“To succeed you must first improve, to improve you must first practice, to practice you must first learn, to learn you must first fail.” ~Wesley Woo

“There is no failure. Only feedback.” ~Unknown

“Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.” ~George Washington

“What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” ~Dr. Robert Schuller

“The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.” ~Sven Goran Eriksson

“You have failed only when you quit trying. Until then, you’re still in the act of progression. So, never quit trying and you’ll never be a failure.” ~Tommy Kelley

“Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently” ~Henry Ford

“You must act as if it is impossible to fail.” ~Ashanti Proverb

“Failure is not fatal; failing to change will be.” ~John Wooden

“Men succeed when they realize that their failures are the preparation for their victories.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

* You only have a limited amount of willpower. This means you have to be careful how you ration it. Trying to change five new behaviors simultaneously equates to doling out bits and pieces of willpower, as well as more rapidly depleting your “pool of power.”

SECRET FOR SUCCESS: Avoid multiple failures by conserving your willpower and focusing on one change/goal at a time.

* Willpower can be developed  like a muscle. Baumeister’s research with co-author John Tierney revealed that people can strengthen willpower through simple self-control activities such as sitting up straight, tracking daily food intake, saying “yes” instead of “yeah” or an other task that requires a mental effort.

SECRET FOR SUCCESS: Find small ways to exercise self-control to improve your willpower over all.

* Willpower can be overused and fatigued. Researchers refer to the process of exhausting one’s mental energy as “ego depletion.” When a person is experiencing ego depletion, it is more difficult to make decisions, focus attention, cope with frustration, resist cravings and apply effective self-control. Ego depletion can be avoided by limiting willpower drains and, surprisingly, Baumeister found that a (modest!) sugary pick-me-up can re-energize a depleted ego.

SECRET FOR SUCCESS: Not everything has to be a test. To avoid unnecessary willpower drains, put snack foods out of sight, plan your daily meals and exercise ahead of time, stay away from vending machines, avoid extreme dieting, etc. Also, confront your biggest challenges when you are fresh and energized, such as hitting the gym first thing in the morning.

For many people, willpower seems to be an elusive character trait, possessed by a few lucky souls. Baumeister’s research and suggestions demonstrate that by understanding the dynamics of self-control, we can all become more successful in whatever goals we undertake.

a

 “Make a lifestyle change

and it will change your life.”

Age:  27

Height:  5’2”

Weight Before:  162

Weight After:  125

Profession:  Christian Education Director

A brief summary of your lifelong weight issues:  I started gaining weight in second grade. By eighth grade, I weighed about 145 pounds. A thyroid condition that caused throat pain resulted in a 25 pound loss in two months. During my senior year of high school, I weighed 105 pounds and was a size 2. Once college started, so did my weight gain. Every year I added 5 to 10 pounds, until I topped out at 162 pounds when I was 26. Nothing seemed to work. IN fact, dieting and working out seemed to make it worse.

How did you finally lose the weight?  The first thing I did was go to my closet and throw out all my clothes that no longer fit. I gave up thinking I was destined to be overweight. I started walking and cutting back my carb intake. Carbs were my weak point. I could do soda and sugars but pasta, bread and cheese did me in.

What triggered your decision to get serious about losing weight?  My vet said my dog needed to lose weight. He suggested I cut down his portions and increase his activity. I decided to start walking him every day to get his weight down. Our walks got longer ,and he started trimming down. I jumped on the scale one day and realized I had lost 3 pounds, the first positive weight loss I’d seen in eight years. That’s when I cut back on my portions all together and really watched what carbs I was taking in.

What was the most difficult lifestyle change you had to make? Not eating bread and pasta. Also, once the weight came, off not getting lazy again.

What has been the best payoff since losing weight?  Confidence in myself and my body. I feel good and it shows.

What keeps you motivated?  I look at old pictures of myself . I don’t want to be that person ever again.

How have other people responded to your physical and behavioral changes? I have been told I’m beautiful again. Men respond to me differently; I get double-takes when I walk into to a place. Other people have said they are now trying to lose weight.

What advice do you have for people struggling to lose weight?  Find out what your trigger foods are. Everyone is different. For years, people told me to stop drinking soda and eating candy and I would see the weight drop. When I did, I ended up putting on 5 pounds. Once I recognized those were not my trigger foods, I finally realized it was carbs. Cutting back on pasta, bread and so forth, plus walking, made all the difference.

Any other thoughts you’d like to share? Diets don’t work!!!!!!! You need to change your eating habits and your physical activity.

Using a microplane or grater, zest the rind of one orange over chunks of cantaloupe. Sprinkle with a bit of sugar or artificial sweetener if desired.

Toss and refrigerate for two hours.

Can you imagine what your child’s self-esteem would be like if you told him even just 50 times, day after day, that he was a loser or that he was stupid or that he couldn’t achieve what he set out to do? No parent in their right mind tells their children these things even once! We want to empower and encourage our children to do their best, be their best and strive to accomplish their goals.

So what are you telling yourself? Especially about your struggle with weight.

Do you wake up and remind yourself it’s a new day and a new opportunity to eat nutritious foods and use your strong body or do you drag yourself over to the mirror and think, “Ee gads. You’re still here?!”

How many times a day do similar thoughts go through your head? According to the survey, you could be thinking as many as 70,000 harsh thoughts about yourself in one 24-hour period. Consider the cumulative effect of such thinking. No wonder you have no faith in yourself. No wonder you dismiss your accomplishments and linger over your failures. No wonder you don’t care better care of yourself — you don’t think you deserve it.

In an online article written by Remez Sasson entitled “The Power of Positive Thinking,” he defines positive thinking as “a mental attitude that admits into the mind thoughts, words and images that are conductive to growth, expansion and success. It is a mental attitude that expects good and favorable results. A positive mind anticipates happiness, joy, health and a successful outcome of every situation and action.”

After years and years of negative thinking, it can be challenging to break out of that mindset. Here are a few tips to develop a gentler, kinder voice when speaking to yourself:

* Reframe how you think of yourself. Instead of fat and lazy and undisciplined, you are persistent, conscientious and dedicated to a healthy lifestyle.

* It will take some effort to change the way to talk to yourself. Wear a special colored band or bracelet to continuously remind you to eliminate negativity and criticism from  your internal dialogue and use more constructive, encouraging words.

* Speak to yourself as you would to a friend or loved one.

* Be honest and consider how you speak to others and how you react to the world around you. Are you defensive, pessimistic, judgmental? You might want to change your voice to be more accepting and tolerant, both internally and externally.

* Post positive affirmations around you. When I am in a difficult moment, I use affirmations to motivate me, such as repeating to myself, “I am strong and getting stronger” when my resolve to do a full 45 minutes on the eliptical is waning. Some of my favorites are:

I have the power to change my life.

I choose to eat well and take care of my body.

I am strong and beautiful.

To get you started, here are some kind words from me to you: Joy is found not in accomplishment but in overcoming the obstacles between you and your goal. Go and be well!

I feel (check all that apply):

X frustrated

X overwhelmed

X unmotivated

X like eating a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts

So what do you do in a situation like this? I decided to start talking to myself like I would to a friend. Instead of name-calling, finger-pointing and fault-finding, I’m going for the whole “gentle constructive criticism” and “rah rah cheerleader” combined with a little tough love.

I’m also putting a halt to any and all self-sabotaging behaviors:

-  No getting on the scale this week

-  No severe restriction, so I’m still having cream in my coffee

-  No impossible expectations, such as pledging to work out every single day

The behaviors I’m committing to:

-  Walking at the park, at least one lap, with #3 and #4, twice this week

-  Weight training at the gym, twice this week

-  No carbs AT ALL but unlimited protein, fruits and veggies

-  Keeping a daily food journal

I’ll keep you posted on how effective this strategy is. In the meantime, be good to yourself.

I’m up five pounds.

Oh, what’s five lil’ ol’ pounds in the grand scheme of things, when you’ve lost so much, one might ask. Let me tell you: Five pounds is 20 sticks of margarine that I already lost once through exercise and healthy eating. It’s a sign that the new habits and routines I worked so hard to establish are slipping and that my commitment to losing another 40 pounds is fallen by the wayside.

Time to refocus. That means getting back to regular workouts and clean eating.

In light of everything on my plate right now, there isn’t room for carbs anyway!

It’s the “F” word that’s almost as bad as the other “F” word.  What other three-letter combo is equally  insulting, humiliating, embarrassing and derogatory?

It is more painful to admit you are fat than it is to squeeze a size 9 foot into a size 4 stiletto. Believe me, I’d rather work a 12-hour shift at Denny’s in those shoes than apply the “F” word as a self-descriptor.

Yet, whether you avoid referencing the issue all together or apply more gentle euphemisms like pleasantly plump, stocky, chunky, overweight, large, heavy, portly or big boned, the fact remains that extra poundage = fat.

While I would have been mortified to hear someone call me fat or even use that phrase myself 70 pounds ago, I’ve discovered a degree of satisfaction in being able to say out loud, “I was fat.” It’s a relief to no longer have to tiptoe around the elephant in the room, and it’s liberating to finally be able to share the gut-wrenching impact being fat has on one’s whole existence.

While it may seem a small feat, being able to vocalize the “F” word, what it really means is that I’m no longer inhibited by the label or the weight. But even more powerful than being able to say the “F” word is being able to say the “W” word: I was fat.

Essentially, interval training consists of bursts of high intensity effort alternated with rest periods or a slower pace. I usually do a 5 minute warm up, then begin a 25 minute interval cycle, followed by a 5 minute cool down. When I’m on the elliptical, I do 1 minute at a comfortable pace and 2 minutes at a speed that gets my heart rate pumping.  My walk/fun intervals are usually 2 minutes walking and 4 minutes running.

The top three things I like about interval training are:

1. You can vary the length of intervals based on the activity and your fitness level.

2. Focusing on the timing of my intervals helps the workout time pass quickly.

3. By increasing the intervals, you build up endurance and strength.

To maintain a healthy lifestyle, exercise has to become a part of your daily routine. Boredom is one of the biggest obstacles in maintaining that habit, so stock your workout “tool box” with a variety of activities, routines and techniques, such as interval training. It will keep you motivated and challenged.

For more information, visit these websites:

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/tipsandtricks/a/Intervals.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/interval-training/SM00110

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/fashion/03Fitness.html

di·et [dahy-it]

Okay, so maybe Webster and I have a difference of opinion on the definition of diet. But I doubt the lexicographer ever struggled with the temptation of Krispy Kreme donuts or worried about how he looked in a two-piece.

I do not think it is a coincidence that the word DIET is simply DIE with an extra letter. And I believe whoever thought up this word added “T” because dieting fits the misery of death to a tee.

That’s why dieting is counterproductive to anyone looking to shed a few LBs. When a person is overweight, I contend that they already carry an element of misery deep down in their psyche. Dieting just reinforces all of the negative feelings associated with being fat – embarrassment, lack of control, frustration, anger and low self-esteem. When you diet, you put yourself on restriction – the same thing we do to awful, wicked children who throw rocks through patio door walls or kick the cat or ruin the family portrait by picking their nose.

The power of perspective is an amazing thing. Rather than looking at your new eating habits as a diet, think of it as a never-ending splurge. Create a new approach to food and eating that makes mealtimes feel like an indulgence, a delightful gastric interlude, cuisine crafted to satisfy your emotional and physical needs.

Before you start snickering, let me give you an example of how this works.

You toss together some iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, celery, cucumber, a few narrow slices of deli ham and spritz it with lemon juice, feeling very virtuous about the healthy salad you’re having for dinner. Yet an hour later you’re elbow deep in the freezer looking for a wayward fudge pop or pillaging the kids’ stash of lunch treats.

That’s because you were feeding your scale, not your soul.

My version of salad goes something like this: organic baby spinach, juicy sliced strawberries, shredded deli chicken, toasted almonds and a drizzle of raspberry vinaigrette.  Toss gently. Serve on fine china with half a glass of cabernet sauvignon.

Sure, my salad takes a little more creativity and some of the ingredients might be a bit pricy, but look what I’m serving up: a meal that says I’m worth the time, effort and money. A well-nuanced, flavorful, satiating, healthy meal that fulfills my hunger and my spirit.

So, my friend, ditch the diet. Instead, let your meals and food choices be an expression of your worth, in investment in your health and measure of your commitment to changing your life permanently. In the words of Cajun chef, Justin Wilson, “I garontee, nothing tastes as sweet as success!”