1. Thou Shalt Not Wear Pants that Stretch

Your clothing is an early-warning system for weight gain. When it’s getting hard to snap your jeans, you know it’s time to be vigilant. Wearing stretchy clothes allows you to live in ignorance of how your body is growing, making it easier to pack on pounds without knowing it.

2. Thou Shalt Not Keep Fat Clothes in Your Closet

When you keep the clothes you wore at an unhealthy weight, it gives you a back-up plan if the pounds don’t come off. Instead, force yourself to stay on track by 86ing your “fat pants.”

3. Thou Shalt Not Eat Meat That Walks on Four Legs More Than Once a Week

Meat that comes from an animal with 4 legs is higher in saturated fat (the unhealthy kind) than that which comes from 2-legged animals such as chickens, or animals with no legs, like fish. Plus: women who eat large amounts of red meat more than once a week have a 50% higher chance of dying from heart disease and have higher cancer rates.

4. Thou Shalt Not Graze

Plan your meal before you open the refrigerator, get what you need, and close the door. Opening it throughout the day leads to impulsive choices and overeating.

5. Thou Shalt Not Eat After 7:30pm

When you eat late at night you are more likely to be eating in front of the TV (when you won’t pay attention to how much you’re putting in your mouth) and you’re more likely to pick high-calorie snacks.

6. Thou Shalt Not Pile Food More than 1 Inch High or Within 2 Inches of the Plate Edge

Larger portions equal more calories. ‘Nuff said.

7. Thou Shalt Not Chew Food Less than 20 Times Per Bite

Chewing allows your body to realize that you are eating food, prompting it to create a sensation of fullness at the appropriate time. When you don’t chew enough, you get ahead of that process, eating well past when you are actually satisfied.

8. Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s Plate

Spend your day nibbling bites on someone else’s sandwich or afternoon snack, and you will add on 1,000 calories easy.

9. Thou Shalt Not Carry Small Bills

Nothing loves a small bill better than a vending machine. When you have them at the ready, you are one step closer to an impulsive, calorie-loaded afternoon slip up.

10. Thou Shalt Not Eat While Standing Up

Eating sitting down enables you to be aware of what you’re eating and eat it slowly so that your body can tell you your full before it’s too late.

FROM: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/dr-oz-s-10-weight-loss-commandments

I spent the evening in a round table discussion on diets. We talked about the sugar in soft drinks, getting your vitamins and minerals through juicing, and even which diet is best. I learned one thing.  The Diet Talk is the perfect way to think about what you need to do, but often lack the motivation TO DO!

As I am preparing myself for the cycle of “TO DO” – I am so amazed at how much of the conversations around me revolve around food, diets, weight loss, and the such.  It is so hard sometimes to do the easiest things.  The key to all of this though is that it can not be a “DIET.”  Diet’s don’t work.  Diets are what we do on when we have to.  We tell people how we can’t have this and can’t have that because of our diet.

I am a strong proponent of programs like weight watchers that do not focus on diet; however, focus on lifestyle change.  It requires more than just to stop eating those cookies and snack cakes.  It requires us to make smart and healthy choices each and every day.

A choice to be healthy is one that effects our physical health and our emotional health.  Many toxic foods have devastating addictive qualities.  We call them comfort food.  They provide an emotionally stimulating and acceptable reaction.  When we turn to food to control our emotions, then we must ask ourselves “how is this any different than drugs?”

So lets realize that living healthy, starts by making good choices.  Healthy living means that we are in control of our life.

Have you ever realized that the people who always want to put their two cents in on how you should lose weight are the very ones who never struggle with their weight.  America is the fattest country in the world.  We have become a nation that is sedentary, but more than that, we are a people who have began to eat our problems away.

Obesity is a symptom of a much greater problem.  It is a reflection of our communities lack of self-discipline and lack of self-esteem.   Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying.  The process of losing weight is one of the hardest challenges that I know of today.

I struggle with weight loss and I can say with certainty that I know it is a matter of my self-discipline.  It is not a quick fix for surgery – it is a problem of my own self-control.  I need to know when to say enough is enough.  I need to know when I am feeling down that I can not turn to food.  I have to find other sources of comfort and release.

This is the first blog entry into an on-going saga of my life.  This is a personal battle and one that I start the fight with great nervousness.  Now starts the hard part, JUST DOING IT!

Now the journey begins…

“Many people have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” -Helen Keller-

Stephen Covey uses the term “personal constitution”.  When I was growing up, I heard people talk about someone having a good constitution.  This was often referring to someone who felt so committed to something they stuck to even when others thought they were wrong.  The problem is that our generation has stopped referring to a personal constitution.  We are more committed to making money, being happy, and serving the pleasures of the moment.  This has left the current generations with what seems to be a lack of direction.

Some people have died to find direction in their life and others live for it.  There is no true secret to finding the right direction, it is more about introspectively developing your constitution.  One way to nourish this is to develop your own personal mission statement.

Organizations and businesses all start their existence with a great mission statement.  This gives way to a healthy vision.   A personal mission statement is a brief description of what you want to focus your life on, what you want to accomplish and who you want to become.  It is a way to focus your energy, actions, behaviors and decisions towards the things that are most important to you.  Then work to live out that personal mission statement.

For more thoughts and writings from Dr. Shane Hibbs please visit http://www.drshanehibbs.com/dr-hibbs-blog/

Resources to writing a Personal Mission Statement

http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Personal-Mission-Statement

https://www.stephencovey.com/mission-statements.php

http://personaldevelopment.suite101.com/article.cfm/personal_mission_statement

“We’re born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we’re not alone.” -Orson Welles-

Sometimes the worst form of loneliness is to be lonely in a crowded room.  The hustle and bustle is all around you. People are chatting.  The party is going on; however, you are lost.  You are lost in the midst of what seems to be perfect chaos.  You hear the words and yet they don’t make sense.  You search for a place out of view.  A place where you can hide away unnoticed.  Perhaps then there will be a reason you are unrecognized.  It is then and only then that you realize that there is no place to hide, the world is speeding by, everyone is around you, and you are alone.

It hurts on the inside.  You wished you could reach for something.  Will it be drugs?  Will it be food?  What will it be? Whatever it is, you just need to get all this to go away.  No one understands.  It is not the first.  It will not be the last. This is the personal demons inside of you that you fight and struggle with.

Some call it depression.  But you feel anxious.  Others call it anxiety.  But you feel numb.

You think that if you can just make it through today then perhaps tomorrow will be better.  Is there hope?  Is it worth it?

You are reminded, Life is worth anything.  Bear the pain.  Break the chains.  Learn to live!

For more readings by Dr. G. Shane Hibbs please visit http://drshanehibbs.com/blog/

“The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.” -Unknown-

The best of days and worst of days all start out the same. It is our attitude that molds it after waking up. You have the ability to smile or frown, to laugh or cry, to experience blessings or disappointments. You will decide what you make of today.

Today is a blank canvas and you are the artist.  You can choose the color that you paint and the hue with which you shade.  Today is all about what you want to make of it.

You are the only one who can determine what you get today.  What are you asking for?

For more motivational readings by Dr. G. Shane Hibbs please visit http://drshanehibbs.com/blog/

“People only see what they are prepared to see.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson -

Vision is the first element of transforming from the ordinary to the extraordinary. If you don’t have a clear picture of where you are going, then it is most probable that you will never get there. The beginning of the rift that separates the ordinary from the extraordinary is the vision which they possess. Extraordinary people have a vision that surpasses reason and sees what is possible rather than the impossible around them.

Louis Braille accidently stabbed himself in the eye at the age of three and lost the vision in his other eye shortly thereafter. He was put into a school for the blind where he had a vision of being able to read. Through his vision, not his sight, he developed the ability for the vision impaired to gain the ability to read. A remarkable wonder that has brought joy to the uncounted millions who have found the pleasure of reading a great novel or being encouraged through the stories of inspiration. This all happens because one person had a vision.

Vision is what Henry Ford had when he dreamed of a horseless carriage. It is what Beethoven had when he composed a symphony. It is what Steve Jobs had when he started working in his garage to build a computer. It is what takes the down and out of our society and drives them to achieve. It is what puts the ordinary person like you and I on the path to becoming extraordinary. If you simply let your vision develop, nurture it, and grow it, then you will find the commencement of a journey to your dreams.

For more motivational readings by the Dr. G. Shane Hibbs please visit http://drshanehibbs.com/blog/

Excerpt taken from Dr. Hibbs new book, The Unexpected Leader.  Coming to a bookstore near you soon.

“No one can get inner peace by pouncing on it.”  -Harry Emerson Fosdick-

Stress is something everyone experiences.  What we do with the stress of life will be determined by who we are!  Stress is our inside telling us that something needs to change.  Something we are doing in life needs to be done differently.  We will either internalize it and not make any changes, try to control it by turning to an object (food or alcohol), or find a healthy way to allow positive change to relieve it.  

The first group of people will internalize it.  Stress has devastating effects on our health.  Stress causes us to age prematurely.  It causes problems with blood pressure (hypertension).  In reality, it shortens our life.  The internalization of stress is a leading cause of health problems in America today.

The next group will try to alleviate the stress with an object.  This is usually brought out in the form of an addictive type behavior.  For example, one gets stressed and so they turn to alcohol.  Others experience what is referred to as emotional eating.  Some try to take it out in a more socially acceptable way (i.e. running or exercise).  The problem is that an object or behavior will always lead us to needing more and more of it.  

The best way to handle stress is to find out what it is saying to you and make appropriate changes in your life.  When you find yourself overwhelmed then stop the chaos of the emotional flood and ask yourself what is causing this.  This is not an easy thing because it requires each of you to practice an introspection to you own life.  However, this is where positive change can take place.  If you find yourself stressed about money, then perhaps you need to examine your budget and respond accordingly. 

Stress is a natural trigger telling you that SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE!  It is up to you to find what that something is and respond accordingly.   This change is not easy.  It is the natural process of growing that allows us to experience this beautiful transformation.  Stress is what tells us that it is time to change.  

The effective response to stress is change.  Wise choices of change takes our life to the next level of growth.  What is natural tide of your life calling on you to change?

For more motivational readings by the Dr. G. Shane Hibbs please visit http://drshanehibbs.com/blog/

Have you ever tried to do the right thing and it seems that everything just doesn’t seem to work out?  You try to keep a positive mind set and the negative keeps invading.  The solution is very simple.  In order to have a consistent positive element to draw from in your life it must have synchronicity. 

The concept of synchronicity is when all things in your life are in alignment, all going the right direction, or to put it simply “in sync.”   All sources of “input” are sending the same message.  There are many sources of input into our life.  Your life input are may include the friends the friends around you and the message they are sending into your life, the music, television and movies and the message they are sending you, and finally the books and information you read and take in.  These are just three examples of major inputs.  The question then must be ask, are all of them inputting the same message?  Are they “in sync”?

We allow input without examining the message it is sending.  There were a large group of people and they were asked if they had ever heard the song “I will always love you”?  Many said yes.  When asked to describe the song they talked about the romantic love that it communicated.  Some even described it as a perfect wedding song.  Do you realize it is a break up song? 

If you want to maintain a positive attitude, then you have to have to ensure every source of input coming in is positive or else when negative information that you cannot control comes in it leaves you helpless and attempting to fight to maintain that positive disposition. 

Synchronicity is achieved when everything you do, everything you say, everything you hear, everyone you spend time with has purpose.    Live with purpose!

For more motivational readings by the Dr. G. Shane Hibbs please visit http://drshanehibbs.com/blog/

“If you really want something, you can figure out how to make it happen.”  -Cher-

I will not give up.  I will not surrender.  I will be the person I want to be.  I have come too far to be defeated; I will give my very breath to reach my destiny.  I refuse to ever go back and will forever keep moving forward.  I will take control of my choices and responsibility for my actions.  I will become the person of my making and exist as the person God created.  I am responsible for who I am today and I will choose my destiny for tomorrow.  

I choose to be happy.  I choose not to sweat the small stuff.  I remain fresh everyday because I am willing to face life’s challenges with the anticipation of overcoming.  I will find the hope in the valley.  I will find comfort in my solitude.  I will find an opportunity in my challenges.  I will face my pain by committing myself to growth.  I will never be the person I am today again. 

I choose to be determined. 

For more motivational readings by the Dr. G. Shane Hibbs please visit http://drshanehibbs.com/blog/