Newpharmablog. Health News

Like Alice in the strange world of Wonderland, sometimes we feel totally at the mercy of our environment. Either the fast-food lunches our coworkers carry past our desks, or the attitudes of the people in our lives – loved ones, friends, and acquaintances, people who say, “Oh, come on – you can have just one . . .” or “You’re not really fat. . .” or “Are you trying to prove you’re a saint?” It’s tough to face the hurt look in your sister’s eyes when you turn down her liver pate or not be offended yourself by the envy-inspired taunts of unsupportive “friends” who say, “You don’t look like you’ve lost that much weight!” Sometimes the world can seem like a mine field when you’re attempting to make healthy changes in what you eat – full of temptations and unhelpful comments, all seemingly geared to put you off track.Being aware of what’s working for or against you is the first step in learning to engineer your environment so that you’ve got the best chance of success. Here are some more tips:- Take a good look at your family role models: Did anyone – or does anyone now – rely on eating (particularly junk food) to combat emotions? What excuses do other members of your family make when they eat the wrong foods, if they do? How much value do they place on health and fitness? Will they support you in your efforts to lose weight and/or reduce disease risk factors?- Communicate as openly and actively as you can with your family and friends: Tell them what you want and be specific about how you’d like them to support you. You may even find that one or more of the people closest to you will want to join in! It can be a tremendous boon to stick to a good healthy plan with another person: Support is crucial. To get your kids to support you, let them know how good you feel about what you’re doing. It’s never too early to start sending the message that our health depends on what we do to, and for, ourselves.- There’s another side to the coin, of course: Don’t turn into a pushy evangelist. This may be harder to do than you can foresee. Just be your own best example; simply do what you know is right for yourself, and your actions will be more persuasive than a lecture could possibly be. You want to cultivate support – not resentment – in the people around you. And it helps to get as much support, especially at the beginning, as you can!- Identify the non-supportive people, or “saboteurs,” in your midst, the ones who will try to undermine your efforts. Consciously or not – and for a variety of reasons ranging from envy to their inability to cope with change – even your closest loved ones may try to thwart you by bringing home candy or coaxing you to have second helpings of fish, meat, or poultry. Seek out, to the degree you can, those people whose values and goals most closely match your own. Once the ones who really care about you get the message that you’re serious, you may be surprised at the result. - As we’ve suggested before, keep problem foods out of sight – or, better still, out of your kitchen and home entirely!- Bring fresh fruit, whole-grain bread, or raw vegetables to work, to enjoy at coffee break. And keep a supply of herb tea bags to use instead of coffee. If there’s an office party, offer to bring in some Tortilla Chips and Artichoke Pate to replace the predictable high-fat canapes – then, even if everyone else is wrapped up in their pigs-in-blankets, at least you’ll have something to eat! (They’ll be delighted, too, when they discover how good the food you’ve brought in is.) When you’re feeling stressed out and you’ve got a few minutes, take off and do a little stretching or a simple relaxation exercise: It’s guaranteed to relax you when you need it.- Keep a comfortable pair of walking shoes at your desk so you can take a brisk walk during lunch hour; use the stairs instead of the elevator, if it s feasible. You can build in a little extra activity in a lot of different ways that will occur to you throughout your day.There are so many other ways to set yourself up for success. You’ll find yourself thinking of them spontaneously – like cultivating friends who are as committed to staying slim and healthy as you are. Being around people who’ve mastered what you’d like to learn is one of the best ways of learning it yourself. And soon you’ll be the powerful example to others, who’ll see how complete a transformation they, too, can experience.*53/345/5*

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. This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 11th, 2011 at 4:00 am and is filed under Weight Loss. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.