Monthly Archives: October 2015

Health & wellness, Longevity, Nutrition, Personal development, Weight loss

Growth Matters at TEDx Hillsborough

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promo-TEDxHBL02

I attended my first TEDx event on Saturday at TEDxHillsboroughLibrary. It was such a great experience. Many thanks to Nishat Ruiter and her team for organizing this. I had the pleasure of meeting some interesting people and got to enjoy some informative and thought-provoking presentations. This included live and pre-recorded ones.

If you’ve never heard of TED, it’s a global community devoted to spreading ideas in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began as a conference in 1984 with the convergence of Technology, Entertainment and Design. TEDx events are independently run to help share ideas in communities around the world. You can visit www.ted.com to learn more.

I found it odd that although the event was held in my hometown, I didn’t know anyone. There were at least 100 attendees in addition to the speakers, technical staff, and volunteers that made it all possible. But I did have the opportunity to meet some cool people.

One of the talks that resonated with my health & wellness interest was given by Lori Sweeney, titled “From Bullied To Bold”. In it, Lori shared her some of her difficult childhood experiences of being over-weight, where she was bullied and made fun of. Although I couldn’t relate directly to her situation, I couldn’t help but feel empathy for her. It brought back some memories of being bullied as a little kid along with some regretful ones of bullying others.

motivation

After many years, Lori finally had enough and turned her situation around. She gained confidence, took control, and lost 125 pounds over a 3 year span. And she’s kept if off for 4 years. She looks fantastic and is an inspiration to many people.

Here are two of my takeaways from Lori’s presentation:

  1. Don’t allow negativity to enter your ‘cup of life’. This doesn’t only include negativity from others, but also from your own negative self-talk.
  2. Drop your excuses. About why you’re over-weight, out of shape, not good enough… Take responsibility and take control of your life.

Jon Knox, a local farmer talked about ‘getting closer to your food’. Jon and his wife Kim run a local farm in Hillsborough. They’ve built a traditionally diverse farm with fresh produce and pasture-raised meats. Their approach is based on sustainable farming practices, with no adverse impact on the environment. You can learn more about them at www.dogwoodfarmsnj.com.

All of the speakers did a great job. They each made a compelling point within their message. Emily Goshey said something that really resonated with me. “We find joy when we lose ourselves in service to others”.

Check out www.ted.com for tons of inspiring and educational talks. And if you have the opportunity to attend a live event, take advantage. You’ll be glad you did.

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I’d love for you to let me know what you think by leaving a comment. Is the content valuable and helpful? Did anything resonate? Will you take action? What else would you like to see in future posts?

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Health & wellness, Longevity, Nutrition, Weight loss

Stay Away From The Buffet!

all-you-can-eat

Have you noticed the attraction to “all-you-can-eat” buffets. Whether it’s going to a brunch buffet for a special occasion, or the all too common Asian restaurant that’s reinvented itself into an all-you-can-eat buffet. My personal experience indicates that they are all very similar.

Since this blog is about health & wellness, and I often write about the importance of good nutrition, I felt compelled to explore the “buffet” topic a little further. So I did some research and discovered that the buffet table dates back to the 16th century in Sweden. Who knew?

The smorgasbord table as it was referred to was a place that guests gathered for a pre-dinner drink and meal prior to sitting down to a formal dinner. This reminds me of the cocktail hour that precedes a wedding reception.

The term buffet originated in the 18th century in France and referred to a piece of “sideboard” furniture where food was displayed and served. This serving format became popular in the US during the 20th century.

Today there are many variations that offer a substantial selection of food, including:

  • Cafeteria style – where select pre-made dishes are prepared and placed on display.
  • Salad bar – where you can choose from a variety of ingredients to build your own, and then in some cases, pay by weight.
  • Brazilian-style Rodizio – where roving waiters serve seated patrons by carving barbecued meats on large skewers.
  • All -You-Can-Eat (AYCE) – where you pay a fixed fee and help yourself to as much food as you want, or can eat.

all-you-can-eat-buffet

I’d like to focus on the “all-you-can-eat” buffet. There are many benefits to this concept. Like having the opportunity to sample different types of food, including a variety of ethnic dishes.

This AYCE format lends itself to going with a group of friends, making it an enjoyable and social experience. And paying one price for all you can eat – what a bargain!

But is it really a bargain? I guess it depends on how you look at it.

The general tendency is to overeat. And that’s one reason why I rarely go to the all-you-can-eat buffet. The second is that the food quality usually isn’t great.

Let’s look at it from a weight-loss perspective. Eating in a restaurant adds additional fat, calories and sodium, unless you ask your server to prepare your meal in a healthier way. Go instead to a buffet where you have no choice in the prep and you’re stacking the odds against you even more.

Here’s my premise: You can eat just about anything you want if you do it in moderation. But if you’re trying to lose 30 pounds, then you should minimize the number of times you eat in restaurants for reasons stated above. And you should definitely NOT pay a visit your local buffet.

stay-away

You may not like what I’m saying here but you will feel and look better by avoiding them. So remember, stay away from the buffet!

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I’d love for you to let me know what you think by leaving a comment. Is the content valuable and helpful? Did anything resonate? Will you take action? What else would you like to see in future posts?

If you know someone that can benefit from this content, I’d be eternally grateful if you would share this with them. And if you like what you see, you can SUBSCRIBE for automatic updates, LIKE US on Facebook, and spread the word about www.thin2win.net with your friends, family and social circles.

Active lifestyle, Fitness, Goals, Health & wellness, Longevity, Nutrition, Personal development, Sleep, Weight loss

Are You Really Taking Care of Yourself?

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I’m going to stay with the airplane theme from last week to share another powerful metaphor and help you discover if you are really taking care of yourself.

Taking care of yourself

Before take off, the flight attendants run through a routine safety demonstration. One of the items they cover is what to do in the event of a loss of cabin pressure.

First they instruct us that an oxygen mask will drop from overhead. Then they proceed to tell us what to do and how to put it on. And the next part is crucial.

They tell us “if we are traveling with small children or with someone that needs assistance, to put our mask on first before helping to secure their mask”.

Taking care of yourself

What? Isn’t that selfish? Shouldn’t we take care of them first?

While this example is blatantly obvious, our lives may include examples where we go out of our way for others before making sure that we’re okay. I find this to be common among women, perhaps due to maternal instincts. But it’s definitely not gender-specific. I have seen it occur with men too, myself included.

Stop and think about it for a minute. Are you too busy taking care of others and neglecting your own well-being?

Taking care of yourself

Like caring for your family, your kids, your spouse, your friends, a pet, your business, your clients… and not exercising or eating right because of these other demands. I’m not trying to say that they’re not important; they’re extremely important. But if you’re too tired, too sick, too weak, or no longer here to take care of them because you’re dead, help me understand how that is helping anyone?

We need to learn how to say NO more often to things that don’t make sense, so we have time to say YES to the people and things in our lives that do mean something.

Don’t make excuses and please don’t play the martyr card. You are responsible to take care of your own health & wellness first – so you can have the strength, stamina, patience, clarity, and whatever else you need to help others with their “mask”.

Otherwise, you might find that you’re the one that’s waiting for someone else to put your mask on for you.

This may mean going to bed early so you can get up early. Making time for your workout. Or time to prepare your healthy meals. And carving out time for your own personal development.

If YOU don’t plan your OWN time, then it’s NOT going to get done. There are plenty of others who will gladly “take” your time to fulfill their own wants and needs. And that’s okay if you decide that’s what you want to do. But you better prioritize to make sure that your wants and needs are not neglected.

Make sense?

I don’t mean to seem insensitive here. Putting your mask on first is truly an unselfish act.

Taking care of yourselfLet’s put this in perspective. Think of 3 people in your life that depend on you for something. That “something” essentially equates to your time. Now think about what you need to do to help them. Each person probably depends on you for something different. Is it predictable and scheduled, or random and unplanned?

Now think about how you deal with or react to these demands. Do you “drop everything” and respond? That may be necessary sometimes, but probably not all the time as may be the case. How else can you handle the situation and end up with the same result, or better?

My point here is to help you stop to think about it. There’s usually more than one way to get something done. And many times there is a better way, if you look for it.

So figure it out and make sure to put your mask on first so you can help the people in your life that truly need it.

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I hope you found value.

Now it’s time for YOU to take action…

What’s your Win to be Thin? Leave a comment below.

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Active lifestyle, Fitness, Goals, Health & wellness, Longevity, Nutrition, Personal development, Weight loss

Take Your Health & Wellness To New Heights

Full throttle

I first heard this story almost 30 years ago. In his renowned audio program, The Psychology of Achievement, Brian Tracy tells the story of how the level of success you ultimately achieve is equivalent to an airplane taking off.

For the plane to take off, it needs to accelerate at FULL throttle. And once it’s off the ground, it must maintain full speed ahead as it climbs through the clouds. But the pilot cannot maintain this speed indefinitely. Once the plane reaches its desired altitude, the pilot needs to back off the throttle and “maintain” its cruising speed.

But let me ask you this. What happens to the plane if the pilot starts out at anything less than full speed? Will it ever get off the ground?

Have you ever had an unsuccessful attempt at getting in shape or trying to lose weight? Did you back off the throttle too early? And never get off the ground? Or perhaps you began to see results, but backed off too soon before reaching your goal.

Let’s look on the bright side. You’re still here which means you have another chance, right? Good.

Full throttle

So how does this “pedal to the metal” philosophy relate to your health & wellness?

Although you may have attempted multiple “flights” in your life, you can’t change the past. But you can LEARN from it. So I’m here to ask you to get serious. Really SERIOUS! ‘Cause your life depends on it.

How? By taking action to make smarter choices, form new habits, and make better decisions that lead to long-term disciplines.

Rule #1: If you want things to change, then you need to change.

What does this mean for you? Here are some areas to consider…

  • Personal development – Are you purposefully learning something new every day? Great! This is an excellent start but don’t leave yourself hanging. Take action and implement what you’ve learned. When you feel lazy, refer to Rule #1.
  • Longevity – How long do you want to live? Are your choices and habits helping or hurting your chances of making it that far? When in doubt, refer to Rule #1.
  • Nutrition – What foods do you need to eat more of, and what do you need to eat less of, or stop eating altogether? When you want to eat something sweet, refer to Rule #1.
  • Fitness – Have you started your strength and cardio training regimen? When you don’t feel like exercising, refer to Rule #1.
  • Weight loss – If you need to lose weight, how much and by when? And what’s your plan to get there? In other words, the daily choices you will make, whether you feel like it or not. When things get tough, refer to Rule #1.
  • Health & wellness – Are you taking great care of yourself? How can you do a better job of caring for the only body and mind that you’ll ever own? When life gets in the way, refer to Rule #1.

This takes work. But remember, you only have ONE life and the clock is ticking. Now is the time to take ACTION! What small steps are you taking to create positive, long-lasting change in your life?

Full throttle

Here’s to a successful flight! Good luck on your journey as you reach new heights of happiness, health & wellness, longevity, and prosperity. Onward and upward!!!

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I hope you found value.

Now it’s time for YOU to take action…

What’s your Win to be Thin? Leave a comment below.

Click here to subscribe. You’ll receive an email with a link to each new post. And if you know someone that can benefit from this content, please share it with them.