You Fit Friday #2

1. I wanted to share one of the concepts that has helped motivate me recently more than anything else.  That is visualization.  My husband is famous for telling me to just visualize where I want to be and I'll get there.  But I often found it hard to visualize me in a place I'd never been before.  Because I've never been smaller {that I can remember} than I am now, it was a weird feeling to think about where I could get.  It just didn't seem realistic and I wasn't sure how far to reach.  This time around though, I've been visualizing.  Recently I heard a woman speak about an experience she had.  She and her husband were set to run the Boston Marathon.  The night before the race, they headed down to the course.  Together they ran the last mile of the marathon and crossed the finish line to an invisible crowd of fans.  They celebrated as if they'd just won the race.  She said that the next morning when they ran the full 26.2 mile race, she had times where she'd get tired or feel like she couldn't keep going, but she'd visualize herself crossing that finishline and be able to keep going.  My sweet mother-in-law gave me a great incentive.  These sweet "goal jeans" that I want to fit into.  I tried them on and was close, but not quite.  They were just what I needed to give me a much needed nudge of motivation.  Instead of folding them or hanging them in my closet, I hung them right out in the open in my living room.  I pass them hundreds of times daily as I am going to & from the kitchen/pantry/office/living room, and they are doing their job.  Each time I see them I'm a little more driven & excited to reach my goals.  Whether it's jeans, your progress pictures, your written goals placed in strategic places, or a new swimsuit you want to fit into for your reward cruise, set it out where you can see it.  Try it and it might just work for you as well!

2. A friend shared something a while back that has stuck with me.  He is a trucker & is often on the road for hours at a time.   He said he does great at going on little sleep and staying alert when he's driving at night.  But the closer he gets to home, the less vigilant he becomes.  Because the terrain is so familiar, he often lets himself lose focus a little and has to remind himself that although he's close, he's not quite there yet.  It starts getting harder the closer he gets to home.  I feel the same way with our goals.  When we first start we are energized, motivated, and generally have a pretty big road ahead of us.  But the closer we get to our goals, the harder it gets to stay on task & keep our focus.  It can be done though, and that ties into #1.  That "close to home" feeling we get when we're almost there can be turned around into a positive rather than a negative.  Because we're so close we need to be even more vigilant than before so we can just finish what we started & feel the reinforcement that comes from doing what we set out to do!  Another HUGE help to me is keeping a food journal.  When I write things down, I am less likely to stick unhealthy things in my mouth. When I don't keep track, I often fill myself before realizing how much I've taken in. 

3. Lastly, I wanted to share some helpful holiday tips from Dr. Andersen & his wife, Lori.  The most important thing obviously, is to just decide beforehand what you're going to do.  Are you going to stay on program or stick with healthy choices?  Or are you going to splurge and have a piece of pie? 3 bites of each dish?  Just lean & green with 1 small serving of dessert?  Whatever it is, decide beforehand and don't let yourself be blindsided!  Most of all, remember that these Holiday's are best spent relishing the time with family & friends rather than food.  Focus on your relationships and stay as strong as you can while still maintaining a positive attitude!

Here are a few tips you can use when you are attending parties and giving gifts:

• Don’t go hungry-try eating a Medifast meal or part of your Lean and Green prior to arriving at the party. This will help curb your appetite.

• If you are invited to a party, which happens to be a potluck, this is a great opportunity to bring a healthy meal, that also fits with the TSFL program

• You can check out our Lean and Green cookbook for some tasty ideas.

• When you arrive at the party-and you want to partake or try food, use the smallest plate with healthy choices.

• Be mindful of your Healthy Choices, fresh vegetables, lean proteins and salad.

• Limit or skip foods that are high in calories and low in nutritional value.

• What happens when you are the host/hostess?? There are many tempting opportunities to “graze” when packing up leftovers.   Divide left overs into Lean & Green meals. Allow someone else to pack up the left overs and you offer to wash the dishes.

• Develop a Plan of Action for Surviving an Event: Identify your personal barriers and strategy, write it down.

• Take time for yourself!!  This is a very busy time to the year for people, take time to exercise and keep your body moving. Just taking a walk can give you that alone time you need to get your body moving and regroup.

• In advance ask your family and friends to forgo food gifts. Examples: wine, cheese, candies. Other suggestions would be donations in your name to charities, gift cards or opting out of gifts. You may say this year, let’s get together and start a new tradition in giving to someone else.

Also a couple ideas I (Karli) gave to my clients were the following:
-Take three bites of every dish you want but don't want a full serving of.  The first three bites of anything are the most satisfying to our taste buds & this will satisfy your craving and help you not feel left out, but also keep you from indulging in many un-needed calories.
-Stick with the program and eat 2-3 hours before the "big meal."  Choose options at dinner or lunch that go along with your lean & green.  Then pick what you want more than anything that day and have one serving of that.  For instance, keep on program 100% and then have 1 slice of pumpkin pie as your treat.  Then just get right back on track as usual.
-Take gum, flavored water, or diet soda or tea to sip on before/during/after the event.  Fill yourself up with non-caloric beverages and enjoy chatting with friends. 

Good luck!  If you have any tips to share, please feel free!