Interrupting Patterns!

We all have patterns, habits, routines that we are so caught up in, we don’t even know that we are doing them at times. We follow through with our patterns, our habits even when we want to be doing other things. We want to lose weight, but we have a pattern, a habit, of walking into our house and immediately grabbing something to eat.

We walk into our house, we walk to the pantry, we grab a bite to eat. It’s such a habit, it’s such a pattern that we automatically do it.

Interrupting patterns is a BIG deal and a crucial part of changing permanently. Sometimes interrupting patterns takes doing something outrageous. My husband and I had a talk last night about how we could outrageously interrupt that pattern, that habit that includes our pantry. He came up with an outrageous idea."Let’s put a sign in sheet on the pantry door." "You have to sign in and sign out every time you go in or out."

Now that’s outrageous,that would interrupt the pattern.
How outrageous are you willing to be to interrupt patterns?

Let’s say you have a pattern, a habit of stopping by a convenience store and getting a little something, just a little something that’s "not going to hurt your diet." What could you do to interrupt that pattern? Here’s an outrageous idea; burn a CD of a song, maybe the theme from Rocky, or Helen Reddy's, I am woman or Rudolf The Red Nose Reindeer, something outrageous! Every time you get in your car after work,you play that CD. Every time. You will laugh, It will scramble the pattern, you will think...and make a new choice.

Pattern interrupts: tools that you use to break that pattern. It can happen in so many different ways. Our clients at The Healthy Weigh work on a lot of them.

They have learned to link pain to their old life and pleasure to their new life. If you keep using leverage you’ll interrupt patterns. If you are outrageous enough about the pain that being overweight has caused you or will cause you, you will interrupt patterns.

Our clients have learned about positive affirmations, the truth that whatever we repeatedly say to our self on a regular disciplined manner our subconscious will accept reality. Positive affirmations, changing your self talk from negative to positive will interrupt old patterns. Old patterns of negative thinking.

Keeping a program journal interrupts patterns. You come from a place of eating mindlessly to bringing awareness to your eating patterns. Keeping a program journal, interrupts patterns in behavior! If you really keep it and write down EVERYTHING!

Visualizing your self at goal, living out a vital, active, free life,interrupts patterns.

Sometimes we’re so caught up in our patterns, our habits that they keep us from following through. We want to lose weight. We want to change, but our old patterns and habits take over. So we’ve got to interrupt our patterns. We’ve got to interrupt the old and replace it with new.

What are some of the patterns that have played over and over for you? Some of you might be thinking about daily patterns, habits that you repeatedly do. Others might be thinking about deep seated patters like "I lose weight, but I put it back on again." "I diet, but then I go back to eating the way I always have." I’m in smaller clothes but I end up wearing my bigger ones again." "I feel great eating this way, leaving alcohol alone, but I always slip back and start eating unhealthy and drinking again."

Here’s what it looks like to interrupt a pattern. You have a CD, it plays music. You play it over and over and over. It plays the same song, because the music inlay-ed within it’s pattern. What if one day you took out that CD and took a nail and scratched it, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. I promise you,the next time you put that CD in the player to play that familiar music that has played over and over and over again,It wouldn’t play. That inlay-ed pattern has been interrupted for good.

Pattern interrupts, to be effective, need to be different than what you’ve done in the past. They need to be outrageous! The more outrageous you are, the more effective you’ll be. The more fun you make a pattern interrupt, the more likely you are to do it again and again.

Is there a habit that is getting in your way of reaching your goal weight or keeping it off? It's time to think of an outrageous pattern interrupt. How can you "take a nail" to a pattern or hait that is not getting you what you want, and scratch it up permanently?!

Be outrageous, have fun, and interrupt those patterns!

Always encouraging you,
Letha

Your Mind's Eye...what does it see?

Of all the work we've had our clients do over the years at The Healthy Weigh to have success at weight loss, imagery seems to be one of the most difficult tasks for them to accomplish. It takes time, it's not as easy to measure as some of the writing work, and we're "just not that in to it." Imagery is powerful!

A fascinating fact about your non-conscious mind is that it’s completely deductive in nature. In other words, it is fully capable of working backwards from the end to the means. You do not need to have the means or the “know how” to achieve a goal at the time you first set the goal, because if you “program” only the outcome (the goal) successfully into your “mental computer,” then your subconscious will take over and help you find the information and means and carry out the actions necessary to reach your desired end.

Although visualization is widely used today, even people who are familiar with it often don’t realize its versatility and many applications. Arguably the most frequent use of visualization is by athletes (as well as musicians and other performers) as a form of mental rehearsal. Research has shown that “practicing in your mind” is almost as effective as practicing physically, and that doing both - mental and physical practice - is more effective than either one alone.

A common and simple use of visualization in the fitness context is “goal visualization,” which is simply making mental images of yourself already having achieved your perfect goal weight or with the type of muscularity you desire (i.e., see yourself with the “body of your dreams”). However, visualization does not need to be limited only to mental rehearsal or seeing pictures of your dream body in your mind’s eye. The technique of visualization knows no bounds - because remember, you are working with your imagination.

One creative way you can use mental imagery is called “process visualization.” It works like this: Once you’ve set your goals, it’s fairly easy to come up with a list of daily habits, behaviors and action steps you’ll need to take to reach your goal. So write the action steps down and visualize them (the whole process, not just the end result). In your mind’s eye, see yourself food shopping and making the right choices, see yourself ordering healthy foods from restaurant menus, visualize yourself saying no to sodas and drinking water instead, and mentally project yourself going to the gym consistently and having killer workouts. Some people literally visualize their entire “perfect day” as they would want it to unfold. When you do this as vividly, emotionally and in as much detail as you can, you will be neurologically priming your brain to carry out those behaviors.

The more I read,the more excited I get about the benefits and the power of visualization. I’ve attached a handout for you below to help you get started if you have not already done so. Allow your mind’s eye to see who you are, who you are becoming.



Therapeutic imagery usually consists of a 20- to 25-minute session that begins with a relaxation exercise to help focus attention and "center" your mind. Very often it is done in combination with positive affirmations. These exercises aid in weight loss by allowing people to envision how manageable lowering their weight is and what they would look like.
During a typical session of imagery , you focus on a predetermined image designed to help you control excessive and unhealthy eating (active imagery) or you allow your mind to conjure up images that give you insight into your weight and fat (receptive imagery). Imagery can be explored on your own, with the help of a book or audiotape, or with a counselors guidance (guided imagery).
Martin L. Rossman, MD in an article "Imagery: Learning to Use the Mind's Eye," described how imagery works for healing:
Visual, auditory, and tactile imagery seem to arise from the brain's cerebral cortex, the seat of higher mental functions, such as language, thinking, and problem solving. (Imagery having to do with smell or emotional experiences may arise from more primitive brain centers.) When researchers have used a sophisticated technique called positron emission tomography (PET) to monitor the brain during imagery exercises, they have found that the same parts of the cerebral cortex are activated whether people imagine something or actually experience it. This suggests that picturing visual images activates the optic cortex, imagining that you are listening to music arouses the auditory cortex, and conjuring up tactile sensations stimulates the sensory cortex. Thus, vivid imagery can send a message from the cerebral cortex to the lower brain centers, including the limbic system, the emotional center of the brain. From there, the message is relayed to the endocrine system and the autonomic nervous system, which can affect a range of bodily functions, including heart rate, perspiration, and blood pressure.
To relax, for instance, you might visualize a restful beach scene. Then you could incorporate the surrounding images through your senses: Hear the waves. feel the breeze. Smell the salt air.
Keep your eyes closed while you take a few deep, easy breaths, and imagine yourself in the most peaceful, beautiful, serene place you can conjure up. Think of a time when you felt relaxed and peaceful- perhaps a walk in the park, a day on a sunny beach, or an evening at a concert-and focus intently on the sights, smells, and physical sensations associated with that event. Focus on this image for about five minutes.
Or you can start with the following imagery for seeing your way to weight-loss success.
Sit quietly and comfortably.
Once you are in position, start breathing deeply.
Close eyes. Keep it closed during your visualization. Keep your belly soft. Let that softness spread from your belly into your legs and upper body.
These exercises will relax you. Being relaxed helps you to concentrate on the images that you visualize. Now you are ready for some visualization for weight loss. Here is an exercise recommended by Gerald Epstein, M.D. author of " Healing Visualizations."


Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Picture yourself standing before a mirror, seeing a noticeably thinner you. Imagine entering the mirror and merging with that image, becoming that slimmer you. Feel your clothes hang more loosely on you.
Now separate yourself from the image and step out of the mirror, but keep your eyes on it. Open your eyes.
Each time you sit down to eat, take a minute or two to practice this exercise. It can help you eat more sensibly and reinforce your commitment to losing weight.
Seeing yourself losing weight programs the subconscious mind to do what you want. Imagine how your body will feel and what it will look like. See yourself wearing the kind of body-hugging outfits and doing the kinds of things-such as proudly walking across a crowded beach-that might not feel comfortable for you quite yet.
Here is a visualization recommended by Debbie Johnson, author of "Thinking Yourself Thin - The visualization technique that will make you lose weight without diet or exercise."
"I am walking on the beach, feeling slim and beautiful/ handsome. I feel people watching me as they notice how lean and lovely/ strong I am. I feel the warm sand move under my feet as I walk barefoot. The salty ocean air fills my nostrils. I breath deeply, loving the feeling of health and vigor. The waves roll in, their majestic sound enveloping me. I hear children playing and screaming with delight at finding shells or building castles. I am so happy to be alive in this moment and grateful for the new body I have. I feel more confident, healthy, vital, relaxed, and serene. I am at peace with my body and myself."

Keep forming these pleasant mental pictures, and you'll find yourself motivated to make them a reality.


I hope you'll take some time to see yourself at goal weight this beautiful weekend. See yourself where you want to be physically, spiritually and emotionally. Your mind...it's a powerful thing to waste!

Always encouraging you,
Letha

Relapse is a process, not an event!

I spoke Tuesday at The Team Challenge about PAWS Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome. It was a powerful subject as we recognized that permanent change takes time...more time than it takes to lose weight. The emotional and psychological work of recovery of any destructive behavior takes time. I challenged our clients to do the very important work of self-care and rewards to change the way they think about their relationship with food and also to prevent relapse in the future.

Relapse...a scary word in all of recovery.

Relapse is a process, it's not an event. In order to understand relapse prevention you have to understand the stages of relapse. Relapse starts weeks or even months before the event of physical relapse. There are three stages of relapse.

1. Emotional relapse
2. Mental relapse
3. Physical relapse

Emotional Relapse

In emotional relapse, you're not thinking about overeating. But your emotions and behaviors are setting you up for a possible relapse in the future.

The signs of emotional relapse are:

* Anxiety
* Intolerance
* Anger
* Defensiveness
* Mood swings
* Isolation
* Not asking for help
* Poor sleep habits

The signs of emotional relapse are also the symptoms of post-acute withdrawal. If you understand post-acute withdrawal it's easier to avoid relapse, because the early stage of relapse is easiest to pull back from. In the later stages the pull of relapse gets stronger and the sequence of events moves faster.

Relapse prevention at this stage means recognizing that you're in emotional relapse and changing your behavior. Recognize that you're isolating and remind yourself to ask for help. Recognize that you're anxious and practice relaxation techniques. Recognize that your sleep and eating habits are slipping and practice self-care.

If you don't change your behavior at this stage and you live too long in the stage of emotional relapse you'll become exhausted, and when you're exhausted you will want to escape, which will move you into mental relapse.

Practice self-care. The most important thing you can do to prevent relapse at this stage is take better care of yourself. Think about why you overeat. You use food or alcohol to escape, relax, or reward yourself. Therefore you relapse when you don't take care of yourself and create situations that are mentally and emotionally draining that make you want to escape.

For example, if you don't take care of yourself and eat poorly or have poor sleep habits, you'll feel exhausted and want to escape. If you don't let go of your resentments and fears through some form of relaxation, they will build to the point where you'll feel uncomfortable in your own skin. If you don't ask for help, you'll feel isolated. But if you practice self-care, you can avoid those feelings from growing and avoid relapse.

Mental Relapse

In mental relapse there's a war going on in your mind. Part of you wants to overeat and go back to old habits, but part of you doesn't. In the early phase of mental relapse you're just idly thinking about it. But in the later phase you're definitely thinking about using...your drug of choice.

The signs of mental relapse are:

* Thinking about people, places, and things you "used" with
* Glamorizing your past life style
* Fantasizing about using
* Thinking about relapsing
* Planning your relapse around other people's schedules

It gets harder to make the right choices as the pull of addiction gets stronger.

It's important to use tools at this time to stop the mental relapse. Play the tape through. When you think about overeating, the fantasy is that you'll be able to control your self and get back on track this time. You'll just eat poorly one day, one week. But play the tape through. One bad day usually leads to another. You'll wake up the next day feeling disappointed in yourself. You may not be able to stop the next day, and you'll get caught in the same vicious cycle. When you play that tape through to its logical conclusion, over eating doesn't seem so appealing. Remind yourself of the negative consequences you've already suffered, and the potential consequences that lie around the corner if you relapse again.

Call a friend, a support, or someone on the same journey. Share with them what you're going through. The magic of sharing is that the minute you start to talk about what you're thinking and feeling, your urges begin to disappear. They don't seem quite as big and you don't feel as alone.

Distract yourself. When you think about eating, do something to occupy yourself. Call a friend. Get up and go for a walk. If you just sit there with your urge and don't do anything, you're giving your mental relapse room to grow.

Wait for 30 minutes. Most urges usually last for less than 15 to 30 minutes. When you're in an urge, it feels like an eternity. But if you can keep yourself busy and do the things you're supposed to do, it'll quickly be gone.

Do your recovery one day at a time. Don't think about whether you can stay "on program" forever. That's a paralyzing thought. It's overwhelming even for people who've been healthy and at goal weight for a long time.

One day at a time, means you should match your goals to your emotional strength. When you feel strong and you're motivated to eat healthy, then tell yourself that you won't eat poorly for the next week or the next month. But when you're struggling and having lots of urges, tell yourself that you'll eat well today or for the next 30 minutes. Do your recovery in bite-sized chunks and don't sabotage yourself by thinking too far ahead.

Make relaxation part of your recovery. Relaxation is an important part of relapse prevention, because when you're tense you tend to do what’s familiar and wrong, instead of what's new and right. When you're tense you tend to repeat the same mistakes you made before. When you're relaxed you are more open to change.

Physical Relapse

Once you start thinking about relapse, if you don't use some of the techniques mentioned above, it doesn't take long to go from there to physical relapse.

It's hard to stop the process of relapse at that point. That's not where you should focus your efforts in recovery. That's achieving abstinence through brute force. But it is not recovery. If you recognize the early warning signs of relapse, and understand the symptoms of post-acute withdrawal, you'll be able to catch yourself before it's too late.

Beliefs=Thoughts=Feelings=Actions...it always come down to this! Work the program and you will keep your weight off for life!

Always encouraging you,
Letha

What Makes A Champion?

I've always loved reading about, watching, investigating ordinary people who do EXTRAORDINARY things. What makes someone become a champion? What do they have that others don't. Here's what I've discovered!

Champions don’t become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, and months they spend preparing for it.



Champions are positive thinkers; they believe in themselves.
Champions share in a belief that they will succeed. Champions always look for the good in every situation. No matter what obstacles they encounter, they always continue to think positive. Without confidence, faith in your abilities, and positive mental attitude, you’ve defeated yourself before you ever step out to succeed. You can choose the mind of a champion today!

Champions visualize their successes.
Champions understand the importance of positive mental imagery or visualization. We believe that at The Healthy Weigh. We believe that the mind is a powerful tool in your success. To be a champion, you must practice seeing yourself at goal weight. Practicing and becoming good at visualization is a must in the life of a champion.

Champions surround themselves with positive people and avoid negative influences.
Champions keep themselves in a "positive shell" and do not associate with negative people, places, or things. Choose who you spend time with…limit your time with negative influences…spread out your time with positive people that help you live out your best life! Invest in establishments, books, tapes, friends…who bring champion like thinking in to your world!

Champions are goal setters.
Champions realize that if they don’t know where they’re going, that is exactly where they’ll end up; nowhere! Champions consistently set long and short-term goals. From day to day goals to long term career objectives, champion’s have written out specific, measurable goals with a deadline. They understand the importance of the reward system to change behavior permanently…set goals, reward self, set goals, reward self…over and over…that’s what champions do. That’s what you can do starting today!

Champions have a burning desire to succeed.
Champions not only have goals, but they ardently desire them. Robert Collier, summed up the idea of desire beautifully in his 1926 self-help classic Secret of the Ages. He said, "Very few people know how to desire with sufficient intensity. They do not know what it is to feel and manifest that intense, eager, longing, craving, insistent, demanding, ravenous desire which is akin to the persistent, insistent, ardent, overwhelming desire of the drowning man for a breath of air, or a desert-lost man for a drink of water, or the famished man for bread and meat." Champions have burning desire. They want it and they want it badly. How bad so you want the body you deserve? Do you want it as bad as your next breath? If you do…you’re a champion!

Champions are disciplined and consistent.
Champions live and breathe their new lifestyle all year round. They are committed and disciplined in training and dietary practices. They know that when you’re changing your life permanently there is no off-season and success does not come overnight.
One day at a time…making the healthy choice no matter what yesterday looked like.

Champions are persistent.
Champions never, ever quit. Thomas Edison was the epitome of persistence: He conducted 10,000 experiments before finally finding a filament that would burn in the electric light bulb. Champions know that if they persist long enough, eventually they must succeed.

Champions learn from their failures.
Champions don't view losses as failures, they see them as learning experiences. When asked how it felt to fail 10,000 times, Thomas Edison replied, "I didn’t fail, I learned 9,999 ways that wouldn’t work." Champions know that they haven’t failed until they quit; but once they quit, then they have failed. A champion finds a lesson in every apparent loss and finds ways to grow from it.


Champions have incredible powers of focus and concentration.
Champions set goals and then maintain a laser-like focus on them. They have the ability to always keep the long term objective in their sights while focusing 100% on what they are doing at the moment. If you watch a champion train you will notice that they are completely oblivious to their surroundings. 100% of their focus and concentration is on what they are doing. They almost appear to have slipped into a hypnosis-like trance. This peak physiological and psychological state has often been referred to as being in "the zone" or being in "flow." Champions can access this state instantly at will. When it comes time to train they turn everything else off and zero in on what they are doing. What does it look like to be in the zone on your healthy eating plan…I know, I’ve been in the zone. It almost feel like you’re Teflon…nothing can get to you, because you’ve decided!

Champions have a deep love and boundless enthusiasm for the sport, the program….what ever it may be.
To a loser, training and dieting is work and drudgery. To a champion, training and dieting are a love, a joy, and a passion. Champions are enthusiastic about what they do; they can’t wait to train each day. Motivational speaker Tom Hopkins once said, "Work is anything you’re doing when you’d rather be doing something else." Champions are doing what they love, so to them it’s not work at all, its fun!

Champions strive for constant and never ending improvement.
Champions are never satisfied with the status quo; they never rest on their laurels. Champions aim for small improvements every day in every way. Champions are open-minded and are always looking for a better way to do things. Although champions are always striving for more, they also realize that success is a journey, so they enjoy each moment and savor every step along the way.

Champions are hard workers; they are willing to go the extra mile.
Positive thinking, goal setting, visualization, desire, persistence, and enthusiasm are vital, but without action and hard work, these traits are all worthless. Edison said, "Success is 98% perspiration and 2% inspiration." Champions are hard workers. Champions take consistent action and they are willing to do the things that the losers are not.


Our Champions at The Healthy Weigh face many obstacles during their weight loss programs. Parties, graduations, taking children to college, tragic deaths, family reunions, weddings, vacations, daily temptations both at work and home…all the things, that we all face.
What sets our champions apart…is that even in the midst of all those events and seemly “out of control” times…they truly knew that they DID have control over what they ate, how they responded and what they chose to do!

Champions aren’t born, they are made. They are made by the choices they make every day. By the way they choose to think when they’ve gotten off track and need to get back on, by the way they continue going when they going gets real tough.

Are you a champion? What choices can you make even this weekend to call yourself one? Here's to a weekend of extraordinary choices!

Always encouraging you,
Letha