My Scale Shows That I Have Stopped Losing Weight

Am I discouraged or worried about this? Nope!

The scale may be one good way to measure my weight loss efforts, but it is not the only way. I know I am making positive changes because:

• My clothes are looser
• I have measured myself and I am losing inches
• I have a body fat measuring scale and I can see that my body fat is decreasing

I am focusing on things in additions to my actual weight loss on the scale. I want to be healthier, as well as feel stronger and look better. I am becoming more fit.

Although I still say “I want to lose weight” I know that what I am really saying is I want to change the way my body looks and how I feel. I want to gain more strength and energy and look better in my clothes.

I work out at the gym three to four times a week - both cardio and strength training, and know that I am losing fat and gaining some lean muscle. This adds strength and tones the body. Muscle is denser than fat, so it takes up less space. So I am losing inches, toning and looking and feeling better even if the scale doesn’t show an actual weight loss.

What's In Your Head That's Keeping You Fat?

Hey guys, here's an excellent article by Tom Venuto (author of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle, one of my favorite programs). Enjoy...


The Little Thing in Your Head That's Keeping You Fat
By Tom Venuto
www.BurnTheFat.com

I have no doubt that a scientist somewhere just read the title of this article and said out loud, “YES! Venuto is right! That little thing in your head – the hypothalamus – it IS the thing that is keeping you fat! By George, that Venuto guy isn’t a dumb bodybuilder after all – he’s been doing his research!” At which moment, I will be shaking my head and thinking, “you need to get out of the laboratory and into the real world, with real people, buddy.” Okay, okay, to be fair, Neuro-endocrine control of appetite and body fat really is quite fascinating. But today, I’m talking about PSYCH-ology, not PHYSI-ology. The little thing in your head that’s keeping you fat is actually just a….

Limiting belief!

Self-limiting beliefs are among the biggest problems that people deal with in their struggles to achieve a healthy ideal weight. They’re also one of the reasons that so many people start to falter or fall off the diet and exercise wagon as early as late January or early February in their New Year’s goal pursuits.

If you’re that science guy I spoke of and you’re about to bail because you’re thinking, “Here we go again… another psycho-babble, self help article,” then think again. A belief is the force behind the placebo effect, which is well known by every scientist and medical professional. A respected doctor gives a patient a pill and is told it’s a powerful drug. The patient gets well immediately, not knowing that the “miraculous” substance was a dummy pill. Inert. Sugar. The miracle was in the mind.

But beliefs are not only involved in the mind-body connection, they are unconscious programs that control your behavior. The most important factor in whether you achieve the body and the health you want is NOT what diet or training program you follow. It’s what makes you follow your diet and training program. And guess what? What you believe controls your behavior - whether you will stick with your program or sabotage it with cheating, bingeing or inconsistency.

What to do about limiting beliefs

Ok, so now you agree that beliefs are psychological factors that affect you physically by controlling your behavior, including your eating, exercising and lifestyle. What now? 3 steps. 2 questions.

STEP 1: IDENTIFY LIMITING BELIEFS

You are fully aware of many of your beliefs. For example, beliefs about spirituality or politics are usually in the front of your conscious mind.

But the beliefs that hold back your health and physical development the most are usually the ones you don’t even know you have. They are like unconscious “brain software,” running silently in the background.

So the first step is to bring those unconscious and potentially damaging beliefs up to the surface so you are aware of them. You can’t fix a problem if you don’t know you have one.

2 Quick Questions That Will Help Draw Out Your Beliefs

Beliefs can go back to childhood, but don’t worry, you don’t have to go to a psychotherapist and be regressed back to kindergarten. It’s simpler than that. But it does pay to do this questioning process as a formal “exercise” with serious quiet time, with pen and paper (instead of just thinking about it).

Question #1: What causes me to be overweight (or unhealthy, or not having the body I want)?

Question #2: What’s preventing me from getting leaner? (or healthier?)

Spend some time with it and see how big of a list you can create. Ask yourself whether each belief helps or hurts you. Does it move you forward or backward. Does it empower or disempower you? The ones that hurt you or hold you back will be obvious. You may come up with beliefs such as:

“I’m overweight and I can’t get leaner because”:

I have no time
I’m too old
I can’t stop eating
I hate exercise
You just can’t do it when you have 4 kids
It’s impossible after having a hip replacement

But the million dollar question is: are these beliefs actually true?

Beliefs are not facts. You may hold your beliefs as absolute reality, but when you deconstruct them and challenge them, you may see that they don’t hold any water.

Self limiting beliefs are false interpretations (negative thought patterns) that hold you back. And you keep holding on to them because making excuses and staying the same is a lot more convenient than changing, isn’t it? Change requires hard work, effort and leaving your comfort zone.

Your mission now: weaken the limiting beliefs and get rid of them

STEP 2: CHALLENGE THOSE BELIEFS Finish reading, visit here!

Losing Weight Plus Social Networking!?

I came across this blog article and immediately thought of the CF Biggest Loser blog and all of our other efforts! Everyone needs support! It's by Craig Ballantyne, who is a workout routine and fat loss expert, and writes workout routines for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines.

"Researchers from Regis University in Denver, Colorado believe that "social networks" are the key to halting the obesity epidemic.

After all, we know what we need to do in order to lose fat. It's not a lack of knowledge. In fact, even a 3rd grader could tell you that we need to eat less and exercise more to lose weight.

But it's easier said than done, especially when we're surrounded by easy eating and friends that want to drag us to another movie or high-calorie restaurant meal when we should be doing our workouts instead.

These researchers have found that, "individuals with similar body fat levels will cluster together into groups, and if left unchecked, current social forces will drive these groups toward increasing obesity".

That's a no-win situation, so you have to hunt out people who share your weight loss goals. But you don't have to stick to your friends. In fact, the researchers suggest, "interventions targeting well-connected and/or normal weight individuals at the edges of a cluster may quickly halt the spread of obesity."

So building a Facebook fat loss group full of strangers and including people who have already lost fat is one place to start. I prefer to use the website Twitter.com to encourage social support and accountability in my clients. You could also start by getting involved in the Turbulence Training Member's Forums, or another weight loss website club.

The bottom line is that you need social support for fat loss success. Start associating with positive people who share similar goals with you, and you'll soon be losing all the weight you want.

Reference:
Obesity (Silver Spring). 2009 Jan 15. Exploiting Social Networks to Mitigate the Obesity Epidemic. Bahr DB, Browning RC, Wyatt HR, Hill JO.

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS"

Interesting, right? That's what we're all about...supporting each other! So taking it to Facebook and Twitter...just think of the possibilities...





weight loss, lose weight, fat loss

What An Excellent Concept - The Crazy Foxes Biggest Loser Blog! Gotta Love It!

What an excellent concept, The Crazy Foxes Biggest Loser Blog! I love it! Here's one of my articles about weight loss and setting goals, so...

Do You Think Goal Setting is Important in Dieting?

As with most things in life, I believe that setting goals is very important when dieting. When you look at things truthfully and objectively you should notice that most of the things you've accomplished in life have been accomplished because you not only had a goal but also had a clearly planned and well thought out process for achieving that goal. That being said, why is goal setting so important when it comes to dieting?

First of all, it is difficult to achieve any type of goal if you do not have a clearly defined one. There are times in life when it is almost impossible to tell whether you are succeeding or failing because you aren't certain exactly what the desired outcome should be. Identifying your dieting goals before you begin eliminates this particular possibility.

Second, having dieting goals gives you a guideline by which you can judge your progess. This is important so that you know when your efforts are falling behind and when you're moving right on schedule or, maybe, ahead of schedule. In other words, you will know when to celebrate and when to give yourself a swift kick to the rear.

That's why we set weight loss goals, but how do we go about setting those goals that are so important for dieting success? You want to set goals that are aggressive without being impossible to achieve. If you set goals that are beyond your reach you will find that frustration will be your dieting partner until you reach the point where you give up all together. In order to avoid this you should take great care to insure that your goals are possible for you to achieve.

When it comes to weight loss be specific when setting your goals. Rather than setting a total goal of 40 or 60 pounds start with a specific goal such as 10 pounds in one month. Then you can extend the goal to the next month until you've reached the overall goal of 40 or 60 pounds. It is much easier to lose 10 pounds four times than it is to lose 40 pounds at once! It's a trick of the mind but it works. Ten pounds sounds simple and achievable. Forty pounds sounds like an insurmountable obstacle.

Another thing about goals is that you want to hold yourself accountable but never call the whole thing off if you only lose 9 pounds instead of 10. Instead, find out where you dropped the ball for the final pound and set your 10-pound goal for the next month.

You should also make sure your goals are personal to you. The truth is that if it's personal to you, it will be much more rewarding than if you are doing this for someone else. If your heart isn't in it, you'll find that the motivation just isn't there as well.

Finally, you should establish small (non-food) rewards for accomplishing your dieting goals. Perhaps your reward will be a new accessory for your new (or new old) wardrobe or a pedicure for your new look. Make your reward something fun and frivolous and teach yourself that accomplishing your goals can be accomplished by something other than food. Goals are the key to dieting successfully.

Much success to everyone!! Feel free to visit my health and fitness blog anytime! Let's go get 'em!

Foxy Crazy Foxes are the Best in all Things!

How very true. Planning is a necessity to achieving any goal. If we don't plan six months will go by and we will be no further ahead, and possibly when it comes to weight loss we we have gained more :(

Spark is an excellent tool Karen. Once you sign up for free, you can receive daily recipes.

I am so excited about being a part of this group of Crazy Foxes Biggest Losers! You all have done a great job of researching tools and sharing recipes and encouraging us all.

If you are up to your noses in snow, or just don't like to walk outside check out www.walkathome.com/wd5k. This will take you to Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home site and if you purchase anything you will get the Women's Day discount. I am currently using the 1 to 4 mile walking DVD. It is a great program.

Remember if you have a piece of chocolate cake calling your name we are all here just a "beep" away to encourage you. The Crazy Foxes will succeed at being the Biggest Losers and the most successful at whatever we set out to do in 2009.