IT'S A CURVY PERSPECTIVE, May 8, 2011

Happy Mother's Day to all!  To me, being a mother is the greatest gift.  I love my two boys with all of my heart and soul.  My husband and kids mean the world to me.  This past week I lost a dear family member, Buzz our almost 12 year old German Shepherd.  We had to put him down.  It was one of the hardest things I've had to do in my life.  We had to put our other German Shepherd, Shadow, down about 2 years ago.  She was almost 11.  The only things that give me comfort is that he is no longer in pain, and that they are reunited again in a better place. 

IT'S A SIGN

I believe in Heaven, karma, signs...etc.  Well the day we had to put Buzz down I saw the most splendid sign in the most unusual place.  Later that afternoon my husband and I decided to run to the grocery store to pick up a few things.  We just needed to get out of the house, and needed some things for dinner anyway.  We were over in the deli section at the local grocery store.  Next to the deli is the bakery section.  As we wandered past we noticed something.  You know those cakes where they can take a real picture image and transpose it on to a cake for any occasion, but usually for birthdays...well they had 'prop cake' up on the wall and it had two, happy, smiling German Shepherds on it and it had the wording 'Road Trip!!!' on it!!!  I gasped out loud and started to tear up as I yelled to my husband "They're here!  They're telling us they are OK!"  "They are together!"  That is what I call a sign.  It is was something so special to me and is helping me in my grieving process.  I will never forget that moment as long as I live.  I loved those dogs w/all my heart.

DON'T HOLD IT IN

It's so important to let your emotions out in a healthy way.  All of them!  Anger, sadness, stress, joy etc.  We all have our own way of expressing our emotions.  It's important not to hold it in.  Whatever way works for you, do it.  It's OK to feel that emotion.  It's normal and healthy.  That is why we are human.  Let it out....FEEL it.  It only makes you stronger. 


PUT YOUR BURDEN DOWN SOMETIMES

I leave you with the following story:

"A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a
 glass of water and asked, 'How heavy is this glass of water? 'Answers
 called out ranged from 8oz. to 20 oz.

 The lecturer replied, 'The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on
 how long you try to hold it.'

 'If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an
 hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.

 If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.'

 'In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier
 it becomes.'

 He continued, 'And that's the way it is with stress management. If we
 carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes
 increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on.'

 'As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest
 before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the
 burden.'

 'So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work/life down.
 Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow.'

 'Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you
 can. Relax; pick them up later after you've rested.

 Life is short.. Enjoy!'

 And then he shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

 1 * Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the
 statue.
 2 * Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat
 them.
 3 * Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the
 middle of it.
 4* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their
 Maker.
 5 * If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
 6* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was
 probably worth it.
 7 * It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a
 warning to others.
 8* Never buy a car you can't push.
 9 * Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you
 won't have a leg to stand on..
 10 * Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
 11 * Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
 12* The second mouse gets the cheese.
 13 * When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
 14 * Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
 15 * You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the
 world to one person.
 16 * Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
 17* We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and
 some are dull..Some have weird names and all are different colors, but
 they all have to live in the same box.
 18* A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour."

Hugs,

CG :)

IT'S A CURVY PERSPECTIVE, May 1st

Wow have I realized that my motivation has dropped off quite a bit.  I still want my goals really badly, I just haven't been putting out the effort lately to achieve them.  I know this is normal, and I've got to battle through it.  I am changing habits, not just dieting.  This month (May) I am going to do my 30 day motivational challege (also previously listed on my FB page).  This will help me focus more intently on my goals.  These set backs teach me valuable lessons.  I will learn from them and move on in my journey to a healthier life!  I found a new walking challenge (also posted on my FB page) that I'm going to try as well.  The mind controls everything so I've go to get in on track!

Have you ever changed, or tried to change, the way you eat? Most of us connect the word “diet” with “weight loss”, but people adopt particular diets for a number of reasons. If you’ve ever been on a diet you’ll know that commitment is crucial. Many of us have been trying to lose a few pounds for years, often half-heartedly “dieting” again each Monday, and never making much progress. Others might manage to stick with a routine for a few weeks, only to come unstuck at the first vacation, birthday or holiday that comes along.
Here are some ways to stay committed to your diet:

Set Out Your Guidelines

If trying to lose weight, you might want to omit certain foods some or all of the time. For example, you might decide that you’ll only eat chocolate on weekends (in moderation of course!), or that you’ll avoid full-fat cheese altogether. (Tip: don’t try to be too restrictive – many find this is counter-productive as it can lead to binging.)

Record What You Eat

If you’re struggling to stay committed to your diet, recording what you eat is a great way to keep on track. You don’t need to keep an elaborate diary or journal: in some cases, you might simply tick days on the calendar when you’ve stuck to your guidelines.

Keeping a log of your eating patterns can also help you to identify particular times or situations that tend to knock your commitment to your diet. Perhaps you always end up eating fatty, salty processed foods with a particular group of friends, or maybe you tend to succumb to candy in the afternoons.

Join With Like-Minded Friends

There are thousands of groups, both physical and virtual (like Curvy Girl), for all sorts of different diets.  If your friends and family don’t support your diet, this is a great way to surround yourself with people who do.

Make Gradual Changes

In some cases, overhauling your diet instantly isn’t going to be realistic. You can get healthier and lose weight by making incremental changes – you don’t have to be “perfect”. Build new healthier habits!


Music

This is a big motivational factor for me when I am walking/working out.  When I listen to music I get pumped up and more into the exercise.  With that being said I'd like to try and post a song each time that pumps me up!  It will be all different genres!  If you've got a song that gets you going....POST IT HERE!  I'd love the tip!

Song:  "Stuck Like Glue" by Sugarland

Until next time....Have a Curvy day!

CG :)

The Power of a Paradigm Shift by Stephen R. Covey

I heard this story a while back and it really stuck with me.  Perception is not always reality.  What you think to be true, may not actually be the truth.  Don't jump to conclusions or assume you know what is going on.  Here is an excerpt from Stephen Covey's book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". 

"The Power of a Paradigm Shift
Perhaps the most important insight to be gained from the perception demonstration is in the area of paradigm shifting, what we might call the "Aha!" experience when someone finally "sees" the composite picture in another way. The more bound a person is by the initial perception, the more powerful the "Aha!" experience is. It's as though a light were suddenly turned on inside.

Not all paradigm shifts are in positive directions. As we have observed, the shift from the Character Ethic to the Personality Ethic has drawn us away from the very roots that nourish true success and happiness.
But whether they shift us in positive or negative directions, whether they are instantaneous or developmental, paradigm shifts move us from one way of seeing the world to another. And those shifts create powerful change. Our paradigms, correct or incorrect, are the sources of our attitudes and behaviors, and ultimately our relationships with others.

I remember a mini-paradigm shift I experienced one Sunday morning on a subway in New York. People were sitting quietly -- some reading newspapers, some lost in thought, some resting with their eyes closed. It was a calm, peaceful scene.
 
Then suddenly, a man and his children entered the subway car. The children were so loud and rambunctious that instantly the whole climate changed.
 
The man sat down next to me and closed his eyes, apparently oblivious to the situation. The children were yelling back and forth, throwing things, even grabbing people's papers. It was very disturbing. And yet, the man sitting next to me did nothing.
 
It was difficult not to feel irritated. I could not believe that he could be so insensitive as to let his children run wild like that and do nothing about it, taking no responsibility at all. It was easy to see that everyone else on the subway felt irritated, too. So finally, with what I felt was unusual patience and restraint, I turned to him and said, "Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn't control them a little more?"
 
The man lifted his gaze as if to come to a consciousness of the situation for the first time and said softly, "Oh, you're right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don't know what to think, and I guess they don't know how to handle it either."
Can you imagine what I felt at that moment? My paradigm shifted. Suddenly I saw things differently, and because I saw differently, I thought differently, I felt differently, I behaved differently. My irritation vanished. I didn't have to worry about controlling my attitude or my behavior; my heart was filled with the man's pain. Feelings of sympathy and compassion flowed freely. "Your wife just died? Oh, I'm so sorry! Can you tell me about it? What can I do to help?" Everything changed in an instant.
 
Many people experience a similar fundamental shift in thinking when they face a life-threatening crisis and suddenly see their priorities in a different light, or when they suddenly step into a new role, such as that of husband or wife, parent or grandparent, manager or leader.
 
We could spend weeks, months, even years laboring with the Personality Ethic trying to change our attitudes and behaviors and not even begin to approach the phenomenon of change that occurs spontaneously when we see things differently.
 
It becomes obvious that if we want to make relatively minor changes in our lives, we can perhaps appropriately focus on our attitudes and behaviors. But if we want to make significant, quantum change, we need to work on our basic paradigms.

In the words of Thoreau, "For every thousand hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the root." We can only achieve quantum improvements in our lives as we quit hacking at the leaves of attitude and behavior and get to work on the root, the paradigms from which our attitudes and behaviors flow.

Paradigms are inseparable from character. Being is seeing in the human dimension. And what we see is highly interrelated to what we are. We can't go very far to change our seeing without simultaneously changing our being, and vice versa.

I'm sure there are people who, even suddenly understanding the true situation, would have felt no more than a twinge of regret or vague guilt as they continued to sit in embarrassed silence beside the grieving, confused man. On the other hand, I am equally certain there are people who would have been far more sensitive in the first place, who may have recognized that a deeper problem existed and reached out to understand and help before I did.
 
Paradigms are powerful because they create the lens through which we see the world. The power of a paradigm shift is the essential power of quantum change, whether that shift is an instantaneous or a slow and deliberate process."

par·a·digm

–noun

1.

Grammar .

a.

a set of forms all of which contain a particular element, especially the set of all inflected forms based on a single stem or theme.

b.

a display in fixed arrangement of such a set, as boy, boy's, boys, boys'.

2.

an example serving as a model; pattern.

Origin:
1475–85; < Late Latin paradīgma  < Greek parádeigma  pattern (verbid of paradeiknýnai  to show side by side), equivalent to para- para-¹ + deik-,  base of deiknýnai  to show ( see deictic) + -ma  noun suffix

—Synonyms 2.  mold, standard; ideal, paragon, touchstone.

Makes you think, doesn't it?  Good!  That's a start.  Change IS possible!

CG :)

IT’S A CURVY PERSPECTIVE – April 17, 2011

Slow and steady wins the race!

I am learning to be patient with myself and my body.  I didn’t get the habits and body shape that I have overnight, so they won’t change overnight either.  A healthy way to lose weight is 1-2 lbs per week.  We all want to lose weight for different reasons: a wedding, party, beach trip or just to be healthy. Whatever our motivation, trying to lose weight quickly is always tempting. Why only lose 1-2 pounds per week when you can work harder and lose double or even triple that? The answer is because if you try and lose weight at a very rapid pace, you will increase your risk of adverse health effects and make it more likely that you will gain the weight back!  Plus the slower you lose the weight, the more time you are taking to re-learn good habits and ditch the old ones.  You will also be more likely to stick with this new lifestyle.

It Takes Two…

I know my body needs a reduction in calories AND regular exercise.  I can’t get where I want to be without doing both.  Exercise has so many benefits besides weight loss.  It reduces stress, high blood pressure, reduces risk of disease and on and on!  Plus I am really working hard on my mind & body connection.  The key to successful and permanent weight loss is acknowledging both parts:  physical & mental

Why do I want to eat that chocolate bar…pasta…etc.  Why am I eating…am I bored?  Sad?  Stressed?

I’ve been at this for about a month & a half.  I have lost 10 pounds so far.  I’ve been making better food choices, and trying to exercise regularly.  I find it very difficult to manage around ‘that time of the month’.  LOL.  I just don’t feel well enough to get moving on certain days.  I allow my body to rest, and then plan to kick it into high gear when a few days pass.  It’s the best I can do for right now.  I know people say that exercising during your cycle helps you feel better, but it doesn’t work for me.  I don’t stay away from exercise the entire time, just on the first few days when I feel at my worst.

I am proud of myself for getting this far.  I’m not always making the best choices or decisions everyday….but I’ll get better as time goes on.  I am building new habits! And a new ME!

CG J

IT'S A CURVY PERSPECTIVE APRIL 10th - Habits

I am working on creating new habits with regard to my health & diet.  We all have choices...we make hundreds per day about everything & anything.  Some are well thought out, and others are spontaneous.  But sometimes we don't make choices based on thought, but rather by instinct or habit.  It’s estimated that out of every 11,000 signals we receive from our senses, our brain only consciously processes 40. Habits, good or bad, make you who you are. The key is controlling them. If you know how to change your habits, then even a small effort can create big changes.  Below is some research that I found. 

"One Habit For 30 Days – You focus on one change for thirty days. After that time it has been sufficiently conditioned to become a habit. It definitely works to sculpt the automatic programs that run in the background of your mind.

Use a Trigger – A trigger is a short ritual you perform before a habit. If you wanted to wake up earlier this might mean jumping out of bed as soon as you hear the sound of your alarm. If you wanted to stop smoking this could be snapping your fingers every time you feel the urge for a cigarette. A trigger helps condition a new pattern more consistently.

Replace Lost Needs – If you opened up your computer and started removing hardware, what would happen. Chances are your computer wouldn’t work. Similarly, 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 – A month may seem like a long time to focus on only one change, but I’ve found trying to change more than a few habits at a time to be reckless. With just one habit change you can focus on making it really stick. 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 is going to be hard to stick to. Don’t go to the gym if you hate it. Find diets, exercise, financial plans and work routines that are fun to follow and support you.

“But” to Kill Bad Thoughts – A prominent habit-changing therapist once told me a great way to nuke bad thinking. 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. This does two things. First, it creates clarity by defining in specific terms what your change means. Second, it keeps you committed since it is easy to dismiss a thought, but harder to dismiss a promise printed in front of you.

30, 90, 365 – I’d like to say most 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. Be patient and run habits through the three checkpoints to make them stick.

Get Leverage – 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. Make sure your habit is as consistent as possible and is repeated every day for thirty days. This will ensure a new habit is drilled in, instead of multiple habits loosely conditioned.

Experiment – You can’t know whether a different habit will work until you try it. Mix around with key habits until you find ones that suit you. Don’t try to follow habits because you should, but because you’ve tested them and they work in your life."

Make small changes aka new habits slowly over time...and you will reach your goals.  Be specific and patient with yourself.  It took you a lifetime to create the habits you currently have, don't expect to change them all overnight.

Peace & Love,
CG

It's A Curvy Perspective, April 3rd

This is my look back on the week...what did I learn?

It has been an interesting week.  I didn't exactly eat the way I wanted to everyday.  I fell back into some bad habits because they are easy and familiar.  I need to stand up to people with regard to my new goals that I have set for myself.  To be fair to them, I need to voice my opinion and communicate with them what I am thinking and what I need.  It is easy for them to forget too.  But thankfully I got back on track and I'm happy about that.  It's different this time.  Before if I fell off track I used that as an excuse to stay off track.  But like I've said before I am not dieting, I am working on changing my habits.  That takes time, and patience with myself.  If I don't make a good choice, I learn from it and move on with my goals clearly in perspective.  We are human and we can't be perfect all of the time, and I"m ok with that...finally!

Body Mind and Spirit....

This journey is more than physical.  It is mental & spiritual.  I can't forget that.  I need to change the way I perceive certain things in my mind...the way that I think about them.  I need to look hard at old habits and beliefs and question why I have them in order to move forward.  I will need to be really honest with myself.  The journey will not be easy, but I am willing to endure it for the goal is too great to give up on.  Me!

This is a picture that I took on one of my walks this past week.  It will remind me that the sky is the limit.  No goal is too great for me to achieve if I believe in myself.  Sometime the skies will be gray or cloudy, in other words not perfect, but that's ok.  It will make me appreciate the sunny ones even more.

Until next time....stay Curvy my friends! :) CG

In The Beginning...

I've been on my health journey for about a month now.  I've lost almost 10 pounds so far.  Yay!  More importantly I am exercising regularly - shocker!  I am also making better food choices, which can be difficult.  Some of my family (one kid & husband) are picky eaters!  If it were just me...things would be easier.  I'll eat/try just about anything!  But I have to cook things I know that they will like, while slowly introducing them to new foods in the hopes that they will like them.  I am not on a diet, but on the road to better health.  I am learning new, good habits and creating a new mindset.  I believe in everything in moderation.  I will not deprive myself of foods that I love.  I will have smaller portions, exercise more and make other food compromises.  That is a more realistic approach.  I have a lot of weight to lose, so I will set small goals for myself.

FIRST GOAL:  Lose 20-25 pounds by my birthday (May 27th).  I have already lost 9 pounds.

I am new at blogging.  But I wanted another outlet where I could share more of my thoughts, and get other people's feedback.  I'd like to share my story...thoughts...ideas...failures...recipes...links... etc. 
I am ready to DO THIS! :)