Secrets of Success

Memorize 5 magic words

I heard a weight loss expert on a radio talk show putting down acai berry diets. She says people keep looking for short cuts but she never saw anybody succeed in long term weight loss without balance, moderation, discipline, consistency, and persistence. I thought that if those five words make up the sum total of all successful weight loss "secrets," I'd be wise to memorize them and make them my mantra on days when the going gets tough.

Memorize Five Magic Words

Balance, moderation, discipline,consistency and persistence

Demolish that carb!

I am a slow walker because walking makes my heels sore. For motivation, I looked up how many calories slow walking burns per minute and found out it's 4-5 calories depending on size and speed. That's the same amount of calories as 1 gram of carbs! So it helps me to think, as the minutes of walking add up, that every minute I stroll along, I am demolishing the calories in 1 carb and leaving only its energy and nourishment. An hour's slow stroll demolishes 60 carbs!

Because I Can...

My best motivator for doing exercise is just to enjoy the fact that I can. You don't have to look far to see someone who unfortunately can't. One day, maybe soon, I will have a stroke or amputation or be so crippled with arthritis that I, too, can't. So everyday I can, I will revel in the fact and praise God that I still can walk, can do pushups, can do crunches,etc. It is such a gift and blessing to be able to do these things, why wouldn't I want to do as many as I can, while I still can?

Organizing your good clothes

You really only need six nice work outfits (seven if you dress similarly for work and church.) Keep them lined up in the same order in your closet and just work down the line. It will be six weeks before anyone sees you in the same outfit on the same day of the week.

Pedometer

I used to use it just to record my serious walking. However, I have started wearing it around the house as well since it is fun to watch the number of steps click upward. It motivates me to walk around more than I otherwise would, just to pump up the number on its little face.

Vision Collage Gallery

Need motivation? Check out the page for the team "Sparkpeople's Vision Collage Gallery." Scroll to the second section and click "Photos" to see some really great works from our own Sparkpeople. Click the picture to see enlarged version. There are also handy links to help you do your own.

Using "Secrets of Success"

See a "secret" you like? Don't forget to click on it and read the whole thing. Sometimes there's a lot more good stuff more fully explained in "More Information," and often there are comments worth reading, too.

Great Use for SP Journal

I am very poor at journaling , but I have found a great use for my Sparkpeople journal. As I surf the Pages, Blogs, etc. I often find things that touch my heart, and I want to keep. I copy them onto my journal for future re-reads since your collected wisdom is so much better than mine alone.

In the Bank

I picture lost calories as money and I am trying to save for a specific special reward. Every day that I eat less than my maintenance level (1500 cals.) I mentally put "money" in the bank; when I exercise, I add the "money" to the bank; and if I overeat, then foolish"debt" is eating my account.