Have you ever had a small object, maybe a smooth pebble or marble, that you carried to remind you of something - like a worry stone, or a 'cross in my pocket'? This is what a touchstone is: a standard (make it a positive standard) to help you make choices which help you reach your goal. With this in mind, I purchased some elastic, black beads, and alphabet beads. I went home and made a string of beads to put in my pocket that spells out MAGIC HELP. Each of these letters is a 'touchstone' to help me to reach my goal. Here is what they stand for:
M - Meal plan. Have a meal plan (breakfast, lunch, supper, two snacks and a desert). Take time to write down a meal plan, shop for the foods on the list, and prepare what you can ahead of time. Remember that you have a meal plan and stick with it.
A - Awareness. Eat consciously - be aware of what you are eating. Take the time to chew your food. Feel the texture, enjoy the taste, and be aware of what your body is feeling as you eat. Notice your hunger being satisfied. If you are not aware of eating, you won't remember eating, and your mind will tell you that you should be hungry.
Be aware of what your body and mind really want when you feel 'hungry'. Are you hungry, thirsty, sad, stressed, nervous, lonely, just what is it that you really want? Lots of 'diets' say only eat when you are hungry. That is a good rule, but you need to first realize when you body is hungry versus using food to satisfy other 'hungers', usually emotional.
G - Goals. Notice that Goals is plural. This touchstone is to remind you not only of your ultimate goal, and the reasons for the goal, but also for your more immediate goals. To this end, I encourage you to record your performance daily, the food you eat, the activities you did, your thoughts and feelings, and your goals for the week. As you reflect on the past week, you see what patterns evolve. Determine if the actions were your choice or if the situation caused it. Think of alternative ways of dealing with any obstacles you had the next time you encounter them.
Make your goals obtainable. Celebrate each milestone - such as moving down another 10 pounds. Remember you have other goals such as becoming healthier, fitter, and stronger. Don't lose sight of these goals. They are the ones which will keep your motivation up. One of the most important factors is - do not put yourself down for missing your goal. Look for the things you did 'correctly' and give yourself a pat on the back, like you remembered to write everything down or your off plan eating diminished. Nothing will be gained by being hard on yourself - actually, it could push you into giving up. The only way you won't reach the ultimate goal is if you give up.
I - Image/self-image. Change your way of thinking about yourself and about your eating. Admit you deserve to be fit and healthy. Give yourself the luxury of not being perfect. You were made to be healthy and fit - therefore you deserve to be healthy and fit. There are a multitude of health conditions you can avoid or delay just by losing 10% of your body weight. This is motivation you can hang on to.
If your self-image is bad, it is very hard to succeed. In fact, you will work hard at proving that you can't succeed. Bottom lines, ladies: be good to yourself, give yourself a break, and always remember (and remind yourself at least once a day): "I DESERVE TO BE A SLIMMER, HEALTHIER ME."
C - Choices. Diet (noun) means the usual food and drink of a person or animal. Your Diet is formed by the CHOICES you make. In going through your day, you chose to when eat, what to eat, how it will be cooked, and how much to eat. You choose to stop eating when your plate is empty, when you get full, when your second plateful is empty, etc, etc, etc.
One day, you are quite happily skipping along down the road of life when you come to a bump in the road. Maybe you look in the mirror, or you have a health problem, or you can't play with the kids like you used to. Whatever it was, you make the choice to lose weight. What is the first thing you do? . In going through your day, you chose to when eat, what to eat, how it will be cooked, and how much to eat. See the pattern??? Our DIET is more about the CHOICES we make, rather more than the food we eat. The food we eat depends on our choices.
Can you ever eat anything off your diet plan? If you choose to eat that marvelous pie that Aunt Dotty makes, it is your choice. Is it wrong or bad to choose to eat the pie? Neither. There are no GOOD or BAD CHOICES, but there are choices that will help you reach your goal, and there are other choices which will turn you in another direction. It is up to you, it is your choice.
H - Health. Did you know that Obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death? Being overweight can lead to heart problems (high blood pressure, strokes, heart attacks, etc), diabetes, arthritis, gout, asthma, and some types of cancer. If you lose even 10% of your weight, or even 10 pounds, your risk of having high blood pressure and high cholesterol is lessened. The loss of weight plus increased activity lessens the risk of diabetes. Remember H as a motivator and priority.
E - Exercise. We all have heard eating right and exercising are necessary to lose weight and to succeed in reaching our goal and maintaining our goal - which should be a healthy relationship with food and a healthy, fitter body. Do you every have trouble getting your exercise in? You realize that a couple days have gone by - you missed going for that walk or getting to the gym? This is where the 'C' touchstone affects the 'E' touchstone. You have the choice, to exercise (increase your activity) or not to exercise. It is my CHOICE - and it is your CHOICE.
L - Language. The word we use when talking and thinking about ourselves and our lifestyle affects us tremendously. Be kind to yourself. Sadly, we tend to be hard on ourselves. What names do you call yourself? Do you honestly believe that you can achieve your goal and change? How do you think about your diet program? Do you think of in terms of 'have to' or 'should'? Or even 'shouldn't', 'can't', or 'I don't have time'? Do you think - it would be nice 'if' I could obtain my goal? Notice how your thinking changes you use 'choose', 'decide to' and 'will'. These make it your choice.
As with all habits, the change in your language will not come overnight. You have to consciously change a negative word to a positive word. As your language changes, so will your thinking. As your thinking about yourself and your eating program changes, it becomes easier to change your eating and activity habits. You are on the road to success!
P - Priorities. Our priorities are what we choose to do instead of something else. We may think we don't have a choice, but we always do. Have you ever wanted something so much you could almost 'taste' it? I wanted a new vehicle - I found the reasons and the financing to get one. What we really want, we find a way to do it.
What if someone you loved was in an accident or was sick, you would find the time and resources to do whatever you could to help them. If you are overweight, your health is at risk - you are at risk. Are you going to put yourself as a priority? If you were in an airplane and the oxygen masks dropped down do you remember what you are to do? You are to put your mask on FIRST before taking care of anyone else. If you don't, you may pass out before you are able to help anyone else. Think of your health like that. If you don't stay healthy, how are you going to accomplish all of those priorities in your life?
Remember: You are worth it, you deserve it, and you are going to become a healthier, happier you. Now, decide are you going to Be the Weight You Want (or not).
