First, let me thank you for the awesome answers to last weeks music question. I have a ton of stuff to get in our Roni’s Weigh ‘Pick Me Up’ Playlist! I Can’t promise when I’ll finish but I’m hoping to publish it in a week or two.
This weeks question is a bit more serious. I love having fun questions but the thought behind the weekly question is to give you something to ponder about weight loss. Similar to the concept of Weight Watcher Meetings, I hope by having a weekly, thought provoking question it keeps the journey you are on your consciousness (and my own). It’s so easy to put your long term goals aside when life gets in the way. If you don’t work at keeping it active you will, in essence, forget you are doing it (or at least put it on the bottom of your to do.) At least that’s my theory.
So this weeks question is a collection I found on the Mayo Clinic’s web site. I’m not going to list their entire article but I plucked a few questions I find extremely important.
- Do you believe that you can change your eating habits?
- Sounds easy to do in theory, but in practice, it’s often difficult. It’s hard to cast aside established behaviors and develop new lifestyle habits, but it can be done.
- Are you willing to become more physically active?
- Increasing your level of physical activity is essential to losing weight and keeping it off.
- Do you view a healthy-weight program as a positive experience?
- Losing weight doesn’t have to be a bad experience. Many people find they feel better when they’re more active and weigh less.
- Do you believe that a healthy weight is a lifelong commitment?
- Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is a lifelong process. There’s no going back to your old behaviors. Are you ready to make a permanent change?
I really believe these few ideas are key to success. Let me answer and use myself as an example to show you why I think so…
Do you believe that you can change your eating habits?
My eating habits have changed drastically but that change didn’t happen overnight. It was small things I did early on that have snowballed into my overall diet today. For example, when I started my journey I would routinely eat pre-made light meals, like Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones, then I started cooking more dinners and having leftovers. My leftovers slowly replaced the TV dinners for lunches the next day. Now I haven’t bought one in well over a year, but when I started I couldn’t live without them. Sometimes I think we think changing our diet means waking up one day and only eating salads for the rest of our lives. It’s so much more fun then that! I mean look at GreenLiteBites, that’s my creative outlet and the catalyst I use to help me change my diet and keep it interesting.
Are you willing to become more physically active?
I say this ALL the time but I’ll say it again. I did not start some crazy exercise routine when I lost the weight (this post goes through my exercise history) but I did make a commitment to be more active. Just like changing your diet, small changes do make a big difference especially over time. I mean look at me know, I’m running! ME! RUNNING! lol
Do you view a healthy-weight program as a positive experience?
We’ve discussed this a few time before as well. You really have to fall in love with the process. I started treating it like a challenge, a fun challenge. I looked at my Weight Watchers meeting as time for me. I involved my son in the kitchen. I walked with the husband. These things made it something fun instead of a chore. It wasn’t about getting into a certain size it was about trying to learn how to live a healthier life for me and ultimately my family. You can’t get much positive then that!
Do you believe that a healthy weight is a lifelong commitment?
This one is easy for me. Why would I want to go back? Going back means being unhappy in my skin. Going back means eating unhealthy foods in huge portions and feeling hopeless. Now I’m not only thinner, I’m more active and happy. I’m setting a good example for the toddler (and the husband even though he’s not as receptive.) :) It’s definitely a commitment and I’m so happy I made it!
Ok, Your turn! Take your hand at the questions either here in the comments or on your blog. Answer them from the point you are now. If you are already at goal give us examples. Just starting out? Answer them honestly as you look ahead. Be sure leave your link in the comment if you post on your blog so we can check out your answers if you post them!
9 Responses to Are you really ready? Ask yourself these questions…
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What's Cooking in my kitchen?
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About Roni
Roni started this blog in '05 to journal her weight loss. 70lbs later, she's committed to living a conscious, healthy life and hopes to inspire others along the way. Read more on the about page.
Oh my – first one to reply again! It must be fate.
Thank you for this post. I am in a slump and need to re-evaluate my answers to these questions lately!!
For me, the biggest one was viewing this as a positive experience. For the longest time, I dreaded losing weight because I wasn’t ready to give up my binge fest every night…and had thoughts like, “But if I’m thin, I’ll never be able to eat a whole pizza again in my life.” Now, I know that not only do I generally not want or need to binge, I could have 4 slices of pizza one night and be okay…because it’s a LIFEstyle, not just a diet.
This was a great article. Having just returned to Weight Watchers a week ago the questions are very timely for me. I went back to WW after losing 15 pounds on my own over the last 9 months. I reached a point where I could feel myself slipping back into old habits. I think that the questions above really reflect the WW program. I am ready to change my eating habits and I do believe that I can do it. I have a lot of support behind me. Green Lite Bites has spurred me to get excited about cooking and it has inspired me to get more creative in the kitchen. I too have begun involving my 2 year old in the kitchen. He loves it!
I would answer yes to all of the questions. I have so much to live for and being overweight is not an option anymore. I want to inspire my son to eat healthy and be active.
I just stumbled on this list of top 100 healthy mom blogs and I immediately searched for Roni’s Weigh. I just knew that it had to be there. You may have already mentioned this and I may have missed it here, but if not here is the link: http://www.rncentral.com/nursing-library/careplans/top_100_healthy_mom_blogs
Great questions. I know I am ok with 2 out of 3. The eating habit thing not so much. But I can try.
I think these are questions that going to WW meetings help me reaffirm every week. I am still probably the least ready on the exercise piece of it, it is too easy for me to “busy” with other stuff. But I really want to commit to it . . . I think I need to do some soul searching to find what is holding me back and find the same determination I have found for eating healthier . .. if anyone has an thoughts, I am all ears!
I think number three is probably the biggest one for me. It’s near impossible to make permanent changes to your eating habits and activity level if you view it as a huge burden and sacrifice. It’s much easier to lose weight when you think of healthy living as a pleasant challenge with its own rewards independent of weight loss.
Yes to everything. I’ve already lost over 80 pounds in my quest to be healthier. I’m not at goal yet, but I know I have the right tools in my healthy lifestyle arsenal to make it there.
Great post Roni!! Can’t wait to see your playlist – my iPod is so outdated! Although somehow Hannah put a few Britney Spears songs on there!
Happy Thursday!!
Hi Roni!
I came across your blog a few days ago (found it through the ’100 top weightloss blogs’ list), and I’m so glad!! I’m currently doing weight watchers, I started in July of 2007 after my daughter was born, lost 40 lbs, and then put 25 back on. I’ve lost 15 lbs since January, and have 10 more to go to get back to where I was (and then still another 30 after that…:). I wanted to say thanks SO MUCH for this blog, your information, education, personal thoughts and reflections, and your own progress and maintenance are so inspiring and are changing my way of thinking. I’m definitely looking at this journey as a positive thing, and as a LIFETIME journey, not a shorterm goal, b/c when I did that, the weight came right back. Thanks so much, I’ll be reading lots!