Today's Overview:
This week (Week 5), our focus will be on adjusting to the various areas we have covered. You've gotten to see how your body reacts to your changes since you have been on this program. We want to use some of these outcomes to make realignments to help you NAIL your goal! Today's message will give you an introduction to some of what we will cover this week.
[Reading Time: 3 min 25 sec]
Rethink what red means.
Mindset: Think Right About the Red
As you look at your daily body weight tracking chart, you have had some days in the green (at or below target weight) and some days in the red (over target weight). The tendency is to feel good about the green and bad about the red. However, I want you to realign your thinking about what the red "means." Being in the red doesn't mean failure. I know it can be difficult to see the high numbers on the scale or the "x pounds above target" not on your weight loss graph (for those of you on Journey Jumpstart). It prevents a real IN YOUR FACE challenge when you see the reality of your situation.
However, there is no need to fret. Being over your target weight for the day can mean a number of things. One of the many things that being in the red may mean is getting more toned and lean. For example, at the time of this writing, I have been in the red for at least a week. However, a large part of the reason I'm not losing overall body weight is that I am gaining more muscle due to increasing my weight training volume. My weight is going up, but I like how my clothes fit and how my "love handles" have disappeared!
So, when you see red on your chart, you don't need to react with SHOCK. Simply stop and ask yourself what is the likely cause of it. Suppose it is a good cause like the one I just mentioned, great. If it was because of a wrong cause ÂÂ overeating, not exercising enough, not getting enough rest, etc. ÂÂ, that is just as good. Tomorrow, I will tell you why.
Key Takeaway:
Being over your weight goal for the day is not necessarily bad.
Be in the right jungle.
Lifestyle: Set Aside Time to Think
One of the adjustments you will need to make to your lifestyle is putting more time into your schedule for you – to think. You don't need to set aside an hour to sit around like a monk every day. You need to set aside ample time to think about the effectiveness of your approaches to your eating, exercise, and overall wellness.
Taking time aside to do so can help you gain insights into:
1. What you can do more of
2. What you should do less of
3. What you can do more effectively
4. What your outcomes mean
If you are going from day to day, "taking action" without really thinking about what is happening, you will waste a lot of time in the "wrong jungle," as the late Stephen Covey says in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Key Takeaway:
Look for helpful insights to make better lifestyle decisions.
Assess the last four weeks.
Nutrition: Look at What's Been Working
You have four weeks of "experimentation" with what does and doesn't work for you in the area of your nutrition. Looking at your notes, calendar, and food journal, you will notice that some eating strategies were especially effective, while others led to some setbacks. So, in the same way I instructed you yesterday to look back over the last week to find an area to focus on, I also recommend that you take a larger view of the previous four weeks and look at what's been working. Based on what you see, please start thinking about other adjustments to your eating plan as we advance into the second half of this eighth Âweek program.
Key Takeaway:
Look over the last four weeks for other tweaks you can make.
Go by the data.
Exercise: Shift to More DataÂ-Based Exercise
There is a chance that your rate of weight loss has decreased. This slow-down is only natural, especially since you have less body fat to lose than you did at first. So, one of the adjustments you'll want to make is exercising "smarter." One of the things this means is that you'll need to have a more data-Âbased approach to your exercise. Knowing how many calories you burn during your workouts, your training heart rate zone, time in heart rate zone, etc., will help your exercise sessions be more efficient (and possibly less frequent). I have mentioned this many times up to this point, but it will be more critical as time goes on. This week, I will begin digging deeper into what some of these data mean and how you can use them to make your weight loss easier.
Key Takeaway:
Analysis of your exercise data will help with your results.
In Conclusion:
As you can see, weight loss is an endeavor that requires mindfulness and a thoughtful approach to developing the custom strategies that work for you. I will be helping you create this way of thinking to have success over the long haul for a lifetime of healthy living.
Complete the Following Sentences:
• "'Red" makes me feel [emotion]."
• "I'll take [#] minutes to assess today."
• "My four week habits are [list]."
• "I've been tracking [what data]."
Red makes me feel defeated
I already spent about 20 minutes assessing.
I am doing well in social settings which have been a nightmare.
I’ve been eating a Kirkland protein bar for dessert at night. I think thats messing me up. I’ve been sitting at 245 for forever. We’ll actually I went up to to 246 then back to 245.
I’m tracking my calories and exercise. I’m sticking to under 2000 calories but I think I need to make it 1800.
This week I went up in all the weights that I work out with so that’s always encouraging to add weight to the bar. I’m slowly getting towards my goals in the gym.
I should be glad that I’ve lost 5 pounds and seem to hold steady there and I’m getting stronger but I would be a lot happier with myself if I lost another 10 pounds.
When we are sitting at a weight (or any “place” in life) forever, we have to ask ourselves, “What ONE habit have I been holding onto forever that’s hindering me from losing weight?” Give yourself an honest answer to this question. Then do whatever it takes to overcome that bad habit. You have to be intentional and serious or it will never change.