|
|
|
 Once you get through your initial New Year's Resolution grind of no alcohol, no bread, exercising most days, or some other elimination diet and are ready to settle into sustainable behaviors for 2020 and beyond, take a look at this approach.
Here are the five things you can do to improve your health, lose weight overtime and feel AMAZING. Consistency wins the race and creating healthy habits over time is just that.
My wish for all of us is good health and happiness and to prioritize our health this New Year and forever more. When you feel strong you act strong. Add in love and kindness for yourself and others and that is a recipe for well-being. Happy New Year!
Kathryn Scoblick is a certified health and wellness coach with Health Inspires (www.healthinspires.com) and the author of Health Inspires™: Your Way to Sustainable Weight Loss. She uses a holistic approach to inspire each person to reach their full potential and master their wellbeing. She serves as a board member for the Austin Mayor’s Health and Fitness Council, working on community and organizational health and wellness initiatives. She is a health education expert for Sharecare, works for a mission driven company called Honor to help more people live safely at home as they age, and previously served as Director of Employer Health and Wellness for a large healthcare conglomerate based in Austin, Texas, working with employers on wellness strategies and employee engagement. © Scoblick © Inspires Book-Health Inspires: Your Way to Sustainable Weight Loss
0 Comments
 The traditional avoid holiday weight gain tips are to avoid too much alcohol, avoid the sweets, keep your exercise routine, get enough sleep, and manage your stress…DUH! We all know that! That is what my teen boys call ‘having a firm grasp of the obvious’. But in the season where we are all faced with the same burden of “joyful” holiday time commitments…well…we drink more, we eat more sweets, we lose sleep because we are enjoying parties and events and shopping for our Christmas list, and the outcome is higher stress levels. With all that holiday busy-ness, how do we maintain our weight and feel energized?
The ONE thing that you can do to avoid holiday weight gain, above all else, is to decide that maintaining your weight is important to you. Like anything else in life, if it’s important to you, then you will place your attention and focus on it and be motivated to change. If it isn’t important to you, then it gets none of that. And-- just saying you want something doesn’t make it come true. You must a have a plan to create a more energized focus. Here are a few holiday party strategies so you can enjoy the holidays without packing on the pounds.
Food will always be a part of life’s celebrations and I am happy it is. The holidays are the best time for enjoying family and friends, counting our blessings, practicing gratitude, and helping those less fortunate. Your energizing focus on those things will have you seeing food as a wonderful adjunct to life’s celebrations with the people we love, and not the other way around. Happy holidays to all and for those who believe as I do, Merry Christmas! Kathryn Scoblick is a certified health and wellness coach with Health Inspires (www.healthinspires.com) and the author of Health Inspires™: Your Way to Sustainable Weight Loss. She uses a holistic approach to inspire each person to reach their full potential and master their wellbeing. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Austin Mayor’s Health and Fitness Council working on community and organizational health and wellness initiatives, from obesity prevention to mindfulness and stress reduction techniques. Kathryn is VP of Business Development for AblePay Health-helping people with their out of pocket medical expenses, and previously served as Director of Employer Health and Wellness for a large healthcare conglomerate based in Austin, Texas, working with employers on wellness strategies and employee engagement. ©Kathryn Scoblick healthinspires.com  We can all agree that healthcare is expensive. What we can’t agree on is how to solve the problem. Yet, there is something you can do to be part of the solution—and that is—your self-care. Here are the five things you can do to improve your health and contribute to the American culture of health evolution, and reduce yours and our health care costs.
Health care is expensive. But the true expense is not feeling as good as you can feel and our self-imposed health decay. My wish for all of us is to be healthier and to prioritize our health (as in first). When you feel strong you act strong. And that health and strength mixed with love and kindness for yourself and others, is the recipe for well-being. This includes good health, modeled behavior for your children, positive mood, purpose, life satisfaction, and the icing on the cake (because you can have your favorites sometimes) is your health care cost savings.
Kathryn Scoblick is a certified health and wellness coach with Health Inspires (www.healthinspires.com) and the author of Health Inspires™: Your Way to Sustainable Weight Loss. She uses a holistic approach to inspire each person to reach their full potential and master their wellbeing. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Austin Metropolitan YMCA as well as on the Board of Directors for the Austin Mayor’s Health and Fitness Council, working on community and organizational health and wellness initiatives, from obesity prevention to mindfulness and stress reduction techniques. Kathryn is also Director of Employer Health and Wellness for a large healthcare conglomerate based in Austin, Texas, working with employers on wellness strategies and employee engagement. ©Kathryn Scoblick www.healthinspires.com  "Consider the last time you lost weight. Once the number on the scale started to decline, you felt good and were motivated by your achievement; then those feelings inspired more weight loss. When you feel strong, you act strong. That is how humans are wired.
In the world of psychology, this power of belief is called “self-efficacy.” Albert Bandura coined Self-efficacy Theory in a 1977 Psychological Review article, “Self Efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavior Change.” Bandura developed his theory within the framework of Social Cognitive Theory, originally a clinical treatment for anxiety. What clinicians found, however, is that Bandura’s theory applied to just about anything requiring psychosocial functioning, including health and exercise behavior. Self-efficacy, as Bandura explained, means that “people’s beliefs in their capabilities produce desired effects by their own actions.”12 These beliefs are about what individuals think and know they can do, regardless of their skills. To apply self-efficacy theory in your weight loss context, your ability to lose weight and keep it off may be limited only by your thought processes and your view of yourself. Your beliefs have been reinforced by past performance, experiences, verbal persuasion and physiological states, which all fuel your emotions and the meanings and associations that drive those emotions. Believing in yourself gives you the power to take action in the direction of your desires and to overcome the things that are holding you back. Decide If you want to accomplish something, then you must first expect it of yourself. Essentially, it is all in your head. The stories you replay over and over again make them real, whether they are or not. We want to be right. We distort our truth with generalizations, we label ourselves and take an all or nothing approach.13 We fabricate some really good stories that we tell ourselves and believe, and this is called rationalization. Instead, believe that you can have good health, be your ideal and happy weight, and feel and look amazing. If you are reading this book, then you most likely have struggled with your weight in the past. You are reading this book because you want to lose weight and keep it off. You want to match the picture you have of yourself in your mind. You want to learn to enjoy healthy foods, stop your unhealthy food cravings and enjoy your life. You can. You can start now. Presuming that one of your obstacles is that you are waiting for the perfect time to “start a diet,” then I say the perfect time is now. “Starting a diet” is not what you think it is, and it certainly is not what it has been in your past. This is not a “diet.” This is making healthy choices in all things, and treating yourself with the great respect that you deserve. This is wellbeing." p.8-9 ©Health Inspires™: Your Way to Sustainable Weight Loss Kathryn Scoblick available on Amazon http://amzn.to/2x9ZqUW www.healthinspires.com Kathryn Scoblick is a certified health and wellness coach with Health Inspires, LLC (www.healthinspires.com) and the author of Health Inspires™: Your Way to Sustainable Weight Loss (Health Inspires, June 2017). She uses a holistic approach to inspire each person to reach their full potential and master their wellbeing. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Austin Mayor’s Health and Fitness Council, working on community and organizational health and wellness initiatives, from obesity prevention to mindfulness and stress reduction techniques. Kathryn is VP of Business Development for AblePay Health-helping people with their put of pocket medical expenses, and previously served as Director of Employer Health and Wellness for a large healthcare conglomerate, working with employers on wellness strategies and employee engagement. She is a health education expert on Sharecare (owned in part by Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Oz), and has co-created nutrition education tools for Baylor College of Medicine.  On October 16, 2016, I e-mailed Dr. Elizabeth Loftus an endorsement request for my book Health Inspires: Your Way to Sustainable Weight Loss and she responded soon after with these magical words…
"Book sounds fascinating... happy to have it and see if I can help..." I learned about her only three hours earlier when I whimsically chose her TED Talk for my Sunday jog listening enjoyment. Loftus mentions childhood obesity in the last several minutes of her TED Talk, along with Santa Claus (makes perfect sense when you listen), and my adrenaline shot through the roof! I couldn’t run home fast enough to Google Elizabeth Loftus, PhD. I have learned since then, that many people know exactly who she is. Dr. Elizabeth Loftus is the top ranked woman psychologist on the top 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century list that includes Freud and Maslow. She is recognized for her research and expertise in false memories. She has been instrumental in cases such as OJ Simpson and Oliver North and in litigations involving Michael Jackson and Martha Stewart…and that barely scratches the surface. Her 44-page CV gives a glimpse of her life’s work, which includes her research on how false memory may influence food choices. Even after learning all of that, I still found the courage to ask for her endorsement. I sent her my book, and a few weeks later I had the most exhilarating endorsement! Why would I seek a psychologist’s endorsement? For many of us, eating is what we do when we are hungry. Yet, for many others, eating is an emotional, habitual, psychological behavior. I wrote my book to inspire health seeking people to make healthy changes. I show them how, step by step, regardless of where they are on their health journey. Diets are all or nothing approaches, and all or nothing approaches are not sustainable. I debunk dieting myths, shed light on food industry gimmicks and marketing techniques, share clinical evidence, and the business of medicine. It has abundant resources on portions and healthy foods and follows the Mediterranean ‘Diet’—as a lifestyle. Most importantly, I lead you through designing your personalized approach through asking the right questions. It comes with a workbook, but the questions are in the book. YOU can create your health and the life you have imagined. After publishing, I was preparing to present at a Benefits & Wellness Forum in Long Beach, CA, when my husband encouraged me to learn if University of California Irvine where Loftus teaches was near. Yes! I asked her in an e-mail if she would be available. She invited me to her home and then we went to the local college eatery! I had the privilege of meeting this humble, genuine, kind, gracious and compassionate human being. Her students adore her and she has contributed good for this world with her research and also some tumultuous times in her career. I respectfully addressed her as Dr. Loftus and she insisted that I call her Elizabeth. It took me the entire evening to adjust—and finally I said it--Elizabeth. I rank this meeting her as one of my life’s most memorable and cherished experiences. It is the icing on the cake after three years of writing, receiving an amazing endorsement, and then getting to shake her hand, and end with a hug. People like Loftus receive dozens of random requests each month which led me to ask her why she responded favorably to my e-mail endorsement request. She said, “It was something about your e-mail.” Everything in life starts with ourselves. What do you want? How bad do you want it? Do you believe you can have it and are you willing to put in the work? Making progress is where the happiness is. This day was the perfect example of taking the path of least resistance and all of it felt right. Most important, whatever you want for your life, you must first expect it of yourself. Elizabeth came through for me that day with shared hopes that my book inspires others, and I am forever grateful. “Health and wellness guru Kathryn Scoblick attacks conventional wisdom about diets. In Health Inspires, she makes it clear that there is so much more people can do to master their wellbeing. Anyone who has worried about diets, or the obesity problem in our society, or simply health in general will find value in this engaging book.” – Elizabeth Loftus, PhD Distinguished Professor University of California Irvine Available on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2w6wvoz (Next week learn about Dan Ivankovich., MD Co-Founder & Medical Director, OnePatient Global Health Initiative) Kathryn Scoblick is a certified health and wellness coach with Health Inspires, LLC (www.healthinspires.com) and the author of Health Inspires: Your Way to Sustainable Weight Loss (Health Inspires, June 2017). She uses a holistic approach to inspire each person to reach their full potential and master their wellbeing. She is on the Board of Directors for the Austin Metropolitan YMCA as well as for the Austin Mayor’s Health and Fitness Council, working on community and organizational health and wellness initiatives, from obesity prevention to mindfulness and stress reduction techniques. Kathryn is also Director of Employer Health and Wellness for a large Central Texas healthcare conglomerate working with employers on wellness strategies and employee engagement, a health education expert on Sharecare (owned in part by Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Oz), and has co-created nutrition education tools for Baylor College of Medicine. ©Kathryn Scoblick www.healthinspires.com  by Kathryn Scoblick
Diet games people play can sabotage any weight loss strategy. If you are tired and frustrated with the weight loss game, keep reading to win! Diet Sabotage Game #1: Taking an All or Nothing Approach Getting your brain wrapped around the perfect time to start a diet program with an all-or-nothing approach is a game in itself! You are thinking to yourself, “I can’t start now, because in two days, I have a party to go to. Maybe I can start next week…no…that won’t work…because it is ____’s birthday and we are all going out to eat. Friday is pizza day and Saturday is the weekend. I’ll start Monday and then cheat on Friday—pizza day.” Sound familiar? Taking an all-or-nothing diet approach and eliminating specific food groups is difficult to maintain over time and is even difficult to begin. You will either get tired of the deprivation, or you will experience guilt or shame, and throw your hands up in defeat once you have one (inevitable) misstep. A better way... Ask yourself what one thing you are willing to do today that makes you healthier than you were yesterday? Honoring your commitment and doing that one thing will get you on the right track because success breeds success. You will learn with this approach that you can enjoy pizza Friday by having one piece of pizza and salad—a healthier approach than all or nothing! Diet Sabotage Game #2 Saying “I Can’t Have That” This is a sure way to make yourself crave and desire what you proclaimed you can’t have. This approach creates immediate resistance and puts the spotlight on exactly what you “can’t have.” You will always get more of what you focus on. If you say that you can’t have chips then you will think about, crave and want to eat those darn chips! Resistance creates inner struggles. Change your approach and resistance will dissipate. A better way… To eliminate resistance, focus on what you can have and what you are willing to do and then create meaning, positive energy and emotions around why you want to lose weight. By asking yourself the “why” question three times, you will learn why weight loss is deeply important to you.
Diet Sabotage Game #3 Blaming Somebody Else for Your Habits Blame keeps you stuck right where you are. It gives you permission not to change or take responsibility for your own actions. For example, it is easy to blame your spouse or children for the junk in the house that you eat. You might complain, “If I didn’t have to be in the kitchen cooking, I wouldn’t be snacking” or, “If I didn’t have to buy ice cream for the kids, then I wouldn’t be eating ice cream at night.” Can you hear how silly this sounds and how damaging that way of thinking is to your cherished relationships? Blaming somebody else for your behavior is something you might want to rethink. It is harmful to you and your relationships and promotes anger, resentment and negativity. A better way… Of course, staying away from the kitchen outside of mealtime is helpful in any weight-loss strategy. Having a planned distraction is another useful tool. If you find yourself walking toward the pantry out of habit, pause and ask yourself if what you are about to eat will cause you peace or discontent? Are you even hungry? Having a planned distraction will highlight your established habits and help you take responsibility to change those. Can you go for a brisk walk instead? Deciding and acting immediately to make the healthy choice will strengthen you (success breeds success) and have you looking to yourself for answers instead of blaming others for your actions. There are obvious weight loss strategies such as getting plenty of rest, regular physical activity, and choosing a diet rich in colorful plant foods. Possibly less familiar and equally worthy of your attention is your self-talk, how you process your thoughts and what you believe you are capable of. You didn’t gain your weight overnight, so don’t expect to lose it overnight either. Expect to lose it over time with one healthy choice at a time. That self-loving diet approach of “inch by inch it’s a cinch” is a game we can all win. Kathryn Scoblick is a certified health and wellness coach with Health Inspires (www.healthinspires.com) and the author of Health Inspires™: Your Way to Sustainable Weight Loss. She uses a holistic approach to inspire each person to reach their full potential and master their wellbeing. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Austin Metropolitan YMCA as well as on the Board of Directors for the Austin Mayor’s Health and Fitness Council, working on community and organizational health and wellness initiatives, from obesity prevention to mindfulness and stress reduction techniques. Kathryn is also Director of Employer Health and Wellness for a large healthcare conglomerate based in Austin, Texas, working with employers on wellness strategies and employee engagement. ©Kathryn Scoblick www.healthinspires.com  “Talking about nutrition is like talking about religion or politics! We are all in a different place in what we know and believe.” This is my lead in for nearly every health focused presentation, and in my book and promo video. And because this is my line of work, it is people’s stories and beliefs around nutrition and diet that intrigue me. I have heard these words in the last week:
Over the past year, I have heard everything from, “I am not eating any sugar at all”, “I am not eating any bread”, “I am on a cleanse”, “I am gluten-free” and on down the line. Even in a world that is moving away from “dieting” (yea!!!), “diets” are still haunting us and the mental game of weight loss ensues. All or nothing approaches are not sustainable. They may work for a while, but you know that life will always throw you a curve. Ready to stop spending time and energy getting your brain wrapped around all or nothing diet approaches once and for all? First things first. Decide what you are willing to change and start with that. I can’t tell you what that is, but you know. Let’s brainstorm: Is it to go for a walk before or after work? Bring and apple for a snack instead of going to the snack bar? Drink 2 extra cups of water each day? Is it cognitive goals that you use to reframe every negative thought with a positive one? Less sugar in your coffee, more movement in your day, kinder words to others…Now—you add a few that you are willing to do. Secondly, write down what you are willing to do in a S.M.A.R.T. goal format That is—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time bound. Third, start a consistent ritual around what you are willing to do, and stick to your plan with strategies in place to overcome inevitable obstacles. For example, if your S.M.A.R.T. goal is to walk with your friend after work on Mondays and Wednesdays and you must work late or kid duty calls on Wednesday, then what will you do? Your strategy could be to reschedule with your friend for Thursday, or if that doesn’t work, you walk solo Wednesday later that evening or you go Thursday solo or find another friend to walk with. It is a present moment—plan for the future game. The game is not all or nothing. It is not thinking, “Oh well, I guess I have to wait until next Monday to walk.” A healthier way to think, is “I can walk later tonight,” or “I will wake up earlier and walk in the morning, “or “I will go tomorrow after work.” Kathryn Scoblick Certified Health and Wellness Coach Author of Health Inspires™: Your Way to Sustainable Weight Loss On Amazon Health Inspires. www.healthinspires.com  Whether you need to maintain a relationship with a toxic person or not (boss, spouse, family members, team member), there are many ways to respond to their negative, demeaning, bullying, blaming, and self-righteous words and behaviors that will help you manage your stress.
Do not engage them by explaining your position--you should know by now, they know everything, they are always right and you don’t know what you are talking about. They most likely won’t let you finish your sentences anyway. Because their way is always right, they are mostly unaware of how mean their delivery is. Instead of falling into self-doubt by their manipulation, know that you are as amazing as you have always been, and you can stay strong, confident, kind and peaceful by controlling your reactions and responses. This includes not dwelling on their words. Next time somebody tries to make you feel bad about yourself, try one of these seven responses on for size. They may interpret your response as agreeable or as an acknowledgment of their comment. Only you will know that is not the case. Your intention can be your little secret that makes you feel happy inside.
These responses work because they are words that you would use with anybody, toxic or not. If you are in a relationship with a toxic person and you are starting to believe you can’t do anything right, well, you are under a spell. Snap out of it and find a healthier relationship. You are worth it. Avoid the toxic person when possible as your first-line strategy. Fortunately, we have choices—so choose your friends and partners wisely and love with all your heart! Who we love, is who we (in part) become. ©Kathryn Scoblick Certified Health and Wellness Coach Author and speaker Health Inspires, LLC www.healthinspires.com  Spring is a time to start fresh. The sun comes out, we tend to feel better and we are compelled to clean house…whether literally or internally.
This season is perfectly matched with the season of Lent that is observed by Catholics and many Christians around the globe. Lent means "spring" or "new birth" and is the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Holy Thursday before Easter, and is a time to reflect and make positive changes in our lives through prayer, fasting and charity. If your seasonal plan includes some form of dieting, health makeover, or giving something up for 40 days, consider approaching it differently this year. Turn your 40-day sacrifice into the beginning of sustainable change that does not end on April 13th. Instead, make this the beginning of sustainable change. If you are contemplating healthy change this season, and looking for clarity and direction to close the gap between where you are today and where you want to be, you might consider Ditch the Diets: It’s Not All About the Food. Ditch the Diets: It’s Not All About the Food is available on Amazon, March 1, 2017…or to receive your complimentary Healthy Weight Success Journal, please visit www.healthinspires.com and order your copy of Ditch the Diets today. Make this season your Spring Renewal That Lasts a Lifetime. Health Inspires. ©Kathryn Scoblick  The Lenten season begins March 1st this year and is observed by Catholics and many Christians around the globe. Lent means "spring" or "new birth" and is the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Holy Thursday before Easter, and is a time to reflect and make positive changes in our lives through prayer, fasting and charity.
No matter what your spiritual belief, spring is a time to start fresh. The sun comes out, we tend to feel better and we are compelled to clean house…whether literally or internally. And, if your plan includes some form of dieting, health makeover, or giving something up for 40 days, consider approaching it differently this year. Turn your 40-day sacrifice into the beginning of sustainable change that does not end on April 13th. Dream big and focus on what you want for yourself in this life and create a clear vision. Set and achieve behavioral weekly goals that drive you toward a more purposeful, happier and healthier life. My book, Ditch the Diets: It’s Not All About the Food is available March 1, 2017, on Amazon. It is for anybody contemplating healthy change and needs clarity and direction. I offer the secret to closing the gap between where you are today and where you want to be. It starts with you, your beliefs and telling yourself the right story. It helps to know the difference between dieting truths and myths and between good nutrition advice and food industry miracle marketing. In addition, I highlight life’s most important treasures such as your relationships and help you frame your reality so you can create a clear vision and live the life you have imagined. If you’d like to purchase it for delivery on or before March 1, 2017, and receive your complimentary Healthy Weight Success Journal, please visit www.healthinspires.com and order by tomorrow, February 20th. Make this season your Spring Renewal That Lasts a Lifetime. Health Inspires. |
 
Kathryn ScoblickMy passion and purpose is helping people reach their full potential and master their wellbeing. Categories
All
Archives
February 2021
|
|
Disclosure: Always consult with your physician or other qualified health care provider before beginning any diet or exercise program and ask whether you are healthy enough to engage in a diet and exercise program. Never disregard, avoid or delay in obtaining medical advice from your doctor or other qualified health care provider concerning your overall health and wellness, including your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem or condition, please contact a qualified health care professional immediately. It is your choice to follow the suggestions, opinions and advice given by a Health Inspires wellness coach.
|
RSS Feed