Jump Start for Success 2004

By prism{HS}

Greetings Masters,
Greetings Mistresses,
Greetings slaves,

This month prism has decided to tackle something that many of us may have a problem with: weight, eating healthily and exercise. She will be committing herself and asking readers to commit themselves for 12 weeks to increase their fitness knowledge, personal activity level, and personal wellness. This one usually does better with some support, so here it is. If you are an individual who has tried and failed or who needs support or motivation, this is your chance.

People who add daily physical activity to their lives are healthier and feel better. They are more focused and energized. By increasing your level of physical activity, you can reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. All you have to do is take a little time each day to do something you enjoy. Just a short 30 minutes of activity each day can make all the difference in the world. An activity can be done in shorter intervals (10 minutes or more) throughout the day.

Track your progress. Keep a journal and make daily or weekly entries.

“Jump Start for Success” will start May 1, 2004 and end August 1, 2004. Weeks will run from Saturday through Friday.

Since this is a monthly column, this one will post 4 weeks of hints and ideas for you. If you need extra support, please feel free to email this one anytime. She will do her best to get you motivated or talk you out of that piece of chocolate cake, or if you fall off the wagon, she’ll do her best to boost you back on it. Helping you will help yours truly as well.

This program is easy and fun, and you’ll feel great! Take the first step and “Jump Start for Success.”

Week 1: Week one is the week to get motivated. This is it. Summer is almost here and you can’t hide under layers of clothes or baggy shirts. It helps to sit down and plan your week. Plan your menus. If you have trouble eating healthily, Weight Watchers has a great online site that can help you, and what’s even better, most of the site is free.

Some helpful things to do in your first week are:

• Get a calendar and write on it each day. Mark off the days as they pass.
• Start a daily journal and write down everything you eat. As the days go by, review it and try to correct any unhealthy eating habit you think you have.
• Set aside 30 minutes a day for exercise. You don’t have to start out with heavy exercise. Take a walk around the outside of your house. Blast the radio while cleaning and dance and wiggle as you “dust a move.”
• Look at yourself naked in the mirror. This helps a lot and will keep you focused. Don’t get depressed ... just keep looking and watching and soon you will start to see changes (good ones we hope).
• Drink lots and lots of water. Water will help you in so many ways.
• Take the first week day by day. They say that the first week is the hardest. Live one day at a time and you can do it.
• Weigh yourself and mark it down. Don’t weigh yourself everyday. Pick a day and do this on the same day every week. Try to weigh yourself early in the morning and with no clothes on.

A few things to remember: Important Do’s and Don’ts when getting started:

• Do choose activities you enjoy.
• Do include a warm up and cool down in each of your activity sessions.
• Do be patient with yourself.
• Do vary your activities to reduce boredom.
• Don’t start out at a high level of intensity.
• Don’t get frustrated if you don’t progress as fast as you would like.
• Don’t continue in an activity you don’t enjoy.
• Don’t try to keep up with someone else. Listen to your own body.

Here are two challenges for you:

1. Make a list of activities that you enjoy or that you think you would enjoy doing. For each activity, list when and where you can do it (for example, if you list swimming, write down the pool location and hours) and think of people with whom you might be able to do the activity. This is a brainstorming activity, so don’t rule anything out. List everything that you can think of.

2. From your list, pick an activity that you have always wanted to try and find out how and when you can try it. Make a specific date with yourself to try this activity within the next 2 weeks.

This one would love to hear from those of you who start this. Let her know how you make out after the first week, and she will put your progress in the column next month. We can tell one another how things are going and offer some tips and tricks that you have found helpful.

Week 2: When you make it to week 2, and the operative word is when because we all will make it here, you will hopefully have a bit more energy if you have added some exercise to your daily schedule. If you still haven’t, let’s try now. Even a 15 minute walk will do wonders.

Some people get excited in week 2 if they have done well and some might get a bit upset not seeing results. Don’t get upset if you don’t start seeing results and you have stuck to your diet and exercise. Remember that it took you some time to put this weight on and that it’s not going to come off in a week.

Start a daily activity log. Log everything that you do. Try to think of things that will give you more exercise:

• Park farther away from the building in a parking lot. This forces you to walk a bit.
• Take the steps. Even if you can’t make it up, try just taking them down. Down is easier until you feel you can conquer up.
• Put a skinny picture of yourself on the fridge. This will remind you when you go to reach for a snack you don’t need. And if you never had a skinny pic, draw a stick man one and hang it there or use a magazine pic. But try to be realistic. Some of us will never be 5’10” and 118 lbs, (who would want to be?)
• Stay focused.

Week 3: Things should start to get a bit easier for you by now. Start to increase your activity a bit. Constantly keep track of what you eat. Log everything.

Week 4: One whole month has passed. You will be feeling great. Stay focused by taking one day at a time.

Final Thoughts for Now:

The first month is going to be the hardest. You can do it. This one has found that if she looks up a diet site and looks for before and after pictures, she stays motivated.

If yours truly can do this, anyone can.

How about it? Who is up for the challenge?

Thank you for your time.

Good luck, until next month.

Warmest wishes,

prism

prism_hs@yahoo.com