Nibbles and Bits

WHY IS IT SO HARD TO LOSE FAT?

Losing weight is hard. Very hard. And it gets harder the older we get. Most of it is hormone driven. For a good read, check out this article from the New York Times: click HERE.

WHY IS SUGAR SO BAD FOR YOU?

Click HERE to read all about it.

As you prepare for Thanksgiving Dinner . . .

. . . keep these thoughts in mind: click HERE.

And have a Happy Thanksgiving!

ITS MORE THAN A MEAL

Thanksgiving dinner is just one meal but it's a huge event.  This year, it will be different because you are different. Over the course of the last several weeks, you have acquired new habits.  Use each of your new habits to celebrate you and all that you are thankful for.  

Start your day with 10 min of gratitude in honor of friends, family, good health, and whatever else is in your heart.  Next, head to the South Gate area of Ocean Pines for the CrossFit Ocean City Thanksgiving Day Dash to benefit Toys for Tots. (Be sure to bring an unwrapped toy.) There, you'll get a great workout and do something wonderful for someone else.

You know good food tastes good AND make you feel great.  Choose your Thanksgiving dinner foods wisely and you'll enjoy Thanksgiving Day like never before. If you are not responsible for meal preparation, offer to bring an assortment of side dishes. Roasted vegetables, a salad, or fruit and nut stuffing are great take-a-longs.  Or, whip up a Paleo Pumpkin Pie or some Rosemary Cashews.  (Both are easy and  "normal.") 

Enjoy the company of your dinner companions.  When all the dishes are done, take a post dinner walk. Stop about mid-way. Stretch for five minutes or so. Continue back to the house. When the day comes to an end, thank your hostess or those who shared dinner with you.

Lastly, thank yourself for a fabulous, healthy, well-balanced Thanksgiving Day.   

Do you have any concerns about the upcoming holiday? Post to comments and we'll offer some suggestions.  

 

To Avoid Distractions at Work, Hit the Reset Button - NYTimes.com

A. People often lose their concentration when they are bored, of course, but also when they are engaged in challenging tasks, says Peter Bregman, author of “18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done” and chief executive of a management consultancy in New York. “We have a momentary feeling of wanting to escape what’s difficult or boring, so we jump out,” he says — hence the appeal of e-mail and shopping Web sites.

via www.nytimes.com

Thoughts?

TEAM SUPPORT

How did your team activity go this week?  

What did your team do to support the needs of your team? 

Please share in comments.

HABIT

Konrad Lorenz, the Nobel Prize-winning zoologist, had a pet goose that he allowed the run of the house. The first day when the goose waddled in the door, there happened to be a mirror near floor height; the goose mistook his own reflection for some rival bird and flew into attack mode.

He pecked the hell out of the mirror before moving on to the kitchen and the rest of his day. Next morning: same thing. After a few days, Mrs. Lorenz removed the mirror so it wouldn’t get broken—but the goose kept pecking the same spot. It never stopped. Over a lifetime, every time that goose webfooted its way into the Lorenz house it was compelled to peck that very spot where the mirror had been.

That’s habit. (click the link to read on)

via www.stevenpressfield.com

Another great post from author Steven Pressfield on developing habits. Good? Bad? Any takeaways?

 

BE QUIET

"Why?" Because it is good for you.  In stillness, we settle. In stillness, we recover. In stillness, we create the opportunity to hear.  

When are minds are racing with random thoughts of what we need to do, should do, or want to do while at the same time sending us a steady stream of positive (or negative) comments, we are unable to process any of our thoughts fully. We become overwhelmed and often, stressed.  

The good news is we have the ability to alleviate the overload.  With practice and an open mind, we can acquire the skills to de-stress anytime, anywhere.  

Clearing your mind and getting quiet can quickly restore a sense of calm, peace and balance. The benefits of doing so can carry you calmly through the day.  The ancient art of meditation allows you to focus your attention onto something specific in order to eliminate the endless bombardment of thoughts.  In so doing, the heart rate slows, breathing deepens, the mind clears, and ultimately, a state of relaxation is achieved. 

How do you quiet your mind?  Has the 10 minutes of Mind Time helped you improve your ability to be quiet?  Please share.

 

FILL YOUR OWN HEART

Compassion is often seen as something we have for someone else.  We may feel the need to "be compassionate" and try and take someones pain away. How about, just for today, we stay closer to home and show compassion to ourselves?  

The simplest way to show compassion to yourself is through self-love.  Honor yourself today with 10 min of Mind Time and stillness.  Try this exercise:

Get quiet.

Close your eyes.

Notice your thoughts.  

Acknowledge them. (Set the random ones aside. You can go back to those later.)

Focus your attention on love -  love for yourself.  

During this time, just talk nice to yourself:

• I love being me.

          I love and appreciate myself.

          I love myself just the way I am.

          I recognize my many strengths.

• Today I give myself permission to be greater than my fears.

If the idea of talking to yourself makes you uncomfortable, then repeat your Gratitude List from yesterday and replace the word "grateful" with "love."  

Self compassion is about doing for yourself what you so freely do for others.

How well do you love and care for yourself?  

For more information about the value of developing greater self compassion, click here. 

OFF TO A GREAT START

How you begin each day sets energy in motion.  If the first thoughts of the morning are optimistic, your day has endless possibility.  Here's a thought: If you notice everything in your life that is working for you and all that you have to be thankful for, you will begin to take this natural energy and wind it into a ball of power that generates happiness.

I have worked with many people who are struggling in life and with themselves. The way they are looking at life is from a place of wanting what other people have rather than seeing the specialness of what is right here now. 

Here is a little exercise you can do during Mind Time to harness the power of thankfulness and ultimately, feel-good energy.

Commit to a Gratitude List. Personally, I have used them many times in my life.  Doing so always produces results.

Begin by writing down at least ten things you are grateful for. Your list may look something like this:

I am grateful for The Whole You Challenge.

I am grateful for my car that gets me where I need to go safely.

I am grateful for this beautiful clear morning.

I am grateful to God for connecting me with amazing people.

I am grateful for the 3 block meal that my teammate left in the fridge .

I am grateful for the 10 minutes I have to dedicate to this exercise.

I am grateful for my coach who helped me realize in the workout tonight that I CAN DO IT!

I am grateful for uninterrupted sleep last night.

I am grateful for my dogs.

I am grateful for the special dinner I shared with my mom last night.

I am grateful for my girls' creativity and getting to see it in action.

.......

You get the idea. Whatever pops in your mind will do!

Your list will become the start of an amazing collection of personal "thank yous." After you've written the list, read it throughout the day.  Thereafter, begin your day by adding to your Gratitude List. It can be anything! Think about those events, experiences, and people that makes you feel good inside. Some days you may add five or more things; other days, it might just be one. It's your list. Let it serve you well.