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Showing posts from December, 2016

Week 41 Weigh-in: Be Proud of the Journey

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Today is the Twenty-Second day of the Twelfth month in the year Two Thousand and Sixteen, and when you consider your journey towards weight loss, how do you feel? Sad, disappointed, frustrated or happy, fulfilled and encouraged, I would rather say maybe it's not about the happy ending but the story. Instead of checking your weight today and just realizing that the numbers are higher than the first month this year, I would rather you do an analysis of other things like the efforts you have put into living and staying healthy in 2016. A screenshot of my sparkpage and my weights for the first 8 months

Week 40 Weigh-in: Managing Stress 4

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I am concluding the series on managing stress this week. The fifth tip according to the article is referred to as the 4 As i.e. Avoid , Alter , Adapt and Accept . These, as extensively explained in helpguide.org : Avoid unnecessary stress It’s not healthy to avoid a stressful situation that needs to be addressed, but you may be surprised by the number of stressors in your life that you can eliminate. Learn how to say “no” – Know your limits and stick to them. Whether in your personal or professional life, taking on more than you can handle is a surefire recipe for stress. Distinguish between the “shoulds” and the “musts” and, when possible, say “no” to taking on too much. Avoid people who stress you out – If someone consistently causes stress in your life, limit the amount of time you spend with that person, or end the relationship. Take control of your environment – If the evening news makes you anxious, turn off the TV. If traffic makes you tense, take a long

Week 39 Weigh-in: Managing Stress 3

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Stress is simply a reaction to a stimulus that disturbs our physical or mental equilibrium. In other words, it's an omnipresent part of life. A stressful event can trigger the “fight-or-flight” response, causing hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol to surge through the body. Never say "there is nothing I can do about it". No! Don't accept stress as a part of your lifestyle, you can deal with it, you can minimize it, stress can be controlled. Some quick tips according to Stress Management by Lawrence Robinson, Melinda Smith, M.A., and Robert Segal, M.A.: Move your body frequently—don't sit for more than an hour Make positive face-to-face connection with other people a priority When you can't change the stressor, learn to avoid, alter, adapt, or accept Reduce your intake of alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine Do something you enjoy every day Get all the restful sleep that you need to feel your best. According to the authors, there are a few ti

Managing Stress 2

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This is the conclusion of the quiz of yesterday's post and what it could mean to our weight loss journey [ culled from Sparkpeople ] Scoring the Quiz Look at your answers to questions 1,2,4,5,7, 9 and 11, and give yourself 1 point for every True answer, and 0 for every False. For questions 3,6,8,10 and 12, give yourself 1 point for every False answer, and 0 for every True. Add your total points up to get your score. A high score (7-12 points) shows that your expectations about weight loss are more realistic, and you are more likely to reach your goal. Each question you scored a zero for represents a misconception or unrealistic expectation that might be adding unnecessary stress to your weight loss efforts. For example, a zero on Question 11 (you don’t talk to others when you have trouble sticking to your plan) may indicate that you tend to keep problems to yourself, which can add even more stress to the difficulties you are already having. Scoring zero on

Week 38 Weigh-in: Managing Stress

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I did some stress eating during the week and except intermittent fasting and organizing my home, I was not logging any intentional minutes other than a few strength training and of course cleaning the house. I am going to speak on stress management in the next post. I hope you get yourself ready to de-stress. I am not speaking about any topic [except the quiz below] today other than just let you into what my weight says this week. I weighed in at 167.2lbs , an 0.2lbs gain from last week. I saw this article on Sparkpeople.com and I think I can share it here. To find out whether your expectations about weight loss may be increasing your stress levels, take the following brief quiz. Indicate whether you think the following statements are true or false. To benefit from this exercise, your answer should reflect how you honestly feel most of the time, NOT what you think the “correct” response might be.