Saturday, January 3, 2009

Weighing in? Oh No!

Good morning everyone! This is the day that the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

How did you do with yesterdays Tip? If you are just joining us, you may want to scroll down to yesterday's post and check it out.

Today I have a task for you. I want you to weigh and take measurements. You are probably thinking "Oh No!". It is not going to be that bad. I want you to record you weight & measurements on a piece of paper with today's date.

I also want you to go thru your closet and pick out an outfit (with pants) that fits. Not too lose, not skin tight, snug is OK. Now, take a photo of yourself in the mirror or get someone to take a photo of you. Print it out, write today's date on the back, staple it to the paper that has your weight and measurements recorded on it. Put all that away in a drawer somewhere. Make sure you can find it a few months from now. :-D And forget about it. Forget about the scale. The scale is your enemy. Those pants in that outfit are going to be your guideline for now on. When they get too big, buy a smaller pair and they will begin to be your guideline.

I want you to get away from thinking about the scale and your identity with the scale. We focus too much on the scale. Some of you may want to post your photo. Feel free to do that. If you want me to set up a Mr. Linky, I will be glad to do that as well. Remember this is a public forum. A Christian Forum and remember Who we represent. And I ask that you respect that.

We all need to get out of the habit of weighing everyday and start using our clothing as a guidline. Oh think of the money we will save!

Tip of the day:

Start decreasing your portions. I am going to do a post on plates thru the decades and combine it with a Blue Monday post in a couple of weeks. You are going to be shocked!!!

A portion size is no bigger than the size of your fist or the palm of your hand. No seconds. Just two items, always a complete protein and a carb. (I will go into more detail about how to cycle carbs in later posts).

While in the Garden of Eden, everything was plentiful and our bodies were meant for grazing. After the fall of man, our bodies became adujusted to feast and famine. In this country, there has not been true famine in decades. Almost a century. We need to adjust our eating habits and not eat just b/c there is food available. My mom grew up on a farm. Everyone worked hard and food was always plentiful. No one went hungry. People loved to work for them b/c they knew they could take food home to feed their families. But they always had well balanced meals, light suppers or even snacks. Baked items and sweets were only for special occasions and Sunday when there was company coming. We have sweets everyday now. Give them to our children and wonder why they are obese and have dibetes. My mom was born during a depression and was a youth during the 40's.

Today I want you to exercise. Walk, work out to an exercise tape, do some ab crunches and a start working on a plank. I need to find a photo of a plank....

I got this photo off of Sparkpeople.....



Anytime you do crunches you need to roll over an do a plank. If you have never done planks before, you may start on your knees for beginning position. You will want to hold the plank for at least 10-15 seconds (sorry I originally posted minutes, I meant to put seconds) to begin with. You goal is to work up to a full 60 seconds. Navel is pulled to the spine. Back is flat and in neutral position. Head follows the the straight line of the back. Once you have mastered 60 seconds on you knees, then shift to doing a portion of your plank to your toes. I also want to add, that when you finish you will need to go into child's pose in order to stretch out your back.

This is an important exercise for the back, the pelvic floor and the abdominal cavity.

Have a blessed weekend everyone. God loves you and wants you healthy and well! I will see you Monday!
Love,
Melissa

3 comments:

Sharon said...

Of all the years of weightlifting and exercise, how did I miss what a plank is?! Probably because for the last 10 years, I've been lazy with exercise and didn't keep up with it, thus the added pounds.

I'm the one who had back surgery in May. The Dr had me doing an exercise sort of like a crunch. He told me to lie down flat and cross my arms over my chest and then slowly lift my head and shoulders. I can do more of a crunch with no problem on the Swiss ball. I can't do a full crunch on a hard surface. I might try the plank on my knees.

I'll weigh-in today and measure and have that dreaded photo taken. Not sure if I'll post it or not.

Anonymous said...

Ugh. Well, all right. If you really want me to step on the scale I'll do it. But I won't be happy about it! I'll take my blasted picture with the black pants that fit so well last year but are a little too snug today, and put it away in a file.

I started back on my step aerobic and weight training exercises against yesterday, and it felt pretty good. I did 65 ab crunches and three (count 'em three!!) push-ups. My upper body really needs some help!!

I am *really* serious about decreasing the ridiculous amount of sugar I eat every day. In the past, on holiday weekends, I would give myself a treat like make brownies or some delicious homemade nachos. Not this weekend. This weekend I only put fresh fruits and vegetables in my grocery basket.

I'm going to incorporate the "plank" into my daily workout too. I'd never heard of it, and need some exercises to help strengthen my back.

Blessings to you for this wonderful blog!

momstheword said...

I love plank. But I never knew why we did child's pose, now I know why!

I have thirteen pounds to lose and am looking forward to this adventure. I usually exercise 5-6 days a week, and lift weights 3 days a week. B

But then I got off track...hence the weight gain (because I also upped my junk intake when I stopped exercising...real smart, huh?). Looking forward to tomorrow!