Tag: discipline

How to Succeed on Weight Watchers

~ K ~ 2 Comments

I’m not usually into writing how-tos but in the past month, I’ve lost 10 pounds while being a part of Weight Watchers online. This is just my take on what it takes to succeed on Weight Watchers.

1. Stay within your daily points as best as you can. It’s OK if you go one or two over and fall back on your weekly points—that’s what they’re there for. But do your best not to blow all your daily points in one shot. (My first week on Weight Watchers I blew through my daily and weekly points in one shot!)

2. Plan ahead. Before going out to a restaurant or while at a restaurant, look up the PointsPlus value of the dish. Often it will be well over 15 points. Try to eat half of the dish and save the rest for later. If you can’t find the exact dish in the Weight Watchers database, find a similar dish or guesstimate the PointsPlus value. (Here’s a tip: When guesstimating points, always overestimate. You probably eat more than you think you do. You do yourself no favors by underestimating a massive double cheeseburger laden with bacon as 10 points.)

3. Exercise. There’s no easy way around this. To give yourself the best chance to succeed on Weight Watchers, you must exercise regularly. This helps give you activity points and accelerates your weight loss. I exercise twice a week for at least 30 minutes. (I try to do more along the lines of 45-60 minutes per session.)

4. Eat salad for at least one meal a day. Whether it’s lunch or dinner, make sure that you have some greens for one meal. It may have protein or a small amount of carbs (like croutons), but it’s got to be primarily greens or vegetables and fruit that are considered 0 points, such as mushrooms, onions, peppers, strawberries, or Mandarin oranges.

5. Snack on foods that are 3 points or less. Bonus points if you can eat things that are 0 points. I’m allergic to apples and pears so I keep 100-calorie snack packs around. Those tend to be around 3 points. They are carbs, but if I wash them down with a bottle of water, I’m usually satisfied for a while.

6. Drink plenty of water during meals. Water can be surprisingly filling.

7. Use Weight Watchers in conjunction with a free health and fitness site like MyFitnessPal.com. MyFitnessPal has a wide database that is even more extensive than Weight Watchers online. I’ve found that also calorie-counting in addition to tracking points gives me a better view of how I’m eating. Sparkpeople.com and Loseit.com are great too.

8. Be vigilant about tracking everything. That scoop of ice cream is probably 4 points. Your coffee with milk and sugar is likely to be anywhere from 3 to 5 points. The cheese on your salad? 2 points. The dressing? (Yes, even the dressing.) 1 point (or more depending on how much you use). I’m not always good about this rule myself (See? I’m not perfect!), but this really goes back to that tip of overestimating rather than underestimating points. If it goes into your stomach, make sure to log it.

9. Eat meals like Smart Ones, Lean Cuisine, or Healthy Choice to give yourself an accurate version of portion size. You’ll eat and think to yourself, “Gee, that wasn’t very filling.” And that’s the point. That’s how much you should be eating. Supplement these meals with a healthy snack, such as a banana or carrots. Or eat a small salad beforehand to help fill yourself up.

10. Weigh yourself weekly before eating or drinking anything. Not daily. Weekly. You could go crazy during the week as the scale teeters up and down. And make sure that you weigh yourself first thing in the morning before eating or drinking anything. One, it’s a more accurate result, and two, the number on the scale is likely to make you feel better psychologically than if you weighed yourself after a heavy dinner that included carbs.

11. Get an accountability partner. Weight Watchers online has community forums for users to participate in to get group support. My husband and I are doing Weight Watchers online together and we hold each other accountable.

12. Utilize the Weight Watchers tools that are available to you. I’m doing the online version so I use the mobile app and online program to track my meals daily. There are also online recipes and success stories to inspire and motivate users. (Note: You can’t access the mobile or online features if you do not have a subscription.)

13. Use measuring cups and/or a food scale to help you gauge the amount of food you’re eating. Thus, you’ll have an accurate reading of what you’re eating and what the correct serving size is for each product.

Succeeding on Weight Watchers takes discipline, strength, and willpower. (LOTS of willpower.) Is it true that you can eat anything you want? Yes, but within moderation. You can’t eat everything you want on the same day or even in the same week. Is it true that you may feel deprived? Yes, you may have to pass up that delicious cheeseburger for dinner if you had a large portion of lasagna for lunch. Don’t be fooled: Weight Watchers is a diet plan, and with all diet plans come benefits and drawbacks. But the above tips are what have worked for me so far. Feel free to add tips of your own in the comments below.

Writing a Novel in 30 (or 31) Days

~ K ~ 3 Comments

In 2013, I hope to write a novel in 30 days—twice. Not only do I plan on participating in NaNoWriMo in November, but I also plan on writing a novel in 30 days in April. Here are the following tips I will apply to attempt this feat toward the beginning of the  year (and at the end):

  • Enlist community support. Tell friends and family about your goals. If possible, find a writing forum where you can have others help keep you accountable. Camp NaNoWriMo is also helpful way to write novels during the months of April and June.
  • Establish discipline. Nothing is more crucial to success than establishing discipline. Set a daily goal of x words per day, and determine to meet it. I will stick to the NaNoWriMo goal of 1,667 words per day.
  • Set benchmarks. This word widget can help you to establish benchmarks of 10 percent, 20 percent, and so on: http://wordmeter.herokuapp.com/picometer/words=0&target=50000. You can adjust the target to suit your goal and change the number of words from 0 to whatever total amount you have written. (Or you can utilize http://www.critiquecircle.com/wordmeterbuilder.asp.)
  • Discover good writing music. I listen to classical music when I write. I can’t listen to anything with words lest I begin typing the lyrics in my novel. But if listening to nothing but the sound of traffic outside of your window is best, go for that.
  • Have a rough outline of your story. You may not know exactly what your story will consist of—Who does? Sometimes characters surprise us!—but a rough outline can help you stay on track with the general goal of your hero coming out on top.

It is possible to write a novel in 30 days as long as you are dedicated and disciplined—two very difficult things to establish. But once they’ve been established, they pave the way for success.

Establishing the Discipline of Daily Prayer (aka Relearning How to Pray)

~ K ~ Leave a comment

Image from learntochangelives.blogspot.com

I’m trying to institute the discipline of praying consciously every evening. I really suck at regularly praying: praying for myself and for others so I’ve reverted to the basics—“Our Father” also known as the Lord’s Prayer.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. —Matthew 6:9-13

I grew up in the Catholic Church for the majority of my youth and I attended Roman Catholic school from K through 12 so the ending phrase, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever” is not easy for me to remember or natural to me since it was not taught. Depending on what feels comfortable and genuine, I either give the addition to the Lord’s Prayer a shot (which I inevitably screw up) or leave it out.

But the Our Father is so second nature to me (and many others with a Christian background), it could be vain repetition. I could easily recite this prayer without putting any thought into it. But I’m trying really hard not to. I’m doing my best to consciously say the Our Father while thinking through what I’m saying. Another good way to do this is to paraphrase a few lines (without the Message Bible!).

And Jesus says to “pray like this,” not necessarily “this is the definitive answer on what you should pray.” He encourages us to pray along these lines addressing the following:

  • To whom we are praying
  • Where this God is
  • An important attribute of this God
  • A promise from this God
  • Something that prevailsfrom this God over us as humans
  • Where this God’s kingdom extends
  • Request to provide for our daily needs (not wants)
  • Repentance with God
  • Repentance with others
  • Request to exhibit one of God’s attributes (such as remaining holy and pure)
  • Request to avoid Satan or evil deeds

I’m confident there’s more to the Lord’s Prayer than that, but I’m not a Bible commentator. I’m just a layperson trying to force myself to first establish the discipline of speaking to God daily with words I can speak subconsciously before moving on to crafting thoughtful, original prayers. Daily prayer goes against my nature, but especially when engaging in spiritual battle, it’s extremely necessary.

  • I am able to active think about what I pray even though it could be rote.
  • I do this task at least once a day. (Usually before sleep for me.)
  • I pause with each phrase to let the words fully sink in and make sure I understand what I’m saying to God before continuing on with my prayer.
  • At the end, I will tack on requests for others that I remember. Maybe even include a request for myself.

Establishing discipline is not easy, especially when it comes to prayer—a habit that is not natural to most people. But for many people, mindful, daily recitation of the Our Father is a good place to start.

I’d love to hear other people’s thoughts on establishing the discipline of daily prayer, especially for those new to the faith or uncomfortable with prayer.

Establishing the Discipline of Daily Bible Reading

~ K ~ Leave a comment
Image from http://www.therockchurchranch.com

I am ADHD central. If you check out my sidebar, you’ll see I’m reading several books at once. I’ll read a few pages in one book then read a few pages in another before jumping to another book. It takes me a long time to finish books this way but it satisfies the variety of information my attention span craves. (I suppose that says I have little to no attention span.)

So I’m not up for reading particularly long Bible passages on most days. In fact, I’m usually averse to it. (The Bible can be so dry and dull in some areas!) But what I do each day—and any Christian can do this—is read one Bible verse. A full sentence. I use YouVersion’s Top Verses to Memorize reading schedule plan for this. Or you can flip open to any book in the Bible. Or go chronologically. Your choice.

I usually find that I’ll read a few more verses to get a proper context and then be done. Some chapters are very long and that often discourages me. But one Bible verse, one simple nugget from God’s word counts as Bible reading and don’t let anyone tell you any different.

If people can read five chapters in a day or the Bible in a year, good for them. Maybe you’re like me—you’re lucky to even crack the holy book open. But just one verse can do it.

But don’t do it mindlessly either. Make that verse count. Read it and think about it. If it’s an odd verse about dashing your enemy in pieces or so-and-so begat so-and-so that doesn’t resonate with you, flip to another verse that makes sense to you. (The Psalms and Proverbs are always good for this.)

Image from my.opera.com (user: yulenka)

When you read about the heavens declaring the glory of God (Ps. 19:1), think about how awe-inspiring it is to see the heavens from the cabin of an airplane. Or the rays of sun floating above the clouds at 40,000 feet above ground. When you read Jonah, see if you find yourself needlessly angry (as he did) or neglectful of any duties you’ve been assigned to. The Bible isn’t mindless and a brief reading of it doesn’t need to be either.

One way I’ve been able to get Biblical truth is by reading books based on Scriptural truth. It’s nice and it’s helpful, but it’s not the Bible. Reading snippets of Charlie Sheen’s recent crazy quotes are comical and (yes, even) awesome, but when you watch the context those snippets came from, the quotes are actually sad. Original context changes everything so one really needs to go straight to the source instead of relying on quotes elsewhere that have the potential to change the meaning.

Just one verse a day: available on BibleGateway.com, Bible.com, Christianity.com, and a whole host of other Bible-based sites. Make a conscious effort to get into the daily habit of reading one verse. You may read more but read at least one verse actively and meditate on it afterwards.

Just like savoring a really delicious, decadent dessert can be more satisfying than scarfing down a burger and fries on the fly, understanding one Bible verse is better than mindlessly flying through the Bible in a year.

Again, to belabor my point:

  • read one verse,
  • meditate on it,
  • then digest it (allow it to affect your life somehow).

Daily.

Still searching for an identity… part 3

~ K ~ 2 Comments

Lack of consistency, discipline, and regularity.

My lack of discipline brings me full circle again though I’m not done venting. I look at others who have an incredible amount of discipline–eating, exercising, spending, sticking to routines–I envy them. People have told me I can do anything I put my mind to. That’s a lie. I’m never going to fly without sitting in an airplane and I’ll never be able to professionally fly an airplane.

I’ve tried time and time again to be disciplined and I’m simply not. I can only hope I have a child who is OCD about a schedule and can set Mama Kass straight. Otherwise, I’m doomed. I can hope I stick to a fitness schedule or a good diet but I haven’t been regular with much in 27 years. Well, perhaps brushing my teeth…

So when I desire consistency, especially with devotions, prayer, and reading God’s word, I feel defeated already because the last place that occurred was at a strict Christian college I attended–an artificial environment of sorts. I’ve never been able to maintain consistency of anything in the real world including church attendance. I’m not wired that way. (But we do pay our bills on time, thank God. Maybe inconsistent but not irresponsible.)

If God spoke to me before I was born and asked, “If you could have any talent or any gift, what would you choose?” I’d reply, “Music, Lord. I’d like to sing exceptionally well and play instruments remarkably well.” I probably would have been asking amiss (James 4:3) because I was born (overall) with the gift of writing well. Despite my many insecurities, I’ve accepted a general consensus that I can write a variety of prose fairly well.

When it comes to writing, I’m pretty certain that’s something I should do. In fact, I’m convinced it’s my calling. God gave me writing as my talent and I’m doing to do my best not to bury it. (Matthew 25:14-30) What kind of writing, though? Journalism? Novels? Copy writing? 140-character writing? I don’t know. But I know that I’m called to use the talents God gave me for His honor and His glory–not mine–in an effort to be a servant for Him.

Blogging.

I feel bad about not blogging regularly anymore. It was once a daily part of my life–now, I’ve given it up. What I blogged about daily, depression, is no longer something I dwell on daily. The journey began in an effort to discover whether I was more than my mental illness. I concluded that journey in about 2 years and discovered I am more than my mental illness. I am a Christian, a wife, a daughter, a writer, a Beatles fan, an avid Twitterer–so many more things than “depressed and bipolar.” It’s still a part of me but “in remission.” I’m a suicide survivor with several victories.

Yet here too, I suffer massive guilt because my cessation of regular blogging has also led to a cessation of regular blog reading. And remember my earlier rant about not being consistent or disciplined with anything? Well, that applies to blogging too…

Still searching for an identity… part 1

~ K ~ 6 Comments

Topics running through my mind:

1. Motherhood
2. Writing
3. Blogging
4. Career
5. Job with contract company
6. Faith/religion/God
7. Lack of consistency/discipline
8. My personality–always desiring to be someone I’m not

My mind is all over the place so let’s cover all of these topics–though not necessarily in the order listed and definitely not all in this post. I ended up handwriting this post first (over the course of 2 hours) which amounted to about 22 pages on 7″ x 10.5″ paper. So this will end up being a series posted during the next couple of days.

Desiring to be someone who I’m not.

So I follow all these pastors, read their works, and am a HUGE fan, ie, Driscoll, Piper, and Packer. And sometimes I find myself wishing I could be a pastor. But it’s not a dream I can entertain myself with since I’m a woman and believe the Bible says only men are called to be pastors. (Yes, I know female pastors exist but I don’t agree with them.)

I find myself thinking, “Lord, why didn’t you make me a guy?” But then I realize guys don’t have it easy. My husband has to answer to God for the spiritual direction of our family. No, thank you. It’s hard enough being responsible for myself!

I used to look at other women and wish I could be them–wish I could have their lives or attractive personalities. For example, my older cousin whom I love to pieces. I used to look up to her. In a lot of ways, I still do. She’s strong, she’s a leader, she’s independent, and she’s self-sufficient. But she’s not married and doesn’t have any good prospects in the wings (that I know of). Do I really want to trade my husband just so I can have all those awesome qualities I am so envious of?

Funny like one of my friends. I wish I was like that. I wish I was sweet and likable like my former co-worker. I wish I didn’t care what anyone thinks of me like my hairdresser. Who looks at me and gets envious? But I guess we can all find something to envy about each other, right?

Materialism.

I’m not incredibly materialistic but hoo boy am I definitely tied to the things of this world. Money–something I use, not necessarily for material possessions (although my current obsession is IKEA), but to make myself feel worth something.

Yes, I tie my worth to whether I make money. Problem is, I don’t know how to “untie” it.

When a month or two go by and I haven’t heard from the company I contract for regularly, I self-deprecate and get negative:

“What if they never call me again?”

“What if my work from last time was sloppy and they just don’t want me back?”

“I’m not earning any money so I’m worthless and useless and my life and existence is pointless.”

But when I work, I suddenly have worth again. I feel I can legitimately complain about how the government uses taxpayer money because 30 percent of what I make goes to state and federal taxes each quarter. (That’s what happens when you’re self-employed in the U.S.!)

But what will happen when my full-time job becomes mother? How will I assess my worth then? Will I be worthless as a citizen of the U.S. with a purposeful existence as a mother? Will I be more useful than I’ve ever been?

My husband argues that his money is my money. I don’t see it that way. I have access to his earnings and he can have access to mine (I make significantly less than he does so he rarely has any need to) but I treat our earnings separately. I tithe off of whatever I make and don’t ever touch his. I don’t feel right taking his money–that he worked 40+ hours during the week to earn–and acting like it’s mine. I didn’t earn it. I never showed up to code a software program; he did. It’s not mine. And buying a gift with his money just seems so lame; I’d rather buy nothing at all. I can inherit it if he dies–just like I inherit my mother’s house–but it’s not mine until then. I’ll use it with his permission but I’ll always feel indebted to him. (Out-of-context verse time!) The borrower is slave to the lender.

Motherhood.

I don’t like to publicly discuss this in detail since I never wanted kids before last year and still really wrestle with the prospect of being a responsible, mature mom. As a result, I’ll be brief: I’m impatient, I’m disappointed every time I find out I’m not expecting, and I wonder if motherhood is what God has for me.