Back on Track

Friday, February 17, 2012

I got a bit derailed a week ago. Had a business trip, lots of grading, etc. I exercised a little but really wasn't watching my eating (consumed more Valentines temptations than I should have). And I gained a couple of pounds. For me maintenance is really going to involve this continued monitoring of food and exercise. So I guess I took a week off, paid the price, and am now back on track.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

CANNONSMC 3/18/2013 9:56AM

I got derailed a little over a year ago---gained back much of what I lost--but I'm back. Trying not to worry about the past and looking toward the future. When I give in to stress, I eat and stop exercising. Trying to beat that stress monster again. I just logged in my food. I've taken a step in the right direction. Looking to renew my old Spark acquaintances and get going again! Report Inappropriate Comment

JOANNA202 2/19/2012 3:22PM

I've always thought maintenance would be about it being ok to go a couple of pounds in either direction and then get back on track. Perhaps I'll worry about two pounds too, but now you are back on the right direction I'm sure they'll come off quickly. Valentine treats are very tempting! Report Inappropriate Comment

DEIDRE719 2/17/2012 9:03AM

Congrats on getting back on track. I think that is the hard part, you have a couple of bad days and it makes it easy to give. Every weekend is hard for me and I start all over every Monday. Good luck to you Report Inappropriate Comment

JOHNMARTINMILES 2/17/2012 9:02AM

Fall down seven times, get up eight. LAST WEEK IS GONE AND TODAY IS NOW. GET BACK ON TRACK AND CONTINUE THE JOURNEY. REMEMBER, HAPPINESS IS NOT THE DESTINATION, IT IS THE JOURNEY. MAKE IT A GREAT WEEKEND! Report Inappropriate Comment

Success Model

Sunday, January 29, 2012

I love the book "Made to Stick" by Chip and Dan Heath as well as their more recent book "Switch." Both books essentially give ideas for how to get people to remember your ideas and to get people to change.

The first book uses the SUCCESs model:
S = Simple
U = Unexpected
C = Concrete
C = Credible
E = Emotion
S = Stories
s = no entry for this "S" so I think of this one as "So what?"

I think this model can be used to help people lose weight and maintain weight loss as well as to begin healthy habits.

Simple: You've all heard the saying "KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid (or Sister if you'd like to be a little nicer)." Starting exercise routines and new eating habits can be difficult if you make the process too complicated. Make simple choices that you can manage. Use simple sayings and one-sentence statements to remind yourself of your goals: "A moment on the lips--a lifetime on the hips."

Unexpected: However, don't let yourself get in a rut. Throw in something unexpected every now and then. The authors of the book tell a story about a man who helped improve the formula for movie popcorn. Just telling people that a medium serving had 37 grams of fat didn't work. But when he showed them that 37 grams of fat was "more than a bacon-and-eggs breakfast, a Big Mac and fries, and a steak dinner with all the trimmings--combined," people paid attention to this unexpected fact. That's why I subscribe to emails from the guy who writes "Eat this, Not That" because his information about the health of grocery store and chain restaurant foods is often counterintuitive.

Concrete: Make concrete goals like "I'm going to walk 6 miles per week."

Credible: Make sure you choose credible sources for information about diets and exercise. I get a lot of that information here at SparkPeople.

Emotions: Emotions are often what gets us in trouble--we eat to deal with anxiety, sadness, etc. Start using emotion to motivate yourself instead. Imagine how good you will feel when you reach goals. My father-in-law recently had a heart attack and died. The emotion of that experience had convinced my husband to change his eating habits. Now we need to kick in some positive emotions to keep him on track.

Stories: SparkPeople is full of stories from people's blogs. Stories resonate with people more than any motivator. Jared's weight-loss story ended up being a huge success for Subway because Jared's story was compelling.

So what: So what are you waiting for? Find ways to motivate yourself using the SUCCESS model.

  

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JOANNA202 1/29/2012 6:20PM

Very nicely put. I've never heard of that book but it sounds extremely interesting. Might well have to search it out now... Report Inappropriate Comment

Varying the exercise routine

Saturday, January 14, 2012

I've enjoyed the January Jumpstart Challenge. Using the new challenge videos and checking out new cardio videos at the library have helped me mix up my exercise routine. As a result I've lost another pound. While I'm in maintenance I wouldn't mind losing a few more pounds. It would be amazing to get closer to what I weighed before our daughter was born!

  

Weigh-ins: good or bad?

Saturday, January 07, 2012

I see lots of advice on SparkPeople about the pros and cons of weighing. And I know weight can fluctuate. I had been discouraged about a couple of pounds that I had put on about a week ago--and those pounds remained until yesterday when they were gone.

I realize that I sometimes put too much emphasis on the scale. The reason I weigh most days is because in the past when I've gained back weight it's because I've stopped getting on the scale. I've let myself lose track and let those pounds creep back on.

So I'm going to give a weekly weigh in a shot and see if that's better than weighing in on most days. Even though I'm in maintenance, I still log in food and exercise everyday. The logging of food keeps me from going back to mindless snacking. The logging of exercise keeps me motivated since I'm not someone who naturally looks forward to exercise.

One of these days I hope my habits will be so ingrained that I won't feel the need to monitor so closely. For now, I'm trying to avoid another yo-yo experience. I've taken off weight before and can do that when I put my mind to it--but maintenance is something I still need to learn to master.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

ATGOAL135 1/8/2012 10:17AM

My vote: weighing often is GOOD! If you stop tracking your weight you are much more likely to gain back weight. I know from my yo-yo experience over the years, from everything I have been reading and from asking others who are successfully "maintaining". I weigh every day and post it on my tracker. Weekly would be the bare minimum (my opinion). I joined the team here on Spark for members aged 50-100 who have met goal weights and are maintaining. It's a great upbeat, positive group! I have only maintained my current weight loss for 3+ months but several on this team have a number of years of success. I am learning from them! The key to keeping weight off, I believe, is to continue to track weight, eat healthy 90% of the time, track foods when you start to gain too much so you become accountable and cut back if you gain more than 3 to 5 lbs, track fitness for same reasons. Once at goal, you are not "dieting" anymore but need to create a total lifestyle change. A big motivator and part of my successful 30# weight loss was watching my weight on the tracker as it went down....and I firmly believe in order to maintain I will need to keep tracking. If you stop watching/tracking you are very likely to drift slowly back to former bad habits. For me (until it has been several years maybe)I will need to be watchful. I have lost before and gained it back....this time with the help of Spark Trackers and support from various team members...it will be different! Diane Report Inappropriate Comment

Ringing in a Healthy New Year!

Saturday, December 31, 2011

A year ago today I went to my brother's New Year's Eve party. The next day we flew home; I stepped on the scale and had added a couple of pounds of holiday weight. Given that I was already at my all-time high weight, I knew I had to do something and went with the old-fashioned New Year's resolution.

So on January 2, I began watching what I ate and exercising. An email reminded me that I had joined SparkPeople months earlier (doing nothing with it but reading an occasional article). I decided to log in and track my exercise and weight. Sometime early that week, I noticed a "bootcamp" and decided to join.

The result of using SparkPeople to support my goal is that I lost most of the weight by April and slowly took off the rest. I've been in maintenance for over two months and have logged in more than 12,000 exercise minutes for the year.

This year is going to be about maintenance: maintaining an exercise routine and maintaining my weight. No more yo-yo!

As I begin 2012, I'm a happier person than I was a year ago. I am happy with my weight and happy that I exercise regularly. I feel in charge of my health rather than out of control.

I'm thrilled to see a new bootcamp--the January Jumpstart Challenge. I'm in! Here's to a healthy 2012!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

JOANNA202 1/2/2012 6:09AM

Congratulations and a Happy New Year! It's so wonderful to see everyone starting the new year positively and I'll be interested to watch your progress through the January challenge. I'm looking forward to sharing the journey (and some more exercise tag) with you in 2012! Report Inappropriate Comment

MNNICE 12/31/2011 11:43AM

Congratulations! You've come a long way, and continue to maintain! Happy 2012! Report Inappropriate Comment

TOPAZROSE 12/31/2011 9:25AM

Congratulations on making that decision and then seeing it through using this wonderful SP resource. Your determination to maintain comes through clearly in your writing. I know will maintain for 2012 and see yourself becoming stronger and fitter as you go. Happy New Year SP Friend Report Inappropriate Comment