litestarTHINspiration January 2000

© 2000 Scott "Q" Marcus, THINspirational Speaker

In this issue:

Main Topic

Weight Loss Humor

Sad News
Night Before WW
Calorie Usage
Killer Carrots!

Chew Gum, Lose Weight

This Month's Links

Are you trying to improve your life by stealth?

litestarIn other words, how many people know about your weight loss goals? Do you proudly boast about it; or are you more likely to keep it a closely held secret, attempting to manage the information flow as some sort of CIA agent guarding national secrets?

If you're open about your goals, I believe you have a much better chance of achieving them. Think about the opposite. Why keep hidden from others what you're doing? (I'm not talking about telling the jerk who always tells you that you're going to fail; I'm referring to those people who are genuinely supportive of you and your attempts.)

I think the only real reason we keep our weight loss efforts a secret is so we can keep the "back door" open to change our mind later; "just in case," we decide that it's too hard, or we've slipped up.

We've all been disappointed in the past (or we'd already "be there" or course) Disappointment happens. Sure, you might have been unsuccessful before but if you knew how to do this "correctly," you would have already done it, right? Know that you WILL fall down. You WILL make mistakes. It WILL be difficult at times.

Those things you do well, you're already doing. The key lies NOT in doing it ALL right, but in doing more each time than you have before. True accomplishment comes in learning where you need to improve (which you only learn when you make a mistake) and moving farther along your chosen path each time you head out.

If you don't tell others what you're doing, you're making it that much easier for yourself to give up. If you speak with joy about where you are going, it gives others a chance to help you when you do face discouragement. It will be embarrassing but this type of embarrassment can be overcome. How long do you wish to feel embarrassed about what you weight or what you won't do because of weight? That lasts forever.

When I lost weight my first time, at the age of 17, I was invited to a restaurant with several of my teenage friends and the parents of one. As we sat around the table at the coffee shop, the waitress asked each of us what we wanted. Being a table full of growing, energetic teens faced with the option of a free meal, most of my friends responded with choices such as "large fries" or "chocolate shake." When it came my turn, I told the waitress I wanted a "salad, no dressing, and a diet soda." Having lost 90 pounds, I looked thin so she was confused.

"Why would a skinny young man like you want a salad?" she inquired as she wrote it down in her pad.

My friend Wayne, who had invited me out, and was one of my biggest "diet promoters," blurted out, "Hey Scott, stand up! Show her your belt! Show her how much you lost!" (I still wore the belt I wore my first night at Weight Watchers whenever I went out. I had lost 12 inches from my waist and it therefore wrapped around me to my back now.)

Proudly (but a little shy), I stood up, pulled my belt from its loops and held it out from waist, illustrating all the weight I no longer had. As I did so, I told the waitress, "I've lost 90 pounds, see?"

The waitress stared wide-mouthed. What I didn't realize is that the rest of the restaurant was now watching me too. Upon showing the belt, the entire clientele erupted in loud applause and cheers!

If I hadn't been willing to tell what I was doing I would have never had the chance to share in the joy.

Speak proudly and with enthusiasm of what you do. Never hide your light under a barrel. It helps no one - least of all you!


weight Loss Humor top of page

Sad News

I don't usually pass on news like this but sometimes we have to pause and truly remember what life is about. So I pass along this sad, sad news. There was a great loss recently in the entertainment world. Larry LaPrise, the Detroit native who wrote the song 'Hokey Pokey" died last week at age 83. What was really horrible is that they had trouble keeping the body in the casket.

They'd put his left leg in and.....well, you know the rest!!


Watch Those Carrots!

A few orange and green ruminations about life, death and vegetables from the Miner Institute, Chazy, New York

  • Nearly all sick people have eaten carrots, Obviously, the effects are cumulative.
  • An estimated 99.9% of all people who die from cancer have eaten carrots.
  • Another 99.9% of people involved in auto accidents ate carrots within 60 days before the accident.
  • Some 93.1% of juvenile delinquents come from homes where carrots are served frequently.
  • Among the people born in 1839 who later dined on carrots, there has been a 100% mortality rate.
  • All carrot eaters born between 1900 and 1910 have wrinkled skin, brittle bones, few teeth, and failing eyesight .. . if the perils of carrot consumption have not already caused their deaths.

Twas the night before Thursday, 
                  my Weight Watchers day.
When suddenly I panicked, "How much will I weigh?"
I tried to be careful, ate my vegetables, too.
I bought low-fat foods, like beans and tofu.
                  
I've kept up my journal and counted the points.
I've climbed up the stairs till there's ache in my joints.
So why am I scared to step up on the scale?
Cause the scale never lies and I don't want to fail.
                  
So many questions pop into my head.
Are my earrings too heavy, should my glasses I shed?
Did the gravy I had on Thanksgiving Day,
Add more than 4 ounces to what I should weigh?
                  
So I took a deep breath, as I stepped on the scale.
And prayed to dear God, "Please don't let me fail.
I promise next week I'll pass up all the fat,

And give you the praise as my stomach gets flat."

"Two pounds," Scott says, "You did really great."
And I stepped off delighted, relieved at my fate.
"That does it," she said, "You're a member for life!

You've lost 30 pounds, laid down fork and knife."

I've answered my friends who have said, "How'd you do it?"
I said, "You can too, when you put your mind to it."
Just don't get discouraged, meal planning's the key.
And come to all meetings; it helps you will see."
                  
I've always been chubby, the youngest of four,
The others were skinny -- you've been there before.
They teased me unending, good natured of course,
But why could they always eat just like a horse?
                  
But now I'm the thinnest and as proud as can be.
It seems they're inspired, by little ole me!
But the journey's not over, it's now just begun.
It's a lifetime of work that can also be fun.
                  
So my one wish for you as the New Year gets near
Is you too will achieve what you've worked for this year.
Your weight will come off, and you too will be set

To hear Scott say, "Your goal has been met."

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Daily Exercise for the Non-Athletic

Hundreds of calories can be burned by engaging in strenuous activities that do not require physical exercise.

Exercise

Calories burned per hour

Beating around the bush

75

Jumping to conclusions

100

Climbing the walls

150

Swallowing your pride

50

Passing the buck

25

Throwing your weight around (depending on your weight of course)

50-300

Dragging your heels

100

Pushing your luck

250

Making Mountains out of molehills

500

Hitting the nail on the head

50

Wading through paperwork

300

Bending over backwards

75

Jumping on the bandwagon

200

Balancing the books

25

Running around in circles

350

Eating crow

225

Tooting your own horn

25

Climbing the ladder of success

750

Pulling out the stops

75

Adding fuel to the fire

160

Wrapping it up at the day's end

12

Opening a can of worms

50

Putting your foot in your mouth

300

Starting the ball rolling

90

Going over the edge

25

Picking up the pieces

350

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Gum Chewing Can Help Lose Weight

This is out of Boston from the New England Journal of Medicine. They say there is evidence that chewing gum can help lose weight. A team of researchers calculated that chewing gum burns up about 11 calories an hour. That may not sound like much but the researchers figured that someone who chews gum every waking hour for a year and does nothing else differently will lose about 11 pounds. The calculations were made by James Levine of the Mayo Clinic and others.


Another on-line points calculator: http://dottisweightlosszone.com

Cyberdiet's new poll lets you answer weekly questions with complete confidentiality, then see immediately how your views stack up against those of other visitors. http://www.cyberdiet.com/server-cgi-bin/poll/poll.cgi?userName=cfink&surveyID=3

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