Blog Archives

If it Doesn’t Get Measured it Doesn’t Get Managed. Part I

4/26/2012

It seems like I’ve been on a roll by using these business management terms to explain weight loss. I have had a ton of people inbox me and tell me that it really made a difference in how they understood weight loss. Continuing on that same vein I’d like to start Part 1 of the ‘If it doesn’t get measured’ series.

For a long time I had some idea that I wanted to lose weight. I would look in the mirror and did’t like what I saw, my clothes didn't fit anymore and I was in perpetual fear of encountering a health crisis. I knew that something needed to change and as such decided to embark on a weight loss journey albeit rather aimlessly. Restricting this and restricting that in the hopes that something will magically happen for me. The funny thing is I wasn't really sure what I was tying to attain. In fact for many years I had no idea how much I weighed. I spent those years going through the motions without a plan, never succeeding and always frustrated. One day quite by chance I stumbled upon a weight loss challenge and one of the entry requirements was taking a number of different measurements. Needless to say knowing my measurements and knowing what needed to change helped me set a goal and stick to it.

In order for you to know what changes need to be made you will need to measure youreself. This can be done in several
ways.

        1. Get on a scale
Many people are afraid of the scale and as a result have no idea how much they weigh. In order to decide what changes need to be made you need to know what your starting point is. This will help you quantify they changes that need to be made and set a definitive goal that you can work towards. Be careful not to get overly obsessed with the scale. Weighing yourself several times a day every day can be a hinderance. Instead, weigh yourself and put the scale away. Only bring the scale out at various check points such as every two weeks or every month.

        2. Get a tape measure
You can measure different points on your body but the most important measurement is your waist circumference. According to the National Institute of Health, a waist circumference greater than 35 inches for women and greater than 40 inches for men is
associated with an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease particularly with a BMI above 25. Other parts of your body you may want to measure include your chest and your hips.

        3. Calculate your BMI (Body Mass Index)
Use a BMI calculator to figure out your BMI. I understand that there are numerous debates about the accuracy of using BMI among people of color, extremely short people or extremely muscular people. I am only recommending this as a starting point. A detailed discussion with your personal trainer, nutrition coach or other knowledgeable individual will help you determine its accuracy based on your particular circumstances.

I hope the discussion about obtaining your measurements gets you motivated to measure yourself so you at least know where
you are. This will help determine your weight loss strategy which should include a meal plan. Knowing your starting point will help inform your decision as you set Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely Goals (See my previous blog post on Setting SMART goals).  In the same way you know how much money you have and create and manage your budget, you need to know what your current measurements are in order to monitor and manage your weight loss. If you don’t know where you currently stand, how will you know where you are going? How will you know what you need to do to get there? And more importantly how will you stay motivated and focused?

I encourage you to take each of these measurements today because if it doesn’t get measured it doesn’t get managed.

0 Comments

Setting SMART Goals

4/17/2012

2 Comments

One of the biggest challenges people encounter on their journey towards weight loss is lack of motivation. Over the years I have learned that the best way to gather enough motivation to exercise and eat healthy is by setting goals. In a recent conversation with an economist I discovered the acronym SMART which is used in project management. I did some further research and in learning about it realized that it can be used in setting goals for ourselves and managing our bodies.

The acronym stands for:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Timely

Specific.
You need to set a specific goal. Simply stating that you want to look good or you want to be healthy is not enough because those things are relative and will fluctuate on a daily basis. Being specific will give you something tangible to work towards. Do you want to lose 50 pounds; do you want to go from size 16 to size 10? Do you want to run a 5k race? Do you want your waist circumference to be below 35 inches (to reduce the risk of heart disease)? Be specific in the goals you set for yourself and your entire being will work towards making it happen.

Measurable.
You have to have a way to track your progress so using the examples above you can measure your weight loss on a weekly basis by weighing yourself with a scale. You can measure your dress size by the changes you feel in your clothes and buying smaller and smaller sizes. You can measure the distance you run on a day to day basis gradually building up how much you run. You can measure your waist circumference. Whatever it is you use to measure your progress serves as encouragement to press on.

Let me also state that at times you may not see specific changes in your measurements but trust that change is always occurring (sometimes in a manner which you may not be measuring), you simply need to be consistent in doing the right thing and you will see results over time.

Achievable.
It is important to set a goal that you can achieve. If you have never run more than 5 minutes in your life, it may be a challenge to set a big goal such as running a marathon in 2 months. Is your goal of losing 50lbs achievable in 1 month, 3 months, 6 months 12 months or never at all? Are you extremely tall and have set the goal of weighing 100lbs? This might be unhealthy. Make sure that the goals you set are practical. This can be done by talking through it with an objective or trained person.

Realistic.
Someone once said the mind can’t take a joke and is not easily fooled. So if you say to yourself, I am going to run a marathon in 2 months, your mind will do everything in its power to let you know that you are not. You have to set a goal that your mind can agree with in this regard it is important to start small and gradually increase your goals. If your ultimate goal is to run a marathon, start by setting an initial goal of running a 5k, then a 10k and so on until you have built up your endurance. If you know that ultimately you want to lose 50 pounds, you could break it up into a smaller goal of losing 10 pounds a month.

Timely.
And last but not least is setting a time frame within which you want to achieve your goals. So you go back to your specific goal of losing 50lbs. You have to attach a time to in order to give yourself a deadline; this will force you to continually work towards a goal so that you can achieve it in the time you set for yourself. It is feasible to lose 2 pounds per week and with this in mind one can reasonably set the goal of losing 50 pounds in 6 months.

Have a conversation with the supportive and positive people in your life. This will help you set SMART goals that you will be motivated to work towards. Once you have set the goals, write them down and post them on your refrigerator along with a picture that will help you visualize your goal such as a person with a physique you admire, a fabulous dress you want to buy or the registration form for a race you want to run. The key to achieving your SMART goal is to be consistent.

My current goal is to maintain my present weight and dress size. I have specific things that I am doing to make sure that I stay at that size which includes following a meal plan and exercising regularly to become stronger and fitter.

What are your goals and what are you doing to achieve them?

2 Comments

Getting Motivated

4/4/2012

2 Comments

        One of the most frequently asked question I get is, ‘Shelter, you seem so
motivated, how do you do it’? I have been reflecting on this and felt it would
be appropriate to share with everyone how I got motivated and stay motivated.
Let me start by telling you that motivation did not wrestle me to the ground and
beg me to take it. It wasn’t always easy. Like many of you, in the beginning I
often battled with lack of motivation to get started or keep going on my journey
towards weight loss.

The following is a list of some of the reasons why I struggled with motivation;
1.      Lack of belief
I would look at myself and did not believe I could truly lose the weight. I felt like it was pointless to even try and had a tough time imagining myself being slimmer.

2.      Too much effort
I felt like it was going to require too much effort for me to lose weight. That I would have to give up too much and take on this whole new way of life that I knew nothing about.

3.      Tried and failed
I had tried to lose weight several times and had never really succeeded. And in some ways I had developed a defeatist attitude.

4.      Not knowing what to do
When I would sit and decide that I wanted to lose weight there was so much conflicting information that I never really knew what to believe or what to do to get started.

5.      Feeling embarrassed to talk about it
I wanted to ask for help or ask for advice but felt embarrassed to admit that I didn’t like the way I looked and felt. I felt embarrassed to admit that I needed help and I felt embarrassed admitting that I didn’t know certain information and needed help to understand it. I felt embarrassed to admit that I didn’t have enough self-control and discipline to make the changes I needed.

6.      Couldn’t afford it
I felt like I couldn’t afford to buy healthy food and instead opted for processed food because it seemed cheaper.

7.      Eat what I enjoy
I wanted to continue eating EVERYTHING I enjoyed eating unencumbered. I didn’t have the discipline or the motivation to say, ‘This food is making me fat, and I need to stop eating it’.

         HOWEVER, I reached a place where I wanted to make the change and decided to lose weight because I wanted to go down a few dress sizes so that I could shop at my favorite retailer. This was the goal that motivated me to make changes. I discovered that setting a goal was a key part of motivation. In all my attempts to lose weight in the past, I had failed because I did not have a goal. Everyone wants to lose weight, to be healthy and to be attractive but if you don’t have a goal or something that you are passionate about you will always struggle with getting started and staying focused.

        Setting personal goals such as getting into a specific dress size, getting ready for a sporting event such as a 5k or 10k, going to a family reunion or high school reunion, your wedding, preparing for a photo shoot or just being alive long enough to watch your kids grow is what will get you motivated. It has to be something important to you, something near and dear to you, something you get emotional about when you think about it. Note that goals are going to change throughout your life and that is important to recognize so that you continually set goals and that will help you continue on your weight loss journey. Goals
help you set the steps to achieve your goal and hold yourself accountable. Watch this space for my next topic on how to set S.M.A.R.T Goals.

        What is preventing you from getting started on your weight loss journey? If there was a way to overcome that specific obstacle would you start on your journey right away?

2 Comments

If it Doesn’t Get Measured it Doesn’t Get Managed. Part I

Setting SMART Goals

Getting Motivated

Author

Archives

Categories