Positive Thinking Helps You Lose Weight

The Role of Positive Thinking on Weight Loss

The Affect of Negative Thinking on Weight Loss

When you set out to lose weight, your mental attitude has a huge bearing on how successful you will be in reaching your goals. Even when you have the best, scientifically based weight loss-health creation program coupled with ample support, you can still fail.  Why? It all comes down to your mental state in regards to weight loss; and having the wrong mentality will set you up to fail every time.

How do you view your journey to health?

• The more you enjoy your journey to health, the quicker weight will come off! 

• People who look at weight loss as a beatable challenge are far more successful at losing weight and keeping it off than those who consider weight loss a chore that must be done

• People who see losing weight as a long-term adventure/journey/challenge, and make a commitment to themselves and at least one other person to stay focused on the challenge, are far more successful at losing weight and keeping it off than those who want a quick fix

• Numerous studies have shown that people who believe that they would successfully lose weight by adhering to their weight loss program lost more pounds than their less trusting dieting counterparts

• Learning to view healthy eating and engaging in daily exercise positively will allow you to enjoy getting rid of extra pounds and even make it seem effortless.

• Positive thinking changes the brain – the science of Neuroplasticity 

• Our thoughts change the very structure and function of our brains

• Even people with serious problems (strokes, cerebral palsy, mental illness) can train other areas of their brains through repetitive mental and physical activities.

• Look at this process as a journey

• When the scale doesn’t go down (or horrors-goes up!) List 3 ways you are better off because of your journey (for example: I am learning what it means to eat 6 meals a day and how that positively affects my health.  I am focused on getting healthy.  My weight is down in the overall picture.  I will be successful today in my choices.  I am doing the right things – the weight loss will follow eventually.  I have learned and grown….).  Say these out loud!  Write these down!  Put them on your mirror!

• Find a metaphor that inspires you (Traveling to Disneyland – draw a map (include the hills – the grapevine).  Move yourself closer to your target each day – even if the scale does not move!! You are moving forward even if the scale temporarily doesn’t show it

• Set small goals and reward yourself for reaching them!!!  (A new outfit from a garage sale -don’t spend a lot of money because it won’t fit for long! Get a massage – even a 30 minute one.  Go out to a new restaurant for your lean and green.)

• Recognize what is behind your negative thinking 

Fear of failure

      We can do almost anything if we take action, stop negative thinking, and evaluate our abilities.

     Action Steps: Force yourself to stop thinking about the reasons you cannot lose weight, or the reasons why your efforts are not working.  Every time a negative thought enters your brain, retrain your brain to think a positive thought about your abilities and your success so far.  Nike's slogan, "Just Do It" has real validity.

There is a great deal of scientific research and evidence that proves that Take Shape for Life WORKS!!! Trust in that evidence! 

Over-thinking/Worrying

Many of us cannot stop obsessively thinking about our problems; sometimes our worrying lasts for days or even weeks.  It drains our energy, affects our sleep, and changes our mood and outlook on life for the worse.  Focusing on our problems strengthens the worry function of our brain.

Action Steps: When you find yourself in a cycle of worry, remember

the 3 R's - rename, re-frame, and redirect.  When the worry begins, mentally yell, "STOP!"  Rename the worry by reminding yourself that worry isn't real.  Rename the worry as a compulsive action - not reality.  Re-frame your thinking by focusing on positive or distracting thoughts.  Force yourself to think different thoughts.  Do something uplifting, fun, or mentally engaging.  Follow these steps over and over until you break the habit of negative obsessive thinking.  It takes a great deal of conscious effort to rewire your brain-but it can be done.

I strongly recommend Take Shape for Life to help you on your journey to health.  Take Shape for Life is highly successful program, led by physicians and backed by research at medical and teaching universities.  Personal Health Coaches journey alongside you to educate and motivate you as you lose weight safely and rapidly, and continue to help you keep the weight off.  This program worked for me, and works for my clients.  Contact me if you would like a free health consultation or more information (beckyreilly@sbcglobal.net).  Becky Reilly, Certified Health Coach.

Water - It's the Real Thing

Let’s talk about water. 

Did you know that water is a critical component of your body, making up between 55 and 60% of your weight?  Your body doesn’t like to store water—it needs fresh and pure for daily cell regeneration, toxin removal, etc.  But it will hold onto the used up fluids if you do not give it enough fresh water to run you body.  You need to replenish your supply often.  Drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day is a core habit of health.

 
In addition to removing toxins and other unhealthy substances stored in your fat cells, here are some good reasons to make a conscious effort to drink at least eight glasses of water a day:
·It’s calorie free, but helps you feel full and satisfied
·It keeps you from overeating (studies have shown that when we feel hungry, 30 percent of the time our bodies are actually signaling for water).
·It facilitates the removal of toxins such as pesticides and preservatives from your cells
·It prevents dehydration as your body eliminates excess salt and water from a diet of too much processed food.
·It minimizes or eliminates fatigue, lack of energy, headaches, and unclear thinking.
·It speeds up metabolism.  A recent study showed that drinking two 8-oz. glasses of cold water increased metabolic rate by 30 percent for ninety minutes
·It helps your liver convert fat to energy
·It compensates for the loss of glycogen stores as you lose weight.

Plain water is the best beverage for quenching thirst—and it’s cheap, calorie free, and contains no sugar, caffeine, or other additives.  Tap water should be filtered first, though, to remove chlorines and other contaminants

Bottle water is fine, as are sparkling waters flavored with lemon or lime.  Just make sure they haven’t been enhanced with sugary substances and calories!

What if you aren’t thirsty—do you still need to drink water?  Don’t use thirst to guide your water intake!  Thirst is a late warning symptom of dehydration.  Waiting until you’re thirsty to drink means that your body must function at less than optimal efficiency for several hours.

How do you know if you are drinking enough?  If you start feeling tired, have trouble thinking, develop a headache, or notice that your urine is darker than usual, these are late-stage signs that you need to drink more water!  (Urine should be almost colorless unless you’ve just taken vitamins.)

It is possible to drink too much water?  No—not unless you have a specific medical condition that requires you to restrict your fluid intake, such as renal failure or severe congestive heart failure, or if you have performed intense physical activity in a hot environment, in which case you should consume an electrolyte-enriched drink.

Drink cold water.  Switch to ice water and up your calorie burn.  Drinking just one 8-ounce glass of ice water burns 9.25 more calories (or an extra 74 calories a day) than drinking a glass of room-temperature water.

Too little water can lead to sugar cravings, fatigue, irritability, and foggy thinking and that dehydration significantly slows down fat burning.  All the more reason to keep up this important habit of health!

Why Do I eat When I Am Stressed, and How Do I Stop?

Stress Eating!  Why? And How Do I Stop?

Money problems, kid problems, boss problems, random problems, all add up to stress – a lot of stress.  From the time we get out of bed in the morning until our head hits the pillow at night, we navigate our way through a maze of stressful situations and stress-inducing people.   How do we cope?  For many of us, food is the answer.  We snuggle up with a carton of ice cream and kiss the rest of the world good-bye, for a moment anyway.  Even if we know that eating a quart of ice cream will make us miserable in the end, we still eat it, enjoy it for a moment, then hate ourselves for indulging.

There are reasons why we turn to food in times of stress.  And there are good alternatives to help us resist the urge.

Why do we respond to stress by overindulging in food?  One reason is that food provides a temporary escape.  Not only a mental escape (something to distract us from the stress), but also a physical barrier between us and the people who may be causing our stress.  When we break out an unhealthy snack, people are less likely to trouble us with work (and if they do, they feel guilty about it).  We are practically shouting, “This is my break time, leave me alone.”     

There are physiological explanations as to why we feel calmer when we eat.  Blood flows from the brain to the stomach to aid in digestion.  This results in a sense of calm.  Binging on large amounts of carbohydrates also creates a sugar high which sometimes leads to a numb feeling, thus taking us away from what we really feel.

When we are stressed, cortisol is released from our adrenal gland.  Consequently, serotonin (a hormone responsible for relaxed and contented feelings) decreases.  Studies show that those two hormones, when out of balance, cause cravings for carbohydrate rich foods. 

What do you do when stress is causing you to crave foods that are bad for you or food in quantities that will make you both fat and sick?  “Do” is the optimal word.  You need to physically do something.  Studies show that cravings last less than 15 minutes.  If you can distract yourself with a physical activity for 15 minutes, your cravings will subside.  Also doing something can create the same space/barrier that eating does. 

20 Things to Do Instead of Eating

1.       Try on old clothes (some you are close to fitting in so they motivate you to eat wisely).

2.       Go for a walk.

3.       Call or email a friend.

4.       Read a book or article.

5.       Meditate or pray.

6.       Crank up your stereo and dance.

7.       Walk up and down the stairs.

8.       Write in a journal.

9.       Play a game with your spouse or co-workers.

10.   Search the Web about something that interests you

11.   Brush your teeth, then chew minty gum.

12.   Start a scrapbook of your weight loss journey.

13.   Clean out your desk drawers.

14.   Start your holiday gift list.

15.   Take a long bath or shower.

16.   Work on a craft project.

17.   Write  a poem or short story.

18.   Research healthy recipes and make a shopping list.

19.   Exercise.

20.   Go window shopping.

Long-term Solutions

The best way to reduce stress-eating is to reduce the stress in your life. 

1.       Analyze your stress.  What are the underlying issues that are causing your stress?  How can you bring relief?  Will talking to your boss, though stressful at the time, relieve stress in the long run?  What can you let go of in life so that you can relax?  Do you need to set personal boundaries and then notify people of those boundaries?

2.       Eat well.  Low-fat, low-glycemic, low-caffeine eating will reduce the spikes in your blood sugar that make you crave high carbohydrate foods.

3.       Exercise.  Exercise helps us vent negative feelings.  It boosts our “feel-good” hormones, and it decreases our appetite. 

4.       Develop relaxation techniques you can use throughout the day.  Yoga, meditation, and simple deep breathing can each be done in very short spaces of time and will help you gather yourself and relax.

Living Healthy for a Long Time

The Principles of Living Longer

Based on "Dr. A’s Habits of Health" 2008

Of all the healthy people who have reached 100 years of age, not one of them is obese!

Aging is a cellular process, and how well we age is directly linked to how well we take care of our cells.

When we live on a diet of high-fat, high glycemic foods, and inactivity-our bodies rust out.  At age thirty our rate of aging accelerates and even can double every 8 years.  We must take control of our daily choices beginning now!!!

The good news: You can slow down the aging process!  You can “disconnect your biological aging from your chronological age and live longer, simply by making changes today to change your path-by adopting and living out the Habits of Health” (p. 280)!

The Science (a very brief summary – I have more info if you want to read it)

• If you eliminate emotional and oxidative stress and create a rich environment of antioxidant protection, your cells will not need to divide as frequently and will be better able to repair themselves (p.281).
• As we age our mitochondria (the part of our cells that turn food into energy) become swollen, less efficient, and more likely to contribute to inflammation and disease.  Exercise, nutrients like CoQ10, and choosing healthy antioxidant foods that decrease the production of free radicals will improve the efficiency of our mitochondria (in other words-the components already core in the Habits of Health!!!).
• Calorie restriction/dietary restriction (both the amount of food and the type of food) is the “most robust method known for slowing down the aging process” (p. 282).   Study results: eating a nutrient-dense diet that is lower in calories (1671 vs. the average American diet of 2445), lower in saturated fat, and lower glycemic can decrease blood pressure, improve the performance of the heart, and decrease the level of inflammatory molecules that cause aging.
• IF APPLIED CONSISTENTLY, A LIFESTYLE BASED ON THE HABITS OF HEALTH CAN EXTEND YOUR LIFE!

The Habits of Health
The Habit of Healthy Eating
The Habit of Moving Your Body
The Habit of Strategic Behavioral Choices
The Habit of Support Through Vitanutrients
The Habit of Reducing Inflamation
The Habit of Good Sleep
The Habit of Creating a Positive Environment
The Habit of Creating a Support System

Do you want help incorporating these habits into your life? 
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lose-Weight-Live-Healthy-Becky-Reilly-Personal-Health-Coach/195756143827408

Is Narcissism Healthy?

Can Narcissism Be Healthy?

I struggled to understand how I could cruise for 14 days and come home at virtually the same weight I left, and then have a week of holiday preparations at home and gain 5 pounds.  Why?  What did I do to derail my weight control? 

My epiphany came on yesterday’s jog.

On the cruise, I was totally focused on me.  I ran 12 days, worked out 10, went to Zumba class, kayaked twice, climbed a mountain, hiked to a waterfall, and made healthy food choices.

At home, during the holiday season, I prepared meals for others, focused on meeting their schedules, didn’t have time to run, or work out, or hike, and I made healthy food choices.

At home I got pretty grouchy too.

Good health requires a bit of narcissism.  It requires knowing that YOU are important.  It requires taking time to exercise, to do things you enjoy, to say to your family and friends “I’m not available until later; I’ve got to take care of me first.” 

Don’t feel guilty.  In reality, by loving yourself in this way you are not only getting healthy, you are loving your family and friends.  You are creating in yourself more energy, more joy, and more life to share.

Love yourself!!!  Live healthy!!!

 Becky Reilly

Take Shape for Life Health Coach

916-337-5828

beckyreilly@tsfl.com

Choosing healthy is not sacrifice…it is SUCCESS!

PS  The five pounds are gone!  Ask me how!!

Glycemic Index - Why is it important?

Cookies, pizza, soda, white rice, bread have several things in common.  They taste amazing!  They also make you sick.

The Glycemic Index (GI), created by Dr. David J.A. Jenkins in 1981, gives us a standard for determining how much certain foods raise our blood sugar.  Important for health and weight loss?  Absolutely!!!

Food can be used in one of two ways: 1)  for energy 2) stored in fat cells.  When your blood sugar rises (by eating high-glycemic foods), your body releases an enzyme that puts your fat-storage system into overdrive.   When you eat low-glycemic foods, the enzyme is not released and your body turns down the fat storage system and uses your food for energy.

Another problem with eating high-glycemic foods is that one serving is never enough.  When you eat foods that cause your blood sugar to rise quickly, your body produces insulin.  The insulin will make your blood sugar drop to below normal, which will cause you to crave more sugary-starchy foods.  If you eat like this on a daily basis, your body will react with inflammation, hyperinsulinism, a tendency to develop Type II Diabetes, and weight gain.

For weight loss, you want to eat foods with a GI of 30 or less.  Zucchini, peppers, onions, spinach, and mushrooms all have a low GI.  Raw carrots have a low GI of 30, but when you cook them, their GI jumps to 80 (the sugar is concentrated and your body now digests them very quickly).  Berries, apples, nectarines, and peaches all have a GI under 30.  Dried fruits, bananas, watermelon and pineapple all have high GI's  (YES - stay away from watermelon if you are dieting!).  Quinoa, rye bread, sourdough bread, whole grain bread are moderately low (under 50), Oatmeal, crackers, and processed cereals all will raise your blood sugar rapidly.

Helpful Hints to Keep Your Blood Sugar from Rising:

• Use vinegar and lemon juice and eat sourdough bread to slow down the starch digestion
• Undercook spaghetti, oatmeal, and other pasta-like starches to slow down digestion
• Use stone ground, rather than milled, flour
• If you eat high glycemic foods, pair them with low glycemic foods to lower the overall effect on your blood sugar.

Are you interested in a healthy program that is created by doctors and supported by research to help you lose weight and create health in your life?  Visit my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lose-Weight-Live-Healthy-Becky-Reilly-Personal-Health-Coach/195756143827408 or beckyreilly.tsfl.com.  

Zumba: Learn to Love Dancing - at any age!

It came as a great surprise when I realized 1/2 of each of my Zumba classes is made up of women over 60 (I have several students in their 80's).  I did hunt around my facility so I could find the defibrillator in a hurry - just in case. Teens on summer break make up a small section, then men and women of varying degrees of weight and fitness make up the remaining group.  It is incredibly fun to dance together!

Why is there such an inter-generational appeal to Zumba?  Most of the music is in a language other than English, the instructor does not teach the steps (you just have to try to catch up and copy on your own), and you sweat - really sweat!

One of the big appeals is that we all feel a little silly wiggling our hips and shaking our booties.  When we feel silly together, the barriers break down and friendships are made quickly regardless of the difference in our ages.  Laughing together builds great comaraderie.  It is becoming increasingly more difficult to get my students to leave after class; they all want to hang around and chat.

Zumba makes you think.  You can't just lose yourself in the moment like you can when you walk or jog.  Both your left brain and right brain must be working at the same time (which is fabulous for staving off dementia).  When you are trying to figure out what move comes next, you forget how hard your body is working.

It is a great workout!  Your entire body moves.  You sweat.  You stretch.  You jump.  You wiggle.  But you  only move as much as your body can.  You are free to march in place if the instructor is doing something that your body doesn't want to do (or can't do).  Or, you can take the dance to a level higher than the instructor is taking it.  Any fitness level can enjoy, and be challenged by, Zumba.


We can't ignore the fact that is pretty wonderful to burn all those calories and lose weight while we are laughing.  Even though weight loss and fitness might be the first reason you check out a Zumba class, you'll stay for the fun and friendship you find there.


By the way, if you are in the Sacramento area, my Zumba classes are free.


 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lose-Weight-Live-Healthy-Becky-Reilly-Personal-Health-Coach/195756143827408

Dreams of an Obese Woman

I want to ride a bike with my daughter.
I want to go to Disneyland and fit in all of the rides.
I want to be able to walk without my knees aching from carrying around so much extra baggage.
I want to meet someone and know that they see me not my body.
I want to feel beautiful.
I want to be alive to see my great grandchildren.
I want to stop taking so much medication.
I want to dance again.
I want to be healthy.
I want to believe in myself - that I can conquer this.

What are your dreams?

Live Healthy - Body, Mind, Soul and Spirit

Health is the foundation of life, and for many of us that foundation is crumbling.  We eat processed junk instead of nutritious foods.  We sit inside when we should move outside.  We watch when we should engage.  We work when we should play.  And we neglect our spiritual dimension entirely.  This blog is dedicated to helping you develop health for your body, mind, soul (emotions) and spirit.  We'll discuss weight loss, exercise, nutrition, intellectual challenges, stress reduction, emotional healing, and spiritual philosophy.   Check back often.