Two weeks ago I sharedsome bullet points that I had used when I worked for Weight Watchers. Last week I went a little deeper on the first few points. I want to expand on some of the other points today.
SLEEP…it is NOT over-rated!
Here is one of the more recent articles I have read about sleep and weight loss. I know from personal experience that sleep is crucial to weight loss and weight management. When I am tired I find it much harder to make healthy choices, exercise, etc.
Now before you say there is NO WAY I can get more sleep, examine what you do with the time between dinner and bedtime. Can anything be eliminated? Or at least reduced?
We all have things in our day that consume A LOT of our time. We have to decide which of these things can be changed. Maybe it is our online time that needs reduced…just sayin’.
HYDRATE
I have read that dehydration slows metabolism AND I know it can make us think we are hungry. So DRINK. YOUR. WATER. Many times I encountered members that would claim to be starving all the time and I would ask them if they were drinking their water.
Often times we are not really hungry, we are thirsty.
And while we are talking about hydrating, don’t forget to drink milk. Not only is it good for our bones, it can count towards our fluid intake too.
WRITE IT DOWN
Many of us are willing to journal our thoughts. We put who knows what out there for all to see on Facebook, Twitter and our blogs…but write down what we eat? You have GOT to be kidding!
Well, no I am not. My most successful members kept diligent track of what they ate. When I lost my weight I tracked ALL. THE. TIME. Occasionally, I still write down what I eat. For me, it is a good reminder of what is going in my mouth!
So whether we are tracking points, calories, whatever…take a day or two and write it down. We might be surprised at what we are eating. If nothing else, it might make us aware of the mindless eating we all do.
Please remember, I am NOT a weight loss expert, nor am I am life coach, certified dietitian or certified anything. Although, some might say I am certifiable! *grin*
All I am sharing with you are things that I saw work with members of my class when I worked for Weight Watchers and what I know worked for me.
I am certainly not trying to imply that losing weight and achieving a healthy lifestyle is easy. Because it isn’t.
But breaking habits is NEVER easy and many of us with a weight problem have a weight problem because of unhealthy eating and exercise habits. We have to replace those old habits with new, healthier versions.
Change takes time.
Change take work.
Change is hard.
If lifestyle change were easy, it would not be called
change…it might be called easy.
The last bullet point is the SMART goal setting system and I will post about that next week.
Friends, I hope you know that my heart is in the right place. The Lord placed this burden on my heart and I am desperately trying to follow his lead and his will with these Wednesday posts.
Lord, I ask that you bless those that read this blog and especially these Wednesday posts devoted to weight loss and working to achieve a healthy lifestyle. I know it is hard Lord and I know sometimes we think we cannot do this. NOT AGAIN. But, I know that YOU want us to have healthy bodies, because our bodies are your temples. I know that with your help, we can achieve and maintain healthy lifestyles. Please give me and those working at a healthy lifestyle the courage to continue to press on and look up!
Until next week…try just one new thing this week…please? I promise, it will be worth it.
Certifiable! That's a great one. I drank a lot more water last week and I definitely ate less and had more energy. I really have to work on getting to bed earlier though. Too much TV and computer, like you said. Great post Mary. Have a great day.
I think everyone on this journey has heard these tips so many times that we're almost deaf to them in our own lives. We know we should drink more water, we've heard food journals help, but we pass over them in our struggles because they've become rote. Sometimes all a person needs is for someone to say "Journalling. Do it. It helped me. If you do it, it will help you." It makes a faceless turn of phrase fresh and gives it a face.
Thanks for being that face. I'll be checking back.
Thank YOU Carlie!! You are right, we have all heard these things over and over. So much so that we tune them out…thank you for stopping by and commenting…it really means a lot to me.
Hi. Mary I suffer from Fibro/CFS and have read in an article that people with this illness gain up to 30 lbs. I had to get used to eating very healthy. Before the illness I could eat what I wanted and didn't easily gained weight. Now it is another matter altogether! Thanks for an informative post. Hugs XX
In what seemed like the blink of an eye, those young 20 somethings were married for 41 years.
The second photo was taken last year on our 40th anniversary. I didn`t post it because I didn`t like the way my legs looked. Something happened in the last year and I`m reminded that those legs have carried me for 62 years (when the photo was taken). Carried me through 3 pregnancies that gifted me with one living child, @coach_andy_bonner
The last photo was taken on Tuesday as we sat on the beach and a lady walked by and said, "would you like me to take your picture?" We said yes. Time with John is still one of my favorite things. He retired on Friday, before we left on Monday for this trip. There are so many unknowns but so much to be grateful for and so much to look forward to in the next stage.
I`m grateful for my clients that give me something to do every day Monday-Friday. @christiepurifoy @kriscamealy @bekah @whatlolalikes @abby_roadhome & to the wonderful team @parkermanagement-you guys all make my life so fun!
And I`m grateful for time at a place like this. Sand and water...not sure there is anything better!
Happy Anniversary Week to my love that is not on ANY social media channel!
She died 4 days after she was born. We buried her 4 days after she died.
Born 6-9-1992
Died 6-12-1992
Buried 6-16-1992
That would be 31 years ago today.
Last year, on the 30th anniversary of her birth we re-buried her on the grounds of St. Emma Monastery Greensburg, PA where her paternal grandparents are buried.
This year, today has been harder than Friday, June 9 the day she was born. Or Monday, June 12 the day she died.
I`ve cried more today than either of the other days.
I took a walk.
Got a pedicure.
Cried.
And chose a simple dinner of appetizers.
And I give myself permission to do nothing else.
I am thankful for the time we had her. For the experience and the things I learned about myself through the experience.
John and I are very conscious of what we say yes to and what we say no to. All because of Amy`s short life.
I`ve tried to use my experience to help others experiencing infant loss-or any loss. Some things are the same no matter the age of the deceased. Even if it is a loss thru miscarriage. I`ve experienced that too.
A loss is a loss.
Thank you to my sister and niece @sherrigd @tarahelise for letting us spend last weekend on your porch crying, laughing, and drinking wine and margaritas. I love you guys more than you know and I really needed that.
In what seems like the blink of an eye, it is 31 years later. Not a day goes by that I do not think of her.
My heart still hurts.
I cry at random times.
And I miss her. Still. 31 years later.
I grieve all the things that didn`t happen.
The relationships.
The life events.
Strangely though there are fewer tears today. Sometimes I think my tears are all gone. The well is dry.
Lack of tears does not mean lack of grief. There is no right or wrong way to grieve. So I accept my emotions today-whatever they may be.
If you know someone that has experienced a loss, don`t be afraid to tell them you remember. Let them know you care. Take a meal, send a text, write and snail mail a card. We want to know our loss is not forgotten.
I cried in church. Not because I was thinking about the events leading up to the crucifixion but because there was a little girl of about 5 or so sitting in front of me. She had the most gorgeous dark hair. With streaks of gold running through it. Natural streaks. Not the artificial colored streaks I pay more than I`m willing to share to get every few months.
As I observed her I thought about my own daughter. The one that died at 4 days old.
I thought of how she might be standing next to me this morning or next Sunday on Easter. Maybe she would have travelled to Charlotte to spend some time with her dad and me.
Grief is something that robs us of so much. It robs me of not just my daughter but it robs me of being the mom of a daughter.
I look at some of my closest friends, all mothers of daughters and I envy, yes ENVY!, the relationships they all have with their daughters. They may not agree with them on all things or see eye-to-eye with them but the daughters lead the charge to throw surprise 60th birthday parties for their parents or make sure that mom gets a Mother`s Day card, a birthday card, etc.
I think daughters are different than sons. Daughters are more sensitive than sons based on my observations as an outsider. I do not experience that sensitivity. And I grieve the fact that I am not the mother of a daughter.
The version of me before Amy`s death is totally different than the me that is here now.
If you want to read more about about my daughter, Amy, you can go to https://marybonner.net/?s=Amy and read more about my journey through infant loss and moving forward.
Adam McHugh`s book Blood From a Stone is a beautiful piece of writing about returning from the dead. I encourage you to check it out. You can find the book on Amazon or wherever books are sold. Find and follow him @adammchughwine You won`t be sorry.
"Grief is so agonizing not only because you have lost something, but you have lost someone, and that someone is the version of you that was alive before your loss." Blood From a Stone Adam McHugh Page 102
Every June I think I`m going to handle this better. Whatever better looks like - I don`t know. 30 years and I still cry at random times. And every June I fall apart.
She would have been 30 next week. Instead of whisking her off for a 30th birthday trip to Key West like we did for her brother @coach_andy_bonner or Niagara Falls like we did for his wife we will make another kind of trip.
There will be a mass next Saturday and we will stand at a grave site as we move her body from the small town where she was buried to a final resting place by her paternal grandparents on the beautiful grounds of St Emma Monastery in Greensburg, PA.
I look forward to the weekend and I dread it all at the same time.
Today I broke down and sobbed. Just like yesterday. And probably will tomorrow. But I remember that He catches my tears in a bottle Psalm 56:8
If I learned anything from this life experience, it is this: I can do hard things. But not of my own strength. Philippians 4:13
Every point you are making is so true and so helpful; thank you!
Oh, Barbara, thank you! I found myself wondering if anyone would GET what I was trying to say. You have truly blessed me this morning. Thank you!!
Certifiable! That's a great one. I drank a lot more water last week and I definitely ate less and had more energy. I really have to work on getting to bed earlier though. Too much TV and computer, like you said. Great post Mary. Have a great day.
Thanks, Kathleen. The water is really important!! Good for you!
I think everyone on this journey has heard these tips so many times that we're almost deaf to them in our own lives. We know we should drink more water, we've heard food journals help, but we pass over them in our struggles because they've become rote. Sometimes all a person needs is for someone to say "Journalling. Do it. It helped me. If you do it, it will help you." It makes a faceless turn of phrase fresh and gives it a face.
Thanks for being that face. I'll be checking back.
~Carlie
Thank YOU Carlie!! You are right, we have all heard these things over and over. So much so that we tune them out…thank you for stopping by and commenting…it really means a lot to me.
Hi. Mary
I suffer from Fibro/CFS and have read in an article that people with this illness gain up to 30 lbs. I had to get used to eating very healthy. Before the illness I could eat what I wanted and didn't easily gained weight. Now it is another matter altogether!
Thanks for an informative post.
Hugs XX
Oh, Mia…I'm sorry you suffer from these afflictions. I can see how this would be such a struggle. I am glad you found this post helpful.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I took notes!
You are welcome, Pam!
I go to bed plenty early … but rarely stay asleep all night. Bother.
Fondly,
Glenda
Ugh…I hate going to sleep and waking up. Is it any better when you go to bed later?