Mental Rehearsing: Is it just a bunch of new age mumbo jumbo?

Mental Rehearsing is the act of visualizing what you want to happen in advance in any given situation. When I talk about Mental Rehearsing, people tell me that is like the movie The Secret. I have seen the movie, and I assume that what they mean is the act of visualizing is what they mean to be similar. In some cases, it may be. Imagining that you are driving the "car of your dreams" like The Secret suggests and it "The Universe" will bring it to you seems too good to be true. In my opinion it is if you have no means of getting that car. I hate just depending on something else outside my external control to get me what I desire. The other side of that coin would be more along the lines of practicing. I first came into contact with this idea when I watched Joe Montana's The Winning Spirit:  16 Timeless Principles That Drive Performance Excellence. He suggests that you need to practice in order to become the best at what you do. I completely saw the logic when I first watched the DVD to practice playing football if you wanted to become the best football player you could be. However, I didn't see where it could get you in terms of being successful at losing weight or even making money, which were what I was looking to be successful at.

The application of this process first starts in you head. Even before Joe Montana went on the field to practice, he would rehearse in his mind what kind of practice he wanted to have. Then if he ever strayed from this criteria, he would notice it instantly. He would notice it because that's what he told his brain was important. As soon as he sees it as varying from the practice that he wanted to have he would. In psychology classes at NMHU, I learned this idea is known as the reticular activating system. In class, they describe it as noticing the kind of car you drive everywhere you go. If you just bought a new VW Bug, you're going to notice it everywhere you go. Same concept goes for a game called Slug Bug. If you're not familiar with Slug Bug, you call out "Slug Bug Purple" if you see a VW Bug, and then you get to hit your opponent. If you're like me, once you stopped playing, it was hard not to notice everytime you saw a VW Bug because your mind or Reticular Activity System (RAS) still thinks it is very important to you.

Mental Rehearsing is found as a tool in the Week 4 of the Weight Watchers books. The idea applies specifically to weight loss. If you find yourself struggling with a certain situation, visualize yourself handling it successfully over and over again. The idea is that as soon as the situation arrives, you can have a go to plan for getting what you want. You feel comfortable carrying out those actions because you have done them so many times in your head.


Til Tomorrow,
Josh

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The Dreaded Weigh In Annihilated

Yesterday, I wrote about how it is very important to show up for weigh-in. I didn't back down from the challenge and I'm glad I didn't. I lost 4.2 pounds! That is excellent for me, for anyone actually. So, not only did I lose those 2 pounds last week but I also lost an additional 2.2 pounds of new territory. That felt great! I went to SubWay right afterwards to celebrate. SubWay in itself is a healthier option then most fast food options. I wanted to get chips and coke like I normally like to do, but it was SO easy to say no. I saw the cookies there and I would have normally said, "Yeah, three cookies please." However, the last time I went there I had one and it was 5 points! It was not worth that many. I love that type of awareness because I make healthier decisions without feeling the least bit satisfied.
Unfortunately, I ended up eating at Dion's Pizza and pigged out. I have trouble just eating a few slices. I ate 5 of them delicious bad boys. I wasn't too pleased with that. I also drank some whiskey tonight. I am over twenty 20 points, but I am going to take them from the weekly. The progressive aspect of tonight was that I may have normally not even tracked what I ate once I went over the daily points. I was tracking it as I went along. The other aspect of tonight is that I was trying to make someone feel better and provide them with comfort food and drink. I really didn't want any until I came home with the pizza. Next time, I need to not only plan for a healthier option no matter where I go but also mentally rehearse eating less and not feeling cheated out of something. I need to take the overeating pizza incident just like the SubWay cookie incident. I want to be in control in that type of situation.
Mental rehearsing is a strategy that the Weight Watchers program uses. I have always agreed with this strategy because it has helped me on tests, interviews, and sports. Tomorrow I will be going into more detail about mental rehearsing.


Til tomorrow,
Josh


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Going Back To Weigh In After A Gain

Last week I weighed in with a gain of 2.0 pounds. That really hurt. I wasn't excellent on the program, but I didn't think that I was bad to the point of gaining weight. Maybe maintaining my weight, but not gaining...geez. Today, I would like to talk about the importance of going back to the scale even after you have gained the previous week. If you are anything like me, you have a major weight problem and feel like it's impossible to lose weight no matter how you try. Weight losses feel only temporary, and gains feel imminent at some point. However, here is some good advice to all of you in this category:

1.) Awareness is key
      The way any one gains weight, or at least large amounts of weight is by not being held accountable. Now, I am a member of Weight Watchers and that keeps me accountable on my weigh-in days. Weighing at home is  also the same type of accountability except it is only held by yourself and not others. Just being aware of your weight-change will bring awareness to what you eat. That awareness helps you change what your intake and thus more successful the next time around.

2.) Look at how far you have come.
      It's so easy for me to say, "See! I gained 2 pounds on this system. I have xxx amount of pounds to lose It doesn't work." and then just give up. The truth is I still have a 7.2 pound loss from my initial weigh in. That idea of being better than I was has a much more proactive mind set than, I have more than 100 pounds to lose.

3.) Find a non-scale goal to work on
     If your determination to lose weight is solely based on the numbers on the scale, then you will have a roller coaster of a day emotionally when those numbers are not good news. Sometimes you can do good and still gain because of water weight. Even if you gained because you went off eating plan, the emotions that come along with that are detrimental to you success. Create a goal like to fit in some old pants, or to buy yourself something you would enjoy if you stay on track for a month, or something that motivates you but is not dependent only on the pounds you weight in at.

My personal goal is to fit into Regular sizes. Big and Tall sizes start at 46 waist. I am a 48 currently. That means that I need to be at a 44 waist to be able to buy regular pants. That is very exciting for. By the way, I also of goals that have to do with pounds. I started out at 359 pounds and my goal is to weigh less than 300 pounds by February 18, 2011. That is about 4 1/2 months. I calculated the numbers and I should have plenty of weeks to spare if I can lose weight at an average pace of 3 pounds a week.

Thats pretty much it for today.

Til tomorrow,
Josh

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Using Your Phone to Help You Lose Weight

In the last few years we have seen an explosion in apps on or cell phones. Some of these apps are just for fun and plain useless. I have found an app on my Palm Pre Plus that allows me to me to keep track of my Weight Watcher points. The name of the app is Points Calculator. It allows you to figure out the amount of points things are based on calories, fat, and fiber. My favorite feature though was the ability to tally up points as you go along. I find it a pain in the butt when I am out in public places to pull out a tracker and write down everything I'm gonna eat or just finished eating. That sort of idea is what makes it hard to track because I will put it off to another day.

I always have my cell phone with me. So, I will never forget my cell phone like I forget my tracker. That and I really don't like pulling out my tracker in front of people because of all the questions. I would rather just pull out my phone, for all anyone else know, I could be texting. It has made keeping track of points much easier. Well, so far anyway, I have only been tracking like this for two days. The downside to keeping track of your points like this is you can't really check off all the other little goodies like fruits and vegetables, and liquids. To be honest, I haven't really been good at all about doing that. For right now, it is perfect because I just need something that will help me stay under my daily allotted points.

So, if your a visual person, it takes these things:

and compresses them into this:

Till tomorrow...

Josh

Scheduling Time to Succeed

In last week's hand out, Weight Watchers said one of the weaknesses for some people is the inability to schedule yourself and needs above others. For example, not going to your meeting because someone needs your help. I ranked low on the quiz (meaning it was not much of a concern), and I think I am low in this area. I did however miss a meeting today. I had a job interview, though. I will always let that reason slide. However, originally, I did have the option of scheduling the  appointment later on in the day, but declined it as I love to get things done and out of the way. So, I might have had a window in there if I had tried. I AM going to instead go tomorrow at 11am or the 11:30am meeting.

The reason I brought scheduling up is not because it is a big concern of mine to put other people's needs above mine, but because I do not schedule the time to plan my day out in terms of what I am eating or going to buy. My main excuse is "what does it matter if I don't even have the money to plan for anything?" The truth is I have gained weight on pennies. So, money can no longer be the fall-back excuse.

Has anyone had successful ways of scheduling their activities for weight loss? Activities which might include tracking, budgeting, shopping, cooking, exercising, etc?

The Initial Step

Losing weight for most people is painful and dreadful process. After all, you have to restrict yourself to what you normally eat or you wouldn't have gained weight in the first place. I am personally always going through the initial stage of this kind of thinking as I lose determination and then get recommitted to the idea of eating healthy and exercising more.

I recently joined Weight Watchers. It's an interesting thing to be a man at Weight Watchers. I feel a little out of place by gender but very comforted that people around me have the same struggle I do to lose weight. My leader is a very genuine person. After you're first meeting, she sits down with you and talks to you about the program. I was most interesting in hearing her story of how she lost the weight and then kept it off. Keeping it off is the struggle for me as I usually gain so quickly. She said that she had joined Weight Watchers and would lose the weight and then would quit the program and gain the weight back again. It wasn't until she finally decided that this could no longer be considered a diet, you had to make it a lifestyle.

By making it a lifestyle, she committed herself to healthy eating beyond a temporary amount of time. That idea I have heard before but it never had any impact on me until she had said it being a giant factor in her success today. That idea of your brain being the key factor to losing weight is motivating. It is possible to control ideas but it does take some work with opposition that has been built up over a lifetime. So, with that in mind, this what the entire blogging experience is going to be about:

How do you make eating healthy and exercising a part of your lifestyle and not just a diet?