Tag: Psychology

Exercise Philosophy, Physical

Making Excuses Burns Zero Calories

Posted on by Anita Shero

There’s a meme for it, and there’s a reason.

My quest to win Biggest Loser at work is still ongoing, and I’ve noticeably stalled lately. That is, I barely lost a quarter of a pound last week and was expecting to be eliminated. I worked out every single day, and sometimes twice a day. By the same token, unlike the first few weeks, I was also eating after every physical activity to recover (and add to a team challenge about showing what you’re eating) — whether I needed it or not is a different story.

My overall philosophy is: eat to train. Given my latest goal, I will need to temporarily tweak this. It makes sense in retrospect, so here’s my pivot point.

It’s Not About Diet And Exercise

So how am I magically shedding weight to begin with? I have a purpose.

Diet is a code word for meals with restrictions in some form or other. Exercise is an activity many people are not super enthusiastic about. Instead, I eat foods to fuel my muscles, and I train to build muscles so that I can remain active in the future. If I’m presented with food that I know won’t be good for my body, I can refer back to the goal to make an adjustment or even refuse. If I don’t find myself being active, I pull up Pharrell Williams’ Happy via Just Dance on youtube and dance (or maybe flail…) along. There’s nothing like ending the day on a happy note.

Believe it or not, I still indulge on things like four pieces of Trader Joe’s cranberry pecan pull apart’s. I take it as my body’s reaction to the more mindful eating that’s happening lately. The next step would be to acknowledge my body’s reaction and then let it pass. In the words of a previous supervisor I had, “This too shall pass.” Baby steps.

Weight Is A Series of Decisions, Not A Number

I was listening to the audiobook for Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? by Peter Walsh, and in a nutshell it focuses on the questions of where and why you eat. Decluttering your spaces like the kitchen and pantry will in turn help declutter your relationship with food. What he also emphasized was that weight shouldn’t be our focus, as weight carries with it underlying habits and allows us to berate ourselves for our imperfections. Barring genetics and our bodies’ physiology, weight is the culmination of the decisions we make daily.

For example, I bought chips and salsa for a party I thought I’d host but ended up not having enough time off to do so (I work on weekends). Now they’re sitting on a table that I pass by often, and it whittles down my willpower ever so slightly. By placing it in an unseen area, it’ll help, but it’s honestly still clutter. At this time, my resolve is to bring it to my work’s veggietecher meeting where people bring their vegetarian dishes to share. And there we go again — purpose. If everything had a clear purpose to it, wouldn’t we have less? In any case, the chips and salsa won’t be there for long, but it goes to show that a decision made in the past can influence the present.

By the way, he also agrees that there’s no set diet or exercise plan.

So What’s Your New Philosophy?

It’s: mind over matter.

I’m going to turn I think I can to I know I can. I’m stronger than I give myself credit for.

What’s your philosophy?

People spend too much time finding other people to blame, too much energy finding excuses for not being what they are capable of being, and not enough energy putting themselves on the line, growing out of the past, and getting on with their lives.
— J. Michael Straczynski

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Exercise Philosophy, Physical

Can slow and steady win the race?

Posted on by Anita Shero

It depends on the rules of the race and whether you’re set on winning at this one moment — this one race.

We started the Biggest Loser at work, and in 3 weeks I’ve lost 8 lbs so I’m back at my post-vacation weight. I’d like to think, though, that I lost 9 lbs because I’ve gained 1 lb in muscle. The burpee half mile was a first, and it was stupendous and stupid (because I could’ve hurt myself due to no preparation).

I’ve started off on a good note with the first battle, but here’s where the war starts. And there are a few wars going on here:

Although there’s no I in TEAM, there’s ME.

My team of 7 went from 1380 lbs total to 1356, with a difference of 24. Two people ended up not losing any weight. Knowing the percentage total weight loss of everyone and using basic math, I can deduct that my remaining four teammates lost between 2-7 lbs. It’s decent, but we lost.

Teams are great if everyone is invested in the process and sees the big picture. To be clear, I’m not laying blame on anyone. After all, we were grouped randomly and not everyone enjoys receiving texts from a coach telling them to do things (even I didn’t do what my coach encouraged us to do because I like doing my own thing). Additionally, we all have our own reasons for joining: to commit to being fit, to lose weight, to meet others and/or get to know them outside of work, to support a fellow friend (because our entry fee was donated to someone in need).

If I really wanted to win this race, I would’ve maintained my weight after working hard the first week (not knowing that the first week wouldn’t be an elimination week). Reason being, I can only lose so much weight in three months, and I’d be betting that someone on my team lost less weight percentage-wise. Of everyone who’s participating, I’ve been led to believe that I weigh the least. So if I lose the same number of lbs as someone else, I would’ve lost more weight percentage-wise. And since I’d be maintaining my weight, no one would have thought much about it. But I’d know. I’d know that I was only in this to win it, and I’d know that I wasn’t building lasting habits to sustain my weight loss.

Even if integrity and healthy habits weren’t the bottomline issue, it’s disturbing to hear how Biggest Loser participants who lose a lot of weight end up regaining their pounds after the show. There was even a NY Times article about how the body fights back against weight loss.

In any case, if I’m doing this for me, I’m going to do it in a way so that I can look back and be proud of what I’ve done.

So why did we lose the team battle?

In part, team psychology likely had to do with it. We had been provided the results of our second week into this, and my team was winning. Maybe we rested on our laurels. Maybe we trusted each other too much. Maybe the opposing team captain riled up his team (I can’t think of a reason why he wouldn’t). My guess is that if the results weren’t made available, my team would’ve won. Information is powerful, and we can see in TED talks that how we present information is key.

Or, I’m going to be honest here, it could be that I have a weak team captain. Even though we lost the team battle, I have yet to see a comeback let’s-get-our-game-face-on message, or any message at all. We’ll see what happens at the next weigh-in for elimination this week.

What happens after being eliminated?

The whole point of grouping us in teams is to encourage camaraderie and to motivate one another. Furthermore, I feel accountable to my team. But what if I’m eliminated?

Personally, I don’t like eliminations. It’s like going through the scenario where you “failed” and are now facing the consequence for what’s likely a minor setback in the grand scheme of things. At the same time, can it provide enough of a reason to reflect and make changes? I guess that depends on the person.

For the person who’s been eliminated from my team, or potentially even for me, I’d still want the team companionship. So I’m spearheading weekly challenges. This week’s focus is squats.

On Making Exercise a Habit — Slowly but Surely

Other than being excited to take a variety of fitness classes included with my gym membership (and is the main reason I joined a gym), I wanted a way to exercise without using the gym — especially on days when I oversleep or don’t feel like going to the gym. Here are a few ways I’ve come up with so far (check and check for today):

1.) Get up and moving with Just Dance

I’ve done this to warm up when it’s cold in the house, or when I need a pick me up in the morning. I don’t look nearly as good as the person on the screen, but at least I dance like no one’s watching.

2.) Trigger an automatic response to a location or action

I’m in the kitchen a lot because it’s in the middle of where I need to go and because I like eating. So I’m trying out a rule for this week’s challenge: if I’m in front of the refrigerator, I’m going to do 10 squats.

I’m also going to work on strengthening my wrist and forearms while reading. Why not, since I can have a hand or two free? This will help me with burpees later.

Back to the Bigger Question

Rather than asking, “Can slow and steady win the race?”, maybe we need to be asking ourselves, “Who do I want to become?” A shero to whom others (including myself) can look up  and relate.

A battle lost or won is easily described, understood, and appreciated, but the moral growth of a great nation requires reflection, as well as observation, to appreciate it.
—Frederick Douglass

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