Monday, February 27, 2012

How To Lose Weight...Without Even Trying.

Since it's the end of February, it's probably about time I get started working on my New Year's Resolution.

Every time I write a novel, I gain twenty pounds. I don't mean to do it. It's just that my muse's best friend is chocolate. Also, butt in chair is good for producing word counts, but also produces an increase in a different number.

So, if you too suffer from NIWG, (novel induced weight gain) here are a few tips I've found that help when you try to edit the number on the scale.


1. Start your diet journey with whitening your teeth.

 There are a few reasons for this.

Every day for a week you have to spend 45 minutes with your mouth closed. If you're like me, and there are certain hours that are more snack tempting than others, plan to whiten your teeth during that hour, and you can cut out a bunch of calories a day.

 After you whiten your teeth, they can be a bit sensitive to cold and sweet, which means that Ben and Jerry's in the fridge will be less tempting.

 But the main reason I suggest whitening your teeth, is because for the next week, every time you look in the mirror, you will smile. After smiling at yourself every day for seven days, it could become a habit. Besides, who doesn't look better with white teeth? When you feel good about what's going on in your mouth, then you want to feel good about what goes into your mouth. Makes sense to me.

2. Find someone to hold you accountable. Get a gym buddy. There's no way that I would have blogged once a week if I didn't know MaryAnn was going to check it first thing, and that Sarah would eventually get around to reading it too. :) Quite by accident, I found two gym buddies who go every week day at 5:00 A.M. (sigh)  Magically, it's become my favorite time of the day, and I'm bummed that I missed it this morning. Hi, gym buddies!

3. As a writer, I live inside my own head at least 75% of the time...in truth that number is probably much higher. When I try to diet, a lot of my mind energy is focused on who I'll be six months from now, or who I was in High School, or even who I think I should be, but is genetically impossible for me to ever be. That kind of thinking isn't helpful, and it isn't healthy.

 Now I'm not going to tell you you always need to live in the NOW, because let's face it, sometimes the NOW is super boring. I think the best time to live in, (in your head) is when you were 4.


My daughter is four, and when you tell her she's beautiful, so doesn't roll her eyes, or doubt it, or even says thank you. She says, "I know."

I love that girl.

So this is the tip...whenever you think something negative about yourself, or compare yourself to another person, think...would a four-year-old think that?

 If not, then don't drop character- Go play tag, eat your vegetables (and make a funny face when you do it), ride your bike, go to bed early, play dress up in your nicest princess dress, (or knight in shining armor clothes), put on a tiara,( if you have one), and then look in the mirror and smile.


You owe it to your four-year-old self to be happy.

 No matter what number is on the scale.

14 comments:

  1. LOL, I love this.

    Oh to be four again. I especially love how easily kids make friends, and how easily they bounce back even if they are rejected. I think adults can learn a lot from kids. :)

    Great Post!

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  2. I knew you'd be the first one to read it, MaryAnn. Ha! Totally nailed it.

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  3. :)

    When I read that, I knew I had to comment immediately.

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  4. WE missed you this morning too! Tomorrow?

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  5. Excellent post. Love the teeth whitening idea.

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  6. I love this post. My 2.5 year old regularly strokes my face and says "My gorgeous little girl". That's good enough for me :)

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  7. What a sweet girl you have, Nessa. That's so sweet.

    Suzi, I think tomorrow will be a gym day. I'll text you later.

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  8. So are you saying I'm slow to comment sometimes? :) The four-year-old advice is fantastic. Even my super-sensitive son hadn't quite learned to doubt himself yet when he was four. I think it hit him at five. When I was that age, no matter what new fact my parents told me, I always answered with "I know that." My justification was that since they had just told me, I now knew it.

    And if I ever found gym buddies I might actually think about joining a gym... okay, probably not. But the main reason I've managed to stick with Pilates is because we're so chatty there.

    Great post, Sheena. Any other tips for not eating all the Girl Scout cookies in my pantry?

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  9. Sarah, I'm much slower at commenting than you are, I wouldn't worry. Feel free to fling a red vine in my general direction.

    On the Girl Scout cookies, the only tip I can think of is to freeze them. I know that for me, if snacks are out of sight,(or even better, downstairs in our basement freezer,) then I can forget them.

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  10. This is great Sheena! If you moved to the Northeast, maybe you could be my gym partner. I'd let you sleep in until 6.

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  11. Sadly, I discovered last year that all my favorite Girl Scout cookies are perfectly delicious straight out of the freezer. And even more sadly, the children are old enough to do the math when the cookies are all gone after a day. Which I guess isn't quite as sad as me lying to the kids about how much I ate. My poor guys don't stand a chance at growing up with a healthy relationship to cookies. Maybe the best I can hope for is a healthy relationship to Girl Scouts...

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  12. Replies
    1. Love this! I'm getting back on my health kick, and one of the hardest parts of being lucky enough to work at home is how easy it is to eat.

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