICO or keto, or Nutrisystem–are simple. Rules and instructions can be simple. It is the performance and follow-through that is not necessarily easy. And is even harder to continue indefinitely.

Photos via Pixabay by Klimkin

Art is simple. Apply paint to your medium and you have a piece of art. Simple.  But is it easy to create a beautiful piece of art?

A snapshot of a recent day’s food diary. From Saturday, Sept 2, 2018.

I was 90 calories under budget…and the next day I had a 6-pound weight gain. Why? More than 5 grams of sodium!

All images from LoseIt are mine, and cannot be used without permission.

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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 185 Grab Your Success

How do you find success? You don’t find success. You make success from the raw materials you are given. That means you don’t lose weight magically. You need to eat less. Or move more. Or both.

You may want to lose weight at two pounds a week, but you may only be capable of losing at one pound a week. That does not make you a failure. It makes you a real person.

What would make you a failure? Quitting. That is the only way you can truly fail. (Although we all know that it is very possible to defer success, but you can always restart your weight loss journey.)

But this also applies to other goals, including finding a new job. While it would be great if all one needed to do to find a job is to wait for your future employer to find you, most often it requires work! You need to fill out applications, call the people in your network, update resumes, write cover letters and, most importantly, you need to sell yourself!

Listen to the show to hear how I sold myself into an invitation to a job for which I did not apply!

Also, here are links to recent shows:

Episode 183, where I talk about recent personal challenges

Episode 184, where I explain the idea of a “Transparent diet”.

My LoseIt food log from Wednesday, Sept 5, 2018

All photos are my personal photos, and cannot be used without permission.

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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 184: Log Your Food!

Accountability is one key to success. Do people know what you eat? Do they know how much you eat? When those details are hidden, it is easier to apply a veneer of misleading success to an otherwise successless journey.

I have decided to post more frequent shows, and for every show, I will have a screenshot of my previous meals. Do I expect you to do the same? No, of course not. But maybe if everyone were a little more transparent with their food three things would happen:

  1.  Success would happen faster because better choices would be made more often
  2.  The consequences of poor choices would be more obvious.
  3.  We wouldn’t be as alone as we are in this weight loss journey.

As promised:

My food log from Sept 4, 2018

Oh, why did I tell you to find these show notes at MakeYourSomedayToday.com/Ozzy? Tomorrow’s food log might look even more ugly. Yesterday was a bad day for Ozzy and we chose to put him to sleep this morning. That does not justify a binge….but right now, I don’t care what I eat, or how much I eat.

All photos are my personal photos, and cannot be used without permission.

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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 183: Chickens and Other Changes

So, backyard chickens alone won’t disrupt a weight loss plan. But if you decide to get backyard chickens, and then other life events strike (and nothing that is considered a “strike” is usually good) then the combination can roll into a mess.

That’s what happened to me.

I received three new chickens in April. Coop and run construction took me six weeks instead of a few days. “Generalized work stressors” for all employees of our facility began in April with monthly lists of job eliminations. At the end of June, we found out that our 12-year-old pug was terminally illness for your beloved dog. Lastly, then the “generalized work stressor” became a personal job elimination.

All of that began in mid-April and is still continuing (as the job search is ongoing.) All of those emotional drains reduced my ability to continually make good eating choices. All my weight loss progress that I made between February 2018 and now was reversed. And a relatively large part of me doesn’t really care. There simply are too many demands on my mental and emotional reserves.

And I know it’s happened to you at some point, too.

So, how to break the cycle?

More of that in the next episode!

Here are a few pictures of the coops and chickens. Here is a link to my YouTube page with more chicken-related videos.

The materials arrive

Roxie (Plymouth Rock) Penny (Rhode Island Red) and Esther (Easter Egger) at about 20 days.
Esther, Penny and Roxy at 10 weeks.

 

What are you waiting for? Success isn’t an accident!

All photos are my personal photos, and cannot be used without permission.

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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 182 Prospective Statements Bring Power!

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.

Zig Ziglar

Photos via Pixabay by Alexas_Fotos

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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 181: Talking to the Expert

There are tens of thousands of books on weight loss. Maybe hundreds of thousands. All of them are correct. And all are wrong.

See, here is the thing. Those books are written by experts. They know exactly what you need to do to have weight loss success. And every authors says “This is the best way!”

They are all correct. None of those authors are being deliberately misleading. But at the same time, they are not totally truthful.

Every book describes a way to successfully lose weight. That means all of them are potential successful methods that you can use.

All of them.

So, which one do you choose? You need to ask the expert. And in this case, the expert is YOU.

Which method of weight loss looks like something you want to try? Don’t pick a method that you know from day one that you cannot follow to completion. For me, the idea of P90X is simply not an option. Likewise, I have no interest in trying a Keto diet? Am I saying P90X and Keto won’t work? Of course not. I know they work. It’s just that I know I won’t be able to (or want to) follow them fully, and therefore it would be a waste of time.

It would be a waste of time for me. Maybe it would be perfect for you. I don’t know. (And neither do all those authors.)

Ultimately, the successful plan will be the one that you start, and never quit. And only you know which plan that will be.

Go ahead. Read all those books. Check out blogs. Watch Dr. Oz. But in the end, the final decision is yours. Find a plan that looks like you will enjoy it. Follow it. If it doesn’t work, try something else.

You are in control of your success. That can be empowering and at the same time it can be demotivating. If your choice brings success, you will be your own hero. If your choice does not work…well, then it’s back to the drawing board.

Start now. And as long as it works, never quit!

MYST 165 (http://makeyoursomedaytoday.com/losefast)

MYST 166 (http://makeyoursomedaytoday.com/OneStep)

Photos via Pixabay by Geralt

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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 180: Forget Inspiration!

Lawn Care, Ego, and Habits

The Wisconsin seasons are beautiful and messy, wonderful and terrible. (If you didn’t know, Wisconsin has weather that can change rapidly.) But the weather can also be used in weight loss.

Winter snows bring Fitbit Adjustments, especially if you have a moderate-sized driveway and a sidewalk to clear. Spring brings yard cleanup and then summer mowing season starts. Your Fitbit will record many steps as you mow, fertilize and rake your lawn. When autumn arrives the falling leaves add to your “lawn care workout”. Or maybe you need to chop wood for the winter. It is a never-ending routine. And that’s okay (because I enjoy it.)

Lawn work is not always easy but it is relaxing, and it generates a fair amount of exercise. My Fitbit will easily record enough activity in an afternoon to earn a 400-600 calories Fitbit Adjustment. I enjoy seeing those adjustments. And my LoseIt friends frequently comment on my nice Fitbit Adjustments.

But I really don’t worry about these adjustments. I don’t eat those calories, and won’t until I finally reach my goal weight. So why do I bother wearing a Fitbit?

People have asked me how I keep my motivation. I don’t keep it. It keeps me. Motivation is my “why”. That never goes away. My “why” never leaves me. I want to be comfortable walking. I want to be able to ride a roller coaster. I want to buy clothes that are not in the “Big and Tall” department. I want to have my asthma and blood pressure and heartburn under control.

I have achieved some of those “wants”. But weight loss is different than most goals. Let’s say your goal is to climb Mount Everest. After you reach the summit and then descend back to your base camp, you are done. You accomplished your goal. No matter what you do, that experience cannot be taken away from you.

But weight loss is a goal that can be achieved and then lost. And losing it is stupidly easy. All it takes is to become lazy. In my case, I stopped measuring my food (“I know my portion sizes”) and to stop standing on the scale every day.

Would this derail your plans?

That’s all it took for me to give up that hard-won goal.

So, here is the real question: if a person’s motivation never goes away, why is failure so common?

Many people rely on other people to inspire them. I talk about that in MYST episode 91 where many people need cheerleaders to help them make progress. And there is nothing inherently bad with cheerleaders. It’s is exciting to have someone on the sidelines of your life, helping you maintain your focus and excitement.

The problem is what happens when the cheerleaders go home, and you are still on the field, fighting for that winning score?

Science fiction author Octavia Butler (1947-2006) wrote an essay about how to become a successful author, and her quote applies to weight loss as well as writing:

“First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not. Habit is persistence in practice.”

Habit is persistence in practice.

That is how you find success after the cheerleaders in your life are gone. If you don’t have reliable habits built into your daily life, maintaining success after achieving it will be very difficult. And in fact, if you don’t use good habits, you will join the vast majority of weight-loss winners as they regain what they worked so hard to lose.

Right now, earning a daily Fitbit Adjustment is simply a matter of ego. I’ve worn a Fitbit since July 12, 2011. It is a daily habit. Developing good habits–such as measuring my food, logging everything I eat and wearing my Fitbit–is how I continue to move toward success.

A healthy ego helps to reinforce those habits. I want to keep my Fitbit numbers growing. As of this morning (May 14, 2018, at 0615):

  • Total steps: 18,533,661
  • Total Distance: 8,242.58 miles
  • Total flights of stairs: 30,423

And I don’t believe that “habits are formed in 21 days” or “28 days” or…well, you pick a number. None of them are correct. Habits are like my baby chickens. They grow quickly, but only if you pay attention and keep feeding them every day. Habits are created in one day. One day that is repeated over and over, in an unending cycle. That is how long it takes to create a habit. (Also, it really only takes one day to break a habit, too.)

So, here are some habits for you to begin growing:

  1. Do you plan your meals in advance, every day?
  2. Do you weigh all of your food and log everything you eat?
  3. Do you monitor your weight on a regular basis?
  4. Do you remind yourself why you are working this hard, every day?

Those are the habits that bring success.

What are your success habits?

Photos via Pixabay by StevePB

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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 179: Chaos, Confusion and the Bathroom Scale

 

Bathroom scales. We love them. And we hate them. But mostly we hate them. I mean, think about it. When you see a weight drop, you think to yourself “Well, finally!” as if the scale had been cheating you recently but not showing a loss. When you see a weight gain—and we all see gains, unless you never step on your scale—you immediately think “You LIE!”

When was the last time you saw a number on the scale and thought “Yeah, the scale loves me”?

No, they don’t love us. Or hate us. They simply weigh us. They give us a number that is accurate—for that moment only. When you next eat, drink or use the bathroom, that number will change.

But let’s assume the worst. Let’s assume the scale went up. What are you going to do? There are three options, based on the underlying cause.

What’s the first option? How about this: Do nothing. That’s right. Do nothing.

We all know—or we should, by now—about the saw-tooth weight loss patterns. Weight gains for no apparent cause, weight losses when we should have had a weight gain. We go into stalls when we eat under budget and have losses after a splurge.

I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before. Our bodies conspire with the scale to mess with our minds.

So our first default response to a scale increase should be to do nothing. Look at the scale. Sigh. Record the number and move on. There is no need to get off the scale and get on it again, hoping for a better weight. Or to stand on your left leg only in a wasted effort to get a smaller number. Your weight is your weight. Log it. Own it. Move on.

One point to make here. It’s easy to confuse “weight gain or loss” with “fat gain or loss”. The scale cannot easily differentiate between losing weight because you are reducing your stored fat or because you are dehydrated. I talk about why “Weight Loss is Wrong” in MYST 157.

If you want to wring your hands, and post “Oh, I’m a weight loss failure” on LoseIt, go ahead, but that won’t change anything. Sure, some people will respond with comments that have become meaningless platitudes to weight loss frustration, such as “You’re probably gaining muscle because muscle weighs more than fat” or “Don’t forget to take measurements because that’s how you really measure weight loss” or “You need to eat more/eat less/eat keto/purge/binge/cleanse/ or whatever Dr. Oz is pitching today”.

All of that advice is garbage. It’s all given with good intentions, but it is useless. Worse than that, the advice you receive distracts you from the steps you need to take to get back on track.

You need to get off the scale and go about your normal day. Eat. Log. Walk. And stop obsessing about the scale.

Here’s the second option: Maybe the scale is telling you more than you want to acknowledge. Random and intermittent gains are one thing, but have you been seeing steady and slow (or maybe fast) gains, almost every time you stand on the scale?

I’m sure we’ve all had periods when then scale just continues to climb. That is a signal that something is wrong.

Don’t obsess over the bathroom scale, but maybe start to obsess over the kitchen scale. Answer these questions:

  1. Are you weighing everything you eat?
  2. Are you logging everything you eat and drink?
  3. If you cook (at home or professionally) are you accounting for every Bite, Lick, Taste, and Sip (“the BLTS of weight loss”)?

If your answer is “No” to any of those questions, you probably found the cause. And once you know the cause, you also know the corrective action you need to take. That does not mean the corrective action will be easy or enjoyable, but knowing what you need to do is the first step in finding more success.

If you answered “yes” to all three questions, then answer these:

  1. Are you moving enough? If you spend your day at your desk, and your evenings binging on Netflix, that may be the problem (especially if the Netflix binge habit is new.)
  2. If you are still active, are you eating your exercise calories? If yes, stop.

Again, when you know the action that is causing your problem, you also immediately know how to correct it. So, now we are at the final option. I will assume that you are accurately weighing and logging your food and that you are appropriately active and not eating your exercise calories. What’s left?

Those were the easy-to-find answers. Now you need to dig much deeper. These questions are more difficult to answer, and to be totally honest, it may be even harder to correct.

  1. Are you under new levels of stress at home?
  2. Has your sleep pattern been disturbed? Did you recently change to a new work schedule?
  3. What’s happening on the job? New responsibilities? A possibility of job loss? Impending retirement?
  4. How is your health? Any recent changes? New medications?
  5. Any medical concerns, for your spouse, children or pets?
  6. How is the family life? Spousal problems? Issues with children?
  7. Has your alcohol consumption increased recently (for whatever reason?) You can listen to more about Alcohol and Weight Loss in MYST 123. (Alcohol)
  8. Have you recently moved to a new home?
  9. Had a death in the family?

All of those can play havoc with weight loss. Sometimes stress causes people to stop eating—making their weight drop. More commonly, we seek solace through food. Sometimes a lot of food. Sometimes we force feed ourselves, and sometimes other people are the food pushers in this situation. It’s common. It’s natural. And it is dangerous because if we are eating due to stress, and we see a weight gain, we will feel even more stressed. This will lead to the classic and catastrophic weight-gain spiral.

I talk about Stress Eating in MYST 138. I also discuss the physiological effects of anxiety and how it makes weight loss much more challenging in Anxiety and Weight Loss MYST 102.

I don’t have answers to help you in this final situation. All of those emotional, physical and spiritual stressors will have their own mechanism for correct and is beyond the scope of this show. But if any of those apply to your situation, I will tell you that you are not alone. This happens to everyone. I hope that you have someone that you can confide in. Sometimes, just talking to someone will be enough to help begin the restoration of balance in your life.

So, what is the bottom line?

Assuming that your life stress today is generally at the same level as “normal” then when you see a scale increase, your first reaction should be to do nothing.

If the scale creep continues, you need to look at your eating/logging habits and make the necessary corrections. And if you are being attacked by external stressors, you need to find your support person and take refuge under their protective arms.

Photos via Pixabay by StillWorksImagery (bathroom scale) and ElseMargriet (food scale)

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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 178: Thank You For Your Help

No, I’m not thanking you, my listeners, for your help. (But I do appreciate all my listeners and all the ideas that you have given to me.)

I’m talking about how to handle the people around you who want to tell you that everything you are doing on your weight loss journey is wrong.

It might be your neighbor. Your cubicle mate at work. Your spouse. Or it might be some random unknown and anonymous person in a weight loss internet group.

“You are doing it all wrong! Here is how you need to do it!” Then they proceed to tell you exactly what you need to eat, how you need to move, how much water you need, how much sleep and a myriad of other activities and decisions that are exactly not what you are currently doing.

Picture via Pixabay, by KirkandMimi

When someone challenges your process,  your decisions, your plan, you have two options. You can defend yourself with reason, rationale, and research. And they may be the right choice, in a few situations. But commonly–at least in my experience–many people become strident disciples of their chosen weight loss method and there is nothing that you can tell them to help them agree with your choice.

People who believe eating a keto diet seem to be very prone to that “my way is right, and everything else is wrong”. (I know that is just anecdotal and based on my experiences, but since they are my experiences, I am standing by my statement.) For those “true believers,” it is more than a simple weight loss plan, it is almost a religion. And in my experience, trying to convince someone that their religion is the wrong religion never ends well.

The other choice is simple (but far from easy). All you need to say is “Thank you for your help on my weight loss journey.” That’s it. Then walk away (metaphorically, if not literally.) A simple, “Thank you, I hear you, and I appreciate your assistance” ends the conversation. And because you will not get pulled down a rabbit-hole of discussion and argument, you win.

Is their advice the right advice for you? Maybe. Or maybe not.

Ask yourself this: “Do I want to be right, or do I want to be happy?”

I’ve decided that I’d rather be happy than right, especially since I am generally unable to convince other people that I’m right. It’s wasted effort and emotion.

Even though the advice that you are given is unwanted, remember that in their mind, they are trying to help you. In most cases, their advice and guidance come from a positive spirit of helpfulness. They may not realize that their ideas run completely contrary to your own.

You don’t need to become defensive and try to rationalize your decision. Simply say, “Thanks for that idea. I am glad you are trying to help.”

And then ignore it.

I remember when my children were young (they are 26 and 23 now) that sometimes, the key to family happiness is knowing when to pick your battles. The same attitude applies here, too.

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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 177: All or Nothing

Hetty MB from LoseIt wrote to me and asked “How did you overcome the tendency we all have to be in all-or-nothing mode, resulting in your ‘never quit’ approach?’

Great question, Hetty. I think my answer will surprise you!

I didn’t overcome that tendency. I embraced it! I am all in for my success, my health and my happiness. I think that people who do not go all in, who are not “all or nothing” are getting ready to quit.

And quitting is an acceptable choice. Everyone has that option. But if you want to succeed, you need to go all or nothing. You need to decide that this goal is worth all the effort it will take.

Losing weight is only part of the journey, and in reality, it’s the short part (if you are willing to define short as “several years before you reach your goal weight.”) But even several years is short in comparison to the “rest of your life”. And that is why you must totally embrace the all or nothing mentality. Our weight loss journey never ends.

Go big or go home. It’s all or nothing. This is an “all in” journey that we are taking.

Picture via Pixabay, by PDPics

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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.