Archives For Weight loss

Lose weight

Brad Stanton —  March 1, 2014 — 7 Comments

I 574612_suppose we all agree that in order to lose weight we need to eat less and exercise. That seems pretty simple, so why is it so difficult to lose weight? For me, I find there are five keys to losing weight, the five D’s:

  • Desire-first I have to really want to lose weight
  • Don’t doubt (believe you can do it)
  • Dream about it, visualize it
  • Discipline-I have to be willing to eat less and exercise
  • Determined-I have to be persistent and keep dieting even though I occasionally give in to temptation and eat too much.

The great thing about the five D’s is that it works for any goal or dream in your life, not just losing weight.

Desire 
It all starts with desire. If you have burning desire to achieve a goal, you probably will achieve it if you believe you can. We have all heard people say “I just can’t lose weight, I’ve tried many times and failed.” Doubt is one of our worst enemies for achieving any goal, something that I write about often in my posts.

Interestingly enough, the secrets for losing weight are pretty much the same as the secret to building wealth. I have read a number of books about how to be successful in relationships, career, health, wealth and life in general. The amazing thing is that they all give the same advice about how to achieve goals. I expected the wealth book to give me tips on which stocks to buy, which real estate to purchase, but most of well-respected books about building wealth give advice about setting goals, desire, belief, visualization, discipline and determination to succeed.

If a person really wants to lose weigh more than they want to eat too much, they will soon begin to eat less. If they want a slender body more than they want the pleasure of overeating, they are on the road to success.

If a person has strong desire they will be willing to work hard to achieve their goal. Arnold Schwarzenegger said that when he was lifting weights to accomplish his goal of winning Mr. Universe so that he could become an actor, that if he missed a workout he felt so badly about it that he actually felt sick. The emotional discomfort of not achieving his daily goal was so strong that the next day he wouldn’t even consider staying away from the gym. That is not to say that we should feel guilty and criticize ourselves when we miss our goal. In fact, that deflates our motivation and starts us in a downward spiral. But if we want something very badly, we just won’t be satisfied if we are not on track to achieve whatever it is we want.

Don’t Doubt
If you are really sure you can and will lose weight, you will. No doubt about it. The key to losing weight is to desire the benefits of weight loss, be disciplined enough to exercise more and eat less and determined enough to stick with it for a long time.Many experts say that instead of dieting, it is best to modify eating habits. In other words, make a permanent change to the way you eat.

Dream
Visualizing yourself slender helps a lot. In his book “Arnold, The Education of a Bodybuilder” Schwarzenegger said that one of the keys to building muscle is visualizing your muscles growing larger. I read his book in the late 1970’s and thought it seemed silly and unbelievable. But now I find that many sports psychologists say it is true. In fact, back in the days of the Soviet Union, visualization techniques for Olympic athletes in East Germany were state secrets because their psychology was so advanced and successful. In those days East Germany won more medals per capita than any other country. US athletes use visualization techniques while preparing for the Olympics. Visualizing yourself at a certain weight will help a lot.

Discipline
I find affirmations are great for building discipline and bringing about change. If you have never used affirmations, you might think the idea sounds silly at first, but I promise you they really do work. Some of mine are:

I weigh xx pounds (State your goal weight, not your current weight. Does that sound dishonest? Look at Joel 3:10 “Let the weak say I am strong.”)
I don’t like to eat too much.
I enjoy healthy food.
I enjoy the benefits of my slender body.
I say these out loud as often as I need them. In addition, I say “I am happy, healthy, wealthy, wise and good looking.”  (Doesn’t have to be true yet, haha)

A great way to say affirmations is to say the sentence out loud, stressing the first work in the sentence. Then say the sentence out loud stressing the second word, then the third, until you have stressed every word in the sentence. It really makes your mind meditate on the idea and causes your subconscious  to work on it for you. For example, an affirmation with supernatural power that has helped countless people is “I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.” Phil 4:13 So say “I can do everything through Christ who give me strength.” Then the second time “I CAN do all things…” The third time: “I can DO all things…”

Determined
By determined, I mean keep with it, don’t give up no matter what.
Eating healthy food and plenty of fruits and vegetables and drinking lots of water help you lose weight. I find if I don’t get proper nutrition, my body starts to crave food that might be high in calories because I need the nutrition in that food, but it is best to get it in low calorie alternatives instead of junk food. Some fad diets say don’t eat grains, this is bad advice. For decades the experts tell us we need plenty of grains for good nutrition. The problem is that it is easy to eat too many grains and that leads to weight gain.
I find that if I want something bad enough and really believe I can do it, everything else falls into place to achieve the goals and dreams in my life.

So to lose weight, stay motivated! Read motivational books, blogs (including mine), magazine articles. Listen to motivational material as you drive. All it takes is desire (motivation) and everything else falls into place.

Every penny I make from my book “Keys To Powerful Prayer” goes to spread faith, hope and love to people around the world through this blog and charity. https://www.createspace.com/4540174 Doing the research for this book really changed my life for the better. CreateSpace is an Amazon company. You can read sample pages of the same book as an ebook on Amazon entitled “Amazing Power of Prayer.” The ebook is the same, it just has a different title. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008EOCODK

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Take responsibility for your life—a key point to achieve success

Brad Stanton —  January 13, 2014 — 7 Comments

walton“If you want to get from where you are to where you want to be, of course you’re going to have to take  risk. So make the decision to stop complaining, to stop spending time with complainers, and get on with creating the life of your dreams.” Jack Canfield, author and success coach

“All blame is a waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with another and regardless of how much you blame him, it will not change you.” Wayne Dyer Coauther of “How to Get What You Really Really really Really Want.”

You can be successful at losing weight, relationships, career, etc. Here is a tip for it:

Take 100% responsibility for your life.

W. Clement Stone was from a very poor family but he had a knack for selling insurance and became incredibly rich. He wrote books and magazines and is considered one of the best life coaches in the last two hundred years. One thing that he felt was very important for achieving success was the attitude of taking responsibility–100% responsibility for your life.

He trained many people who became fabulously successful in many different endeavors. Jack Canfield, who sold over 150 million books, was trained by Stone. From the very beginning of the training, Stone emphasized taking responsibility for your life.

If you believe in God and you are a Christian you know that God is a loving, heavenly father. If you don’t believe in God you may believe that the universe is somewhat the same. But stop and think about it, if God is a loving father and he is in control of everything, and I do mean everything, he can control everything that happens to you.

Many people who believe in the Law of Attraction (which means you attract into your life what you think about, or put it another way, you reap what you sow) believe that anything that comes into your life does so because you attracted it. The paycheck, the kids, the spouse, the car wreck, the divorce, everything. Many people don’t want to believe that they attracted a car wreck, especially if the other person was at fault.

The upside of this is that since you attracted everything into your life, you can get rid of anything you don’t want. It may take years to develop that kind of faith. But I have talked to, and read about countless people who have been healed of all sorts of illnesses that doctors could not cure and overcome difficulties that amazed me.

I have a friend whose brother was a firefighter. He was arrogant and was heading the wrong direction in life. He was a bodybuilder who enjoyed picking on people so that he could start fights and beat people up. Then one day as he fought a fire a lady drove through thick smoke and pinned him to a fire truck with her car, crushing his legs. He lost his legs and said that it was the worst day of his life and also the best day of his life because he turned his life around, became a Christian and quit his self-destructive ways.

So did he somehow bring that accident into his life? Some believe that he did. He certainly had a reckless, cavalier attitude about life before it happened. Maybe if he had been more careful he could have avoided it.

The point is, if you want to be successful at anything, relationships, career, weight loss, making money, etc. you have to take responsibility and quit blaming circumstances or other people. W. Clement Stone felt this was one of the most important attitudes to overcome obstacles and reach success.

Stone asked Canfield if he took 100% responsibility for his life. Canfield said he thought he did.

“This is a yes or no question, young man. You either do or you don’t.” Stone said.

“Well, I guess I’m not sure.”

“Have you ever blamed anyone for any circumstance in your life? Have you every complained about anything?”

“Uh…yeah…I guess I have.”

“Don’t guess. Think.”

“Yes, I have.” said Canfield.

‘OK, then. That means you don’t take one hundred percent responsibility for your life. Taking one hundred percent responsibility means you acknowledge that you create everything that happens to you. It means you understand that you are the cause of all of your experience. If you want to be really successful, and I know you do, then you will have to give up blaming and complaining and take total responsibility for your life—that means all your results, both your successes and our failures. That is the prerequisite for creating a life of success. It is only by acknowledging that you have created everything up until now that you can take charge of creating the future you want.” From The Success Principles, by Jack Canfield, chapter one.

You are a victor not a victim. You are a winner, not a loser. You are a conqueror and can conquer any difficulty in life. That is a promise if you are a Christian.  Romans 8:37 “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

To be more successful, act in ways that bring success. It really is that simple, but difficult to do sometimes.

Confess it (say it out loud).

Imagine it at least 7 minutes a day (this gets easier the more you do it, and becomes very enjoyable).

Believe it.

Do it.

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The waist is a terrible thing to mind. Part 2

Brad Stanton —  September 28, 2013 — 6 Comments

English: DeBarra Mayo in workout gear 1987. Ph...

Don’t stop Groovin’(exercising) now, your health and happiness get a big boost from exercise. The brain produces endorphins when you groove. It is important to think of how you are going to continue to include physical activity into your day.  Motivation is key and is usually the hardest thing to come by.  This blog is designed to motivate you.

Every day is different which means that every day will present new obstacles to fitting in your workout and healthy eating.  The key is to make these IMPORTANT health habits a priority so that, no matter what comes up, you won’t let your health slide to the bottom of the priority list.

To stay motivated try these tricks:

Plan on ways to get past obstacles before they happen.   If you find you’re skipping exercise because of family responsibilities, plan a family walk or outing to get them involved too.

Workout in the morning.  You’ll have more energy throughout the day and you won’t have the excuse of skipping it because you’re tired or have to work late.

Workout with a friend.  When a friend is waiting for you, you’re less likely to back out!

List your goals and put them on the refrigerator.  When you think about skipping your workout, go back and read your list.  Remember why you’re doing this!

Keep track of your progress.  When you reach a goal – that will motivate you to keep going.

Plan your workouts the night before.  Wake up each day and ask yourself how you’ll make your day healthy.  Plan your workouts the night before and be prepared with a workout bag read to go so there are no excuses!

Reward yourself!  It’s important to pat yourself on the back for reaching your goals.  Get yourself a massage, a new pair of workout shoes or a night on the town every so often.

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The waist is a terrible thing to mind…

Brad Stanton —  September 26, 2013 — 2 Comments

Exercising

Exercising (Photo credit: NOAA’s National Ocean Service)

Extensive research shows that inactive lifestyles contribute to heart disease; high blood pressure; type 2 diabetes; colon cancer; stroke; osteoporosis; depression and anxiety; breast cancer; and falls among the elderly.  Physical inactivity is unhealthy and can be expensive.  Increasing your activity level is one of the best ways to improve your health and save you money.

If only I had exercise equipment at home.  If only I didn’t have so much work to do.  If only I had more time to groove (exercise). Some people are now calling exercise “grooving.”

We all have reasons for not being physically active.  But getting regular physical activity doesn’t need to be intimidating.  You can begin to see physical activity in a very different light: 10 minute segments, three times per day.

Instead of thinking of physical activity as something that requires special effort, notice the many opportunities to become more physically active all around you.  Washing windows, doing lawn work or taking the stairs instead of the elevator all qualify as physical activity.  So does playing catch with the kids, sweeping the sidewalks, dancing to a favorite song, or walking from the “worst” spot in the parking lot.

When it comes to physical activity, the small things in life do matter.  Instead of a 30-minute ride on a stationary bike at the gym, we can also meet our goal by carrying in the groceries, walking the dog, throwing a Frisbee, trying to double dutch jump rope, or even playing a little hop scotch.  Just remember there is no right or wrong way to Groove…just Groove 10 minutes 3 times a day.

Grooving can and should be fun- something we can do together as a Spirit team, family, and a community.

Why bother with such a challenge?  The CDC (Center for Disease Control) states that you can get the same cardiovascular benefit by “Groovin” 10 minutes 3 times a day that you would if you decided to “Groove” 30 minutes all at once. So remember there is not right or wrong way to “Groove”, just do what works best for your schedule… 10 minutes 3 times a day or 30 minutes all at once… just get Groovin’! 

If you’re ready to start Groovin’, but you’re not the treadmill type or you just can’t find the time, take a look around you.  Maybe the “bad parking spot” is actually a good parking spot after all!

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A key for success for losing weight, succeeding at anything.

Brad Stanton —  August 30, 2013 — 10 Comments

Castle Leod, seat of the chief of Clan Mackenzie.

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Free ebook “Law of Success” https://bradstanton.com/free-ebook/

You may have heard this story before, but the idea it conveys is so important that it bears repeating.

There was a boy in a small town who badly wanted to meet an old man who he considered to be extremely successful. He tried one thing and then another to talk to the man, but nothing seemed to give him a chance to talk with the man. Finally he found that the man loved to fish, so he went to the lake every day until he found the old man there.

He told the man that he desperately wanted to talk to him and learn how to become successful. The man said he would share his secret to success with the boy.

“Jump into the water, boy!” the old man said. The boy did, and to his surprise the man held him under water. He struggled to get his head above water for a moment and finally succeeded. Then the man plunged him under water again. This time he held the boy down until he was struggling wildly to come up for air.

He let the boy up and after the child caught his breath he said “That is the secret to success. You have to want to achieve your goal as badly as you wanted to save your life just now.”

It is really true. If you want something badly enough, you will do what it takes to make it happen. If you really want to lose weight, you will. You will enjoy eating smaller meals more than you enjoy overeating. And if you want it really badly, you will feel bad if you overeat, so that next time you won’t want to overindulge. The key is that you have to want it very badly. Not many people want something that badly. But if they do, they will succeed.

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