Thursday, May 28, 2009

It works if you work it...

I was thinking about that today. I joined an online think-tank type website that is a pool of people that gather together to share ideas and ask questions. I thought it might help me with developing some sort of product, service, or inspire some writing ideas to help get my little company (413 Fitness Concepts) off the ground. But I haven't had any success with it. I get emails from the group from time to time but really haven't reached my expectations from the group. But then it hit me - I haven't been an active participant. If I expect to get something out of the group, I need to expect to jump in and use the resources of the group.

On the subject of 'working a program', I've gotten a bit off track with my weightloss recently. For one reason or another I just haven't felt all that motivated. I have been keeping up with my morning exercise and afternoon walks but haven't gone for a run in about a week. I am thankful that I have kept up with some exercise but haven't keep a food diary for at least a month. I got a new food scale for my birthday but have yet to use it. And yet I am afraid to get on the scale tomorrow for my weekly weigh-in knowing that I've been off-track. The number tomorrow shouldn't be a surprise, I haven't been working my personal program so how can I expect a weightloss?

Bren told me a couple of weeks ago about an aquaintance that had bragged about being in this month's issue of Reader's Digest because of her weightloss. She had been (still is) on one of those medical 'milkshake' diet programs and had lost 100 or so pounds. The way it was portrayed to Bren was that this person was going to have a story in the magazine. Bren thought, "Geez, my husband lost over 200lbs on his own without some special diet. He should be the one getting a story in RD!" Well, Bren got her hands on a copy of RD and found not a story but rather a 1-page advert for the diet program with her picture featured.

Why bring this up? Well, for one I have decided that one of my goals is to get a story in RD on my weightloss accomplishment and for second she was on a program and worked it. Using the tools and following the guidelines she met her goal. It works if you work it...

Where does that leave me? Well, it leaves me with the choice - the choice to get back up and dust myself off or continue to wallow. I choose to get back up.A side note - I got the story on Kirstie Alley and how she packed the pounds back on. Apparently when her contract ended with Nutri-System, she fell back into her old eating habits. That particular program doesn't deal with behavior-modification I guess...

MattyV
www.iweighedmorethanjared.com

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Consequences...

Having to deal with some consequences of an insured already this morning. From time to time insurance companies run what are called in the industry UDI reports - Undisclosed Driver Information. We as agents can do the same thing, the reports are generated from the Secretary of State's database of registered vehicles and drivers in the state of Michigan.

I can type in an address and it will give me all of the vehicles and drivers listed at that particular address. This is helpful when people can't give me their spouse's drivers license or don't have access to their vehicle's VIN (for quoting purposes).

Anyway, one of our insurance companies has been running UDIs for the past week and coming up with drivers not rated on auto policies. It's up to us as agents to contact the insured to find out if the person is a member of the household and has coverage elsewhere. It's up to the insured to provide the information as far as other residency or other coverage. Most of these cases have been children that have gotten licenses but the parents "forgot" to call the agency to add them to the policy. This happens often when insureds are trying to save a buck.

One particular UDI I got today was a WOW moment. Can't give details, but parents will not be happy with the insurance premium if they cannot prove other residency or coverage elsewhere. It's THAT bad...

Consequences for our actions. My wife and I are constantly trying to instill this in our son. Don't clean your room = no Xbox 360 for a week. Spend all your money at the dollar store = no money for garage sales on Saturday. I myself am still learning the concept of consequences, don't exercise & overeat your daily calories = weight gain. Wait until the last minute to mow the lawn = a super-heavy overfilled yard waste dumpster. Listen to crap in the morning = poor attitude all day.

Sooner or later our actions will catch up to us with the consequences. Some may not be immediate, they may appear over time - but make no mistake, the consequences of our actions will come.

Like my wife and I ask Javan almost daily - "Are you going to make the right choice today?"


MattyV
www.iweighedmorethanjared.com

Friday, May 15, 2009

What's Your Trigger??

There are different triggers for different people that cause them to run to food for comfort. There are a few big ones that I have dealt with (and still continue to struggle with):

Stress – Although I am getting better, I deal rather poorly with stress. I used to delve into food as a lifesaver from the “drowning” feeling I sometimes get when feeling pressured or stressed out. At the time, a family-size deluxe nachos with extra salsa & sour cream made the pressure seem to float away with the lofty aroma of the seasoned beef & cheese, but ultimately it only made things worse. Thus the cycle would roll into another trigger: guilt.

Guilt – another trigger that many people deal with, guilt can be just as bad as stress. Whether the guilt is deserved or a “phantom’ guilt, either one can be dangerous to your journey.

Emotions – If you are a very emotional person, this one will get you every time. I always seem to eat when I am in a poor mood. Eating out of disappointment, sadness, loneliness, if my spirits are low I thought that food could lift me above the mire and out into the sunshine of happiness. Honestly I have never heard of someone bingeing because they were happy; bingeing seems to occur when bad things happen to us.

Boredom – We all seem to fall into this trigger from time to time. Flipping through the channels with a bag of chips or popcorn, staring blankly into the refrigerator, nibbling on munchies at work in the lulls of the afternoon.

Habit – Buffalo wings at the bowling alley, that extra piece of cake at the wedding reception, 3 trips to the Chinese buffet, I’m sure you can think of other social situations where your unconscious habits tend to be on “auto-pilot”.

In all of these situations you need to take a step back and make some conscious choices. You need to rationally think and pray about these and other potential over-eating triggers. If you tend to over-eat at a buffet, then in the beginning of your journey you need to avoid going to a buffet restaurant and stick with a take-out or sit-down restaurant until you feel comfortable in your walk to venture into those types of places.

If stress is your downfall, then prayer and relaxation needs to be your alternative to food. Listen to a nature sounds CD, go for a brisk walk and praise God for the work He is doing in your life. Talk it out; rationalize whether or not this stress is real or misplaced. Sometimes we stress about things that we either have no control over or are not responsible for.

Emotional eating is a difficult (but not impossible) trigger to avoid. With your support system in place, you will have that as a substitute for the “comfort” foods you used to run to. Don’t leave feelings bottled up inside, talk to your pastor, friend, or find a counselor to help you through what ever you are experiencing. Don’t forget to include the ultimate counselor, Jesus Christ, whenever you feel down, depressed, or disappointed.

Bad habits take time to break; the apparent “rule” is that it takes 21 days for something to become a habit. So it will take 21 days of trial and error to break yourself of your old habits and form new ones.

Boredom can be combated with things like a new hobby, reading a book, listening to an inspirational CD, fill that empty void with something that will improve and enrich your life.

I myself still struggle with many of these triggers, but I am getting better everyday. Keep your eye on the prize to a healthier, happier you and the pull of these triggers will lessen. They may never go away but their strength will be diminished if you actively pursue alternative solutions to beat them.


MattyV
www.iweighedmorethanjared.com

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Tulip Time Run Results...

Bib #419
Name Matthew Vanderplow
Residence Location Zeeland MI
Sex M
Age Division 35-39
Current Age 35
Chip Time 43:16
Clock Time 43:16
Overall Place 427th
Sex Place 270th
Age Division Place 18th
Global Division Place 30.4%

Soooooo, what does all that mean?
- I didn't place last overall (485 contestants, I passed at least 12 people including 2 teenage girls, 2 teenage guys, and a plethora of kids)
- I didn't place last for the men (303 male contestants, although a lot of the "men" were kids from some youth group that decided to try the 5k instead of the kid's fun run)
- I didn't place last in my division (20 males, 35-39 age division, even I was shocked)
- I placed in the 30.4% of other 35-39 males that completed a 5k race in the same timeframe around the globe (anything over 60%, or a time of 22 minutes would place me in the normal class for my age group)

There was 1 first in there, I wasn't last for my age division. All this on a bum ankle... Well, onto the next race!


MattyV
www.iweighedmorethanjared.com