Since you began your "I'm gonna get into better shape" journey, you've been learning how to integrate better nutrition and physical activity into your daily life. And I'll bet that you've come to realize that living healthfully in today's 24/7 grab-and-go world requires navigating countless minefields of tempting trash treats and hefty speed bumps every time you want to get in some physical activity. When men and women start a journey to improve their health, shed pounds, and become fit, the original enthusiasm begins to fade right around the fourth week of slugging it out. Red alert when you start to hear these words spill from your lips "I was doing just fine UNTIL ..." as you contemplate throwing in the towel. Go ahead and fill in the blank with the UNTIL___ stresses - my job has me traveling more; my boyfriend dumped me; I got a new micromanaging boss; I sprained my ankle; I'm suddenly financially strapped; I'm depressed and anxious about someone I'm care giving. The possibilities here are endless.

So the next step in your quest to become lean, healthier, and more fit is to learn how to manage these life stresses without reverting to old habits - eating your way through the stress, dropping the workouts, ceasing to do things that give you joy, and abandoning your self care.

When I wrote Fit to Live, I began the book with a quote from Charles Darwin. "It is not the strongest of the species who survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change." Scientists have known for years that survival is based upon the ability to be flexible, to modify habits as needed in response to life's ever changing environment. This is about regrouping when life throws you a curve ball and the two critical elements of regrouping involve the ability to adapt and adjust. I love to use them together as a verb I call "A²" or "A Squaring." The goal is to show that no matter what hits you in life, you can adapt and adjust without resorting to self destructive behaviors.

Adapt is a mental attitude that says "I'm facing a situation that I have to come to grips with." It's about accepting the situation - my boyfriend or girlfriend has left me - with as minimal negative effects on yourself - shame, guilt, anger, denial, dissociation, inertia, stress-eating - as possible. What you're doing is getting real and wrapping your head around whatever the stress is. You're accepting a new reality.

Adjust is the technical end of the regrouping equation. Now that you've mentally adapted to the new reality - I've gained 30 pounds - you're ready to map out a strategy to deal with this stress. It's about formulating a plan and implementing it.

Mastering the art of regrouping as soon as possible will affect everything you do in life, whether it's shedding weight and getting fit, or coping with a new baby, a change of career, or the loss of a loved one. Studies of the great centenarians have shown that a common characteristic of these amazing 100-year-olds is that they are "stress shedders." They fully experience a stress but don't allow it to paralyze and destroy them. They have an innate ability to A² fairly quickly and move on with life. You can, too.

Becoming a master of adapting and adjusting requires a lifetime of practice. Anything rewarding in life involves practice, from motherhood to great artistry. The great news is that it over time it does indeed become easier. For that matter, after a while, you can get pretty macho about this, and say "Go ahead, bring it on. I'll show you how I can adapt and adjust!" Upon returning from business travel that involved one delay after another, one of my patients proudly declared, "It didn't matter that I was stuck at that airport tired, hungry and surrounded by fast-food places. I just paid attention and made the right choices. For that matter, I even got up and walked around to get in some more steps for the day. It's a heck of a lot better than sitting on my butt at the gate!" Now, those are the words of someone who's mastering the A² mentality.

Now, let's go back to the "I was doing just fine UNTIL___" issue. Right now, make a list of your own unique "UNTIL's." Think back to the last 10 times you tried to shed some weight and get more fit and then it all fell apart when what happened? It's often an eye opener, as you start to see patterns. For instance, every holiday you blow it, or whenever you're in a hotel you become one with the mini bar, or you head to the fridge every time your boss criticizes your work. Once you identify the pattern, you can start building a strategy for dealing with that particular stressor so that you're prepared when it hits again.

Here are some easy steps for you to take the next time you hear yourself shouting "Oh no, incoming!" as these stresses start hitting you from every angle.

1. Acknowledge the new stress. Do not panic. Do not deny it. Let the reality sift through you. Take a deep breath and be with the new stress.


2. Adapt by wrapping your head around the new reality. For example, you hopped on the scale for the first time in six months and you're up 40 pounds. That's a reality. Let it sink in. Your cholesterol and blood sugars are up. Get the numbers. Take measurements. You'll need these to adjust to the reality.


3. Gather facts. As soon as the dust settles, make certain you have all the facts you need to address this new stress. This can be challenging so try not to get so emotional you become anxious and blind to reality.


4. Get support to help guide you. It often helps to find resources in your life to assist you as you begin to comprehend the new stress. Reach out and ask for help.


5. Adjust by formulating a strategy and plan. Once you can think more clearly and have accepted the new reality, hope is born from creating a way to manage and cope with the stress. That hope becomes your driving force.


6. Do not abandon your self care while learning how to adapt and adjust. You may have to shift your schedule and actions, but do not stop caring for yourself. You still have to nourish yourself and keep physically active, if not to just maintain your sanity while coping. For example, if you're spending time at a hospital supporting a friend or family member, you still eat healthy foods, and may find that some of your walks are around the hospital grounds instead of at the gym. That kind of flexibility is the foundation for optimal adapting and adjusting.

I will guarantee you that your ability to achieve your best body and healthiest lifestyle is based upon how well you can adapt and adjust to the stresses and challenges that threaten to derail your best efforts. Practice these simple steps every day and reap the benefits of an amazing transformational win win - your physical fitness and health transformation, as well as your transformation into a master of adapting and adjusting.

Think Small Lose Big

• Week 1: For Lasting Change, Start with a Power Mind
• Week 2: The Secret to Dropping Real Weight is to Eat Real Food
• Week 3: The Next Step is the Big Step
• Week 4: The Lifestyle Rx for Muffin Tops and Menopots
• Week 5: Don't Self-Destruct! Adapt and Adjust!

Labels: fitness, healthy eating, healthy lifestyle, stress, Think Small Lose Big, weight loss

Are you tired of riding the seemingly endless roller coaster of shedding pounds and then packing them right back on again? Who isn't? This vicious cycle of ups and downs can wear on you after years of struggling with extra pounds. Living like this often leaves you feeling shame, guilt, frustration, disappointment, helplessness, hopelessness and defeated. Well, I'm here to tell you that you don't have to keep living like this. You have the power to stop cycling and start living the life you so deserve, in a body that is fit and strong. How?

There is a critical first step you must take, and that is to identify what happened the last time(s) you were doing well and then regained weight. This exercise is a real eye opener. Patterns emerge that you need to be on red alert for. The point is that until you understand what derailed you, you're not prepared when something like this hits you again. You know by now that I'm constantly teaching my patients and all of you that the key to successfully surviving all of life's challenges, including weight management, is to learn how to adapt and adjust and move on. This is easier when you have learned valuable lessons from past experiences so that you quickly see patterns emerging and then can navigate stresses without resorting to the fridge.

On my Weight Loss and Fitness message board, I challenged the board visitors to fill in the following sentence, "I was doing just fine until ______", as it related to dropping and regaining weight. I'm thrilled to say the postings as still coming in and we're having a lively discussion about what happens to each of us when regain occurs. Here are some of those postings.

"stayingtunedformaint" wrote:

"I Was Doing Great UNTIL I forgot what it takes for me to stay at 136 lbs...After shedding my excess weight, while I was at 136 lbs, I was eating lighter, leaner, healthier, and exercising consistently: it was my number 1 priority for myself!... When my focus is not on behaving in the healthier way, I behave off track: hence, weight gain and not exercising. I forget that eating lighter, leaner, healthier foods and exercising are so important for me. It's as if I still don't realize that this is the way of life for me for life. As I'm typing this, I realize I haven't fully embraced this idea yet: I need to surrender to the goodness of it all. During some of my cardio work-outs, I do that...one of the songs I dance to is by Bette Midler: "As Dreams Go By." I don't know if my message will be understood, but, I understand where I am at with this now...thanks for asking us to complete the sentence and to share, Dr. Peeke."

"Bugsgrandma" shared her thoughts:

"I was doing great until I stopped doing great. Like a train flying off the track I gained 40 pounds back over the past two years. I kept telling myself I could get back on track easily after this happened or that. You know the after the chocolate cake is gone I can. Monday I will start. I worked very hard to lose the weight and I did not put it back over night. So I am back on track and I know I can."

And Sadue commented:

"I was doing great until DECEMBER happened and emotional eating came around with force. Threw me right off.... Now Im working right back on track but seems like I lost ground needlessly. Ultimately, awareness at the right time & support & a little control just does NOT exist in December !!!!"

And there are lots more so make sure to log onto our message board, review these great stories and share your own.

Can you relate to their experiences? You better believe it. Here are a few key points I want you to keep in mind as you work hard to achieve your healthiest, most fit body and strive to keep it going despite life's challenges. There are plenty more, and I'll be writing more about this in future blogs, but these are great starters.

1. Stay vigilant. The minute your drop your vigilance about eating, physical activity and stress management, you'll gradually fall back to old self destructive behaviors. It's a slippery slope. One cookie becomes 6, late night eating creeps back, and one pound becomes twenty. Vigilance does not mean you're obsessing about every bite or gym session. It simply means you're paying attention enough not to slip back into old habits, and you're mindful enough to know that every behavior is a choice you're making. You know what got you into this mess in the first place. Heads up and be very aware of your tendencies. Live with your eyes wide open.


2. Stop fooling yourself. So many people get into trouble when they start listening to the old voices from their more self destructive days. "Oh go ahead, it's just one candy bar. You're thin now and you can handle it." "I'll over eat this weekend and get back to my program on Monday, no sweat." "It's the holidays and I can handle some over eating, no problem. After all, I'm "there" with my weight loss. I'm fine." Wrong, wrong and wrong. Watch out because you're dissociating. You're not paying close attention to the key words "no sweat, no problem". Whenever you hear this self speak, run! Instead, say "no!" and drown out the "weight gain-speak" in your head. There are no short cuts to sustaining your healthy weight. Also, there is no "there". You have to work it every day of your life. It gets easier over time, but you can never rest on your laurels. That's true for everything you've ever achieved in life.


3. Be consistent. Consistency doesn't mean "perfect". In my books, I write about my 80-20% rule. It means you live within a range of sticking with your lifestyle behaviors. Hit your goals 80% of the time, leaving 20% for being human and having a little slippage here and there. However, this means that when you might have skipped that workout or had 2 servings when 1 was the goal, this isn't a disaster. Just regroup as soon as you can and hit your game.


4. Practice safe stress. Over eating when stress hits you from all angles is a major factor in weight regain. Sit down right now and write down the kinds of stresses that have packed on the pounds. You may notice that they fall within familiar categories - personal relationships, work related issues, time management, medical conditions, care giving challenges, the list is endless. Once you've identified the persons, places and things that set you off, create proactive strategies for coping with each. If you need help, get help. Friends, family members and counseling professionals are available to guide and coach you as you face each hurdle. Stress is part of life and it is imperative to learn how to adapt and adjust when it rears its head each day of your life. This is an ongoing, lifelong learning process. The great news is that as you work hard to practice safe stress, you'll be regrouping faster and minimizing, if not eliminating, self destructive behavior. In other words, you won't regain the weight.

Please sit down right now and finish that sentence, "I was doing just fine until_____". You'll see for yourself how consistent behaviors, combined with vigilance and better stress coping strategies, are the magic recipe to fight weight regain and enjoy that healthy body you've worked so hard to achieve.

Labels: fitness, healthy eating, healthy lifestyle, stress