Positive self-talking
Ever hear the phrase "What you see is what you get"? Well, that's only part of the picture. It's also true that what you
say is what you get. Our words help build our attitude, and the Positive Self-Talking Tool can help you learn how to use words that will keep you motivated and make you feel and perform better.
Use positive self-talking if:
- You eat because of low self-esteem.
- You constantly beat yourself up or blame yourself when you go "off-course."
- You're discouraged because you've suffered a setback.
- You are put down by friends or family.
- You're overwhelmed by a challenge or obstacle.
When Jim Needed Positive Self-TalkingJim follows Weight Watchers and still has 175 pounds to lose before he makes it to his weight goal. It's taken Jim three months to lose 20 pounds*. No one has noticed any changes in his appearance, the way he moves or his clothes. Also, his rate of loss is slowing down, and he's figured out that it could take as long as two years to lose the weight his doctor has recommended.
* Results not typical
How Jim Did It (And How You Can Do It, Too)Let's look at the kinds of things Jim was telling himself before he began to use Positive Self-Talking. Think about what set of attitudes Jim is fostering by saying these things to himself:
- What's the use? This could take forever.
- I've tried this before and wasn't able to do it. Why do I think it will be different this time?
- I've lost 20 pounds and nobody has noticed — not even me. I'd rather be eating the way I used to. Why can't I be like everyone else? Why do I have to have this problem?
Now let's look at some positive statements Jim can say to himself:
- I need to do this to have the kind of life I want. And I want to do it. It doesn't matter how long it takes. In two years I can be thinner or still carry all this weight — it will take two years either way.
- It will be different this time. I'm a capable and determined person when my sights are set on a goal. Look at my successful business — nobody thought I'd get that off the ground.
- Losing 20 pounds represents a major step in the right direction. I've done a wonderful thing. At some point soon I'll begin to feel the difference. If people notice, good. If they don't, I will.
Once Jim learns to recognize negative self-talking and turn it into Positive Self-Talking, he'll find it much easier to stay motivated and keep his eyes on his goal.
As Andrew Matthews, author of
Being Happy (Price Stern Sloan, 1990), says: "The words that we use are always filtering into our subconscious mind and becoming a part of our character and makeup. They tell [us and] others how serious and committed we are to getting results."
Can you think of negative statements that you tend to make to yourself? How can you turn those into Positive Self-Talking?
Winning Outcomes
Knowing what you
really want is especially important when you're losing weight. Setting goals and determining what the outcome of your actions should be—the Winning Outcome—is a necessary first step toward making it happen.
Make it a point to develop your own Winning Outcome early in your weight-loss journey. Use our tips below to get started. Then review your Winning Outcome periodically to see if your goals have changed in any way; you can edit it at any time.
Create your own Winning OutcomeStart by asking yourself what you want—
really want. Then briefly describe this goal in the Winning Outcome box below. Remember to keep your Winning Outcome:
Positive: "I will get to my weight goal," not "I won't be heavy anymore."
Within your control: "I will achieve my weight goal by making healthy food choices" not "I will achieve my goal when my partner stops buying me candy."
Specific: "I will achieve my weight goal by following my plan and keeping track of the food I eat."
A good fit with your life: Ask yourself: Does my Winning Outcome fit my life or the way I want it to be?
Remember, Winning Outcomes don't have to be weight related. I set my goal this year to finish running the Lakefront Marathon under 4 hours. Your Winning Outcomes could be long term or even just specific for the hour, day, week or month.
New Endings to Old Message
We sometimes can get caught in a rut of thinking that there's only one possible ending because it's been true so often in the past. If you don't get stuck in what you already think is true, you'll be free to create new endings.
When asked to finish these proverbs, a group of 6 year olds gave the following answers.
Don't change horses....until they stop running
Strike while the...bug is close.
Don't bite the hand that....looks dirty.
A penny saved is...not much
Two's company, three's....the Muketeers.
I'm sure you recognized the popular proverbs but knew very different endings. The great thing about this example is that the 6 year olds, didn't know what the endings were. They used their current life experiences, imaginations, and creativity to come up with them. While we have years behind us, to teach us the "correct" endings, we need to use this example as a way to see how when we are stuck in what we already think is true, it can sometimes be difficult to see new endings.
Does this sound familiar? I haven't weighed 165 pounds since high school, why would I be able to do that now? The only way to be at a healthy weight is to take pills, or exercise on this fangled device.
Behaviors can begin changes for us that will help for a lifetime. Behaviors have to change deep within the core of who we are, we have to change our beliefs. We have to unlearn what we have learned (thanks Yoda.) Messages from family, friends, and society can influence our beliefs and in turn have an effect on our weight loss.
Oh..all of my family are big people (so, that's ok that I'm big too.) All of these kinds of thoughts could affect our motivation, and our self confidence. Especially if we let these thoughts turn into truths that we strongly believe in. The longer we've held on to a belief, the longer or harder it may take to change.
Use what you have learned from others trying to lose weight. Use what you have heard at your meetings or from your leaders that will help you change your beliefs. Take one behavior and work on that, and little by little you can change what you believe and then what you ultimately are able to accomplish.
I never thought I would be able to run a mile. In grade school when we would all have to participate in the Presidential Fitness test, I dreaded the evil Mile run. For me, it was like the 10ft run and mile walk. I could never finish anything close to that, while all of the athletic boys trotted to the finish line in 10minutes. Now...after I've lost all the weight, I can do just about anything. Cracking off 5 miles in the morning in 50 minutes is nothing. In fact, I've taken it the next step and signed up for a marathon. Talk about getting rid of limiting beliefs.
Keeping it off
Long-term weight maintenance is possible for everyone. That's almost one of the first beliefs that should become your weight watchers mantra (the first being that you believe you deserve the weight-loss.) Because without believing that this will work for the rest of your life, you're more likely to believe that this is only temporary. It cannot be and should not be temporary, that's why it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle.
In order for this to work you should remember to eat wisely, be active and regularly attend the meeting. If you're like me, I knew that I wouldn't keep true to attending the meeting, so I decided to get hired by Weight Watchers and become a leader. This way, I'm accountable to a lot more than just myself.
Try and think about what has lasted for a long time in your life and ask yourself what helped to make it endure. Was it persistence, paying attention to it and giving priority? Think about what has made it last and if there is any correlation to how you can make the weight loss last.
For some people it is difficult to keep the weight off long term, but long-term weight maintenance is possible and you are worth it. Weight Watchers Lifetime Members report that they have maintained an average of 87% of their weight loss two years after completing the maintenance phase, and 72% of Lifetime Members maintained a 5% or greater weight loss after two years.
Remember too that for every 1 lb of weight loss it's 3lbs of pressure relived from your knees. ;)
Strategies for successful weight maintenance will not stray far from what you are doing right now. Eat wisely, make movement a part of your life, stay connected to support systems (like blogs), maintain a positive outlook, adjust behaviors (you should examine your successes and slip ups), track your weight and attend meetings. Combining all of these strategies are the basic tools you need to keep the weight off for good.
All too often I see members lose the weight, only to stop attending meetings and then rejoin once they put it all back on. It's the members who have really embraced the lifestyle and continue to come to meetings once a month who I find are the most successful. For them, it's the coming to the meetings and holding themselves accountable to others
and themselves that ultimately allow them to keep the weight off long term.
Smart Snacking
Although overeating between meals might have contributed to our being overweight, snacking can actually be very valuable during weight loss. Smart snacking is part of eating wisely on the TurnAround(r) program.
There are some benefits to snacking: Curbs hunger between meals, prevents subsequent overeating, and you get to enjoy your favorite foods. When snacking it's in your best weight-loss interest to identify:
- When you tend to snack
- Where you tend to snack
- What you snack on
Ask yourself those questions and determine what is and is not working out for you. Half the time we aren't even thinking about this stuff, and rather we're just doing it. Sure we try for the carrots or celery sticks, but sometimes they just don't cut it. That's why we have to think about What we snack on. What are we getting from it. When I snack on a handful of M&M's, it's because I love chocolate and need a sugar fix.
What we need to concentrate on is focusing on those snacks with low energy density. We should look to the foods that don't have a lot of calories per serving. That means for the same weight potato chips versus grapes, the grapes have the lower energy density. Ultimately they should be more satisfying. Giving snacks a nutritional priority will also help. Look to your Week1 books for those suggestions, but I bet you can think of plenty of them.
The decisions will be up to us what snacks to have, and we have to decide that we're worth it and deserve the weight loss.
The Red Meat Cheat Sheet
Article By: Jeffery Lindenmuth Print Email
What’s in those delicious 3 ounces of lean beef, on average?
51% of your daily value of protein*
Important for building muscles, organs and bones
38% of your daily value of zinc*
Helps maintain your immune system and heal wounds
37% of your daily value of Vitamin B12*
Produces red blood cells and helps maintain your nervous system
14% of your daily value of iron*
Especially important for red blood cell production and carrying oxygen to blood cells and tissues, such as your muscles
* Based on a 2,000 calorie diet. You Got Game?
Aside from the novelty of throwing a nice moose steak on the barbie, game meats—both wild and farm-raised—are generally lower in fat than traditional beef. Based on 3 oz. servings, just the meat (not the bread or fixings).
Meat POINTS values
Bison (Buffalo) 3
Venison Steak 3
Elk Tenderloin 2.5
Sometimes, a big salad and another breast of chicken just won't cut it. Sometimes, you need meat. Red meat. A sirloin strip or filet mignon. These tips will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about beef—and then some.
Start with portion size.
You want a 3-ounce serving of red meat, about the size of a deck of cards. Yes, that's way smaller than the 12- and 16-ounce slabs the local steakhouse serves. Which is why their regular patrons can't see their feet.
See the fat, lose the fat.
If you can't trim away the excess fat with your knife, it's the wrong cut for you. That means choosing top sirloin steak over ribeye, or any meat that's described as "marbled" (which is a euphemism for, "the fat's mixed inside the meat"). For example, 3 ounces of filet mignon has 7 POINTS values but if you can cut away a lot of visible fat, that drops to 4 POINTS values.
The De-greasing of America
Beef is about 20 percent leaner than it was in the early 1990s, according to the National Cattlemen's Association.
How lean is "lean?"
Beef can only legally be called "lean" if it has less than 10 grams of total fat, 4.5 grams or less of saturated fat, and less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol per 3-ounce serving.
Kinder Cuts
There are more than two dozen kinds of beef that qualify as lean or extra lean according to labeling definitions by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Lean cuts to look for at the market or a restaurant are listed at the top of the page. All are 3-ounce servings.
Glazed and Confused
Tell the waiter you want your steak without butter glazing. Line chefs pour butter on it right before serving to give it that glistening look of still-sizzling meat.
Supporting Roles
Ordering side dishes in restaurants are dicey because most restaurants saute their vegetables in oil or butter. To save POINTS values, your best bets are a large baked potato without butter for 3 POINTS values and steamed vegetables with a POINTS value of 0.
Holiday Success
In order to survive the holiday and the all of the temptations that surround, you need to first recognize the challenges that will come. After that, develop some strategies for over coming those challenges.
In the past have you ever felt the only meal you could 'do' on a holiday was celery, carrots and water with lemon? This kind of restrictive thinking most likely caused you not to be successful with that holiday, or even future ones. Perhaps, even causing you to make those decisions that you knew where not helpful to your weight loss effort. Eating wisely on every special occasion may give you the upper hand you need to get through the meal.
Ask yourself, what is going to be challenging for me this holiday? Foods available only once a year? Pressure to eat? Portion control? Knowing how to count traditional foods? Preparing lighter alternatives? What ever the challenge, the key to getting through is to have a strategy or plan to meet these challenges head on. After all without a plan how can you possible succeed in the long term?
After you've focused on one (remember you don't have to conquer every scenario at once) formulate the plan or strategy to cope. It could be to look up the points of foods before hand, focus on core foods (even on flex), save on weekly points, plan ahead for favorite dishes, use Weight Watchers cookbooks for great recipes. Try to focus on the occasion and people.
Imagine that the holiday meal is already over and you've handled it without abandoning their weight-loss efforts. Remember to eat wisely and face the challenges with a plan that makes sense for you and is something you can and WILL do. You can handle holidays and lose weight all at the same time.
