Mental Block: Can Systems and Tools Help?

So I set out to work on the mental blocks that I am facing about getting healthy for 6 weeks.  I identified what I would work on each week.  For the third and fourth week I thought I would develop tools and systems to help me overcome my mental blocks.

I studied a lot about having a backup plan because your brain cannot wing it.  It reverts to jumping ship or losing your way for a week or month verses just a few hours.  I thought about some If --> then plans to have ready so I can get back on track as soon as possible when I have a slip up (Yup, I am planning for that to happen).

But the more I thought about continuing on this plan of creating tools and systems for the mental block the more I was bothered by it!  I don’t want to create tools and systems to help me move off of a mental block, I want to avoid them all together!!  So I will reframe avoiding mental blocks into the behaviors I actually want (positive frame!) and work on tools and systems to get there!  That is a much more productive use of my time.  (Plus I already have my backup plan ready so I can get back on the track quickly when there is an issue!)

So my first tool or system is to help me stay on the right track.  I think food planning is key for me long term & I have been doing a better job and working on the systems for planning food during the week (Jackson has been working on this too)!  An area I have never tried to tackle is the food I eat when I am traveling.  Since I have a trip next week, this is the perfect time to think about a system for food on the road.  Below is my first pass at a system.  I will work to tweak it as I go!

Event:	Plan 1	Plan 2
Breakfast	If I choose: ·   Pick something with a lot of fruit &/or veggies.  Maybe yogurt.  Ensure there is protein with meats or peanutbutter etc.    ·   Minimize Grease! ·   Minimize carbs.  ·   Breakfast is always hard for me b/c I don’t like eggs…	If I do not choose (like a buffet): ·   Choose any fruits you can ·   Choose a muffin over a pastry ·   Eat some pre-made snacks
Snacks	·   Pack more than normal.  Take granola bars.  Take pistachios & other nuts.  Take dried fruits (for non-international travel) ·   Ensure they are all pre-portioned ·   Eat your snacks vs the ones provided	·   When the choices are not ideal, have some of the food, but try not to overdo it and then supplement with your snacks!
Lunch	·   Order a salad that is not loaded with junk ·   Order a broth soup ·   Order a sandwich by do not eat the top piece of bread and get veggie vs. Fries for the side
Dinner	·   Skip the fried appetizer ·   Order a broth soup or a simple salad ·   Order a meal that is lean meat and a veggie side	·   Survey the whole buffet before you start so you can make the best choices ·   Try to align your plate with 50% veggies, 25% meat, 25% complex carb
Desert	·   Only eat the desert if it is something you really like. Do not eat just because it is there.  Do not have a cannoli or other non-favorite b/c it is available.	·     Have only one desert / day.  Sounds simple but it is easy to have one with lunch or a snack & dinner when traveling.
Beverages	·   Stick with coffee, minimal alcohol and one drink a day like La Croix	·   Have one pop / day if you need to (like coke or ginger ale).  If have a pop one day try to revert back to your Plan 1 the next day.
Workouts	·   Plan how many workouts you need while away to meet your weekly goal.  Schedule them in!	·   If the workouts do not work out for some reason do not panic.  Walk more around the airport or make it up when you get home.  Do not throw away the eating work b/c of this!

So this plan is somewhat simple and tries to account for the flexibility needed when traveling.  Now that I have documented this, I am not sure why I have not done it before!  I have a trip this week so I will get to put this into action right away.  We’ll see how it goes!!!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on systems.  Any successes you’ve had, systems you have developed or questions you have, please share!

Life in the Green Room

Mental Block: Knocked Out in Round 2!!!

It’s a good thing I chose to research the mental health block, because I needed it desperately this week. I seem to be stuck with my face squished up against the mental block wall right now.

I know the rules of this group are no judging, but I have been judging myself ten ways to Sunday today.  I gained 2 pounds this week and I am livid about it.  I have all of the excuses lined up, I was traveling; I’ve been busy, and although these are true, I still feel like a big fat failure for the backslide this week.

There is so much research about getting your head in the right space to be successful.  I fully appreciate and understand this at an academic level, but I really do not know how to get my head in the right space.  It is easy to beat myself up.  I am probably looking at a 20 year habit that I need to break.

Luckily Jackson is able to talk me off of the ledge.  I probably would have just ate everything in the house out of spite if he hadn’t been here.  Throw away even more work that I have done.  There is no logic to this reaction, but it is my go to response.

The topic of the week (that I’ll share tomorrow with the 6 Week Program Group) is just exactly about this.  It is about why losing weight is so hard and how our minds are literally built to hold us back from success.  I wish I could say I had an If à Then plan ready for if I gained weight (I didn’t) but I think Jackson helped me to not participate in self-sabotaging behavior that would have left me feeling bad all day (& probably tomorrow too!).

Here are a few clips from articles on the mental game that I read and really hit home for what I struggle with.  I hope you enjoy them!  If you can relate to any of them or have some tips to overcome them, leave a comment!

From Fit Bottomed Girls (about how we really rebel against ourselves!):
http://fitbottomedgirls.com/2011/07/5-tips-to-get-out-of-your-own-way-and-lose-the-weight-for-good/

Think about it. How many times have you set out to accomplish a goal or task only to find yourself procrastinating or flat-out sabotaging your own efforts? Started a weight-loss plan on a Monday and are eating directly out of the ice-cream tub by Wednesday? Vowed to go to the gym every morning this week only to find yourself oversleeping?

If you find yourself emotional eating or self-sabotaging, take a deep breath and ask “Who am I really rebelling against?” Many times we choose unhealthy behaviors (almost unconsciously) in defiance of husbands, friends, family or co-workers in an attempt to gain control or have power. Or we are rebelling against ourselves because, deep down, we don’t feel like we’re worthy of the positive changes we’ve set forth to make. These issues could be left over from childhood or may show a lack of confidence in ourselves or an inability to emotionally express ourselves. No matter the reason, do some soul-searching to see what’s affecting you. Awareness—and loving understanding—is the only way to overcome it.

Another article from Fit Bottomed Girls:

Do you talk to yourself like you'd talk to your best friend??

We talk a lot about having a positive headspace and being aware of your thoughts, but REALLY. Pay attention the next time you exercise — and pay attention throughout your entire workout. What are you saying to yourself? What are you thinking about? Are you present? Are you beating yourself up? What happens when you’re struggling with something? What do you tell yourself?

Guys, this is seriously SO important. It’s easy to be positive when you’re rocking your run or workout and all is great in the world. But when the going gets tough, what are you saying to yourself? How could you use a hard time as an opportunity to become more mindful, accepting and loving of yourself?

Forbes Article about a book written by the CEO of Weight Watchers:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennifercohen/2012/05/15/5-steps-to-becoming-your-own-weight-loss-boss/

It’s a sobering truth that if you struggle with weight, you will always struggle with weight, but that doesn’t mean you’re doomed to live a life without enjoying food! The best thing you can do for your relationship with food is to love food that loves you back. Stay away from the “bad girlfriends of food,” as Kirchhoff cleverly calls them. They’re the ones that give you a quick thrill and make you feel like crap afterwards, leave you wanting more and are TERRIBLE for you in the long run. “Settle down” with great food, and you’ll be in a happy and satisfying commitment for life.

Life in the Green Room:

I'm Mentally Exhausted from Trying to Lose Weight!

So for this 6 week challenge I have decided to research and learn about the mental blocks that surround you when trying to lose weight.  Then I want to develop some tools or tricks to help me off the road of self-sabotage.  For the most part, I know what to do.  I may not know the amount of proteins in different foods, but I get that eating cleaner foods in healthy portions and exercising will get me in the right direction.  However, there is always a part of me that is getting in the way.

There is a chapter or concept in the Stephen Covey book about 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  The concept is if you have to cut down a tree in 4 hours, spend 3 sharpening your saw.  I know this is not an exact quote, but you can get the point.  I am trying to figure out the equivalent of the saw for losing weight.  I am very suspicious that the saw is tied to your mental game.

For me, just brute forcing will power, is not the answer.  This absolutely works in the short term, but then you crack.  And then you feel bad b/c you cracked and the self-sabotage begins & you are worse off from when you started. 

So, how do we get in front of this!

For my initial round of research I learned a lot about how the mental blocks are real and need to be dealt with.  I’m hoping to get deeper in how to fix them next week.

Here are some of the common mental blocks (I feel like I have a challenge with all of them!)

• Will Power is not a long term plan
• You cannot think your diet is temporary
• The all or nothing attitude is lethal
• The can’t have negative thoughts (vs. don’t want) will set you up for failure
• If/when I cheat, I am a bad person(http://mikeandsuzie.com/6-reasons-weight-loss-diet-isnt-working/)

"Cut the mental fat, and that will lead to cutting the waistline fat," says Pamela Peeke, MD, author of Fit to Live.  I’m totally on board!  Now I just have to figure out how to cut the mental fat!

A few relevant tips I have found so far, that I will explore in more detail:

• Focus on what you can add vs. what you can take away.  Ok, I like that, restrictions can make me start to panic.  I can think about adding healthy (& delicious) foods.  I can rely more tricks like, you can eat X, but you have to eat a serving of raw veggies first etc.
• Replace a bad habit with a good habit.  Conceptually this one seems great!  Execution will be the trick.  One example was when you find yourself standing in front of the fridge or the pantry, go for a walk instead.  Sounds great….  Can I actually do this??  I will be exploring this further.
•             Do some searching on the type of eater you are and find the diet lifestyle that matches.  Hmmm.  Are you a Compulsive eater, Impulsive eater, emotional eater??  Yes, Yes & Yes.  So I should follow all the diets?  Not sure on this one…
•             Understand Why you eat this way?  Love it!  Now I just need to know HOW to understand my why into unhealthy relationship with food and eating habits.  

This is a great start on the mental block.  Over the coming weeks I’ll dive deeper into this topic so I can hopefully learn about how to get in front of the mental block.

Do you have any great tips about how you recognize a mental block?  How about how you have overcome one?  Please share!  Help the rest of us out!

Life in the Green Room

Research:

http://superiormotiveshealth.com/6-reasons-weight-loss-diet-isnt-working/

http://mikeandsuzie.com/6-reasons-weight-loss-diet-isnt-working/
http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/weight_loss/losing_weight/cant_lose.htm

The Juicing Challenge has come to an End! Week 6 Wrap Up

Jackson and I are on a 6 week juicing challenge, and we just finished it!  We have learned a lot, drank a lot of juice and finished out our challenge strong (err… sort of!).  I’m spilling all the details here.

So much to say for week 6 that I don't even know where to start.  It was a pretty rough week!  We went away the weekend before (had an amazing time!) and were kind of bad with our food choices.  Instead of just leaving it at that, I went on to eat terrible the whole week.  I don't know how I let this happen!  I felt less energy this week than I have this whole time!  This was probably the biggest hurdle or slide back of the week.

Jackson was away on a business trip & I didn't juice - this was the plan, so that was ok.  What was not ok is that I reverted to my old habits of having a lot of nothing (& everything) for dinner.  One night I literally had cheese & crackers & ice cream for dinner.  I was exhausted that night & crashed into bed.  The next morning my stomach was making the worst grumbling ever…. (I can't imagine why!!!)

Then, on the 6th & final week of the challenge, I didn't have juice as a meal 5 days!  I completely fell apart.  My plan all week was Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Friday & Saturday.  Friday night Jackson was not feeling juice & I completely forgot my goal.  I was like, sure we can go for dinner….  It wasn't until 9 o'clock at night that I realized that I just screwed up my goal on the last week!  I was so mad!!!  I don’t know how I let it get so carried away from me.  I complete lost my focus once I could see the end zone.  (like in college football, where the guy is so far from any other opponents that he dropped the ball on the one yard line while running into the end zone.  He literally doesn't get the touchdown b/c he started celebrating too soon!)  That’s kind of how I felt this week!

Ok – I need to let this go, I still had tons of juice & felt really great, so I’m trying to give myself a pass on the indiscretions of the final week J

We had planned a full day of juicing as a way to wrap up the challenge.  Bonus Juice!!  On the final Saturday we were going have 5 juices.  The rules were:  any other drinks were allowed, and  you could eat if you wanted to but only fruit and veggies, nothing else.  This was totally hard.  Felt good to round out the challenge in such a tough way!!  I personally was smooth sailing until about 4:30.  Then I started really craving food to chew.  I toughed it out & had all five juices though.  Jackson had a tough time the whole day.  He really wanted to eat and it was mentally stressing him out!  He told me he was planning to sneak some food while I was in the shower, but he accidentally fell asleep on the couch & missed his chance!  Then I went to bed at around 11.  He told me he was standing in front of the fridge, ready to eat.  Somehow (so proud!) he made the tougher choice, realizing he could just wait until breakfast to eat.  We both made it, but it was a really hard part of the challenge.   To be honest, I’d do it again.  I had a tedious day of chores and work to do, so I just made the juice work with that.  Next time, I may even try 2 days.  I think to really have a juice reboot you have to do 3 days.  Maybe someday, but I have some work to do to get to that point.

Overall results: 

·         My number one benefit was sleeping better – throughout the 6 weeks I almost never went to bed feeling overly full or gross.  

·         I had more energy!  Huge win for me.  I think between all of the nutrients and sleeping better I was able to get more done and feel better about myself

·         I was able to overcome some mental challenges.  That was the hardest part about juicing for me.

  

So where do we go from here?  I think we’ll keep juicing for a meal a few nights a week.  Maybe we’ll set up another juicing challenge in the future.   Let us know if you are thinking about juicing!

Life in the Green Room

I’m on the Juice Train Now! Juicing Week 5 Update

Jackson and I are on a 6 week juicing challenge, we have rounded the last corner, in the homestretch now!  If have missed how the first four weeks have gone, no worries, jump right in & see how we are doing!  We are ‘easing’ into juicing.  Easing has not been that easy though!  I’m spilling all the details. 

Week 5 is in the bag, we only have our last week to go!  I cannot believe how fast the time has gone.  For our final week, we have decided to ramp up the challenge.  We are going to have juice for one meal 5 days in our final week (week 6) and on the last day (Saturday) we are going to have only juice, no food!  We wanted to go out with a bang, and this will definitely be a bang!

But back to week 5; we are really sailing now!!  We had a juice for a meal on 5 days, I did my 3.5 hours of exercise with 2 lifting days and I mostly ate better for lunch.  I felt like total victory this week!!!  (one small exception is confessed below):

The biggest issue this week is working on how to fit juicing into our lives so it works for both of us.    Jackson would rather have juice for breakfast, but I already have a breakfast solution (shakes)…. What to do….  To be honest I have not been a good compromiser on this.  (This is not all that easy for me to admit, but it is definitely true.)  Juice for dinner really works for me, especially with my shakes for breakfast.  I need to figure out how to be more flexible with him because for months I have been nagging him (what, me nag??) about coming up with a solution for breakfast.  For him, it is so easy to jump to fast-food in the morning.  If juicing in the morning will help him break that habit, I need to find a way to make it work at least some of the time.  In general, I am not a very good compromiser.  I should be working on finding ways to actually compromise.  I usually spend my time finding ways for Jackson to be ok with my side… Not cool...  I don’t like to admit I am this shallow, but maybe if I put it out there to the universe, I can actually work on getting better…..

Wins of the Week:

• We tried our first yellow juice!  Both really liked it - a little too acidic though - & it gave Jackson pretty bad heartburn :(  
• We tried another yellow juice (2 in one week!) and it turned out to be Jackson’s favorite so far – Mexicali – so it really paid to branch out!
•  I left 60 minutes of my 3.5 hours until Friday night (I knew we had plans Saturday and there wouldn’t be any time).  The last thing I really wanted to do was an hour workout Friday night after work, but I did it.  I also chose a really tough one (Les Mills Combat 60: Extreme Cardio Fighter)
• This is a win, but in full disclosure I was totally cranky about doing this workout....  At least I did it!
• We did manage to find the ability to be flexible and still meet our goal.  We changed our plan on Wed & went out to eat instead of juicing and moved the juice day until Friday.  Worked for both of us!

Have you tried juicing yet?  Let us know!

Life in the Green Room

Keep on Juicing! Juicing Week 4 Update

If you have been following along, Jackson and I are on a 6 week juicing challenge.  If not, no worries, jump right in & see how we are doing!  We are ‘easing’ into juicing.  Easing has not been that easy though!  I’m spilling all the details.  The good, the bad, the ugly/angry etc.  Follow our journey!  Let us know if you want to try anything like this!  (or if you have, what you think!)

So we crossed another milestone & we are now staring down the finish line of our juicing challenge.  We finished week 4!  This week my goal was to have a juice for a meal 5 days a week and to workout for 3.5 hours.  Bumping up the workout to 3.5 hours was tough!  It equals to 30 minutes every day and as I have no desire to be a crazed workout person (no offence, if you do work out every day -  you are amazing!) I had to bump up the time to get it in!  It required a lot of planning & tracking.  I really want to continue with the lifting too b/c I feel like such a weakling lately (I used to think I was really strong!)  I think I have let all my muscle turn into fat, so I need to start to process of turning it back!

This week we finally fell into a rhythm for juicing.  I guess there is truth about it really taking 21 days to form a habit.  The first 3 weeks were a complete struggle.  We have figured out how to pick the juices, plan our grocery shopping (including making one big crock pot or equivalent meal so I have lunches to take).  These seem simple, but the first few weeks, we turned these into monumental tasks!!

We tried to get out of it once or twice, but, in general, we are in a rhythm.  I think we both are too stubborn to not finish at this point.

Juicing in place of a meal is still tough, but I think this was the easiest week so far.

We had a few juices that were really tough this week.  We both decided we really hate the juices with cucumber.  I think we'll sub cucumber for celery or more spinach in the future - we literally choked that one down.  We also had one called Lemon Lime & Bitters.  It was terrible.  It was so tart with the lemon & lime.  It was out of control!  I wish I could have videoed Jackson’s face on his fist sip.  It was a pucker face like you've never seen!

Wins of the week!

•          Something came up & we really wanted to eat out a night that was supposed to be a drinking night (ha I mean juicing night!).  We found a quick resolution & had juice for breakfast.  (this is not perfect because I like to have smoothies for breakfast, but it worked in a pinch to help us stay on track!)
•          I finally lost a few pounds.  I lost 2 pounds this week (first since we started juicing and a total of 7 since starting watching health in May) so I am not lighting the world on fire but I’m still counting this as a win
•          We tried some tougher juices (as noted above!)  We are getting so brave now J

I’m starting to feel pretty proud about how we are completing the challenge & starting to think about our sustaining plan.  What will we do after this 6 weeks is over?

I have had more energy and maybe only one night since we started did I go to bed feeling overly full.  I think that is one key reason I can sleep better.

Did you try it yet?  Let us know!

I know this juice looks like a gross color, but that's the thing, it's actually quite good!  In fact (with the exception of the juices with cucumber & beet) they have all been good!

Life in the Green Room

What Type of Eater Are You? And Why you Should Care

Abstainer vs. Moderator?  Which are you? (& who cares?).  Trying to understand triggers a little more is helpful to purposefully making changes in your eating habits.

I am an abstainer through and through!  When people say, only eat when you are hungry, how do you react?  To me, this is completely impractical advise (almost insulting!).  It feels like advice that in no way relates to me.  Its like saying 'don't check your phone' when you are waiting for the new guy you're dating to text you.  Not.. gonna.. happen...  

Recently I was listening to a podcast called Happier by Gretchen Ruben and she was reviewing the concept of Abstainers vs. Moderators.  The moderators are the lucky ones that can truly one eat when they are hungry or can only eat a 1/2 bag of M&Ms or 4 crackers.  (I guess I assume they are lucky because it is so far from my world!)  1/2 bag of M&Ms, please, I'll take 2 bags!  

Abstainers are the ones who cannot have it in the house...anywhere…. Or they will find it & eat it.  (This is totally me!)  Anyway the podcast was talking about coming up with resolutions when you have Abstainers and Moderators living in the same house and what will allow both to be successful.  I discussed this with Jackson.  We are definitely both abstainers, but the challenge is some of our food triggers are different.  I cannot have most chips or salty snacks in the house, he cannot have any sweets around.  So, we have landed on having neither.  

It sucks sometimes, but it is getting us to eat slightly healthier snacks.  Step in the right direction!  Are you an abstainer or a moderator?

Life in the Green Room