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 in-layed 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 habit 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... A Powerful Thing to Waste!

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. 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

Excellence is Mundane!

Tuesday, I spoke to a group of individuals who are preparing for a ten week Olympic experience of their own. The Summer Team Challenge! I spoke about EXCELLENCE...what it really takes to be EXCELLENT! Because after all...excellence is what we are after in these Olympic summer games!

Excellence can be a scary word. Its like urgency and perfection and  superior and exceptional. Don’t get me wrong, we all  want excellence…we're just not sure that we’ve got what it takes to be excellent. We don’t know if we’re made of that kind of stuff.

Well, I’m here to give you some great news about being an EXCELLENT Olympian in this Summer Team Challenge!

EXCELLENCE IS ACTUALLY MUNDANE

Oh, what great news huh? Some of you are thinking…"well, that’s not very exciting!"  True…but here’s what’s exciting about that statement. We all have a little mundane in us!  We all don’t know if we have the excellence it takes to get the job done…but we all would agree that we all have some mundane in us!

Excellence is actually mundane!

Let me explain that!!!

Excellence is accomplished through deliberate actions, ordinary in themselves, performed consistently and carefully, made into habits, compounded together, added up over time.

Since Excellence is mundane, it is within reach of everyone, all the time. Please don't confuse this with success. In competitive athletics success is mutually exclusive...there are winners and losers…one team finishes first and another one last. But Excellence is some thing that EVEYONE of us can have!!!  Every one of us!

So let’s break this down and look at what it’s going to take to be excellence for this Summer Team Challenge!

Excellence is accomplished through deliberate actions, ordinary in themselves, performed consistently and carefully, made into habits, compounded together, added up over time.

 through deliberate actions

The great thing about the program at The Healthy Weigh is that we have done the deliberate planning for you. We have thought out, planned out, predetermined, and calculated what it will take nutritionally for you to have EXCELLENT results on this program! To be deliberate about something, you’ve got to have a marked plan of attack. With our program, there is no guessing, no changing, no wondering…you can be VERY deliberate about your actions. When you make a decision…action follows. A true decision means cutting yourself off from any other possibility…that is deliberate living. We’ve got the plan…now be deliberate about following it!

Excellence is accomplished through deliberate actions

ordinary in themselves

Everyone is doing those ordinary actions, there are no real secrets. I’ve loved watching the clients who have been EXCELLENT at the team challenge!  They’ve lost 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 pounds in one team challenge!  Everyone wants to know how they did it.  We’ve actually had people leave the challenge because they knew that those people must be doing something secretive to lose that much weight. The truth is (and you could ask all of those excellent people) what they did to be excellent was very ordinary. They didn’t have to make up anything new…figure out a secret plan, create a new program. They just did what was predetermined by their coach for them to do! That’s how you win the gold medal. When you ask ANY of these clients how they did it…how they lost so much weight…how they were so excellent, they all humbly say with kind of a mundane feel to their answer…”I just followed the program.”

Excellence is accomplished through deliberate actions, ordinary in themselves…

performed consistently (done on a regular basis)

               You’ve got all the tools, you KNOW what needs to be done, you know that each week…you must grocery shop, have all the appropriate foods around, plan ahead, prepare food in advance and always have a plan of attack…you do that, for a while... consistently and you are EXCELLENT!!!

And then, you’re too tired to drop by the store. You don't have the appropriate foods handy. You don’t prepare your food in advance and you leave the house without a plan and you wonder why you can't follow the program.  Going to the store, preparing food ahead, taking a cooler full of your healthy food when you leave the house…I’m sorry, but that is just plain old mundane!!! It’s not the actions of a superior person…it is the deliberate actions very ordinary in themselves performed consistently that bring about EXCELLENCE!

Sometimes when I’m at the store and it’s late and my feet hurt and I’m getting what I need to eat healthy I think about you. I wonder, is this how my clients feel when they say “I’m too tired, I can’t do it. I don’t have the stamina?”  Doing the right thing over and over again is pretty downright mundane! Aren’t you glad! It’s not the actions of the super elite or the highly motivated, incredible, disciplined person…that accomplishes excellent weight loss, it’s just what you do day in and day out.

Excellence is accomplished through deliberate actions, ordinary in themselves, performed consistently.

and carefully

                Carefully is a big key in being EXCELLENT!!!  Around The Healthy Weigh it's about being careful how you think…being careful who you hang out with…being careful what you do with your time…being careful about following the program as it’s written…weighing and measuring your food, drinking all your water and eating everything, every day that you are supposed to eat. Not "kind of doing" the program or using it as a guideline, or feeling like you were on the program because of all the things you said NO to…but really following this scientific, stellar nutritional plan! Following the program with high standards! Being careful!

Excellence is accomplished through deliberate actions, ordinary in themselves, performed consistently and carefully

made into habits

                So much of what we do every day…most of what we do everyday is based on the habits that we have formed over the years of our lifetime. It is so important that for the next ten weeks you do things differently…that you coach your psychological self and your physical self to do things differently. You can and you will during this 10 weeks over ride some of the bad or unhealthy habits you have with a new set of patterns. The old patterns will be there in the background, but we believe that you will be creating new patterns , new habits that can change many areas of your life. Focusing on weight loss is just the beginning of changing unhealthy habits in many areas of your life into healthy ones. Very mundane…doing new things every day, in a new way repeating that new behavior every day…won’t be so outstanding but it will bring EXCELLENCE to your life!

Habits can, will and must be transformed at The Healthy weigh!  Because...

Excellence is accomplished through deliberate actions, ordinary in themselves, performed consistently and carefully, made into habits

compounded together

Understand this, when you harness all these elements  together, change begins to happen…permanently happen. You add your changed thinking to your changed behavior which causes you to feel different and believe things about yourself that you have never believed before! Your beliefs will ALWAYS dictate how you think act and feel. A little mundane…but powerful! One plus one does not equal two when you begin to think differently…it multiplies and brings about change that you can’t compute!

Because Excellence is accomplished through deliberate actions, ordinary in themselves, performed consistently and carefully, made into habits compounded together

added up over time

You know what happens when you add it up over time…you lose weight, you live a different life, your priorities change, you live longer, you add healthy years to your life, your relationships change, your confidence grows, your insecurities leave, you accomplish what you were made for…you experience EXCELLENCE!!

Because excellence is accomplished through deliberate actions, ordinary in themselves, performed consistently and carefully, made into habits compounded together added up over time!

Every one of you have the ability to have an EXCELLENT Summer games. You DO have what it takes to be excellent!!! All of you!

Excellence...how mundane!

Always Encouraging you,

Letha

Champions Aren't Born, They're made!

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.

As we prepare to celebrate the Summer Olympics at The Healthy Weigh this summer, I can't help but think about what it takes to be a champion!

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,