DISCOVER YOUR ZEN
Staying on Track
Be Honest With Yourself
Today’s module is may feel a bit like “tough love.” But it’s important. When your jeans feel tighter, you might be tempted to rationalize it by saying, “They shrank in the dryer.” If those jeans have already been washed and dried 500 times, they did not shrink the last time you dried them. However, unless you collect the data/proof by weighing regularly and documenting the data, you won’t know the truth. The truth is more likely that you’re gaining weight because you didn’t follow your healthy plan. It’s ok to gain a little weight as long as you take steps to lose it again. Facts are facts, whether you want to admit the truth or not.
All of your goals should be measurable so you can assess what works, what doesn’t work, and make needed changes. Once you allow yourself to simply accept an excuse, and not EMBRACE it so you can learn from it and act on it, you will continue to make excuses without actions…until you can’t deny the cold, hard truth that shows in the mirror. By this time, it’s usually made your situation much worse. Don’t let denial and self-deception creep in and derail your progress or success.
Common excuses and rationalizations:
- Healthy food is too expensive. This excuse can be an attempt to continue eating unhealthy foods. Where there is a will, there is a way. Even if you’re on a tight budget, you can eat healthy foods. Go to the library and get books about eating healthy on a budget. You may also want to print out free recipes and download free or low-cost cooking/recipe books in pdf format. Learn about making healthy substitutions to keep your grocery bill low.
- My pants shrank in the dryer. This can happen but not usually to pants that you’ve had for years. The best way to avoid making assumptions and rationalizations is to keep it real by weighing yourself. Most people shun scales, but numbers don’t lie. Weigh at least once a month, even on maintenance, just to help you keep yourself honest, realistic, and moving forward.
- I worked out so I can eat a treat. This is often an attempt to cheat on your diet and rationalize the behavior so you don’t feel guilty later. Many people, who experience permanent weight loss, don’t need to exercise more and they don’t use exercise as a justification for eating unhealthy things, either. Yes, if you burn 200 extra calories, you can consume 200 more calories without gaining weight, but those calories should be healthy high-nutrient calories. Adding 200 calories from saturated fats will not help you stay healthy.
- It’s OK to indulge on weekends. This is an attempt to rationalize poor heath choices and go back to unhealthy habits. Indulging occasionally, such as on your birthday, a special holiday, or one day on vacation, is okay. It is not okay to indulge every weekend. Your goals and plan include reward times. Stick to those times and special days/events.
- It’s in my genes and I can’t do anything about it. Using this rationalization is often an attempt to take the “blame” or responsibility off of you. While genetics can play a role in your health by predisposing you to some illnesses and diseases, they are not the only determining factor. You are responsible for your choices and actions, for better or worse. You have the power to shift the balance towards a healthier life by adopting a variety of strategies and behaviors, that tend to take precedence over the genetic factors.
- That TV doc said it’s healthy. Don’t fall for the scams. That doc may not even be a physician and on top of that, the people on those commercials (they aren’t shows) are being paid to say what the sponsor wants. There are people who will claim certain things are good for you when they’re not. Doctors used to say that menthol cigarettes are good for you. When a new fad comes along, give it time to percolate before jumping on the bandwagon. TV is full of law firm advertisements regarding class action lawsuits based on deceptive products. Stick with the tried and true methods, as well as the long-term reputations of reliable experts.
When your outlook, determination, or motivation level begins to slip, start keeping a daily journal. This is will help you avoid problems in the long run. Plus, when you write in your journal, you’ll have a safe place to admit, acknowledge, and vent things that you don’t want to say aloud or share with others.
TODAY’S ACTION STEPS:
1) If you have been following the workout plans I’ve been providing, we’re now on the Week 5 Workout Plan. Log in to the Fitness App on your COMPUTER – https://doctorvenus.com/app-login/ – to access the Week 5 Workout Plan.
2) You should be exercising according to your planned routine. (You can use the workout plan I provided, if it works for you.) If you’re not ready to go FULL OUT with the workout plan yet…that’s OK. If you’ve been trying out my suggestion of creating a habit, then you may want to add on another step if you haven’t done so yet. Read through the Week 4 – Day 2 module if you’re not sure how to create this “habit chain.”
3) If you’ve been receiving the meal plans, the Week 5 (and 6) Meal Plan has been uploaded to your Fitness App. The Week 6 Meal Plan is the same as Week 5; so you should be starting the Week 6 Meal plan today.
4) Continue to meditate for at least 5 minutes each day. As I suggested in Week 6-Module 6, you can now have a goal for your meditation; for example, you can aim to make this goal a better awareness of yourself (by using mindfulness) or you can aim to quiet your mind and learn to block out stressful thoughts (by using transcendental meditation).
5) Mark your calendar for our next coaching call on Saturday, December 16, at 12:30pm ET (9:30am PT). The call-in number and Zoom link will be posted on the Home Page and in your daily email the day before the call. A replay will be made available for those who can’t make the call.
6) If you have any questions about anything…let me know in the Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/discoveryourzen/
Previous ACTION STEPS:
(Not a complete list, but some important highlights.)
1) Log in to the Fitness App on your COMPUTER – https://doctorvenus.com/app-login/ – and go to the FORMS tab. If you haven’t completed the Client Agreement form and the PAR-Q form from Day 1’s ACTION STEPS, do that today and sign them. Be sure to click SAVE when you’re done. (You can not receive the meal plan and workout plan when they are released until we have those completed forms on file.)
2) If you haven’t done so yet, send an email to team@DoctorVenus.com and state whether you want a vegetarian or non-vegetarian meal plan. It will be sent to your Fitness App by the next day.
3) If you haven’t done so yet, send an email to team@DoctorVenus.com and let me know whether you want an exercise plan for weight loss (focused on burning calories) or for building/maintaining your mass. So you just need to indicate whether you want a BURN or BUILD program. It will be sent to your Fitness App by the next day.
4) Download the Set Your Goals Checklist and complete it. CLICK HERE to download.
5) Download the Program Planner that you can start using, if you wish. CLICK HERE to download.
6) Download the Kitchen Clean Out handout and use it to guide the clean out of your kitchen BEFORE you start your meal plan. CLICK HERE to download.