This summer I took on the largest home assembly job I ever attempted when I built my kids play set. Multiple boxes, hundreds of boards, thousands of bolts, washers, and screws, and one set of instructions in bound volume. Building this play set appeared to be a monumental task and one that had me really questioning whether or not I made the right decision about assembling it myself. I was certainly uncomfortable on whether or not I could achieve this and, even though I had the perfect plan to follow in the instructions, I needed something more to help me execute it.
I started by taking inventory and identifying all of the items that needed to be used, then categorized them and put them together in groups in the backyard. Divided and categorized, the unmanageable mountain changed into a collection of very manageable hills. Throughout each step of the building process, I collected all of the components I needed for that step and moved them to the assembly area. I prepped them into position, and made them readily available for me to add to my play set assembly. This process not only enabled me to put the play set together efficiently, but it brought me security and confidence that I was not in over my head and that I would eventually be successful.
American Chefs have adopted a French saying called "mise in place" for the work they do with ingredients as they prepare them for the cooking process. Following the recipe (or plan), Chefs prep ingredients like meats by trimming and seasoning, they prep vegetables by chopping and slicing them into the correct shape and size, and they prep their spices by measuring them and putting them in temporary containers ready for use. When done correctly, a Chef has all of their ingredients completely ready to go with nothing left to do other than mix and cook.
Chefs go through a lot of steps to prepare for something as simple as executing a dish, yet when it comes to our desire to achieve monumental behavioral changes like overcoming emotional eating, we tend to start process with just a goal in mind. Having a goal will help us find a direction, but in order for us to take steps down the path, most of us realize that we are going to need some sort of plan. This plan can be as simple as logging our food with a journal, having calorie goals for each day or eliminating certain foods from our diet.
Putting together a plan is an important part of the process, but even if we have the best plan in place, we still need to do more to be successful. This is where we need to follow the principles of "mise in place."
Life Lesson: Do not allow yourself to be setup for failure.
It takes more than a plan to change your behavior. The poor eating habits we have developed are thriving in our environment. Much of what we have done to establish our environment is to develop a way to support our poor eating habits. So if we want to change our eating habits from bad to good, how can we do this without changing our environment?
This is especially true when it comes to food. How can we eat healthy in a house that does not contain healthy food? How can we break the habits of snacking all the time at work when we leave the temptation of food in our desk drawer? How can we expect ourselves to successfully change our behavior when we leave all sorts of challenges like these to overcome in our path? If we don't do anything different with our environment, we are setting ourselves up for failure.
We need to change our environment and get the right things "in place" to support our good habits so we can execute our plan. We also need to remove the temptations and replace them with the right choices. We can do this by filling the house with groceries that support eating right. We can plan meals and measure and prep our food for consumption. We can have things "in place" for ourselves ahead of the time of need, so we don't have to "wing it" when it comes time to execute.
If we take steps like these to put our "mise in place," we will create an environment that supports our new way of eating and make it very difficult to fall back into our old ways. This will help us execute our plan and ultimately help us find success.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Weight and Measures
My wife has one of those thermometers that you are supposed to use on your forehead to tell your body temperature. I can teach someone how to fix an aircraft engine, but for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to use this little one button device. The trick of it is in the technique of when and how you run it across your forehead and apparently it is an art form that I have not mastered yet. What that makes me laugh about this gadget and using it is that whenever she tries to take the kids temperature, she keeps using the thing over and over again until she get the temperature she is looking for. "98.1, 98.6, 100.1. See, I told you she had a fever!"
Today, I found myself using the same technique when I got on the scale. After a week of controlling what I ate and managing my calories, it would surely result in some loss of weight, right? Unfortunately, when I stepped on the scale this morning, my weight stayed relatively the same as it did when I got on a week ago. I couldn't believe it so I got off the scale, moved the scale, and changed by body position on it several times. I kept doing this because I was trying to get the answer I was looking for. I wanted to get the reward of losing a few pounds after all of the hard work I put into eating correctly for the past seven days. I was counting on it.
Unfortunately, today it was not meant to be. My weight is the same as last week no matter where I placed the scale or stood on it. So while I was standing on the scale today, wavering my body back and forth, it really got me thinking; "Was I using the appropriate measurement?" I just completed a week of eating less that 2,000 calories a day and because there was no loss of weight, I initially looked at the past week as a failure. How could I think such a thing? After all, were the efforts I made this week about losing weight or were they about controlling my emotional eating and developing better eating habits?
There is no question that I am overweight. It is important for me to have weight loss goals so that I can get out of the morbidly obese category on the BMI chart. To lose weight, I know that I have to eat right and exercise. So it is natural to think that my eating habits are directly tied into these weight loss goals because losing weight is normally a by-product of eating correctly. But that is just it. Losing weight is a by-product of eating correctly, not the measurement we use to determine if we are achieving our goals.
In marching band, our students have several simultaneous responsibilities that must perform in their normal routine. One is the distance they must travel from set to set and one is the tempo they must maintain in their feet. When the tempos get faster, then tendency is for their steps to get bigger. But the tempo in their feet and the distance that they travel in their sets are two different things. So we ask them: "What is the relationship between the tempo you are marching and the distance you are covering in the set?" The answer is: NOTHING!
Life Lesson: Sometimes the relationship between two things you are trying to accomplish at the same time is nothing.
Controlling my emotional eating and losing weight are both goals of mine, but these goals are not related to each other. I have to keep these goals separate and I have to focus on each of them independently if I want to achieve success in both.
Losing weight is a by-product of better eating habits. This is something I need to take advantage of when it comes to my weight loss goals. Having better eating habits alone is not going to help me achieve my weight loss goals, just like losing weight is not the measurement that is going to help me achieve my goals of controlling my emotional eating.
Today was a great victory for me in my journey to overcome my emotional eating habits. I successfully maintained a near 2000 calorie a day diet for a week and had very rare occasions where I ate something unconsciously or out of nervous habit. Big steps in the right direction despite the fact that I did not lose a single pound.
Of course, now I need to also bring into focus the fact that I do have weight loss goals and I need to take additional steps to bring me closer to achieving those goals. This is likely by bringing regular exercise into the fold.
So, I have two goals; one that is focused on controlling my emotional eating and one that is focused on losing weight. From this point forward, I must remember to use the right measurements for each of my goals so I can independently monitor their progress correctly and successfully accomplish them both.
Today, I found myself using the same technique when I got on the scale. After a week of controlling what I ate and managing my calories, it would surely result in some loss of weight, right? Unfortunately, when I stepped on the scale this morning, my weight stayed relatively the same as it did when I got on a week ago. I couldn't believe it so I got off the scale, moved the scale, and changed by body position on it several times. I kept doing this because I was trying to get the answer I was looking for. I wanted to get the reward of losing a few pounds after all of the hard work I put into eating correctly for the past seven days. I was counting on it.
Unfortunately, today it was not meant to be. My weight is the same as last week no matter where I placed the scale or stood on it. So while I was standing on the scale today, wavering my body back and forth, it really got me thinking; "Was I using the appropriate measurement?" I just completed a week of eating less that 2,000 calories a day and because there was no loss of weight, I initially looked at the past week as a failure. How could I think such a thing? After all, were the efforts I made this week about losing weight or were they about controlling my emotional eating and developing better eating habits?
There is no question that I am overweight. It is important for me to have weight loss goals so that I can get out of the morbidly obese category on the BMI chart. To lose weight, I know that I have to eat right and exercise. So it is natural to think that my eating habits are directly tied into these weight loss goals because losing weight is normally a by-product of eating correctly. But that is just it. Losing weight is a by-product of eating correctly, not the measurement we use to determine if we are achieving our goals.
In marching band, our students have several simultaneous responsibilities that must perform in their normal routine. One is the distance they must travel from set to set and one is the tempo they must maintain in their feet. When the tempos get faster, then tendency is for their steps to get bigger. But the tempo in their feet and the distance that they travel in their sets are two different things. So we ask them: "What is the relationship between the tempo you are marching and the distance you are covering in the set?" The answer is: NOTHING!
Life Lesson: Sometimes the relationship between two things you are trying to accomplish at the same time is nothing.
Controlling my emotional eating and losing weight are both goals of mine, but these goals are not related to each other. I have to keep these goals separate and I have to focus on each of them independently if I want to achieve success in both.
Losing weight is a by-product of better eating habits. This is something I need to take advantage of when it comes to my weight loss goals. Having better eating habits alone is not going to help me achieve my weight loss goals, just like losing weight is not the measurement that is going to help me achieve my goals of controlling my emotional eating.
Today was a great victory for me in my journey to overcome my emotional eating habits. I successfully maintained a near 2000 calorie a day diet for a week and had very rare occasions where I ate something unconsciously or out of nervous habit. Big steps in the right direction despite the fact that I did not lose a single pound.
Of course, now I need to also bring into focus the fact that I do have weight loss goals and I need to take additional steps to bring me closer to achieving those goals. This is likely by bringing regular exercise into the fold.
So, I have two goals; one that is focused on controlling my emotional eating and one that is focused on losing weight. From this point forward, I must remember to use the right measurements for each of my goals so I can independently monitor their progress correctly and successfully accomplish them both.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Decisions, Decisions
It completely surprises me how many times you have to make a decision about food on a daily basis. When I started to concentrate on my eating habits, it reminded of me of someone who gets a new puppy. You notice more dog food commercials on TV, you finally see the dog food billboards that were always there, and you notice more dogs walking the street.
Now that I am making food the issue, I have taken much more notice to the fact that food is all around me and the influences to eating food are found at every turn. When we think of eating, many of us tend to believe that we only have to make a good choice about breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We want to believe that making just a couple of good choices a day is all we need to be successful. Unfortunately, in our society making food choices is not restricted to three times a day. This is because food is always available and there is always an influence working to get us to eat it.
The truth is that we have to make decisions about food all the time. Sure we have to decide what to eat for our meals, and making good choices there carries you a long way towards success, but every time you pass by eligible food to eat you have to make a decision. It is important to realize this because when you do, you find that you are making several more choices about food on a daily basis. Making good choices during these critical times can go a long way to support your healthy eating habits. Making bad choices during these times can jeopardize your long term goals.
Food is everywhere and it is readily available. Food is in your vending machines at work, it's on your co-workers desk, and many times it is in a dish or a drawer at your own desk. When you drive from one place to another, you drive by countless food services. Fast food restaurants, grocery stores, mini-marts where you used to just get gas are all sources of food. Food is in your home, on the counter, in the cupboard, in the fridge, and sometimes just lying around the house waiting to be eaten.
Food comes up in your daily discussions all the time. Conversations range from "what did you eat last night" to "where do you want to to go for lunch." The topics for talking about food are endless.
Our social events are structured around food. Business meetings take place at restaurants, parties and other events are hinged on food, the holidays are all about food. Eating food is so prevalent in our society, that it has several channels on cable television where it has evolved from a matter of sustenance to an art form, a competitive arena, and a cultural phenomenon.
Recognizing that you must make food choices regularly is really important to be successful long term. When we ask our marching band kids to perform their show, we talk to them about how they have to process each part of the program right before they execute it. This involves hundreds of decisions crammed into an eight minute window. When they take the time to properly process each segment as it comes ahead of time, they are prepared and it will translate into a successful performance.
Life Lesson #7: Process what you need to do right before you execute it.
If we process our decision about whether or not we want to eat the food before we eat it, we are likely going to make better choices on what we eat and why we eat it. As an emotional eater, I know that many times I eat without even thinking about it and this usually leads to disaster. A key to Paul McKenna's message about losing weight is about eating consciously. I couldn't agree more. The first step in doing this, however, is realizing how many times these decisions need to be made.
There are lots of decisions we have to make about food every day and the goal here is to make more good decisions than bad. We cannot fool ourselves into thinking that they will all be good. That is a record no one can measure up to. Realistically, we have to realize that out of all the decisions we make about food regularly, a few are going to be bad ones. When we make the bad decision, it’s important to forgive yourself and try again.
Major league baseball players make millions of dollars failing three out or four times. We are bound to have some failures too. So we shouldn't panic and think that our plan for eating food is an epic failure after one mistake. It's not a signal that we have to abandon it and try something completely different. It just means that we need to continue to recognize how many times we are making a decision about food and do our best to do the right thing next time. After all, we will have plenty of more chances to make the right decision in the future.
Now that I am making food the issue, I have taken much more notice to the fact that food is all around me and the influences to eating food are found at every turn. When we think of eating, many of us tend to believe that we only have to make a good choice about breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We want to believe that making just a couple of good choices a day is all we need to be successful. Unfortunately, in our society making food choices is not restricted to three times a day. This is because food is always available and there is always an influence working to get us to eat it.
The truth is that we have to make decisions about food all the time. Sure we have to decide what to eat for our meals, and making good choices there carries you a long way towards success, but every time you pass by eligible food to eat you have to make a decision. It is important to realize this because when you do, you find that you are making several more choices about food on a daily basis. Making good choices during these critical times can go a long way to support your healthy eating habits. Making bad choices during these times can jeopardize your long term goals.
Food is everywhere and it is readily available. Food is in your vending machines at work, it's on your co-workers desk, and many times it is in a dish or a drawer at your own desk. When you drive from one place to another, you drive by countless food services. Fast food restaurants, grocery stores, mini-marts where you used to just get gas are all sources of food. Food is in your home, on the counter, in the cupboard, in the fridge, and sometimes just lying around the house waiting to be eaten.
Food comes up in your daily discussions all the time. Conversations range from "what did you eat last night" to "where do you want to to go for lunch." The topics for talking about food are endless.
Our social events are structured around food. Business meetings take place at restaurants, parties and other events are hinged on food, the holidays are all about food. Eating food is so prevalent in our society, that it has several channels on cable television where it has evolved from a matter of sustenance to an art form, a competitive arena, and a cultural phenomenon.
Recognizing that you must make food choices regularly is really important to be successful long term. When we ask our marching band kids to perform their show, we talk to them about how they have to process each part of the program right before they execute it. This involves hundreds of decisions crammed into an eight minute window. When they take the time to properly process each segment as it comes ahead of time, they are prepared and it will translate into a successful performance.
Life Lesson #7: Process what you need to do right before you execute it.
If we process our decision about whether or not we want to eat the food before we eat it, we are likely going to make better choices on what we eat and why we eat it. As an emotional eater, I know that many times I eat without even thinking about it and this usually leads to disaster. A key to Paul McKenna's message about losing weight is about eating consciously. I couldn't agree more. The first step in doing this, however, is realizing how many times these decisions need to be made.
There are lots of decisions we have to make about food every day and the goal here is to make more good decisions than bad. We cannot fool ourselves into thinking that they will all be good. That is a record no one can measure up to. Realistically, we have to realize that out of all the decisions we make about food regularly, a few are going to be bad ones. When we make the bad decision, it’s important to forgive yourself and try again.
Major league baseball players make millions of dollars failing three out or four times. We are bound to have some failures too. So we shouldn't panic and think that our plan for eating food is an epic failure after one mistake. It's not a signal that we have to abandon it and try something completely different. It just means that we need to continue to recognize how many times we are making a decision about food and do our best to do the right thing next time. After all, we will have plenty of more chances to make the right decision in the future.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
A Phoenix Also Rises
The brink.
I have stood in this place before. It is a fine line where I walk between retaining control of how I look feel and completely letting go of myself and letting my bad habits run rampant until I fall down into some dark hole of despair.
I return to this point many times after finally taking a moment to put everything else to the side and concentrate on me. In my self-reflection I stare at the man in the mirror and wonder how in the world I could have let this happen. Its amazing what you can hide from yourself when you don't look in the mirror everyday. Intentionally, of course.
In this moment of self-reflection, I finally take a good look in the mirror and I do not like what I see at all. The situation is as bad as it has ever been when it comes to my weight and the time for action is now.
My weight is my arch rival. It is my nemesis. I have tried to combat gaining weight so many times before. I have tried healthy and unhealthy ways to do it out of hope and out of desperation. Regardless of what I try, the effort lasts for a short while and I return back to the poor habits that have gotten me here in the first place.
As I continue to circle back to this point, the failures start to pile on top of one another and what once was a plateau of 220 becomes 250, then 280, then 310.
This cycle cannot continue for much longer. If I let it go on, the view will get darker at every plateau. The uncertainly of my future will continue to cloud itself, and the confidence I have in myself to eventually win this battle continues to wain with every step I take on the scale.
Its important for me to remember that my future depends on today and the actions I take will help determine what that future will be. Today, I have decided I will try to end the cycle again. If a Phoenix can rise from the ashes, then surely I can stand up against the issue of emotional eating and start my fight again. I have to for myself and my family.
It will not be an easy task. I have fought this battle before and I have fought it for so long, each time ending in a loss. What makes me think that the outcome this time is going to be different?
The truth is that I don't think it will different. But I owe it to myself and those who are close to me to take a stand and try to do what is right. To break this cycle of bad eating habits for good.
Perhaps during this process my hope can turn to faith, and my faith can turn to belief, and my belief can turn to success. So today, I start with hope that all of it will come true.
Let it begin.
I have stood in this place before. It is a fine line where I walk between retaining control of how I look feel and completely letting go of myself and letting my bad habits run rampant until I fall down into some dark hole of despair.
I return to this point many times after finally taking a moment to put everything else to the side and concentrate on me. In my self-reflection I stare at the man in the mirror and wonder how in the world I could have let this happen. Its amazing what you can hide from yourself when you don't look in the mirror everyday. Intentionally, of course.
In this moment of self-reflection, I finally take a good look in the mirror and I do not like what I see at all. The situation is as bad as it has ever been when it comes to my weight and the time for action is now.
My weight is my arch rival. It is my nemesis. I have tried to combat gaining weight so many times before. I have tried healthy and unhealthy ways to do it out of hope and out of desperation. Regardless of what I try, the effort lasts for a short while and I return back to the poor habits that have gotten me here in the first place.
As I continue to circle back to this point, the failures start to pile on top of one another and what once was a plateau of 220 becomes 250, then 280, then 310.
This cycle cannot continue for much longer. If I let it go on, the view will get darker at every plateau. The uncertainly of my future will continue to cloud itself, and the confidence I have in myself to eventually win this battle continues to wain with every step I take on the scale.
Its important for me to remember that my future depends on today and the actions I take will help determine what that future will be. Today, I have decided I will try to end the cycle again. If a Phoenix can rise from the ashes, then surely I can stand up against the issue of emotional eating and start my fight again. I have to for myself and my family.
It will not be an easy task. I have fought this battle before and I have fought it for so long, each time ending in a loss. What makes me think that the outcome this time is going to be different?
The truth is that I don't think it will different. But I owe it to myself and those who are close to me to take a stand and try to do what is right. To break this cycle of bad eating habits for good.
Perhaps during this process my hope can turn to faith, and my faith can turn to belief, and my belief can turn to success. So today, I start with hope that all of it will come true.
Let it begin.
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