Pages

Thursday, November 4, 2010

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

Subscribe on the right hand side of the screen if you would like to hear more. Comment or email me at MediaArtsSpecialist@yahoo.com.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

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


Don't forget to subscribe on the right side there. Leave a comment, or email me at MediaArtsSpecialist@yahoo.com

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

----Don't forget to subscribe to the right. If you have an email you would like recieve newsletters please email me at MediaArtsSpecialist@yahoo.com with "Subscription" in the subject box and I will send you updates.