Focus on the moment

I watched a very interesting video today that has got me thinking.  It's an address by Srikumar Rao, titled "Plug into your hard-wired happiness."  You can find it here on ted.com. He makes quite a few points that basically show that we spend so much time thinking about the future and our outcomes that we seldom look at the here and now or the process.  By focusing so much on the outcome, we don't enjoy the journey. Or worse yet, we don't take the journey at all.



I thought of many applications.  Let me give one related to fitness or weight loss. We are overweight.  We set a goal to lose X number of pounds.  We set a goal to lose the weight by Y date.  We write it down.  We buy books to motivate us.  We buy recipe books to help us.  We imagine how it will be to lose the weight.  We might even buy a new pair of jeans that will fit perfectly when the goal is met.  Then a week later, we have read a lot and thought a lot, but not much has happened in the mirror.  We continue looking toward that goal and a week later, not much has changed.  We get frustrated.  We buy some more books.  We spend more time searching for recipes online.  Maybe we consider the newest "magic cleanse" to get us going.  Maybe we try the newest fad diet to no avail.  Maybe we even consider purchasing the latest 'magic pill'.

Now we're three weeks out and don't see a huge difference in the mirror.  We are spending all out time thinking about the future outcome and very little time focusing on the process.  To clarify, we look in the mirror and expect to see after one, two or three weeks the image or outcome we were shooting for in two months time or maybe 12 months time.  When we don't see it, we think there is something wrong.  So we change things, still shooting for that goal.

Let me propose another approach.  My experience has taught me that those people that keep a clear end in mind, a clear goal, but focus more on the day-to-day process of weight loss and proper nutrition are more successful in the end.  They focus on what they're eating for breakfast.  Then the morning snack.  Then the lunch.  They focus more on the mundane process of eating every few hours.  Of starting each day with a good workout.  Of drinking water regularly throughout the day.  They do this over and over and over and over again until it becomes habit.  Until they are no longer 'tempted' to stop by the quickie mart or the fast food joint to grab a little something on the way to work or on the way home.  They don't have that 'urge' because they have been regularly feeding their bodies what they need.  Sure they may not see results in one week.  Maybe not even in one month.  But three months down the line when they have committed to change, they will look back and realize they have had a lifestyle change.  They are no longer going to the restaurants they used to.  They are no longer eating the processed foods they used to.  Sure they may have a treat here and there, but they realize they feel better and have more constant energy throughout the day when they eat regular meals and fuel their bodies with natural foods.

Many weight-loss advocates recommend weighing once a month.  Maybe once a week at the most.  The reason for this is that our weight fluctuates a lot from one day to the next depending on the sodium and carbohydrate intake from the previous day. (They both attribute to water retention.  But in the case of carbs, it's good thing if you're exercising hard.)  When people weight themselves daily it can become frustrating.  So don't do it!  Focus on other things.  How are your jeans fitting?  Is your belt becoming looser?  Are you less winded when walking up stairs?  Can you skip steps now where before you couldn't have dreamed of doing so?  Can you sleep better?  Do you feel more rested in the morning even though you didn't get 8 hours of sleep?  Are you energy levels more constant?

By focusing on the process (day-to-day) more than the outcome (3 month goal), you are focusing on the daily actions required to achieve that outcome.  But does that mean you should forget your goal?  No!  You should still read your goal before you go to bed and take the time to imagine yourself in the new pair of jeans or that picture of that swimsuit you have clipped and tucked in your night stand.  The difference is that your focus throughout the day is on short-term action, on objectives, on the little actions repeated continually that will result in monumental changes when given enough time.

This 'focus on the present process' can be applied to our productivity goals, to our relationships, to our finances.  Really to any aspect of our lives.  Set the goal.  Make it clear in your mind.  Determine the day-to-day actions that will be required to achieve that goal.  Then focus daily on the those daily actions.  By doing this day after day your goals will come into sight from over the horizon, then they'll get closer and become clearer in focus and then ultimately you will achieve them.  You'll be wearing those clothes you wanted to wear.  You'll achieve the income you were shooting towards.  You will love and feel loved in the relationship you have been working on.  You will be out of debt, with a steady stream of passive income with savings and money set aside for retirement.

So what are you going to do today?  And tomorrow?  And day after tomorrow?

Eating every 2-3 hours may burn off 8-10 pounds a year

Excerpt from "Running and Fat Burning for Women" by Jeff & Barbara Galloway (Works for guys too BTW) ;)

"If you have not eaten for about 3 hours, your body senses that it is going into a starvation mode and slows down the metabolism rate, while increasing the production of fat-depositing enzymes. This means that you will not be burning as many calories as is normal, that more of your next meal will be stored as fat, and that you probably won’t be as mentally and physically alert as you could be.

Burn more fat by eating more often - what a deal! If the starvation reflex starts working after 3 hours, then think about eating every 2 hours. A person who now eats 2-3 times a day, can burn 8-10 extra pounds a year when she shifts to eating 6-9 times a day. This assumes equal calories are eaten under each meal frequency pattern.

Big meals slow you down
Big meals are a big production for the digestive system. Blood is diverted to the long and winding intestine and the stomach. Because of the workload, the body tends to reduce blood flow to other areas, leaving you feeling more lethargic.

Small meals speed you up
Smaller amounts of food can usually be processed quickly without putting a burden on the digestive system. Each time you eat a small meal or snack, your metabolism revs up. A metabolism increase, several times a day means more calories burned. At the same time, you'll experience more sustained energy for the next hour or two."

So.....
So to sum that up, eat smaller meals more often. Take your daily caloric intake goal and divide it up by 5 or 6. Do your best to have each of those meals reflect your nutrient ratio breakdown. If you're eating 40/40/20 (Protein/Carbs/Fat), then do your best to have each of those meals be 40/40/20. If you're not sure what the breakdown is for each meal, use my favorite tracking site: www.myfitnesspal.com to log everything you eat. Best of all it's free!

I have often shared the following analogy comparing your metabolism to a camp fire.

A fire burns best when small amounts of fuel are added regularly. The heat produced will remain more steady. If you start a fire, then throw on a bunch of wood, it will smother it and it will take a long time to get it fired back up again. Same things happens if you wait too long to add the next log. It will take a long time to stoke it back up. The quality of the fuel makes a huge difference as well. If you make a fire with Pine (simple carbs like sugar and white flour), it will burn hot, but very quickly. Then you run out of fuel. If you use a nice hard wood like Oak or Eucalyptus (complex carbs like whole grains and veggies) the fire will burn hot, but will burn for longer periods of time.

Equally with one's body, when you skip breakfast, which most people do, you're starved for lunch, eat a big one, then you have a mid-afternoon crash as your body's trying to digest that fuel. You snack on junk or drink caffeine to stay awake and then go home and eat a big dinner because you're starved again. Then you follow that up with a nice dose of couch and TV and you can guess where those calories are going.

Final Summary: Based on your activity level, your body will only consume so many calories from each meal. For most people, that's around 300-400 calories. Consume more than that per meal and the surplus is stored (fat) for later use. Not good. Instead, spread your 1,500 calories (women) to 2,000 calories (men) into 5-6 meals and those calories get burned during your daily activities. Keep the nutrition (5-6 meals) the same and add more activity, the energy for the increased activity comes from stored fat. Pretty simple, eh?