5 Tips 2 Kick Start Your Diet When U R In A Slump

If you have a bad day (I had one yesterday) or even a few bad hours, and find that it is starting to negatively affect your motivation, use the downturn to your advantage.  Figure out what triggered it (feeling punk due to bad allergies in my case) so next time around you can be better prepared.  Most importantly, remember that things can look completely different in a relatively short period of time, so what are some things you can do to quickly get back to where you want to be?

1. Go shopping for hours. I am not kidding. It's distracting! It's fun! I look at all sorts of things I would love to have (but won't buy now or maybe ever), or things I don't really want, but are fun to test drive, like most of the products at Brookstone.  According to some research published at the University of Hawaii, I burn more calories in an afternoon of shopping than I do on my Stairmaster.  Besides burning calories you'll come home in a different state of mind and hopefully a fresh outlook.
2. Have coffee with friends. In fact go to McDonalds, and hang there for a while. You can get free wireless access, any kind of coffee drink you want or plain great coffee for a dollar (put another dollar in the Ronald McDonald collection box) and still spend $2.00 less than you would at Starbucks.  My friend Liz and I use these opportunities to discuss and trade books we've read and think the other would enjoy.  Which leads me to number 3!
   
   

   

   Excellent coffee!

   
   

   
   
3. Throw yourself into a good book.  One of my favorite motivational writers and speakers, Tim Sanders in his book, Love is the Killer App, says that when you are reading, write on the pages of the book to take notes, highlight favorite passages, and I would add: blog about it, tweet about it, and/or email friends about it.
4. Crank up the iPod and go for a run. I am currently listening to Steve Jobs biography written by Walter Isaacson.  As someone working in the tech industry, it is an incredibly inspiring story. Or speaking of Steve Jobs, take your iPod or laptop out to the garage, crank up Hulu, Netflix, or Amazon. Jump rope, stretch, or jump onto your favorite exercise device, and stream 45 minutes of any number of shows, movies, movies, or podcasts to put you in a better state of mind. 
   
   

   

   Me watching Castle on HuluPlus while on my Stairmaster!
5. Clean out your closet. It's a great distraction, and VERY rewarding. If you have not worn something in 2 years you WON'T miss it. You'll feel a lot better when you are done, both for having a tidier closet and you can drop the clothes off at your favorite charity.  And if you think that you *might* miss something and are reluctant to ditch it, get rid of it anyway, and see item number 1!  As our career advice guru Penelope Trunk points out Target has such great clothes that are so cheap they are almost free.
   
   You'll feel better after any of the diversions above, and you'll see what a difference a few hours can make!  Any other "diversionary" tips or tricks that have worked for you?
   
   Bonus suggestion: (Feb 3rd)
   My good friend and diet discussion buddy suggested, "Paint a room in your house.  You can't eat when you are painting!"

5 Weight Loss Tips That Never Go Out Of Fashion

1. Write down everything you eat, at least for a few days, whether you do it on a notebook you carry with you, an iPhone, or an online web or computer journal.  No matter how times I start a new diet or try a new way of managing my weight, I go through periods where I have "selective memory" about snacks I eat during the day.  The best way to understand and manage this pattern is to keep a journal.  It serves two purposes: 1) the journal speaks the truth and keeps me honest, 2) it serves as a buffer between me and the snack.  As it happens, I frequently, decide to fore go the snack if I have to dig out my notebook and write it down.  I mentioned this to a friend who is using fitbit.  Fitbit is system that can track physical activity, steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned and your overall sleep quality calories. Besides using fitbit as a pedometer, my friend uses the online journal feature, where he logs what he eats. He says this action makes him snack less, though for a different reason than I mentioned. Before he eats the snack, frequently he'll check the calorie content of what he is about to eat, and almost as frequently this information will inspire him *not* to eat said snack (112 calories for 30 M&Ms).  
2. Buy a good scale that gives you the information you want. They are inexpensive and easy to come by these days. A few years ago, I was curious about my weight fluctuations.  The scale I owned at the time had 1 lb. increments.  I found a scale that measured to the 2/10s of a pound. I was also curious about hydration levels; particularly a few years ago when everyone was carrying bottles of water everywhere, and saying you had to drink at least 8 glasses of water of a day for good health (totally debunked). They have scales that can measure hydration level, muscle mass, calories needed to maintain current weight, and other things. Regarding scales, accuracy is less important than relative weight over time. My Tanita scale measures muscle and fat percentage. I care less about the accuracy of the measure than how I fare over time, and what seemed to impact the measures. Get a scale you trust and like any tool in your bag of tricks, use it to understand how what you do and what you eat affects your weight over the long term. 
3. Find a passion; obsess about it! Data shows that people with a passion have an easier time losing weight and maintaining weight loss. It makes sense right? A lot of times people eat out of habit, because food is there, or because they are bored. If you are really busy, you will be less likely to snack out of boredom or habit. So to help you think of an “obsession”, I've prepared a list of things I've considered obsessing about this year: 1) read 12 books this year to help with my career, 2) research opportunities to find a new career, or a second job, 3) get a better understanding of politics, 4) things in the cooking category include: a) learn how to bake, b) learn how to cook roasts, steaks and hamburgers, c) learn how to make biscuits, d) learn how to make cheese and cream sauces, 6) start a little garden in my house or on my porch so I can grow tropical plants in North Carolina, 7) visit friends I have not seen in a while, 8) learn how to use Twitter, 9) try harder to acquire some followers for my blog, 10) decide where to hang some pictures I've been meaning to frame and hang, and in general focus on decorating my house, 11) learn more about religion, 12) learn more about fashion, 13) figure out how I am going to raise mastiffs in the future.  All are things I could easily obsess about.
4. When you “fall off the diet wagon” use it as a learning tool. Figure out what triggered it. Use the falls as an opportunity to learn and adjust your current plan. The key to long term weight loss is not to figure out how to lose the weight but how to keep it off. 
5. Share! Talk about what you are learning to your friends or even to people you know casually. You'll be amazed how many people think about the same things you are thinking about. You'll be amazed at the questions they ask, that force you to think about what you are doing in order to answer the question. You may be impressed at how well you can answer those questions. You'll be happy about how many tips you can get from likeminded folks.

Fast 5 Summary

I am tracking what I eat to get an idea of whether I can follow Fast Five to lose unwanted belly rolls, and see how it affects me.  Here is my original post on the idea.  Here is a link to a blog where I am trying to document what I like and don't like, what works, what doesn't, and progress.

Fast 5 Summary blog

Link to posts
January 1-8
January 9-10
January 1-14, Two Week Summary (hint: I'm not ripped yet)
January 15
January 19

January 1-22, Three Week Summary (not there yet!)
January 25 (picture of my "brake" fast :)

Twelve in 2012

Thinking of changing it up this year:  Going to start a new diet for January and reevaluate at the end of the month.  I am sure I'll want to make some adjustments at the end of the month, or I may try a different diet altogether.  Physically, I have a very targeted goal ---to lose some of the fat around my middle.  I am sick of it.  I have always thought in terms of pounds and if I could lose 5 pounds I think it would help a lot, but I am not really sure if it would. Anyway, I am thinking about inches now.  Last year, I thought about researching tummy tuck surgery (I didn't) and feel I should try harder before I investigate that route. 

I have some experience with watching my weight, and I know a few things that won't work for me.  I know I'll fail if:

1) I try to be completely abstemious and give up all of my favorite indulgences.  I can use that strategy for a short time but I am planning for the long term.  If I *can* lose this belly fat, I don't want it back.  I don't want to try to be completely abstemious because I love preparing food and cooking for my family.  I love baking bread, making pizza, baking pumpkin bread and iced sugar cookies during the holidays.  I love making banana bread from overripe bananas and storing slices in the freezer to pull out for CC's lunch.  I love watching the Food Network (especially The Next Iron Chef, Restaurant Impossible and anything Guy Fieri does), and I love trying to re-create food that we may try at a restaurant (much to the chagrin of my oldest daughter).  I can't wait to try recipes from my Christmas present, How Easy is That? by Ima Garten. I don't want to eat a lot (in terms of volume) of anything that I cook, but I want to taste all of it!

2) I rely on a low carb diet plans that slowly incorporate healthy carbs back into your plan (e.g., South Beach).  Love that I can eat bacon on it and that the diets are effective, but I have learned that I can't stick to them long term.  I can't figure out how to incorporate "healthy carbs" back into my diet without gaining the weight back.  I am sure it is a flaw on my part but you have to recognize your flaws right?  After trying the South Beach diet several years ago when it was popular, and shedding a few pounds I definitely learned the lesson that if I want to lose weight I have to cut back on pretzels and bread, even though I LOVE them, and they have no fat.  I learned and still believe that carbs are the problem for me, not fat.  In fact I don't know why anyone is afraid of fat these days. So much data (e.g., Gary Taubes books, and studies comparing the effectiveness of low carb and low fat diets) reports that fat is not the problem we once thought it was. That said, I do not seem capable of the part of the South Beach diets where you slowly integrate healthy carbs into your diet without gaining the weight back.

3) I don't make some changes.  I have been a grazer all of my adult life.  I am not a big meal girl except for major holidays.  I don't eat a ton, but apparently I graze enough to maintain my unwanted belly fat.   So what I have been doing is not working.

If what you are doing doesn't work, it is time to try something else, and what better time than the start of a New Year?  I am starting with Fast 5.  I read about it before Christmas and on a whim, I tried it for a few days.  I think it will be good for me in terms of discipline, and I really understanding what I am eating.  I am going to start with the "break-fast" option.  I'll "break" with a few cashews or a piece of fruit 1x or 2x a day and I am not going to lie: maybe 1 rollo with my afternoon coffee.  Not a pack of rollos; just 1.  I love the way it melts with my coffee.  I'll drink water and diet coke cause it flows freely at work.  After a month, I'll list pros and cons.  I'll either make an adjustment or switch altogether.  Never tried Weight Watchers, so might try that next.  At night, I'll feel free to eat what I want. I want to see if it works. 

How will I measure it:

1. Am I losing any weight?

2. Am I losing any inches (or 1/4 or 1/2 inches?) weekly maybe?

3. Are the rolls diminishing?  I am not going for the stomach my 14 year daughter old has, but less would be good!

4.  Can I sustain this?  Do I need to make some adjustments?

5. Does it suck the joy out of my life?
6. Does it bring any joy to my life? 
7. Is it working for my family?

I am going to muse about my days on the diet:
January 1-January 8 
January 9-January 10