Behavior modification and guilt by association

We tend to derive anticipated emotion, pleasure or pain, from previous experience and we also experience or relive those emotions each time we think of the stimulous again.  The trick is to understand that is what is going on and to decided whether or not our intrinsic response is fair or just guilt by association.  In other words prejuidice can be held against anything not just people.  If you have had negative experiences with exercise and have developed an association of feeling bad with going to the gym the very thought of going to the gym may cause those sensations or feelings to bubble up again in your brain.  This is a very real phenomena and does have a very real effect on the body with the release of stress hormones which make you fat btw.  Adrenalin makes you fat.  Cortisol makes you fat.  Even testosterone, especially in women, makes you fat.  And estrogen does too, just in a different place/way on the body.  Learning to reprogram your response and expectation is a very powerful tool.  I highly recommend recognizing how you feel about the behaviors which produce physical fitness and if the idea of exercise makes you cringe consider reprogramming yourself to smile when you think of sweat.  Challenge the icky feelings, they may just be left over feelings that are not serving you anymore.  

A new workout to me!

Woo hoo.  Tomorrow is Cathe's Low Impact Circuit WO.  I'm stoked.  I'm already set up.  I will be doing the cardio timesaver and then in the evening it will be a Leslie Sansone dvd with the resistance bands followed by 15 minutes of yoga.  

Step 1: Water- I've had most of my water.  I have one more glass to do.

Step 2: Walk- Did my wog this AM.

Step 3: Clean out a drawer- I tidied my desk.  I will attack the kitchen silverware drawer tomorrow.

Step 4: Save 2$ a day- I'm doing this with my coupons and switching to using a refillable bottle instead of buying the half liter bottles.  

Testosterone

I have an over abundance of insulin which when not absorbed behaves like testosterone and androgenizes my body.  I had increased my sugar intake a couple of weeks ago and I am paying the price, facial hair.  Ugh.  I had also decreased my testosterone blocker, saw palmetto, to an every other day dosage because it slows down my bowels.  I am going to use an increase in fiber to deal with my bowels and I will up my saw palmetto dosage.  I do recall that my doctors had told me that hormones are not dosed based upon one's body weight.  I had thought I could lower the dosage because my body weight is down 80 pounds.  Boy, was I wrong.  I hate facial hair.  That is the worst part of this condition.  Its the being mistaken for a dude or a transgendered individual (I don't have a problem with them.)  So, back to what I know works: Cardio 6x a week, Yoga 3x a week, Testosterone blocker, Psyllium fiber, only having my carbohydrate post workout because that is when my insulin receptors are wide open, and eliminating wheat.  I like to favor other sources for carbohydrate that carry more nutrients with them.  Lately, I have been trying grapefruit for its mood elevating properties.   

Continuing:   cardio, yoga, 

Adding: more saw palmetto, psyllium fiber, daily dose of fish oil, increasing evening primrose oil.

Subtracting: Wheat (I have 6 slices of the sourdough walnut bread left.) 

One more thing

I did add the yoga back in, I've removed the dried fruit from my diet, cut down my peanut butter and banana sandwich to just half, and starting tomorrow I will only have one slice of bread post workout.  Not two.  

I'm experiencing winter blahs.

Treading water

This week is another one of data entry and staying on top of my mental outlook.  I've been reviewing the book "Simple Steps" and I liked it a few years ago and I like it now.  I don't practice all of the steps.  Maybe I should.   

They recommend using four steps each week.  Luckily, I already do some of these simple steps anyway.  So for me, adding these onto my add list should be easy.

Step 1: Drink 8 glasses of water a day (I do this already)

Step 2: 20 min walk a day (Leslie Sansone here I come!)

Step 3: Clean out a drawer- For me this will be the silverware drawer, its filthy.

Step 4: Save 2$ a day.  I don't have a paying gig right now, so I will have to be creative with coupons.

Its over!

The hold that food has had on me in the past has well, passed.  I had a brownie this morning, home made, and then had a second one.  Not a huge deal.  This is my high calorie day.  And guess what, I just felt blah.  It was not a romance anymore.  I think removing the sense of naughtiness has removed some of its appeal.  Try that.  Tell yourself you can have anything you want.  And tell yourself that you get to choose how you want to feel.  You know what food does do you.  You know how each food makes you feel.  Before, during and after.  So try that experiment.  No restrictions.  None.  Just honest choosing.  I am choosing to have this sweet taste in my mouth.  I am choosing the stomach ache that comes second.  I am choosing the headache.  I am choosing the growing waistline OR I am choosing something which both tastes good satiates and does not cause gastronomic upset and or weight gain.  The choice is yours.  And if the brownie is the choice own the consequences too.  Choose the consequence first and the taste second.  After all, its not like you've never had it before, is it?

Adjust focus

Focusing on what you need in your diet and then deciding (as Sandra suggests) what would also satisfy you can be a very effective diet strategy.  The good doctors Oz and Roizen want me to eat 5 servings of vegetables a day.  So, if I start my fitday planning (not just to make note of what I have eaten but what I plan to eat) by entering what I have available to me (most of the time I do know where I need to be during the day.) For example today is what I call a low calorie day.  I cycle my calories.  Some people may see this as extreme, but I never dip below the absolute necessities on any of my macronutrients and it really does work.  It got me out of a nasty 8 month plateau and then another four week plateau.  I keep my carbs to about 60 grams on a low day, calories at least 1200 but up to 1300 and protein at about 120 grams.  I start my calculations with my protein because that tends to provide the most calories.  Then, I add in my favorite good fat sources, olive oil and avocado.  I like to use leafy greens for vegetables because they are inexpensive, pack a nutritional wallop, and are very low in carbohydrate.  I am sensitive to sugars they tend to interfere with my endocrine system.  A serving of leafy greens is a half cup.  I like to make a large salad with 2 cups of greens (spinach or red leaf lettuce) 1/2 an avocado, a tablespoon of cheese and a tablespoon of nuts.  I stick to olive oil and vinegar as dressing, its the cleanest way to make it tasty.  Then with the rest of the calories for my day I add in what treats I really want.  For me that was 1/2 a banana and a home made brownie.  Just one.  Some folks can't do the "just one." but I don't use food to make me feel better or to satisfy hunger.  I use a little bit for enjoyment and 'the party in my mouth' (an idea from IOWL.)  Sweet foods can never satisfy hunger, fix sadness, or really offer comfort.  For me, comfort comes from hot tea, my blankie (still have it! Its huge btw, not little, and I call it my furry because it is furry) and either a good book or an episode of Martha Stewart.  I like crafting.  I find comfort in warm sweaters, new sox, and soft sweat pants.  The problem with using sweets to give yourself comfort is that its like going up to someone getting a hug and then they haul off and knock you down.  For me sweet foods always have a terrible price attached if not eaten with moderation.

Next time you are selecting your comfort food of choice, ask yourself is the dosage going to salve your soul or knock you down the stairs.