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More Weight Loss Resolutions
By Carolyn Allen
Happy October! October 1, 2007 marks
the first day of the last quarter of 2007. The first day of the
next quarter is a holiday and our old friend for setting a resolution
to lose weight — New Year’s Day.
The New Year is just three months away,
but these next three months are the undoing of more weight loss
goals and programs than any other during the year. Even worse, the
repercussions and difficulty of going again often last far, far
into the next year. Sometimes we never do recover from losing our
footing at the end of the year.
The New Year doesn’t have to herald the end of life as you
know it. Photo ©iStockphoto.com/Skip ODonnell.
Face it: For more than a month, Halloween
candy has been quietly and stealthily filling the shelves of stores.
Lurking in the shadows and waiting to prey upon us are our own fattening
holiday recipes, traditions and an arsenal of new magazines, articles
and TV ads with tempting foods that destroy healthy intentions.
It’s enough to weaken the strongest
among us.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "Imagination
is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire; you will
what you imagine; and at last you create what you will." (George
Bernard Shaw)
Several weeks ago in Gospel Doctrine,
I sat next to my friend and visiting teacher. As the teacher led
us to the exhortations in Thessalonians to be faithful, steadfast
and strengthen each other, she and I quietly laughed at the quaint
counsel to “comfort the feebleminded” (I Thess.
5:14).
“Thanks for being there for me!”
we jokingly whispered to each other, thinking it referred to a lack
of mental faculties A quick check at the reference, however, tells
us that feebleminded means faint-hearted and despondent,
not simple-minded.
Suddenly it wasn’t quaint at
all! I thought of all of us who struggle year round with our weight
and decided that “feeble minded” aptly defines us, especially
during the next 12-week challenge. We need all the comfort and support
we can find. Our best resource is to create it ourselves with our
Heavenly Father’s help. Today’s mental exercise will
do just that. It doesn’t cost a cent and we can do it as often
as necessary in a minute or less.
As a weight loss lecturer, my members
would come to the meeting the first week of October and find me
all dressed up in a fancy, beaded New Year’s outfit, with
Christmas music playing. It all lead up to a New Year's Eve visualization
exercise that I've written out for you now. It works, too! Over
the years, many have come to me in January and reported their success,
expressing gratitude for the exercise and the anchoring of a small
party balloon that is part of today’s assignment.
Here goes:
Close your eyes and offer a thanksgiving
prayer of gratitude for your wonderful, miraculous, loving and
forgiving body that serves you night and day. Then vividly imagine
New Year's Eve. Hear the "Auld Lang Syne playing and the
happy chatter of those you love most around you. It's nearly midnight.
Consciously tell your body to relax,
and then let your mind wander and reflect on the past year. As
you relax, you're marveling that you've lost 5 to 10 (or more)
pounds since the first of October!
With pleasure you are delighted to
know that smaller clothes fit better than ever. Your skin, eyes
and hair are glowing with health. With pride and self-confidence,
you review how you did it and are thrilled to realize it's an
eating style you greatly enjoy and can easily continue into the
New Year.
It's obvious to all that your attitude
and actions have created a dynamic, healthy, personal environment
for losing weight and gaining health. Their expressions are another
boost of self-confidence and increase the importance of your success
and choices.
With joy, you recognize that each
day from September through December was embraced on its own as
a new opportunity to eat the right foods, in the right amounts
and for the right reason. Although Halloween candy, Thanksgiving
and Christmas foods were present as always, you've learned to
manage yourself and become the poster child for "Nothing
Tastes As Good As Thin Feels!"
As the clock strikes 12, you realize
that 2008 will be successful and healthy too! The weight you've
lost in 2007 is an important stepping stone to your health and
relationship with Heavenly Father, yourself and others. For the
first time in your life, you understand that losing weight will
not solve all life's problems or make you a different person,
but it is truly one less thing to literally weigh you down. Quietly
say to yourself, “My health is first rate in 2008!”
— and celebrate, for life is good.
Well, bring on the autumn months and
the holidays. We’re ready! Nobody's going to look, feel and
be healthier on New Year's Eve than we! As an added bonus, just
imagine how wonderful it will be to replace that old resolution
to lose weight with something exciting and new!
Today's Empowerment:
"It's New Year's Eve! I'm so proud of my healthy choices through
the Fall. Look at me! My health’s first rate in 2008!”
Today’s Journal Prompts/Discussion
Starters/Assignments:
- Write down your goal for New Year’s
Eve. Whether it is a specific and realistic amount to lose, or
habits that you have honored, define what you want to achieve.
- Print this article out, then clip
out the visualization. Put it by your bed and use it while you
are both drifting off to sleep and waking up. This will anchor
this image in your subconscious and greatly magnify its importance
in your food and health choices.
- Put a balloon or party horn where
you will see it often , (like a kitchen shelf or by your bed)
to remind yourself that New Year's Eve will arrive on schedule
and you're going to be healthier and lighter (in body and spirit)
than you've been in a long, long time.
Today's Recipe: Favorite Fish
'n Chips
Remember the old "Shake 'n Bake"
commercials with the kid saying "It's Shake 'n Bake —
and I helped"? Well, here's our own easy, healthy version.
Make your own tartar sauce with a bit of fat-free mayo, some pickle
relish and a tiny squirt of mustard.
Favorite Fish 'n Chips
(4 Servings at 240 calories)
2 large baking potatoes, scrubbed
and cut lengthwise into 16 spears each
2 Tbsp. Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
4 (4-oz.) cod fillets
1. Preheat oven to 425. Spray potatoes
with Pam. Place in a large zip-close plastic bag with 1 Tbsp. of
the Old Bay. Seal the bag and shake to coat. Transfer to a large
baking sheet lined with foil and lightly sprayed with baking spray.
2. In the same plastic bag, combine
cornmeal and remaining Old Bay; shake to mix. Spray the fillets
with baking spray and shake in bag to coat. Place in a single layer
on the baking sheet
with the potatoes.
3. Bake until the fish is golden brown
and flakes easily and the potato spears are fork-tender, about 25
minutes.
(3 g Dietary Fiber; 240 Calories; 1
g Fat; 33 g Carb)
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