Happy Monday, Everyone! How about this chilly weather? I know a fantastic way to get warmed-up…Burpees! Crank out a few when no-one is watching. You’ll love how it makes you feel!
Announcements first! (1) Welcomes and toasts to Terri, Dave, Terry, and Gretchen for joining our group and email lists. We are happy you are here and look forward to being a part of your successful journey! (2) This one is a bit of a bummer- I was assigned to the swing shift (3p to 11p) for the foreseeable future due to testing needs within my department. This is a fantastic opportunity for me to get some extra work done on the house, but it also means that I won’t be able to make the lunch-time meeting today. I do encourage you to get together, however, as many members such as Neseth, Sandi, and Eric have a lot of experience that they can pass along. I will continue to guide you from afar and I’m always a quick email or phone call away. My desk extension bounces to my cell so call anytime. I will let you know immediately when I will be able to make it in over the next couple weeks.
On to the good stuff! A big thanks to everyone who come on Friday. We had a nice attendance and a great chat about some of the basics of food choices. For now we are going to work on making healthy food selections and learning about portion sizing. More on that later.
When we start a new journey one of the first questions is “What are your goals?” Everybody I have thus far talked to says they have a reason to be doing this contest (to lose weight, become healthy, control illness) – how many have you have thought about why? WHY do you want to accomplish this? THAT is going to be your motivating factor when it all gets tough. THAT is what you are going to tell yourself each time you question whether to take the time to make a nice steak and veggies or order a pizza (interestingly, they both take the same amount of time and the steak supper usually costs less!) After a while you won’t need these little pep talks – the mirror will do that for you (actually, everyone around you will be remarking about the changes you made so that’ll be a pretty grand pep talk!). But in the meantime you will need them. And a phone number. Someone to call when you need a little supporting hand. Take mine. Miss Stacey and I are always happy to pep talk about making healthy choices!
Now that you know why you are on the path we want to look at what steps we need to take to start moving down that path. Here’s what I recommend:
1. Buy a Journal. It does not need to be fancy; lined paper works just fine. Or use one of those free calendars that never gets put up. Or go all out and get an 8 x 11 weekly planner with plenty of space to write!
2. Start logging your food intake. Immediately. You need to know what you are eating. Bonus points if you know how much. Log every morsel (including the nibbles while trying to trick the baby into eating more) and all your fluids.
3. Have a family discussion about making an effort to eat healthier, more natural foods at home. You will need them on-board to be truly successful. Let each member pick one meal per week (see below for resources).
4. In your journal, write down your goals. We’ll have a goal setting class later so just do your best for now. Be sure they are specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable, and timely.
5. Take your first set of pictures and measurements. Take pictures from the front, back, and side. Also do just face and neck from front and profile. Log your weight today then put the scale away – only once a week is allowed. Using a sewing tape measure (soft type) record your height, waist (at the belly button), hips (widest point), and dominant wrist. You can take others if you want, but don’t need to. Put the tape away you won’t need it for at least 30 days.
6. Go for a walk. 20 to 45 minutes at a brisk pace. Three times this week. Do a few squats every third song.
7. Follow the “10 Steps to Primalize Your Pantry.” This is also included in the attached packet.
8. Start exploring some of the websites we like: The Naked Kitchen, Mark’s Daily Apple, The Foodee, Robb Wolf, Nourished Kitchen, CrossFit Collective…
9. Begin the challenges and journal entries in the attached packet (first 7 days are included – plus a food list and meal-size template).
10. Pick out a few new recipes, make a list, and GO SHOPPING. ;-)
The most important thing to take away from all of this is – don’t stress! Take it all one day at a time. Start to replace the foods you are eating that are not on the list (if it doesn’t look on your plate like it did while it was alive it probably is not a good choice). Increase your activity simply. And know that one mistake is not the end of it. Just write it down and move on.
Have a great week! This will be your first weigh-in of the contest so let the fun begin! Remember, big losses are fun to have but healthy true sustainable fat loss is only 1 to 2 pounds per week. Don’t let the scale trip you up.
Email me with any specific questions or if you have a request for a class topic. I look forward to hearing from you!
To the path. And every step we take.
Mike.
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