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Personal Core Values, and Food, Weight, Fitness March 24, 2012

Posted by Optifast Blogger in Maintenance.
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We did an exercise this week at my Optifast Support Group that started with looking at a long list of terms (such as honesty, integrity, happiness, spirituality, adventure) and circling all those important to us. Then we went through several iterations of narrowing the list and ranking them in importance, until we were left with the three most important to us.

Next, we were to think and write about how those core values impacted our daily decisions, especially with regards to eating and our health. The goal was to determine if our behavior was in alignment with our personal core values.

Comments made by the group were interesting. Most people had health and happiness at the top of their lists. But not everyone felt their behavior was always in line with these values. One man said these values impacted how he treated others, but not always himself. Another man said he hadn’t applied his value of knowledge and learning to health and nutrition, before joining the Optifast program. There was a discussion of whether our values had changed since being on the program, and also a discussion on short-term happiness vs long-term happiness. In other words, the short-term behavior of tracking food or exercising might not bring immediate happiness, but led to long-term happiness. People who are or have been overweight, in general I think, tend to go for the short-term rewards!

For myself, I listed self-respect, health, and fun, in that order. By fun I meant getting pleasure and enjoyment from life. I told the group that although I felt my core values had not changed in the last year, my actions and daily decisions were more in alignment with these values now than they were one year ago, before starting the program.

It’s hard to have self-respect when you have out-of-control eating, or are eating in ways you know are not healthy, whether it’s too much fast food, too much fat, too much alcohol, not enough fruit/veg/protein, too many calories, or whatever. It’s hard to have either self-respect or health when you are making eating decisions based on short-term satisfaction rather than the impact on your body of unhealthy eating.

And it’s harder to have fun when you are overweight and unhealthy – at least I think so. One woman last night said that in doing this assignment she realized that she equated being slender with being happy. We all know, really, that this isn’t true. There are lots of factors in who we are and the lives we live, and being slender won’t change most of them. But on the other hand, I do think that being heavy (significantly heavy) can keep us from fully enjoying life. It puts limits on our life. Either because we physically can’t do something we want to do (hike, ski, dance, do cartwheels), or because we feel stupid and self-conscious doing it. I know that as an overweight person I felt very self-conscious eating, say, at an outdoor café, feeling that others were looking at me thinking, “Well SHE sure doesn’t need to be eating!”

Being above the normal range of weight can affect our interpersonal skills and relationships, confidence at work and outside of work, and so many other things. So I definitely think that, unlike a year ago, my decisions now about how I eat and treat my body are more in line with my values of self-respect, health, having fun and enjoying life. Not always, not 100%, but more in line. 😉

A major disconnect between values and behavior can cause anxiety and depression, even if you aren’t aware why you are feeling that way. Corporations have meetings and retreats where they focus on company core values and how the company’s mission, products and services need to be in alignment with those values. I think it’s  worthwhile to think about our personal core values and how they can and should guide us in how we behave, make daily decisions and in how we treat ourselves.

Colleagues Who Can Make You Fat (A Review) March 17, 2012

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The article “Colleagues Who Can Make You Fat” came out this week in the Wall Street Journal, concerning diet-sabotaging treats and behavior at work. Though I agree with the article, I did have some mixed feelings, because I’m both a victim and a perp of this “crime.” I’ve certainly broken healthy eating vows by eating donuts during staff meetings, homemade goodies in the break room, and Chinese food at team get-togethers. BUT, I’ve also brought in my share of cupcakes and other homemade goodies to work, either leftovers or food baked especially for coworkers. In my defense, I can only say that most of my coworkers are hungry men not watching their weight who are very appreciative of anything homemade. There are a couple of women who, like me, are sometimes “watching” and sometimes not, and who have once or twice given me grief for bringing in temptations when they are in a sweets-resisting phase, which has made me feel guilty.

I certainly don’t want to be the cause of anyone’s dieting or healthy eating downfall, and I definitely also know how one slip can derail a history of successful resistance. Of course I would never tease anyone about what they are eating (or not eating), or push food on them, or in any way attempt to change their mind about healthy eating choices – that goes without saying. I have been the victim of ALL these myself, both when on Optifast and at other times. I had a boss who didn’t hesitate to publicly chastise me (with “humor” of course) for my “disgusting” healthy food choices when hers were the opposite.

I found the article’s suggestions about “pushing back” helpful – rehearsing ahead of time how to react at a work potluck, for example. I know one person who visualizes themselves ahead of time making healthy choices. I’m guilty of taking the non-confrontation approach – taking the cupcake handed out to me at my desk, and subsequently burying it in my trash. Especially when I was on Optifast, and didn’t want all the people I work with to know I wasn’t eating. We have one person at work who for years has never attended a work potluck or holiday celebration because she’s always dieting, which I understand, but which is also kind of sad, since she misses out on that socialization.

Some work environments are more diet-toxic than others. The inner offices at governmental agencies, hospitals and nursing homes, teacher breakrooms – these are notorious for having snacks and goodies and potlucks galore. And meetings everywhere, of course, either as a lure to get people there, or to survive the tedium of having to sit through them.

Our team has a staff meeting every two weeks with rotating assignments to bring in snack. I often will bring in one homemade carb item, and then also something healthy, like a basket of tangerines or strawberries. I like the idea of the fruit-and-yogurt buffet mentioned in the article, and wonder how that might go over if I try it at an upcoming staff meeting. (I’m the assigned snack-bringer week after next!)

Where I work, I don’t have the problem of the colleague happy hour invitation – not something we do in our office. (Or maybe we do but I just don’t get included!) But that would be even harder to resist, or to attend and maintain healthy eating habits, at least for me. Even worse would be client meals, where you don’t want to offend.

The problem is that some people really can indulge occasionally in food and drink with no ill effects. But there’s others, and I’m one, that find it much harder. But I do think things are changing, so hopefully respecting each other’s personal choices and being supportive of healthy eating is a growing trend.

I know one person in my Optifast group, who was preparing for a half-marathon, and found that the comment, “I’m in training for an upcoming race” was a very effective and acceptable way to deflect food pressures. I like it!

Transition Here I Come August 31, 2011

Posted by Optifast Blogger in transition.
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Tomorrow starts transition. Truth is, it’s transition at a veeerrrry slow pace. So as I’ve mentioned, the first week, we just lose one product, and add in one 4 oz serving protein and ½ cup (just a few mouthfuls, really!) of cooked veg. But the idea is to continue consuming smaller portions and not go back to mega-portions of anything.

In preparation, I’ve done a number of things, some of which are related to meal planning and some which aren’t. For example, I’ve written down some “reminders” to keep with me (even have a copy on my cell phone). I won’t list them all, but here are a few favorites:

  • You don’t want to ever have to buy bigger clothes – or regret tossing the ones that are now too big
  • Don’t stretch out that stomach – you worked too hard to shrink it
  •  Do you really want to waste $4300, and 4 months of no “real” food – a summer of no fruit, corn, tomatoes, farmers markets, alcohol, or restaurants?
  • Staying down is so SO much easier than getting down
  • Do you really WANT to go back on blood pressure medicine?
  • Think about how nice it is to buy clothes you LIKE rather than those that hide the fat!
  • That food isn’t disappearing off the planet – you can always have some another day, or just a taste

And last, but which pretty much sums it all up:

  • Is that food really worth what you’ll lose by gaining weight?

Our group leader is urging us to “eat clean” and consume quality, healthy foods rather than fast food, high-carb, high fat choices. I feel that I ate a lot of fruit, veg, yogurt, etc. anyways, but I want to improve on that, in terms of the amount of vegetables (and fruit) and the variety. There are lots of books and articles out now about “food as medicine” and though I still think food should be enjoyed (not taken like a pill or spoonful of amoxicillin!), I want to be sure I’m eating the foods that contribute to health and longevity.

So I made a chart for the next two months with the weeks at the top and on the left are fruits and vegetables as well as things like beans, nuts, fish, olive oil, etc. My plan is to check these off, use the chart for grocery shopping (so I get a wider variety – like buy grapefruit if I haven’t had any recently, or artichokes, mushrooms, melon, etc.), and just track this to help myself expand my eating choices in healthy ways.  I do believe that by adding in vegetables to things like soup, omelets, sandwiches, etc. it’s win-win – you are more full and satisfied after the meal, and you are eating healthier.

It’s all about taking care of my health and my body. I’ve put it through a bit with this somewhat extreme quick-loss diet, and now I’m ready to pamper it, not by dining on chocolate and champagne (though I can’t deny that sounds appealing!) but by saturating it with lots of vitamins and nutrients and all the good things that can be found in the grocery store (a place I haven’t been to for awhile!) if you look in the right places.