Lose that lockdown weight

Has your waistline expanded since the pandemic began? You’re not alone. 

Sixty-one percent of U.S. adults report undesired weight changes since the COVID-19 pandemic began. 

Routines have been disrupted, stress has increased, and with the emergence of new variants of the virus at regular intervals. It is unclear when things will get back to normal. 

Emotional stress and improper sleep routines over the course of the pandemic have compounded the problem. It is ironic and even dangerous that people are gaining weight at this particular time. It has been shown that being overweight or obese makes it more difficult to fight the virus. 

Regardless how long the pandemic is going to last, the rest of your life is still ahead of you. We talk a great deal about safety measures—social distancing, face masks, and the sanitizing of hands. Maybe we also need to talk about the selection of the foods we eat. 

Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight is important for well-being and quality of life. You want to keep your weight from getting too far out of control. 

Whatever your weight goals may be, now is a good time to assess your lifestyle and focus on all the things that keep you healthy. 

Lessons Re-Learned

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed a lot of things: schedules, the amount of time spent at home, stress levels, and eating habits. For me, the last one has not been for the better.

We’re only human and most of us are not perfect at everything. It is normal to get sidetracked when trying to eat healthy. However, eating processed food has consequences. Sometimes small consequences, and sometimes big ones.

It happened. I accepted it and I am doing something about it. I knew that the best thing I could do is leave the past behind and focus on moving forward. The rest of my life is still ahead of me, so I don’t look back, I look forward.

I revisited what motivates me and I am getting back on track. My best motivator - fear works very effectively.  Since the doctor told me that I am a good candidate for Type 2 Diabetes I immediately resumed better compliance with eating for health and weight loss. One huge plus to my method is that I see weight-loss results quickly.

A good friend of mine, who always tells the truth unless battery runs out of juice, is very supportive by delivering results with a 0. 2 lb. / 3 oz. accuracy displayed on LCD screen daily.

Another thing I re-learned is that staying on track is crucial to my success, but it’s not always about perfection as much as it is about consistency. I don’t have to be perfect to experience real change and improvements in my health. I am amazed again that so much can change in a short span of time.

Falling off the wagon doesn't mean having to stay off. Life happens. Lesson learned. 

Listening is a key

Listening is something we all do and something we can do more of.  Becoming a good listener is a learned practice. People can learn it. \

There is a difference between listening hearing. One is more active and requires effort, while the other is involuntary and natural. To master learning and communication, it takes both hearing and listening.

Reflect on an occasion when you had something to say, something important or vulnerable to share, and you knew you had the full attention of the other person. That level of attention, when you know the other person is really listening to you, makes you feel valued. 

Now think about a time when you had something to say, but you didn’t get that level of attention. The other person was distracted or disinterested, and you felt ignored, diminished, and inconsequential. 

A good conversation can be a learning opportunity but when we interrupt our conversational partner, we lose a valuable chance to learn. Some people are impatient and they only pretend to listen. 

When we listen, really listen to what others have to say, their insight may surprise you. When we don’t interrupt, but wait, allowing others to finish sometimes we learn that we can’t anticipate what they will share.  

No matter how good a listener we believe we are, it is possible to listen more closely. 

I know I could improve my communication skills to be a better listener.

Unsolicited Advice

People generally understand they should not tell other people how to live their lives. Somehow, though, we lose sight of this when it comes to overweight people.

Since more than 60% of women and nearly three-quarters of American men are obese or overweight that may occur quite often.

Whenever you have the urge to comment on what someone is eating, ask yourself: Did they ask?

You will save the other person grief by avoiding a conversation that is completely unnecessary.

People think they are being helpful with their comments, but they probably don’t know how harmful or unhelpful some of that unwanted advice can be.

Unsolicited advice signals to people that you have already made a certain judgment about the way they look.

If someone asks for advice that’s awesome. Go for it and give them all your knowledge. But leave everyone else alone.

Never stop learning

One of the great things about life is that there is always an opportunity to learn more. There are always things you don’t know, that other people know, that may be buried in books or articles or online courses. 

Every day, every interaction we have, every time we read something, we have the chance to gain new knowledge. 

You learn new things, figure out something that doesn’t work for you, and now you want to change that thing.

It’s so easy to fall into the rut of “I know enough” because, hey, sometimes learning can be exhausting.  

Learning can be challenging, particularly if you have a hard time accepting you might be wrong or need to change what you’re doing.

By staying humble and modest you will be more aware of the opportunities to learn, more likely to try new things and more open to hearing other people’s’ views and opinions.

Stay positive

In life we have a choice between two roads, the positive road and the negative road. The positive road will lead to enhanced health, happiness and success. And the negative road will lead to misery, anger, and failure.

The power of positive thoughts makes a difference in my perspective and life. It helps me take on daily challenges, peruse my goals and create positive momentum in my life.

It also helps to overcome negativity, neutralize naysayers and conquer adversity. I do not get mad at the naysayers. Instead, I realize that without them I would not be as strong as I believe I am. Negative people make me more resilient, wiser, and better.

Being positive does not mean that my life is perfect. Sometimes when I try to share my passion, enthusiasm and authentic experience with others it invites the very pushback I am trying to avoid.

Positivity is like a boomerang. The more we put it out there, the more it comes back to us. This applies at home, at work and every relationship in my life.

Being positive does not guarantee that you will succeed. But being negative will guarantee you will not.

Hypocrisy

For a long time, I did not practice some of the weigh loss supporting behaviors that I write about and I gained weight. It came to the point that I regained 57 pounds. 

Annual physical test results showed that my sugar reached pre-diabetic level. The doctor said "let's repeat the test, but if it comes the same way I would have to indicate in your records that you are diabetic and treat you accordingly."

Unbelievable!!! I regained more than half of what I lost in 2010/2011. How could I be so stupid to let that happen? 

Well, it did happen. 

My main motivator - fear is working again  so I started to practice more of what I write about and the weight started to decrease. As of today, I lost 27 pounds and have 29 pounds to lose. 

I apologize that I continued to write about healthy behaviors, while I actually did not practice them diligently enough.

"Hypocrisy - behavior that contradicts what one claims to believe or feel" - Merriam-Webster dictionary.

Hypocrisy is the practice of engaging in the same behavior or activity for which one criticizes another or the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform.