Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Memo to self: In Case of Emergency (from Redbook Mag)

I've been posting a lot of Real Estate related things on my blog lately, but decided today to do a health one. As many of you know, I am on a weight loss "journey". I think many times we can draw strength and ideas from others. I really enjoyed this article in the latest Redbook Magazine, especially the author's memo. I have the link to the entire article at the bottom. Hope you enjoy this has much as I did!!

** I found this in the latest Redbook Magazine. It was this great
article about a gal who while losing weight decided to write
songs "skinny songs" to help motivate. She's sold tons of her cd. I
really liked this memo she wrote to herself:

HEIDI'S MEMO TO HERSELF: IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

You've just consumed a whole bunch of calories you didn't need. You
slipped, you splurged, and you hate yourself for it. What now? Give
up? Eat some more? I think you deserve better than that. Here's what
I want you to do:

1 Forgive yourself. No one is perfect. Stop kicking yourself.
Everyone who has succeeded has had moments like this. You can still
succeed too, but you must stop yelling at yourself and simply say, "I
forgive myself for the mess-up."

2 Put it in perspective. Even if you ate 1,500 calories in a single
sitting, it is not a deal-ending amount. You have not permanently
ruined your life. You have an extra half a pound to get rid of. Big
deal.

3 Reaffirm your bigger goal. Remind yourself about the importance of
the goal you have set out to reach and recommit yourself to working
to achieve it. Look at the dress you ripped out of the magazine, or
imagine yourself bounding up a flight of stairs in a black tracksuit.
Just because you ate a quart of ice cream doesn't mean you can't meet
your overall goal.

4 Eliminate the temptation. I don't want to waste food, but sometimes
the rest of the bag or carton needs to go down the garbage disposal.
This is one of those times.

5 What can you learn from this? Take a step back and see if there is
something that will help you overcome future moments like this. Did
you deprive yourself so much that you were overwhelmed with hunger?
Did you get mad and eat out of emotion? Think about what you can do
to avoid this trigger or situation next time.

6 Don't punish yourself. Don't starve yourself. Don't go on a cabbage-
soup fast. Punishment doesn't work; it just perpetuates a bad cycle.

7 Recommit to lose. Say out loud, "I'm over it, and I'm back on my
plan." Imagine yourself standing up, dusting yourself off, and
getting back on a horse. Hold that visualization for a moment and
feel great about that decision. Feel proud that you can recover so
quickly. Now forget it and move on! You are back on track.

You can find the entire article at: http://www.redbookmag.com/health-wellness/losing-weight/weight-loss-songs?click=main_sr

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