Healthy You Challenge Check In

The seventh key in Dr. Phil's "The Ultimate Weight Solution" is about assembling a circle of support.

"You need people to believe in you, and if they cannot do that, then you may have to re-invent your relationships and surround yourself with people who will...Don't continue to pretend that you don't know who has your best interests at heart and who does not. You know it as surely as you are sitting there. Give yourself permission to act on that knowledge and claim your right to a healthy existence."

Fortunately, I didn't have to nix any folks off my list. I've got a great group of supporters who fall into the slots on Dr. Phil's recommended team:

* The Coach - someone with technical expertise or professional training who can provide knowledge on nutrition, exercise or some other aspect of health management. (For me, it's my trainer.)

* The Teammate - someone whose weight loss and fitness goals are similar to your own. (My hubby falls into this category, as does my workout buddy.)

* The Cheerleader - Someone to give you honest, meaningful words of encouragement, building you up at critical times and offering support without a hint of judgmental attitude. (This is my sister and YOU!)

* The Umpire - This is a good observer and listener who cares enough about you to tell you the truth, constructively and helpfully. (You'll recognize him as Dr. George Monta when he comments.)

So far, this approach is working wonders to help me maintain accountability and a commitment to healthy living.

Since January 15, I have lost 25 pounds and 24.75 inches.
Thanks, everybody!

Quotes from The Ultimate Weight Solution: The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom

The Best Way to Get Tanked

After work today, DH and I made a quick run to Wal-Mart to exchange empty propane tanks for a full ones so that we could grill shishkabobs for dinner.

After we pulled back into the driveway, DH popped open the tailgate and asked if I could carry one of the two full tanks to the deck.

Sure, I thought. No problem.

Lifting the the tank off the truckbed, it quickly made more sense to carry it with two hands, close to my body, to keep from straining my back. Looking down, I read the label: 17.5 pounds.

"Honey, get a load of this!" I yelled back through the garage. "We've each lost more weight than these tanks weigh!!"

Wow. And hurray for spontaneous celebrations!

Have you had an "aha" moment of comparing your weightloss to external objects?

Recommended: Blue Emu

Who wouldn't want to work out with weights after reading this?

* Weight training is an excellent way to give those unwanted pounds a speedier heave-ho.

*Exercising with weights burns fat and preserves muscle while you're losing weight. (Nearly 100 percent of the weight you lose is pure fat if you weight train.)
It strengthens your muscles, joints and bones.
It decreases insulin levels so your body is in better hormonal balance. And it makes maintaining your weight loss a breeze.

* Each pound of body-firming muscle you add to your frame becomes a fat-incinerating furnace, allowing you to eat moderate amounts of food without worrying about gaining fat.

(Tips from 2 Book Set: The Ulitmate Weight Solution: The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom/The Ultimate Weight Solution Food Guide.)

What Dr. Phil forgot to say is how to get past the first few workouts when every muscle hurts.

Here's my recommendation: BLUE EMU!!

I first heard about Blue Emu at a birthday party for a woman of a certain age, whose friends made up appropriate lyrics about her favorite product to the tune of "Blue Bayou."

After the party, one of the hostesses gave me a jar of the mysterious turquoise gel, which I promptly put away...until I started weight training.

Believe me, it works. Now I'm a Blue Emu-ing Fat-Incinerating Furnace. And that's HOT, Baby!

Stop Living Like a Lazy Slug

A refined Southern lady, my mother used to whisper a familiar reminder over the top of her fan during the heat of Louisiana summers, "Honey, we don't sweat; we glisten."

Dr. Phil isn't quite so genteel when he tackles the statistic that
66 percent of all Americans do not exercise. Unfortunately,
flopping a fan back and forth doesn't count as exercise.

*Failure to put exercise at the top of your priority list, or leaving it off the list altogether, is a deal breaker, because you are cheating yourself not only out of a way to shed unnecessary pounds, but also a way to stabilize a normal weight and stay healthy for a lifetime.

*Your mission is to overcome the inertia you now have and replace it with the forward momentum and direction you want.

* To really get your weight under control, you must stop living like
a lazy slug.

* Either you get this or your don't.

Sooo, this morning I popped out $25 to hire a personal trainer to set me up on a strength-building program. Toward the end of each set of 20 reps, I had to visualize a clear blue sky, sparkling turqoise water, clean white sand and palm trees blowing in the salt breeze.

I sweat. I hurt. But I did it. And I'll do it again. I am not a lazy slug. Not anymore.

Tips from:
The Ultimate Weight Solution: The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom

Lynn Berring Wins by Losing 168 Pounds

Lynn Bering is half the woman she used to be. CNN reports she has lost 168 pounds and is blogging to inspire others.

I first read the story on Scale Junkie's blog, home of the
2008 Healthy You Challenge.

Lynn's practical advice has already found a home in my heart:

"I still write down everything I eat. I still ask myself, 'How will I feel five minutes after I eat this?'
If the answer is anything other than, 'I will feel good having made this food choice,' then I don't eat it. Or, at least most of the time, I don't. Sometimes, that whiney voice wins. But the point is, I think about it. Am I eating because I want to, or because I need to? Am I feeding some emotion I'm afraid to examine?"

Congratulations, Lynn, and thanks to Diana for sharing the good news.

Watch Lynn's interview from The Today Show.

Plate Up the Right Portion

I'm no math whiz, but I can divide a plate into four sections to plan meals without confusing the issue with details about food groups, points, fat or carb grams, etc.

Here's Dr. Phil's solution:

At each meal, fill one section of the plate with a protein, another section with a starch, and the remaining two sections with vegetables of a vegetable and a fruit. Proportioned in this manner, these foods form the foundation of your daily meals.

I agree that if you're trying to control your intake of a substance, even if that substance is food, you have to get your focus off it, or you'll only be fueling your obsession.

Here's his easy way to measure portion control relative to the size of your hand or a tennis ball:

* A serving of meat, fish or poultry should be about the size of the palm of your hand.

* Fruit and vegetable servings should be about the size of your hand when it is cupped, or about the size of a tennis ball (which equals 1/2 cup). Same for a serving of cottage cheese, rice, pasta, cereal or starchy vegetables.

* Whenever you need a cupful of something like milk or yogurt, a serving the size of a fist or two tennis balls is about the right amount.

* A slice of bread, one small roll, or half a bagel or bun counts as one serving.

* A serving of sandwich cheese is one slice.

* As for fats and oil or nuts and seeds, a reasonable serving is about the size of your thumb (or half your thumb if you have big fingers).

Once you get the hang of it, portion management becomes automatic.

Tips from The Ultimate Weight Solution: The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom
Tuesday Weigh-in:
Since January 15, I've lost 15 pounds and 12-1/2 inches.