By Wendy Dawn
So many weight loss stories have an addendum in the small print that negates just about everything a quick-loss product promises to do. Usually, they say: "Weight lost in conjunction with diet and exercise." I’ll bet you’re sick of seeing buff models work out on the latest "As Seen on TV" exercise product, intimating their athletic body is a result of that one machine. We all know weight loss commercials and infomercials are designed to suck us in by our strong desire to lose weight and have a more beautiful physique.
So what do we do?
My weight loss wake-up call
I’ve always been athletic and enjoyed outdoor activities. Once I left the workplace, however, to homeschool my children I began to pack on the pounds over the past several years. Before I realized it, I was at 240 pounds. 240 pounds is a lot of weight on a medium 5′7" frame.
I found it more difficult to participate in activities with my kids. I hid under big clothes, and I was generally more fatigued and definitely clumsier. This wasn’t working well for me, but for a long time I did nothing about it.
When I turned 40, it suddenly occurred to me that being overweight was going to shorten my lifespan and continue to prohibit my ability to get out and enjoy my kids. I also thought of five to 10 years down the road when I have grandkids. I wanted to be able to care for them and play with them without feeling like I was going to pass out.
Weight loss was no longer about how others viewed me. Weight loss became a health issue to me.
Beginning the journey toward weight loss
In order for me to lose weight and improve my health, I knew I had to take an introspective look at my life, identify factors that contributed to my weight and make a decision based on what I learned.
Among the things I discovered about myself were the following:
- My family has a predisposition to being overweight.
- I was comfortable with my weight because it allowed me to hide behind fat.
- I often ate for comfort.
- My lifestyle had become largely sedentary.
- I paid little attention to my diet, eating what was quick and convenient.
- I drank around 20 Diet Cokes a day and very little water.
Each of these issues had to be addressed, but it couldn’t be done all at once. It took time to deal with each issue. Some were dealt with concurrently, but once I identified them and wrote them down there was no avoiding addressing these weight issues anymore.
Weight loss success despite genetic predisposition
We are all different. Although there are many generalities, we could each come up with our own excuse for being and remaining overweight. Regardless of my family’s disposition to being overweight, I had to shed that as an excuse.
My medical doctor performed thyroid tests, found I did need synthroid to give my thyroid T3 production a boost, and put me on the medication.
This knocked out one of the first reasons I was overweight, but synthroid didn’t make me lose weight. I had to put more effort into changing my lifestyle.
Lose weight by getting comfortable in your skin instead of behind your fat
I’m generally outgoing. I am a pastor’s wife, so there are certain expectations, fair or not, placed on me. In my quest to lose weight and make positive lifestyle changes, I also came to the realization that I didn’t have to be a fat and jolly preacher’s wife. God created me the way that I am, and I began to realize that the fat was hiding me and preventing me from being who God created me to be and doing all that God created me to do.
I had to change my thinking about myself and my role in society and the Church. It was time to step out from behind the cellulite.
Successful weight loss didn’t change who I was, but it improved my ability to convey who I am and what God has created me to do.
Successful weight loss meant finding fulfillment in life, not food
If you are a comfort eater, you know exactly what I mean. When you feel emotionally empty or hurt, it is very easy to turn to cool, creamy foods, high-carbohydrate foods and high-fat foods to fill you up and help soothe your feelings. In reality, comfort food does you better than those who choose to self-medicate their problems with alcohol.
It is very easy to become addicted to food, especially the foods that make you feel better. In order to successfully lose weight, I had to acknowledge the foods that I ate for comfort and, although painful, identify what inside my soul or psyche was empty and in need of fulfillment.
This was one of the most difficult parts of beginning successful weight loss. But once I pinned down the issue of comfort eating I was able to control it; this lead to moderate weight loss even before I began to exercise.
Lose weight by changing your lifestyle — for good
Losing a little weight by giving up comfort food was nice, but I knew there was more I had to do. I needed a lifestyle change, one that included diet and exercise.
As I worked to overcome comfort eating and related issues, I tackled exercise first. I didn’t have much stamina to begin with, but I joined a gym (American Body Works, Ridge Road, Hiram, Georgia) where professional employees and trainers encouraged me. I was never made to feel uncomfortable about my weight, but was encouraged to get moving in order to become healthier.
At first I could only do about 15 minutes of cardio. I weighed too much to put much pressure on my knees, so I did a lot of work on the elliptical and the spin bike. In no time at all I had lost 30 pounds.
Once I could see the light of breaking beneath the 200-pound mark, I was highly motivated. I began to work out five or six days a week. The more cardio I did, the more fat was burned.
Lose weight by paying attention to your diet
Once I dropped 30-plus pounds, I hit a plateau. It was time to focus more on my diet. I knew the basics and implemented the basics of a healthy diet, cold turkey. I ate more lean protein, fruits and vegetables. Carbohydrates were limited to complex carbs like oatmeal, whole grains and sweet potatoes.
My weight dropped even more.
Everyone always asks if I ever cheat on my diet? No. I didn’t, and I don’t cheat because I AM NOT ON A DIET. I made a lifestyle change. Yes, that change does allow me to enjoy a small piece of cake at a birthday party or have a bite of something sweet when I get a craving. The amazing thing is that once I changed my lifestyle, including eating habits, I no longer wanted — nor want now — foods that are more harmful than beneficial to my body.
Successful weight loss involves not drinking most of your calories
Many people are not aware of the number of calories they pour into their bodies when they drink soda, juice filled with high fructose corn syrup and sweet tea. I didn’t have that problem. The only thing I drank was Diet Coke. It has zero calories. What harm could it do?
A little research and a discussion with the nutritionist at American Body Works Ridge Road / Villa Rica opened my eyes to the harmful effects of Diet Coke. The problem with Diet Coke is two-fold. One, carbonated soda leeches calcium from your bones. That’s not good for anyone, unless you want brittle bones. Two, aspartame breaks down into a few toxic components in your body. One of them is formaldehyde. It is little wonder, then, that fat on my thighs and belly didn’t want to move. It was well-preserved.
One of the biggest aspects of my successful weight loss was giving up Diet Cokes. I did it cold turkey, not for the nutritionist and not because someone sold me on a scare tactic, but because I felt that it was in the best interest of my health.
Within one week I lost another 10 pounds.
I now drink a minimum of one gallon of water each day.
Lose weight successfully by exercising
I was well under 200 pounds when I hit another plateau. At this point, I spoke with a personal trainer at American Body Works, Ridge Road in Hiram. I was advised to continue working on cardio to burn fat, but to increase weight training.
Like every other woman, my immediate response was that I didn’t want to look like a brute or weight lifter. I was assured that weight training would help replace fat with healthy muscle mass, help strengthen bones and burn calories.
Successful, lasting weight loss does not happen overnight
All of my weight loss efforts have taken place over the past year and eight months. I have tried yo-yo diets in the past, quick weight loss pills and even starvation. Those methods did more to harm my overall health and slow my metabolism than to help me lose weight.
All the time, the key to successful weight loss and healthy weight maintenance was a change of mind and lifestyle.
How successful weight loss has changed my life
I now weigh around 160, but I’ve learned not to pay attention to the scale. Muscle weighs more than fat. What matters to me is that I no longer wear a size 20. I wear a size 10. I’m still losing fat and maintaining weight training.
I no longer have a weight loss goal. I already look smaller than my weight, which is up due to toned — but not bulked — muscle mass.
Fat weight has been replaced by muscle. My skin isn’t flabby, as it would be if I lost quick weight, which included muscle.
I am stronger and have more stamina.
My cardiovascular health is no longer worse than that of a 40-year-old. It is much closer to that of a young 30-year-old.
My borderline hypertension has been eliminated without the use of any medications.
By changing my lifestyle to include cardiovascular exercise, weight training and healthy eating, I know that my life — and my weight — has been changed forever.
I lost 80 pounds, have kept it off, and I continue to work daily toward weight loss and greater health and fitness. If I did it, you can do it, too.
Wendy Dawn is a freelance writer. She enjoys research and writing on a variety of topics.
October 30 2009 | Power Boost: November 2009 | No Comments »
I’m certain I’m not the only one frustrated or who has encountered this but what is going on with some parents in our community? I mean when did parenting become a burden? I was the keynote speaker at an event this past weekend for a local organization and talking about the power of parental advocacy and how parents are their child’s greatest advocate.
After the event, a 14 year old girl came up to me and asked me if I could help her get back in school. It seems she got expelled from school in January for fighting. She didn’t have a knife or any weapon but in this day of zero tolerance this was her 3rd fight and it led to her expulsion. I was a bit surprised that she had asked because I wondered why t his was something her parents weren’t trying to do. However, I learned her mom was a single mom and her mom just wasn’t willing to do it. Since the girl really seemed to want to get back into school, I decided to help. I called her mom who informed me that this was her daughter’s problem. In her words: she got put out, she needs to find a way to get back in if she wants to go. I’m leaving it up to her this is her life.
I couldn’t believe any reasonable and responsible parent would say this. What shocked me further was the battle I found from the school itself. Although I wasn’t this child’s parent, I convinced the principal to talk to me about re-enrolling the child. A friend of a friend knew the principal. I talked to the principal, who said the child had written her a letter and asked if she could come back to school. (Note what child would do this if they didn’t care about their future). The principal said she told her no because the school had limited resources and the bottom line is the child had 3 fights that year and they just didn’t have the time to deal with children who were disruptive. I understand the principal’s concerns but we need to think very carefully before making it too hard for a child to get back on track. After all, this child never brought a weapon to school and as far as I could see didn’t pose a danger to any students. To make a long story short, I was finally able to convince the principal to allow the child to reenroll in the school.
But after spending a week dealing with an uninvolved parent and a school system that was more than happy to kick the child to the curb, it re-enforced my belief about the role of parental advocacy. It’s a shame that in many ways whether a child succeeds has a lot to do with whether their parents or some adult is vested in them, their success and their future. I didn’t know this girl at all but in one week I had spent more time fighting for her future than her mom or the school system: both of which seemed very willing to throw her away. As a parent and someone who speaks to parents across this country, my greatest advice has to be get involved in the life of a child. We have to do what we can to protect all our children and not only the ones who get good grades but even those who are D and F students and find themselves in the gray areas of life. And for goodness sake, we need parents to Parent Up.
What do I mean by Parent Up? Our parents need to step up their parenting game- plain and simple. If you do your role as a parent to the best of your ability, there still exists a chance your child may not succeed. If you do less than your best- guess what? Your child’s chance for success drop dramatically.
So I say Parent Up- do your part. Doesn’t matter if you are a single parent, married couple, grandparent, aunt, uncle, whatever…..Parent Up. If you are responsible for a child- take control of the situation, quit complaining about how hard it is and just do your best and definitely do NOT give up on them. If, after doing your best in the parenting situation, you still end up with a bad seed, you know you did your best and it wasn’t your fault. If you end up with a dud and you didn’t do all you should have done- you can be pretty sure it’s probably your fault!! Sorry if this is harsh but it’s also harsh to say to a 14 year old I don’t care if you succeed or not.
Attorney and author of book Mother To Son: Words of Wisdom, Hope and Inspiration for Today’s Young African-American Men.
October 30 2009 | Motherhood & Family Life and Power Boost: November 2009 | No Comments »
by Annika Murray
Just the other day I walk into my laundry room and to my surprise, I find Alana (almost 7 years old) standing in the corner. She was carefully tucked away in the midst of loads of laundry needing washing, drying, folding and hanging.
I call it "Mt. Murray", but let’s save that story for another post.
"Alana, what are you doing?" I ask.
"Oh. Nothing"
"Why are you standing in here?"
She responds, "I just needed a moment to myself". Shocked at her answer I ask if anything is wrong. Then she said, "sometimes I just want to be alone and Alston (almost 4) can be a bit much!"
I tried to maintain my composure and talk to her about this situation. Like any good mother I told her I understand how she feels, but I couldn’t resist stating, sometimes I feel the same way!" Alana then responds, "I know."
Alana had the right idea, go into the one place nobody cares to really go to. The laundry room has no food, TV, DVDs, computer, sitting area or bath facilities. I even avoid it sometimes, regretfully. Now I know the laundry room is the place to be to escape from the mayhem.
However, as a task oriented mom, I tell her to put a load in the dryer while she is there. I needed the help and she needed the space.
October 30 2009 | Motherhood & Family Life and Power Boost: November 2009 | No Comments »
A Change Strategist and international keynote speaker and author, Edie Raether has integrated over 40 years of experience in human potential development, motivation, and behavioral psychology into a revolutionary character building program, Wings for Wishes. As president of Performance PLUS, a speaking, training, and coaching firm, Edie has empowered over 3,500 professional associations, educational organizations, and Fortune 500 companies on five continents.
Edie is an authority on the neuropsychology of achievement and brain-based performance including emotional and multiple intelligence and the concept of all kinds of minds. She draws from a width breath of professional experience including working with Dr. Lauretta Bender of the Bender Gestalt Test at an NYC children’s psychiatric hospital treating all ages from autistic children to behavioral disorders in adolescence. With a strong “wellness” orientation, Edie also worked in pediatrics and physical rehabilitation with children and youth.
For 30 years Edie maintained a private practice as a psychotherapist and marriage and family counselor where she worked with a variety of emotional, behavioral, developmental and relationship challenges. Edie was the human development coordinator for both healthcare and daycare programs at a community college, and an instructor of human dynamics, and the director of the Occupational Therapy program. Edie also hosted and produced talk show programs on radio and TV with ABC.
Edie is an expert resource for hundreds of publications such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Prevention, Walking, Men’s Health, Selling Power, INC magazine and Reuters. Edie has also shared the platform with such celebrities as Tom Brokaw, Patch Adams, Art Linkletter and Bob Hope.
Now in numerous countries, her four internationally acclaimed books include Winning! How Winners Think - What Champions Do and Why Cats Don’t Bark Unleash Your PowerZone: Intuitive Intelligence-The Other IQ. Edie is the recipient of the CSP, Certified Speaking Professional, the highest earned designation awarded by the National Speakers Association to fewer than 7% of its membership worldwide.
Performance PLUS 4678 Kiser Island Road Terrell, NC 28682
(704) 658-8997 edie@raether.com - www.raether.com
October 30 2009 | Cover Story Interviews and Power Boost: November 2009 | No Comments »
By Lauren Wilder
I attended an event where I enjoyed a free concert a few weeks ago where I found a deeper meaning in being in the V.I.P. line. This philosophy came to me days later when I was figuring out my career path with my blue ink pen. While I was in line I thought I was clever for coming early since there was a cap on admission. I stood there with a bunch of people my age who were entertainment marketers, members of Chicago’s hip scene, and a guy who got an email from Kanye West (or so he says). Several people asked me who I was or who was I with? My answer was I’m a journalist and I’m with myself.
Thinking about this makes me chuckle at my naiveté, but I had an epiphany from those questions. I’m a journalist, but what kind? Who or what do I want to represent? Now, I wasn’t even on the V.I.P. list and I found out that I was standing in the wrong line. The entrance for general admission was on the other side of the venue. So, I switched to a line where my name was on this list.
I didn’t care about being "important" that night because my line moved faster and V.I.P.s didn’t get special treatment anyway. But what I do care about is scribbled in a red marble notebook. Here’s the part where I began to analyze this small and, what I thought was, an insignificant moment.
My budding image is being cultivated by publicizing myself, the results of job inquiries, and most importantly networking. My dear readers, I’m sure you understand the power of networking; I am experiencing its wonders and I feel like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I’ve found the golden ticket.
From being in the line, I realize that no one knew who I was, hence why they asked. They were trying to decide if I had clout or pull of some sort of something that would make them want to get to know me. I’m pretty sure there was someone in that terribly long line of "important" people who would’ve been helpful.
So this brings me to who is Lauren Wilder, the young woman who likes to be called Wilder and doesn’t mind getting personal in her writing. Where is she going with all of this? I am learning the art of selling/marketing myself.
I, like many other people in their 20s, are faced with this broad question. It didn’t seem to have a huge impact until I asked myself. The more I thought about this question it got even deeper.
Networking on a more personal level hits all aspects of life. You get exactly what you put into it. When I posed the question while writing I broke down not only my career, but my personal and social life. I also wrote down who and what I wanted to represent, this higher form of consciousness is what I like to call being a grown up.
So why is it important to know who I am? That’s not even a real question because I have to know, if not I am destined for failure. I have to know myself in order to make it so I can network. You absolutely can not sell anything without having product with a strong explanation of how it works and its benefits. I am that product, sometimes I’ll have to go back to the lab and revamp or be a better publicist for myself. All of this came from standing in a line to get in a concert, go figure.
Lauren Wilder is an up-and-coming journalist who recently moved to Chicago. She shares her adventures with P3 readers every month.
October 30 2009 | Other Useful Articles and Power Boost: November 2009 | No Comments »
