Author: anneivans

Button Challenge Update

The bad news first: I am shutting down my challenge before the 90 day end date.

The good news: I created my forever Food Plan that I love and I am getting healthier every day! It is becoming more and more second nature. My Lizard Brain comes up with these ridiculous, impulsive, stupid ideas that would derail my plans. Amazing how the cravings for sweets, greasy/salty, or cheesy go away once I say my mantra “I will always use the present moment to be healthy.”

Why am I shutting down my challenge:

I don’t need to count days. I just need to keep going. My sails are set for healthy-land and I will get there if/when I stay the course.

There are only 24 hours in a day. I want to focus on my work: my start-up, NW Compliance Consulting. (nwcomplianceconsult.com) I will still journal and track my success. Posting here takes time away from my work.

I continue to add to “my bag of tricks”…and I am collecting small successes that build confidence for the journey. I use the thinking of others to encourage me, such as the idea of “bad, better, best”. A “bad” choice is a fast food meal when I am famished. (Am I ever really famished? NO!) Better would be to eat a protein bar I keep in the car for these crises (actually feeling hungry is not a crisis. See how my Lizard Brain keeps trying to have it’s way?) Best would be patiently waiting until I get home, like the grown-up woman I am.

Note that food is not “good” or “bad”. It is just food. Is eating that food consistent with my goals? Is it a choice that honors my body? Is it part of my Food Plan? These questions, and others help me determine if eating that food now aligns with my goals. Short term “suffering”, long term joy, health, etc. OR Short term comfort. long term poor health, lack of confidence, sluggish appearance and attitude, etc.

Second note: If you choose to do this sort of thing, remember there is the Conditional Category. “I will never eat chocolate more than 3 days/month, and never more than 2 ounces/day.)

Thanks for reading, and I’ll keep you posted…by posting. Ha,ha!

Borrowing from the Business World

How to solve problems…One model used in the business world is Opportunity, Solution, Time Frame, Responsible, Monitor, Verification. Let’s break this down word by word.

Opportunity Notice how this is stated. It is an opportunity to change, not a problem to fix. An opportunity is a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something. I have an opportunity to improve my health by following my Food Plan. I will improve all aspects of my health: mental, physical, spiritual.

Solution A means of solving a problem or dealing with a difficult situation. The solution is the way out, the plan for how to change the circumstances. To make success an option. My solution is my Food Plan.

Time Frame Multiple time frames to consider. In the practice of following my Food Plan, it is always now. “I will always use the present moment to be healthy.” is the mantra of success. Then, there is the day. I measure the previous day’s success by daily weigh-ins and habit tracking. (I have a list of habits I track. For example, drinking a large glass of water with every meal.) I don’t know how long it will take me to reach my ideal weight. I do know I am in this for the long haul. This journey will not end when I reach my ideal weight. It is a life-long project.

Responsible There is only one person responsible for what I eat and drink. It is not my parents, for my genetics. It is not all the stress I have in my life. It is not the advertisers of processed food. It is not my family that made me get fast food, because we needed dinner, and I worked late. I am responsible for what I put into my month. Very simple.

Monitor How will I know if my solution is valid? I will monitor. I weigh myself daily, I track my habits, I make adjustments if needed. I have set a course and I will continue to make sure I am on track. I will not be on auto-pilot, and base my evaluation on how I feel.

Verification Meaning: the process of establishing the truth, accuracy, or validity of something. After a period of time (90 days), if following my food plan is a valid way of reaching my health goals, my Food Plan will be verified. Now, for me to verify my Food Plan as an effective way to reach my health goals, I must follow it consistently. What does consistently mean? Does it mean 50% or 95% of the time? My intention is 100%. Will I make that? I don’t know. I don’t live in the future. I live and eat/drink now. It is always now. I will always use the present moment to be healthy. After I accumulate a whole lot of nows, I will reach my desired destination.

The process of O S T R M V is helpful to work through all sorts of issues. What works for business also works in our personal lives. Remove the emotion that gets in the way. Look at the facts. Nutrition is a science, and conforms to basic scientific truths.

As I work to be within the boundaries of my Food Plan daily, I consider the way the brain works and how we transfer new behaviors into new identities.

Let me give you an example. A good friend of mine made this change. When her children were small, she took a long look in the mirror and was not pleased with what she saw. She cried. She made a decision to change, and she did. She released 35 pounds. For the last 30+ years, she has kept her weight within a 5-pound range.

My friend has made eating healthfully and eating the appropriate volume of food one of the many things she does naturally and normally. It is part of who she is: a healthy and enthusiastic participant in all the joys life has to offer. She has confidence in how she looks and feels. When she makes a commitment, she keeps it. That is who she is.

So, how do I rewire my brain from where I am now to where I want to be? How do I make keeping to my Food Plan one of the many things I do naturally and without a lot of energy?

First, I recognize truths I learned as a teacher.:

Priority of Brain Activity

• The brain is basically lazy.
• The brain seeks to make routine tasks mindless to allow time for higher level thought.
• Routine tasks will become mindless, which gives the brain time to process non-routine tasks.
• Examples of basic mindless routines: tying shoes, making coffee, driving to work, making a bed.
• Mindlessness must be expected at work.
• Effective training protocols are developed with consideration of predisposition of the brain.

Training my brain to make my Food Plan routine will take time. I have to put in the time to reach the point where my friend is. There are no short cuts or easy fixes. I want long-term success and that requires a long-term commitment.

I chose an image from the documentary: Free Solo for the image for this post. Alex Honnold’s training routine for his climb of El Capitan is amazing and inspiring. He kept training until he achieved muscle memory of the skills he needed. He kept practicing and practicing, learning from setbacks, and making hard choices, until he reached his goal.

This morning, in Sherwood, Oregon, there is a winter-wonderland outside. Several inches of snow blanket everything. This means there will not be much traffic anywhere, and it will be a very quiet day. I look forward to lots of tea, completing lots of work, a walk to take pictures, and perhaps a nap.

What I will not be doing is going off my Food Plan and throwing all caution to the wind, because IT SNOWED! I do not have small children; therefore, I will not be making hot chocolate from scratch. No baking or making treats for the neighbors. I work from home; I can moderate my work however I want. I choose to work and take my walk later in the day.

Why questions are big questions that are much harder to answer than what or who questions. There is some thinking out there that says you cannot tackle a problem until you know why you have it. This thinking is flawed in many ways.

Say I have a problem with over-eating, portion control, and eating food with little nutritional value. Do I need to understand why I have this problem in order to change my behavior? NO! I can stop over-eating, start controlling my portions, and eating nutritional sound foods without EVER understanding the past.

I can start taking care of my body properly right now. I live in the now. I do not live in the future or the past. I can decide that I will always use the present moment to be healthy.

It might be profitable to investigate the past and consider “the why” that made me overweight. If this thinking enables me to move forward with more confidence and conviction to become the best me ever, than sure, it is profitable. Instead, I think it tends to be an excuse to hold onto tired old unproductive thinking patterns that no longer serve me.

In my head I am now singing The Eagles Song “Get Over It”…here is the first stanza lyrics:

I turn on the tube what do I see
A whole lotta people cryin’ don’t blame me
They point their crooked little fingers everybody else
Spend all their time feelin’ sorry for themselves
Victim of this victim of that
Your momma’s too thin and your daddy’s too fat

Now I am going to listen to the song in its entirety. My advice to myself: Never give away your power to the past.

As I type, it is snowing outside. I am so thankful I got my walk in early, while it was a balmy 35 degrees. It was actually very pleasant. I wore a hat and gloves and I was moving so I stayed warm.

Today I have been doing bothersome work. I just closed a bank account that was charging me a fixed monthly fee. This activity requires hold times and irksome questions. The only rational response to this “extreme stress” is to eat, right? No, no, no. Not hungry and not going there.

Today I am thinking about freedom vs. deprivation. When most people consider the process of reclaiming their health, they think: I’ve got to give up all the things I love…lounging around, drinking wine, eating whatever I feel like…Is it really worth it?

While we are free to eat and drink whatever we like, is that real freedom if the choice leads to poor health? If we suffer from high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, being overweight, unable to go hiking or up large flights of stairs, are we really free to fully experience life?

Limiting what we eat and what we consume leads to more freedom, not less. By putting reasonable and science-based limits on my diet, I get the benefit of maximum mobility, good sleep, healthy blood chemistry, good hormone health, self-confidence, and countless other benefits. I save money and I have less stress.

The idea of “get it now” drives us to fast food and other ridiculous choices if we consider the long-term cost. If I feel deprived by not consuming a certain food or drink, that feeling is my choice. I am free to live in poor health or good health.

The cost of making poor choices (short-term “freedoms”) is long-term deprivation of good health and all the associated benefits. The problem with “get it now” is that it quickly becomes a habit. Our brains want the quick fix; the lizard brain must be caged.

It is frustrating that good habits seem to be harder to form than bad habits. However, I am encouraged by every time I make a good choice. All those little choices add up and are interest in my good-health account. Every day, in every little way, I’m getting healthier and stronger.

Good morning, reader…Monday morning does not need an explanation point after your greeting. Monday morning is a somber time of re-focusing on the work at hand. Here at Button Challenge Central, I am examining the train-wreck that was yesterday. I will share a blow-by-blow of my day.

Waking, morning routine, walking Rory: all systems working, in spite of weariness. Church on the couch: still weary and fell asleep briefly. Lizard brain took over, and I ate two Never Foods. I don’t remember what I was thinking, most likely because I don’t think I was. Lunch was nourishing, although I was not really hungry. In the late afternoon, I watched a movie and ate popcorn. Popcorn is an acceptable food for me, in moderation, due to butter. The popcorn was followed by two Never Foods.

I did not sleep well. I woke up very thirsty and thankfully I was able to go back to sleep. Today, I am still tired, a little upset with myself, and asking the big question: why. Why did I sabotage my progress?

My diagnosis is that I let myself be ruled by my emotions. I was tired, weary, and I did identify this early in the day. I shared the acronym HALT a while back: hungry, angry, lonely, tired. I let my weariness convince me that I needed comforting. I went back to old patterns. Instead of pausing, and thinking of all the alternatives I have available, I sought broken patterns and unfulfilling choices.

I am not counting yesterday, so today I am on Day 14. Yesterday, I did not adhere to the rules of my Food Plan, it was not a countable day. I will not restart at Day 0, because I have earned my way to Day 14. When you fall down on a marathon, you don’t go back to the starting line.

I recognize I sabotaged my progress. Sabotage means to deliberately destroy, damage, or obstruct. The word that came to me this morning was refining. My Food Plan and this process is a refining process: remove impurities or unwanted elements from a substance (me), improve (me) by making small changes, in particular make (my Food Plan) more subtle and accurate.

What I won’t do today is to beat myself up about yesterday. I have recognized and evaluated the errors and made corrective actions. I have put in place preventative actions so the errors will not be repeated. There is no shame in falling down. In fact, there is no shame in staying down. It is just a really bad choice. I have dusted myself off, and I am standing strong.

Good morning, reader! First the stats. Day 13 on my Food Plan. I began my challenge at +32.4 lbs. I am currently at +27.2. That is -5.2 lbs. Pretty good results! Going to keep going, and not listen to my lizard brain that says, “let’s celebrate and eat a bunch of Never Foods!” No, I will maintain my integrity and stick to the plan that I created. My logic brain realizes I made the plan, I made the rules, and I can change them at any time if there is a good logical reason to do so. Celebrating with food from my Never List makes no sense.

In our food, there is something called “excitotoxins”. These are a class of chemicals that overstimulate neuroreceptors. Do a little research, and you will learn that excitotoxins stimulate your tastebuds. The food industry loves excitotoxins because they stimulate the taste cells on the tongue, causing the flavor of the foods we eat to be greatly enhanced.

There is increasing scientific evidence that suggests the overstimulation of the brain’s neuroreceptors by excitotoxins can lead to exhausted neurons. The parts of the brain most affected are the hypothalamus and the temporal lobes: the parts of the brain that control behavior, emotions, the onset of puberty, sleep cycles, and immunity.

Excitotoxins are highly addictive. It is no wonder that one Cheeto is never enough. My tongue is doing a happy dance and yes, I am willing to wipe off the Cheeto dust from my fingers repetitively, so I can keep eating while I read. My tongue and lizard brain work together to bring back that happy dance…which makes the addiction wheel go round and round, as I grow rounder and rounder.

Excitotoxins do exist in unprocessed foods, such as blueberries, but not in the concentrations you would find in processed foods. The food industry uses all of the chemicals it can to keep you buying their products. Remember, all food is made of chemicals, you are a bag of chemicals. Chemicals are naturally occurring AND chemicals can be manipulated.

The bottom line: You and I are responsible for what we put in our bodies, not the food industry. I get to choose whether to eat a synthesized meal and charge up my lizard brain to want more or cook a healthy meal from unprocessed ingredients. My lizard brain is adaptable, and it will stop screaming for “garbage food” if I train it.

My Food Plan and this 90-day Challenge is all about training. I will keep walking these paths, keep trampling over the weeds that have grown, until my Food Plan becomes so ingrained that it is effortless. Just like breathing. At +0 lbs. even breathing will be easier…Now, I am still walking over the weeds.

Good morning, reader! Today I am thinking about the voice that says “you have failed a thousand times. What do you think you are doing? Why is this time any different?” This is a lie from the pit of hell. Past failures do not predict future failures, as we are not in the same place, when we approach challenges.

Think about Edison. How many times did his experiments “fail”? How many times did the lightbulb not work? Did he throw away all of his designs and think “I have failed more than 1000 times. It is time I give up.” Or consider competitive athletes, “I didn’t run a four minute mile ever before, I guess I am doomed to fail. No more running for me!” Or the cardiovascular surgeon, “Another patient did not survive surgery. I’m done trying to help people. I am such a failure. Every patient is bound to die under my care.” No. None of these scenarios are true.

We change. We learn from the past and we adapt and change. We are not bound to stay on a road that leaves us at a destination we don’t want. If I am driving to New York, and I realize I’ve made a MISTAKE, I turn around. Yes, I have lost some time and the cost of the gasoline, etc. but I can still get to New York. I hope I have learned to navigate a little better, or I will make the same mistake again. Even if I do make the same mistake, repetitively, I will learn. I will learn that yes, indeed, I will not get to New York if I don’t use my phone/a map/whatever tools make sense.

I am on Day 11 of my challenge. I am learning and I am adapting my Food Plan. I am adding to my Never List. I am re-defining what it means to be “on plan”. It means “not one bite of my Never Foods”. I ate a fast-food hamburger on Valentine’s Day and I did not eat one French fry. French fries are on my Never List, and the hamburger is not. I stayed on plan.

Note: My Food Plan is highly personal. What is a Never Food for me might be an Always Food for someone else. That is the beauty of designing your own Food Plan.

So, in closing, as I move through this challenge, through the days and meals, I am changing and adapting. I am learning and growing. I will never, never give up. Too much is at stake for that. My “why” is big. I am smart and capable. I can be fit and strong. I can “get to New York”.

A while back, someone asked me why I am doing this, this 90-day challenge. The challenge is to follow my Food Plan 100% of the time. Other words that apply, rather than “follow” might be “to stay within the boundaries of” or “to be obedient to”.

Why questions are big questions. There are often many answers, and it takes some thinking to really get to the deepest most profound answer. The answer is bigger than improving my health or my appearance. Bigger than improving the quality of my life and aging well, having more energy and feeding every cell of my body with proper nutrition. Bigger than having improved mental agility and enhanced brain function.

I want to be a person of integrity, that does what I say I will do. When I say, I will maintain my food plan 100% of the time for the next 90 days, as a person of integrity, I will do all I can to follow through. That means I will unpack the thoughts that move me toward choices I have already decided are poor choices. I will think about what I really find comfort in and how much comfort do I really need. I will consider all the brainwashing around food I have internalized, how this brainwashing has influenced my thinking about what I need and want.

First it is an intention, then a behavior, then a habit, then a practice, then a second nature, then it is simply who you are.

Brendon Burchard