Too busy to eat.
I opened the front door this morning at 4:40. A sweet breeze greeted me and a look up at the sky blessed my eyes with a clear view of stars and planets! Thus my 5th and final day of Walking-Week 2 began beautifully.
I WISH it was this cool! An October 16, 2007 post by Scott Young contains excellent suggestions regarding making and breaking habits. Here’s a summary of them.
One Habit For 30 Days – (or many say 21 days) You focus on one change for thirty days. After that time it has been sufficiently conditioned to become a habit.
Use a Trigger - a short ritual you perform before a habit. If you wanted to stop smoking this could be snapping your fingers every time you feel the urge for a cigarette.
Replace Lost Needs You can’t just pull out habits without replacing the needs they fulfill. Giving up television might mean you need to find a new way to relax, socialize or get information.
One Habit at a Time Multitasking between three or four often means none become habits.
Balance Feedback The difference between long-term change and giving up on day 31 is the balance of feedback. If your change creates more pain in your life than joy, it’s going to be hard to stick to. Find diets, exercise, financial plans and work routines that are fun to follow and support you.
“But” to Kill Bad Thoughts Anytime you feel yourself thinking negatively about yourself, use the word “but” and point out positive aspects. “I’m lousy at this job – but – if I keep at it I can probably improve.”
Write it Down - Don’t leave commitments in your brain. Write them on paper.
30, 90, 365 Habits go through a series of checkpoints in terms of conditioning. The first is at thirty days. Here it doesn’t require willpower to continue your change, but problems might offset it. At ninety days any change should be neutral where running the habit is no more difficult than not running it. At one year it is generally harder not to run the habit than to continue with it.
Get Leverage - such as: Give a buddy a hundred bucks with the condition to return it to you only when you’ve completed thirty days without fail. Make a public commitment to everyone you know that you’re going to stick with it. Offer yourself a reward if you make it a month. Anything to give yourself that extra push.
Keep it Simple Your change should involve one or two rules, not a dozen. Exercising once per day for at least thirty minutes is easier to follow than exercising Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays with yoga the first day and mountain biking the third day, except when it is raining in which case you will do… Simple rules create habits, complex rules create headaches.
Consistency is Key The point of a habit is that it doesn’t require thought. Variety may be the spice of life, but it doesn’t create habits.
Dear Me,
"One of the most satisfying feelings--more satisfying than the temptation itself is when one can say, ’I could have, but I didn’t!’" (from 6/20/09)
By the end of today, I will have achieved the goal of walking for 30 minutes 5 days out of the 7 in this week. (Right now, it is still raining...)
It was harder to get out of bed this morning. So, after our children and grandchildren left, I began my walk. I walked the long way to the Post Office, then around a couple of blocks and 10 minutes "in place" in the house. It wasn't the original plan, but it was 30 minutes of movement. One day to go until I have fulfilled my goal of 5 days out of 7 - 30 minutes per day.Mulberries contains low amount of saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium while quite high in vitamin C, Vitamin K, Magnesium, Potassium, and Iron. Eating mulberries regularly helps you in maintaining good health and losing weight. Therefore, those looking to gain weight are advised against eating mulberries.
Mulberries are also a rich source of resveratrol, which is a compound with anti-cancer properties. Mulberries contain lots of anthocyanins, which guard against cardiovascular diseases. The fruit has also proven ability to fight with harmful virus and bacteria.
A Japanese study indicates that mulberry powder, if included as dietary supplement, helps in preventing diabetes.
The best thing about eating mulberries is they make a healthy snack that also taste good, and provides you several health benefits if consumed regularly.
It was still dark when I left the front door at 5:05 this morning. The birds had already been singing for at least a half hour while I lay in bed deciding to get up. The lights on our shed were crowned by a sliver of moon covered by a thin cloud. I fell once before getting to the bakery. My cell phone was thrust open to the ground some feet ahead of me. I decided to continue but didn't wander far from home this time. Just walked past the bakery and up and down a few well-constructed sidewalks with safe curbing.
I know. These aren't walking shoes. But they're comfortable. And I enjoyed the walk. Up the street, around the elementary school, through the park, and back to the house. Still cool enough (61 degrees) and early enough (7:30 a.m.) to be pleasant. Tomorrow I may walk earlier.
A few days ago, I wrote, "I need to return to that practice."
Because bananas contain three natural sugars combined with fiber, they give instant and sustained boosts of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. But energy isn't the banana's only fitness benefit. It can also help overcome or prevent many illnesses and conditions. Among them, I have read, are these: 
It doesn't have any bells or whistles, and it is in need of a paint job. (I'm open to suggestions of a new color!) It has a strange click when the wheels turn, but it gets me around Small Town, USA. We have new sidewalks with convenient curbing making it easy to navigate the short distance to our local post office. The small basket on my bike usually holds a day's mail. I enjoy biking short distances. I also walk a fairly brisk pace. In the past, I walked 30 minutes a day, 5 days out of 7. I need to return to that practice.
In the middle of research, shuffling between Goggle and Microsoft Word, I lost connection with my server. "The internal wireless device is set to Radio Off in BIOS Setup or powered off by the hardware switch," the script informed me.
unsuccessfully to locate BIOS or my hardware switch. Then my husband went to the phone and used most of his monthly cellphone minutes to (also unsuccessfully) work with a person on the other end to restore functionality to my ailing laptop.
In the closing session of the conference we recently attended, Bishop Ron Ramsey challenged us to be "finishers". Using the illustration of a Tanzanian long distance runner in a 60's Summer Olympics, he told how the runner finished in agony--dead last and long after the other runners. When interviewed, the Tanzanian said his country didn't send him to the race to start the race -- but to finish it.
1. One day at a time.
2. It does not taste that good.
3. You are not that hungry.
4. The good feeling and tasting is so temporary.
5. Go for a walk.
6. I do not regret today what I did not eat yesterday.
7. All I need is one taste.
8. Eating something leftover is just as wasteful as throwing it away and probably more dangerous to my health.
9. Do you want to be full or thin?
I find this rationale and "self-talk" to be helpful!
Some of it (like #6 & #9) are statements that that are new to me.
Thanks, Brenda!
"Post your goals where you’ll see them often, along with notes of inspiration. Reminders are a good thing." So goes the 6/4/09 Motivation to Live Well Quote.
SMALL CHILI Serving Size: 227 g (one pkg); Calories: 190, Total Fat: 6g, Carbs: 19g, Protein: 14g
I don't know a lot about the TOPS organization. My good friend is the president of her chapter. I should learn more details! According to the internet, they are a nonprofit, noncommercial weight-loss support organization with a two-fold objective: to encourage healthy lifestyles through weight-management support groups and to sponsor obesity research. Group support is one of the keys to my friend's impressive weight loss.
It's not the first time I've had this talk with myself. At various times throughout my life, I've had to remind myself that I am not my own. I belong to the One who created me. Jesus paid for me with His life!
