Habits of Health Weekly Meeting

A Transition

Moving from where you are – to a new existence – Accepting change

Transitioning – to a Transformational Lifestyle

Definition of Transition – The process of a period of changing from one state or condition to another.

For those desiring to lose weight, you will have to transition from your current lifestyle to a new modified way of eating.

Once you have achieved your desired weight, it will require a transition from the weight loss portion of the program to an intermediate step and then involving another transition to get you into maintenance.

For these three transitions to happen, you will need to let go of old habits and beliefs and begin adopting new habits.

Beginning any new process requires change – that means transitioning from a place where you are comfortable to a place where you are uncomfortable.

Transition – change – movement – change from the status quo will all be required. Old disabling beliefs which held you to the same old standards, will have to be changed.

Moving from where you are towards optimal health and losing excess weight begins a transition period for your life. A person can make Lifestyle changes difficult or easy, depending upon their mental attitude and their ultimate reason for making the change.
This is the point where your “WHY” becomes important.

Are you making this change for some trivial, frivolous reason? (Losing weight for a wedding or class reunion).
Do you have a serious health issue, which may be forcing you to make this change? (Type II diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, digestive problems, hip, or knee issues).
The degree of passion with which you face any transitioning period will contribute greatly to the success of your endeavor.

Any transitioning period will require a change in physical processes (how-to's), and mental thinking will have to change (developing a why); hopefully you can create a reliance on a power greater than yourselves that will give you the strength to carry through. Will-Power seems not to be a sustaining force in one’s life.

My personal belief is that the mental change will probably be the most difficult. You will be required to evaluate your life, as well as analyze and accept new definitions for old processes. Many individuals will be required to see themselves in a new light. Being a victim will no longer be an option.

The transitioning period starts with where you are today. It begins with phase 1, which is the Weight Loss phase. It may require new thinking and acceptance, on a gut level, of new ideas and processes. Body mass index (BMI) is a means of tracking how you are doing. You can also use a pair of pants and how they fit or don’t fit. Are they staying loose or are they getting tighter?
It is easy to catch a trend if we weight ourselves daily.

Your old thinking got you to where you are today. That same thinking will not move you forward to a new life.

The whole idea of taking responsibility for everything that happens in your life, incorporating discernment into every decision, and choosing what we call simple disciplines will be required.

A transition period begins immediately anytime we start a new process.

Old beliefs, many of which were based on lies, habits of dis-ease, emotions, and feelings. These habits seemingly want to continue, almost on an automatic basis.
The committee in our mind (our ego) will want us to remain in the same place and remain comfortable doing what we have always done.
Our friends and Family members are comfortable with us as we are today - they may also not want us to change.

Throughout the process we will find ourselves wanting to go back to the old and familiar. Our ego would make it appear that going back is, or seems to be, a great idea.

Learning to live with change, having the mind accept that it is exciting rather than challenging, is a huge key to making it happen. Every challenge we face can be looked at as an obstacle or an opportunity. It is up to every individual to make that choice.

Phase 1, losing weight, is simple and easy if you follow the "how-to" plan.
When you are ready and start transitioning back towards your old lifestyle, it will bring on new challenges. The sub-conscious mind will desire to go back to the old lifestyle in its entirety.

We cannot go back to eating the same way or the same old things that we ate before we started the program, or we will end up yo-yoing.
Just because we ate healthy foods in the past does not mean that we can continue to eat the same portions of those healthy foods when we reach the maintenance phase and remain thin.

They say it takes 21 days as a minimum to establish a new habit.
During phase 1, you will be required to become more knowledgeable about your body, foods and how they affect the body, just like medicines.

Our body is the most exquisite chemical factory ever developed.
The foods we consume, affect us chemically, every organ, and all our hormones are affected by what we ingest, how well the digestive system works, as well as how much we ingest.

New rules are required to continue the path towards optimal health.

Rules to live by:
Weight is controlled with food, not exercise
Three bite rule – Your cravings will normally be satisfied within three bites.
Normal meals (fuelings) - will use a Portion controlled nine-inch plate—
50% greens (carbs) 25% lean meat (protein & fat) 25% Starch (carbs & fat)

New Knowledge to understand: Gaining new Healthy Habits
Understanding the three major food groups—fats – protein – carbohydrates
Calories ingested and expended – basic weight loss equation
The facts about exercise – use for fitness, not weight loss
Fast foods – empty calories – avoid them at all costs
Movement – burns calories – keeps you fluid and young
Sleeping – restoration / regeneration time
Hydration – the body is 70% water / fluids – maintenance is required
Prayer – talking to God – keeping the relationship fresh
Meditation – listening to God (Holy Spirit) – guidance and wisdom
Breathing – full deep breathing a cure for stress
Circulation – the importance of feeding all 70 trillion cells
Stress – stress hormones – affect the desire to eat
Insulin – baseline balance – spiking increases fat gain
Blood sugar spikes – maintaining a balance – spiking increases fat gain
Triglycerides – the amount of fats we ingest – can lead to fat gain

Slight Edge Theory – incrementalism – small changes over time make tremendous differences
Together i Can theory – nothing happens in a vacuum – we require the assistance of others to succeed.

Sound overwhelming—it is when an individual attempts it on their own.
Potato Chip Theory– you eat a bag of potato chips one chip at a time, not the whole bag at once.
Slight Edge is the potato chip theory, presented in a new way – incrementalism.
Learning a new way of life – takes time and a reframing of the mind.

Transitioning to a new lifestyle will require gaining new knowledge and giving ourselves the time to truly absorb that knowledge.
To accept new knowledge, we may be required to accept new definitions and beliefs that support a new way of life.
Many individuals having knowledge (information) are convinced that—that and that alone (knowledge)—will take them to the Promised Land. It very seldom, if ever, does!

Information or knowledge put into action is what brings about change. Knowledge or information itself typically does nothing to move us forward.
It first takes an open mind and an acceptance of new ideas and concepts.

Many people get defensive—they get argumentative wanting to defend their old beliefs, right or wrong.
This posture will ensure that whatever you are attempting is going to eventually fail.

Do your beliefs (Old Habits) trap and enslave you or do you give yourself freedom to move into a new realm?

For our process to be successful, there is no transitioning back. It is always transitioning to a new future.

New rules – new roles to play –for some it may be the same game played with entirely new rules and in a new way.

When we have lost the weight, we desired to lose, a new transitioning period will begin.

Having a full understanding of the process, we now begin to bring in a new way of eating.
We will have come to an understanding that we cannot go back to our old ways of thinking and eating without yo-yoing our weight back to what it was.

What you once looked at as treats or rewards, you may now look at as a poison. You may have to give up some of your old friends—white bread, baked potatoes, white rice, and white sugar.

Previously, fiber may not have been considered part of the diet and now we ask you to ingest 25 to 35 g per day. (Each and every day)

Walking into this process with your eyes wide open is a good way to start.

You can resist the process from day one and set yourself up for failure, or you can surrender and accept a new life! That choice, of course, is yours!

Need help or assistance in transitioning to a new lifestyle?
Make losing weight easy – weight loss made easy.
We are here to provide (TiC – Together i Can)
Free Health Coaching for those enrolled in the program

 

Join us to discuss these topics!

For more information read our other articles or contact us today!

Michael McCright
Free Health Coaching – provided by the "Together i Can Group"
Together i Can Inc.
April 27, 2022

Call 619-316-6900