Phit-N-Phat...Making Fitness and Weightloss a Lifestyle

Mental Weightloss Training

"Sometimes the loudest noise is the chatter of thoughts inside our heads."

So what is Mental Weightloss Training? It's the work you must do between your ears to see the results of longterm weightloss and maintenance.

We all know around PNP about Fat Girl Thinking (FGT). It's the little chic in our brains that tells us all the negative things about us. She wants us to eat through stress, finds our flaws before our beauty, and repeats all the time that we can't and don't deserve to put our health before kids, husbands, jobs, and friends.

Mental Weightloss Training (MWT) is something everyone needs from the start of the journey and well into the maintenance phase. I've watched myself struggle over the years to shut the old voices up in my head. At times I think I have two or three FGT chics having a party up in my head. I can tell you that only a small few of you will be able to lose your weight WITHOUT changing how you feel about you. And those that can do it will struggle with keeping it off if you aren't figuring out how to change the internal messaging going on in your head.

How do you do that? I would start with finding out where are you most in need of repair.

Do you live by the scale validation? If so, quit weighing and just do your plan. Remove the one thing that gives you elation one day and crushing blows the next EVEN when you stay on plan. 

When you look in the mirror are you disgusted? Limit how often you can look. Get used to not looking at yourself unless you walk in the mirror and give yourself a compliment then turn around and walk away. I've draped sheets over mirrors before to keep myself from picking me apart. I had to get used to not doing it before I could change the verbiage!

What's your most important MWT?

I can promise you that the messages you send yourself on the inside you WILL follow through with on the outside. It won't stop overnight. It takes practice to quiet the noise in your head and allow the positive to come through but you STAND NO CHANCE of changing the message until you do something different.

 

Related Articles...

Enjoying the Weightloss Process

Don't Be Ashamed of Being Healthy

Do Things Because You Want To

Drinking Water is KEY to Weightloss

I run monthly weightloss coaching groups on Facebook and PNP  (contact me if you are interested). In April I am issuing daily challenges for motivation and education. Today's challenge is water since it is KEY to weightloss, developing LEAN muscle, recovery, and avoiding mindless snacking.

I want to give you some good information about why water is important to weightloss. From Caloriesperhour.com I found this information...

• Initial weight loss is largely due to loss of water, and you need to drink an adequate amount of water in order to avoid dehydration.
• The process of burning calories requires an adequate supply of water in order to function efficiently; dehydration slows down the fat-burning process.
• Burning calories creates toxins (think of the exhaust coming out of your car), and water plays a vital role in flushing them out of your body.
• Dehydration causes a reduction in blood volume; a reduction in blood volume causes a reduction in the supply of oxygen to your muscles; and a reduction in the supply of oxygen to your muscles can make you feel tired.
• Water helps maintain muscle tone by assisting muscles in their ability to contract, and it lubricates your joints. Proper hydration can help reduce muscle and joint soreness when exercising.
• A healthy (weight loss) diet includes a good amount of fiber. But while fiber is normally helpful to your digestive system, without adequate fluids it can cause constipation instead of helping to eliminate it.
• Drinking water with a meal may make you feel full sooner and therefore satisfied eating less. Note, however, that drinking water alone may not have this effect. In order to feel satiated (not hungry), our bodies need bulk, calories and nutrients.

I encourage people to drink a gallon of water a day. Personally, I drink more than that because I need it. Build up to it. Use flavorings to get it down but do it. 

Related Articles:

Drinking Water Options

It's All About the Supplements

Energy and Keeping Off the BLT's

 

No Bake Shakeology Cookies: Recipe, Nutrition Information and How to Put In Your Meal Plan

A lot of you love Shakeology and someone asked me for No Bake Shakeology Cookies. I finally just made my own Sparkrecipes link because I couldn't find solid nutritional information on them OR advice on how to put them in your food plan.

I wrote my recommendations on the link: 3 small balls or 1 large is a meal replacement (like breakfast if you love a treaty breakfast) or 1 small with skim or almond milk for a treat before bed. 

My Shakeology No Bake Cookie Recipe

A delicious and SUPER NUTRITIOUS alternative to dessert or a daily shake.

Minutes to Prepare: 10

Number of Servings: 24

Tips

This makes 24 small balls for 115 calories. 12 larger balls for 332 calories. As a snack one small ball with a glass of skim milk. For a meal replacement you can do 3 small balls or one large ball.

 

Ingredients

1 cup of Chocolate Shakeology
1 cup of Natural Peanut Butter
1 cup of Quick Cook Oats
1/3 cup of honey

Directions

Remove rings and wash your hands really well. Combine ingredients in medium bowl. Mix well. Roll into balls (about a heaping teaspoon each).

Store in the fridge on wax paper.

Optional: Roll in crushed nuts, oatmeal mixed with a little cinnamon, whole-grain graham cracker crumbs, or unsweetened coconut flakes. Don't forget this does add calories if you add extras.

Serving Size: 24 small-snack sized balls OR 12 large-meal sized balls

Number of Servings: 24

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user PHITNPHAT.

 

 

Food That Has Power Over You

We often think of food as the enemy. When I say food has power over you...what pops in your head? Be honest!

- Do you think about wild needs for chocolate at night?

- Does a bag of chips on the counter render you munching your way through cooking dinner?

- When you go out to Mexican the chips in the basket just can't be turned down?

Food DOES have incredible power over us. If we aren't planning and prepping for our week it can have the wrong kind of power.

But I want to talk about the positive power food has. I am working with a group training for the Country Music Half Marathon. This message inspired this post.

Corinne, I wanted to give you a special thanks for all the training tips and the tips for eating prior to and after walking/running. I feel so much better than I did the last time I trained and I know it is because of the things you have shared with us. Recovery is much easier and I don't feel like I need to go to bed when I am finished!!

We too often sit around thinking about all the negatives with living the lifestyle and fueling our bodies that we forget just how great good food can make us feel. I know that the day you stop seeing food as your enemy and embrace it as part of what your body needs, YOU DO BETTER!

So many of us grow up in the mentality that more is not better with food so we should starve to lose weight. Less must mean I'll lose. Most of the time it means you starve a few days, overeat the others, and either gain weight or stall all while busting your ass and feeling like shit. We don't know how to figure calories so we go with what we know: starve and then let food have POWER over us.

I believe the best thing for your body is easy; listen to it and give it enough food to do it's job. If the job right now is to workout and lose weight, then you gotta give it enough FOOD to do that and it's more than a lot of you think on a DAY to DAY basis. 

Notice I didn't mention you can't eat carbs, you should avoid fat, never do this or that. If you want to have loads of food rules go ahead but I can tell you to lose weight there aren't that many. The body wants healthy food and it rewards you when you eat a lot of it. Things like...

• regular poops (you can set a freaking watch to mine)
• increased energy
• prettier skin
• better workouts
• a happy mom and wife
• a worker who can THINK

and lots of other things.

I could get into a lot of detail on how to eat healthy but this blog is about embracing good, natural foods to feel the positive power food has over you. If you are tired of feeling like crap then quit eating it. 

And, feel free to ask questions in the comments of the blog. I'm happy to tell you my "food rules" for your situation. :)

Related Articles...

Wasted Calories

Journal Review: Body Minder

 

Fat Loss Tips! Shocking!

via www.youtube.com

Just a quick reminder of why it is important to measure your food as you get ready for Food Prep Sunday!

Make your food and good choices work FOR YOU!

Feeling Full With Food and Its Comfort Factor

Eating until full has always been an aspect of my weight loss life that I had to manage. Over the years, I have either competed so just ate what was on the paper or found creative ways to trick my mind...a salad the size of my head for starters (all veggies). 

But lately I've watched and read some of my PNP clients tackle books on intuitively eating and such so I've given it a try. There are times, and Chris can attest to it, that I've left food behind. Most of the time I do it is when we are having splurge type meals. I enjoy the food, get in the moment, and then just stop when it's enough.

It's a CHORE! Now at home I'm still eating until full most days. I think it's because I'm in that safe zone. But, another aspect I've snuck in is waiting on my next meal until I FEEL like I'm ready to eat. Not STARVING or waited too long, but not watching the clock and eating before a hunger cue even triggers.

As I posted in our private forums about my experience I discovered the following...

I have a definite fullness factor and stopping when satisfied is a key part to those with less to lose or maintaining to embrace.

I've never thought too much about why I do that until therapy and I think there is a lot of peace and comfort "feelings" triggered when I do it. When I don't eat until full I am reminded of when we went hungry as a child. Growing up we didn't eat regular meals; it was when my mom got off work or when we had money to eat. Often we went to buffets and ate a lot knowing it would be awhile til the next one!

I've been practicing this habit of stopping before the plate is clean. Amazing how un-nerving it can feel for me. At my age to not be a gainer in maintenance I still have to keep working on habits that might eventually lead to gains!

I can honestly say this is a tough battle for me. When I was overweight I didn't emotionally eat in the usual sense. I look back and know I had extremely poor habits, lots of little things I did I didn't know they were even wrong, and I didn't move most of the time. For most of my weightloss (like 50 of the 110) it was enough to right the ship in habits and choices without a lot of misery.

But, looking back I do wish in the midst of of the journey I would have introduced more of the mental side of food. I am sure I was ready at some point but starting it now is better late than never! You just never stop learning to live the lifestyle...do you? 

Am I the only one who like to feel full? What tips do you have to feel full when you need it and what tips do you have to embrace avoiding that behvior?

Related blogs...

I Worry About Maintenance

Maintaining Weightloss

I Worry About Maintaining My Weightloss

Maintaining weightloss is a topic I think is woefully left out of the whole "diet cycle." I understand a lot of "diets" are now teaching more lifestyle techniques so that maintenance isn't as hard as it is, but let me tell you...it's HARDER than losing.

How many of us have lost weight and gained it back? Keeping weight off isn't hard just because you think there is an end date. A lot of people I know who gained weight back didn't just say, "Well, here I am so now it's time to hit the drive-thru." 

My mental maintenance struggle has been that when you are losing weight you have a goal and a plan to get there. When you lose the weight it's like you are lost at what to do when the only goal is don't change. And to top it off, most of what you do to lose is EERILY similar to losing.

There is a technical end date to the losing process. And often, even after you've lost your weight, you see things that didnt fix with the losses. Skin, boobs, and tummies aren't nearly as hawt as you dreamed. Granted it's hotter than it was but in your mind you had a six pack and always walk around naked with nothing jiggling. Now you know why my "reality" has been a WHOA moment!!!! LOL

Losing weight was always supposed to be the answer to accepting my body. I've lost the weight but my body isn't what I dreamed it would be despite YEARS of effort on my part. And don't get on my ass about being selfish about this. Call it old school conditioning, but we all have a dream and just because it drives me nuts it doesn't mean I would trade these "issues" for my old ones. It just means I'm being HONEST. 

I have trained and coached many women who've lost weight. One recently commented in her journal that she is nervous weighing in waiting for the day it would all be gone.

I can relate! No matter how long I hang out here in maintenanceland I still worry I will screw it all up one day, one weekend, whatever, because that's what most people do, right?

And you know, unless you've had to lose a lot of weight you might not ever understand the fear that lurks. I have people all around me who've lost 10-15lbs look at me like I'm crazy. Maybe I am but there are a lot of people like me out there. It doesn't make sense; but neither does a lot of things in this world if you think about it.

I posted this to my client. 

...trust that following a healthy lifestyle won't steer you wrong. We were always meant to exercise most days of the week, eat right, not stuff ourselves, and eat fresher foods versus restaurants. What sometimes feels strange is that for so long we took it easy that doing it right always seems like work.

That's probably where a lot of the fear comes from for us Biggest Loser types. We have seen that it takes work, sweat, and planning to just be a normal, healthy weight - not to just lose weight.

I will say that I love my healthy lifestyle. There's a smile on my face when I'm getting our food ready for the week, I enjoy working out now, and making good choices in the face of junk doesn't make me feel whoa is me. 

If you worry about maintenance or are in it...what are your thoughts? Trust me, the more you know about it the more successful you will be in it. 

Lifestyle Versus Diet: Which is Right?

Lifestyle is the new DIET. What do I mean?

A lifestyle is when you...

• Lose weight incorporating things you love in a sensible way.
• Plan your workouts and work your plan.
• Love yourself enough to say NO when you can't control yourself.
• Understand you need to build a life for yourself that involves health; not tear your life apart with food and thoughts.
• Know you will ALWAYS have to eat healthy and find things that fit that plan. 

There's tons of tips and tools I can give you to help you lose weight. I can teach you all kinds of new habits that make living healthy an easy transition. But, if you BELIEVE being healthy is a DIET that leaves you miserable, hungry, and working out to the extreme you will simply fall back into your old habits of lazy comfort. In your heart and mind you have decided that it takes tricks and that you have an end date.

When you commit to learning how to LIVE you will really have that lightbulb moment. The lightbulb comes on when you are done looking for fixes. You might have to walk around in the dark a bit, scared and confused, but rather than running for the door you look for the switch.

This blog  was written by a PNP moderator and one of my Beachbody coaches. I have a great team!!! And since she posted her week I thought I would do the same. All of us train different but we make it happen in the way that we love. I like racing, lifting, and Tough Mudders so I train to do those things with stuff I enjoy.

Mon - 30 min. run; shoulder training

Tue - 30 min. elliptical cross-training; arm training

Wed -30 min. run; leg training

Thu - Asylum Back to Core; back training

Fri - 30 run with Chalene Extreme abs circuited into the routine; chest training

Sat - Long run of 7-8 miles

Sun - Off and food prep/get the week ready!

This schedule might be light to some and extreme to others but it is RIGHT for me. It's written with the way I love to workout and that's what keeps ME going back for more each day.

And I do the same with my food. I'm working with my coach right now and we agreed to make a menu I love. I"m not competing this year but I want to look my best for an event so I should EAT my best!

B - oats and egg whites
S - salsa chicken, roasted veggie and sweet potato (I ADORE sweet potatoes and can't believe there was a time in life I wouldn't eat them)
L - seasoned white fish with rosemary red potatoes
S - Shakeology with any fruit I want
D - steak, large green salad with veggies, red potatoes
S - salmon and roasted veggie or green beans

Seriously, these are all foods I truly like and I load them with herbs and spices. Now, years ago I didn't eat like to eat this way but I learned how to slowly evolve into this kind of day. I experimented a lot with ways to make them taste devine. Ask and I'll share tips!

But, the key is that right now I have a goal and I'm working toward it. This means I eat very healthy and I do it happily. I know it's right for my goal and my body! Then on occasion when I TRULY want something I have it. It's OK and it's OK knowing it my fun foods shouldn't be a main staple of my "diet." When I weighed 250lbs fun food was the staple and healthy foods I chose rarely. Took me awhile to figure out I can have both if I just let go of what I thought a diet HAD to be.

Am I A Runner Because I Run Slow?

Let me tell you something that makes me sad. I read in BIG running forums and know people (who I love BTW) who feel like slow people are not "runners". It's so tough for me to read because I know and have coached MANY women who truly struggle to run and I don't mean just physically. It's the mental battle.

I started running significantly overweight. If I remember correctly I was well over 220lbs. My first 5K was 52 min. Trust me...I was running. Hell, my body felt like it had been sprinting the whole time. My first half-marathon I ran was just under four hours. I was hauling ass to beat the cut-off! I may have missed it because they were tearing down the finish line but it was twenty-freaking-six half-marathons ago! Booyah.

Although the race was hard, this is what was really hard.

• Showing up to the gym each day to run slower than some people walking. 
• Imagining what people thought about me at my weight shuffling along.
• Trying to find bras and clothes that worked for my body.
• Walking into a running store to buy "running shoes" when I looked nothing like one.
• Telling people I was doing a half-marathon and when they asked how fast I ran I would have to say, "well, I'm really slow but..."

That's just a few of the struggles outside of my feet, hips, knees, and lungs killing me. I remember doing long runs on the weekends and needing to sleep all day.

I tell this story because the last thing I want to hear is people giving up on running because they are trying to keep up with others or feeling too ashamed to be out there. The good news is that TODAY there are more runners of all shapes and sizes than ever before. Walkers and walk/runners are now welcomed into race fields. 

I know it's tough. I was always last place, the biggest, had loose skin flopping in my race pictures, etc. Running is physically hard but for some of us it's mentally hard. In my Phit-N-Phat forums we have a thread for racers. I posted something today because we had someone who had tried to run with a partner who was much faster. Rather than doing her own thing she tried to not "hold her back" and push so hard she quit running due to pain. 

You know, I'm blessed because my original partner was and is much faster than me. I always felt "apologetic" for my slowness BUT also wanted to keep running. She was always a cheerleader and we agreed to run races "together" because we were there together. You don't have to run next to someone to have a shared experience. We've never finished one race together but we have plenty of start line photos, memories, and plans for future races.  

So here was my advice and how I like to "train" my people in my website. I hope it inspires you to chase your running or walking dreams if you are in doubt.

...you need to run YOUR pace. When you are trying to re-learn or start to run it's foolish to think you should run any kind of pace. Your body will tell you what you can handle. My original pace back in the day was 3.5MPH. I remember the first day (months later) I ran 4.0 which is what Angela casually walks. LOL. But you know what, I was PROUD because I was doing it. I even had several people and running forums tell me I wasn't running. Well, now I've out ran a lot of those people, gotten faster over the years, and inspired others to try it. Who's the runner now??? Yep...it doesn't matter your pace...it matters you get out there.

Monday - How Was Your Weekend?

How was your weekend?

Many of us have tough times meaning we went in with good intentions (not planned and prepped food) and then sort of just slowly go to crap all weekend with all or nothing thinking.

Even I wake up on Mondays often in a fog. I work hard all week and then on the weekends eat out of the usual foods, drink a little and typically take a day off. There's a fine line between living a lifestyle and living it up! 

If you are living a lifestyle it is going to have times you eat things you want...in moderation. You take days off...when you deserve one or need one. A lifestyle is simply going to have unplanned, unstructured moments. It has days where you can indulge and days you need to tighten up. But the key is you overall do the the healthy things. 

I just got back from nearly a week in Vegas. We go a lot so I'm used to how I'm going to feel upon returning. My body will be bloated, my energy level in the toilet, my mood trashed, and the scale will be jacked up. I used to feel that way every Monday because my weekends were like a vacation; not a lifestyle.

Vacation USED TO BE my lifestyle and back then I weighed 250lbs. The reason I was out of control was because...

• I rarely worked out.
• I rarely drank enough water each day.
• I indulged in crap food DAILY. Seriously can't believe my diet used to be WORSE than how I ate on my vacation!!!!
• I eat only 2-3 times a day but big meals.
• I rarely got enough sleep.
• And, the key, I didn't keep people around me living the same lifestyle.

Sort of sounds like some the weekends I read from my clients.

It's so important to not get hung up in your mind games that come along with being out of your routine. Vacations to weekends, you need to be thinking about the right things to do. On weekends I get ready for them. I'm going to eat 13-15 times between Friday afternoon to going to bed on Sunday. Most people forget that sticking to your regular schedule with good choices can allow you to have a little treat. 

A TREAT...not a binge meal. The biggest HABIT I see most people get into is being a food prep queen Monday through Friday then just letting it all go Saturday and Sunday. No water, no snacks with them, no looking up a menu ahead of time to see what they can order, and no activity.

Planning for a weekend doesn't have to be crazy but if your HABIT is to jack your weekends you need to have a Sunday on Friday. And, you need to find some people who can help you be on your game. Have your hubs get your butt up early on Saturday so you do have a cooler of food. Ask your friends to plan some meals where you can eat healthy.  

The point is most of us can look at our week and figure out where the issues are. It's a matter of are you ready to change those habits and put in a new plan?