I Blew It...

How many times during our weight loss journeys do we think this? We're faced with seemingly impossible situations and end up caving and giving in... then we think... "I blew it." But how often does it stop there? In "The Thin Commandments" Dr Stephen Gullo refers to this as the "I blew it" Syndrome. We fall down and instead of getting right back up, it turns into a spiral straight downhill. One bite, turns to a whole meal binge, which turns to a whole day, which leads to a whole week and before you know it, you're right back in your old habits and way off track. Then one day you look up and wonder how on earth you got there!

No person gets fat off of one pasta dish or a few hors d'oeuvres. What happens is though that when the "I Blew It" Syndrome kicks in we lose control... the problem is not with the food.. it's with the mindset and behavior. Dr Gullo lists the issues that arise when we let this mindset take over.

"
1) Sets up an impossible tension in your life: that you have to be either perfect or a failure.
2)Lets your mental screen go blank, so you shut down everything that you've learned about food management.
3)Lets mistakes pile up, which drowns your motivation, skews your perspective, and overwhelms your willpower.
4)Destroys focus on your eating and weight control. (Studies all show that staying focused on your eating behavior is what makes you a winner.)
5)Is self-defeating. It cuts off learning from the mistake and locks you into a pattern of repeating it.
6)Only helps you learn that you're gaining weight, which is obvious.
7)Ruins your chance to cut off the mistake and keep any weight gain small and temporary
8)Keeps you from proving to yourself that you can stop and correct the error.
9)Turns a few minutes of unwise eating into something that will take days, months, or even years to make up for.
10)Paralyzes you into a mode of helplessness that lets one mistake end up becoming thousands of calories
11)Doesn't do justice to your intelligence, your life smarts.
12)Doesn't make you lose weight; it only makes you lose hope.
13)Doesn't answer the most important question of all: What went wrong in this situation and what could I do differently?"

When you feel the "I Blew It" Syndrome taking over it's time to take a step back. Physically tell yourself - "STOP IT!!!" By doing this you regain control. You remind yourself that YOU not FOOD has the power. You have control of what you put in your mouth. That bag of chips does not open itself up and pour itself down your throat. So you ate 1 handful... so what.... STOP! Get right back on track and you will succeed knowing that you have overcome a potentially very detrimental situation.

Make yourself a strategy for what to do next time you start to slip. Plan out daily menus and activities. Bordom is never a good thing on a new way of eating. Get out and get moving! You'll get your mind off of what you had wanted to do in the first place. Determine to yourself that no matter what you do or where you are, good choices will be availble. If you are going to be somewhere that you KNOW there will not be an acceptable option, eat something before hand so that you won't be tempted to give in when the opportunity comes. Even if it is not necessarily on your program or way of eating, having the mentality that you will find a way can be empowering. A good choice even when not the "best" choice is better than a bad one!

So promise me something... Promise you'll never say "I Blew It" again... you didn't blow it... just STOP.

More Menus!!

Well I have another menu to share with you today! I am so thrilled to be living this maintenance lifestyle with you. It is such a freedom to be able to eat healthfully and love what it is doing for my body and lifestyle! I have so much more energy now. I love to excercise and get out! This afternoon actually we're planning on going for a family bike ride when my husband comes home. How exciting to actually plan on something like this and know that I can participate and enjoy the time together instead of huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf not 10 minutes into it!

So here we go.... My Maintenance Menu for today!!!

Breakfast: Berry and Cheese Crepe and 3 slices of Lean Turkey Bacon

Morning snack: Dannon Light and Fit Carb and Sugar Control Vanilla yogurt with 1/2 cup of fresh cranberries, 1 slice of GG Scandinavian Crispbread w/ Organic Peanut Butter

Lunch: Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad w/ Red Wine Vinegar and Olive Oil and Alfredo Chicken

Afternoon snack: Whey Protein "cookie" w/ FF cream cheese, celery sticks

Dinner: Grilled Steelhead Trout, steamed brocolli, organic brown rice
Dessert: Faux Peach Cobbler

Calories: 1509 Fat: 54 Carbs: 79

Even desserts can be fun and exciting on this new way of eating without being laden with sugar or extra white carbs. Here's one of my favorite summer time treats w/ a low carb twist!

Faux Peach Cobbler

1 medium fresh peach (or sliced frozen unsweetened peaches, about 3/4 cup or 8 slices)
0 Calorie Butter Spray
Cinnamon and splenda (or liquid stevia is good too) to taste
Fat Free Whipped Cream

Slice the peach into a microwave safe bowl and spray a few times w/ your butter spray. Sprinkle the cinnamon and sweetener to taste and toss lightly to coat the peaches. Microwave for approx 1 minute. When you remove it, stir once more to make sure the peaches are nice and tender. Top with a little fat free whipped cream and enjoy this light and refreshing summer dessert!

Overweight or Obese? You'll pay more for your Life!

5 years ago I bought a 5 Year Term Life Insurance policy. When I purchased it, it was all I could afford because I was very overweight. What a "coincidence" that it came time to renew after I have lost 100lbs and recently had a clean bill of health from my doctor. So we called my agent and began to discuss my options as far as rates, terms, and coverages. In our discussion, we realized that in comparison to my previous $100K 5 year term policy, I could now afford a $250K 20 year term policy for the same price as what I had been paying.

This really got me thinking about just how much money I am saving by getting my weight under control. So I decided to do the math. This same policy that I have purchased if I was still overweight would have cost me roughly $402.50 a year. I now qualify for a much better rate of $232.50. That is a savings of $170.00 a year. Over the 20 years of the term that's a savings of $3400! And this does not include what I would pay if I had any "extra fees" added on for additional health problems such as cholesterol, high blood pressure, standard obesity charges, etc...

Take a look at this quote from a recent article on Insure.com:

"If you're severely overweight, you'd better budget more money for life insurance.

Steve Zitney, a senior agency consultant with State Farm, says a person can be denied life insurance at his company if the person is "grossly overweight or dramatically obese," even if he does not have any other health problems. The company will also charge higher premiums if your weight is significantly more than it should be in relation to your height.

If a 40-year-old, 6-foot-tall male is 270 pounds, he will have to pay 15 to 20 percent more than a person of ideal weight, Zitney says. If the person weighs 300 pounds or more, Zitney says that figure jumps to 30 to 35 percent.

Many other large life insurers take a similar approach to underwriting. David Potter, a spokesman for The Hartford, says people who are at 150 percent of their desired weight will see an increase in premium. Again, in these cases, the more weight you carry, the more your premium will be. "It's possible to be rejected by weight, but it's rare," Potter says. "Most of the people with weight problems do have other health problems, like high blood pressure and high cholesterol."

Even if you are just moderately overweight, life insurance could still cost more. People who are slightly overweight can be disqualified for a "preferred rate," which is a lower premium that rewards people who are healthy. For example, a person who is 20 to 30 pounds overweight and does not have high blood pressure or diabetes might get a normal rate, but they won't see the preferred rate."

So losing weight for me not only saved my life - it's saving me money too!!