The Answer to Losing Weight
The answer to losing weight isn’t eating less.
I’m a stress eater. My answer to losing weight is about stress, not food.
The gift of craving:
Stress sneaks in unnoticed. Craving food is one indicator that I haven’t monitored and managed stress.
Craving is a gift that enhances awareness.
Three tips for managing stress:
- Plan fun. Go to someone in the office and ask, “How can we have fun today?” I realize some offices can’t imagine having fun. If you don’t know how to have fun, you won’t. You might need to keep fun seeking in a small circle of trusted friends.
- Develop daily routines to lower stress. Stress is inside you, not out there.
- Walk every day.
- Enjoy several small meals and snacks a day. The key word is enjoy. Don’t just fuel the engine. Savor a banana.
- Get quiet several times a day. I’m terrible at clearing my mind and disconnecting. I keep trying anyway. All I need is three minutes a few times a day to relax my breathing and focus my mind on an empty chair. It breaks up the day.
- Close unused browser windows. Focus on the task at hand.
- Turn off as many notifications as possible.
- Schedule unscheduled time.
Real answers:
Solving the challenges you face is about you more than challenges.
- The more you need to say, the more you need to ask. How might you become curious?
- Negative environments may be about lack of gratitude. How might you become grateful?
- Leading is more about giving authority than protecting it. How might you trust others?
Focus:
Perhaps the problems you’re solving are distractions. What if the problems you face are fundamentally about who you are, not the issues you’d like to solve?
Leadership is about who you are. Grow yourself – grow your leadership.
How might leaders get better at dealing with root causes?
What does growing yourself look like?
Dan….”losing”….not “loosing”…..
Thanks!
Agree- this in correct spelling as I’m used to, really bothered me!
Is this more about me than you Dan? Who knows! However,
I can honestljy say that Deep down I think that bad spellers are stupid!
There , I’ve admitted it!
Thanks Clara. I’m stupid. 🙂
Thanks for modeling subliminal coaching Dan. 😉
Hardly!!! TGIF! Thanks for all that you do!
I’m stupid too <3
I struggle with judging people for using incorrect spelling and grammar. I have tried to ease up on that. It goes hand-in-hand sometimes with perfectionism, which is one of those insidious traits that looks positive on its face but can actually be a big negative. Perfectionism often keeps us from taking on more challenges, doing things that need to get done – because we couldn’t get them done perfectly. Perfectionism is often ego-driven and that isn’t consistent with servant leadership.
Very good. Dan is definitely not stupid.
As a wellness professional, I’m really glad you brought up how stress impacts health and wellbeing. However, it goes beyond impacting nutrition. It impacts sleep, cognitive ability, emotional responses, and can lead to higher rates of heart disease. In order to thrive, leaders need to treat themselves more like elite athletes, which means they have recovery time (i.e., enough sleep, etc.), support, and get the right amount of nutritious food, make regular physical activity a priority, and learn evidence-based ways of managing stress. Not only does it give them a better competitive edge, they become role models for their teams. Healthier, visible leadership is key to creating a culture that values health and wellbeing so teams can thrive.
Thanks Mim. I really love it when readers take these short posts to new places. I’m thankful for your insights. I’m a huge fan of understanding the role of rest in high performance.
Losing weight is spelled incorrectly on your page.
Thanks!
Thank you Dan. Excellent post and my main takeaway is that it IS about who we are and that we do need to focus on growing ourselves. I also think Dan is being too modest here. I think Dan was using a play on words when titling this post “Loosing weight”. After all, in order to feel free to grow ourselves we need to be ” free from a state of confinement, restraint, or obligation” and “allowing a structure to permit freedom of interpretation”. I think Merriam Webster and Dan may have spelled it exactly right.
Thanks MJW. You totally captured what this post is all about. It’s not about losing or loosing weight or even stress. It’s about owning our own growth. 🙂
I did feel that losing worked, but I’m a notoriously bad speller. I wish I had done it intentionally. Thankfully, this isn’t a spelling, grammar, or punctuation blog. Cheers
OK let’s get over the spelling issue and look at the content. When I read “close unused browser that you are not working in” I noticed that I had 12 open and 15 MS office documents, tables and such open. You made some real good points. It’s a reminder for me to have a plan each day, be flexible within limits and above all else stay FOCUSED on the people not just the task.
Thanks Walt. Regarding multiple windows. For me, I notice greater focus when I open only what a need. Closing email for example, is helpful. It takes some time to re-open a window but it’s an exercise in discipline and focus for me. In the end, it’s a small step toward simplicity. Simplicity is a small step toward less stress.
»»Leading is more about giving authority than protecting it. How might you trust others? ««
Trust and confidence are both powerful tools, they allow energy to flow from the giver to the receiver! Yes, there is some risk so “measure wisely.”
Thanks Ken. I see you picked up on giving authority. Learning this is one of the major milestones on the leader’s journey. Perhaps early in the process you might work to establish your authority. But, we all come to a point where, if we want to expand, we must give authority to others.
Dan, as a former psychotherapist, now an executive coach, I have to say you’ve nailed it. Love the question, “What if the challenges you face are fundamentally about you?” In my audio program on enlightened happiness, my approach to stress is: Don’t manage stress. Use it to deepen your self-awareness–what is your “stress” telling you about you? What do you need to learn here, how do you need to grow and transform? Don’t waste “stress,” use it.
Your question gets right to that, love it! If there was a Question Hall of Fame, your question would be in it. Maybe I’ll create the Question Hall of Fame and start with yours.
And it reminds me of something Jim Rohn said: “Don’t wish things were easier, wish you were better.”
Thanks Alan. Love your insights on stress. Perhaps many of our emotional/physical reactions to our world should be considered as something that is deepening our self-awareness. We get distracted by our reactions and think they are the problem. In reality, our reactions are perfectly normal, even if they might be self-destructive. Thanks for your insights.
Hi Dan,
Thanks for the great blog! Just an FYI â âloosingâ is misspelled. It should be âlosingâ. Itâs a common mistakeâº
Jamie
*Losing. Loosing means to make loose or partially relax. Lose means to eliminate.or release. Sorry to be a picky Mickey, but it’s one of my pet peeves…
You know what? You’re an awesome leader/teacher. I see the way you are responding to all those who are picking on your spelling (I am one of them) and I am in awe. I wish I had refreshed the page and seen all the comments before putting in my first $0.02 about the spelling. I am thankful for all you do, and grateful I found your page at all. Thank you for being so amazing 🙂
As someone who struggles with my weight, you have hit the nail on the head with this post. I am a stress eater. When I come home from work is my weakest time. My job is very stressful and it is up to me to learn how to deal with that stress just like it is with alcoholics and drug addicts, etc. Thank you for your very introspective message today! P.S. Don’t stress about spelling. 🙂
I agree with you here. The bane of much earlier management thinking was the glory of multi-tasking. I was, and am, guilty of this.
This increases stress levels tremendously
Also, the get-rish-quick syndrome plays a role
Time will have its way, and we need to learn to enjoy it
Addon – The Good stress controller is Eat slowly and chew well before shallow. This will reduce the stress and good digestion.
Great article! I’m just starting out as a blogger about health and wellness from a peer standpoint. I’m fascinated by the mental component of health and as a stressosaur myself I can appreciate the challenges others face! Thanks Dan!
Dear Dan,
Losing wait could also like losing identity. Alternatively it could be struggling to create one’s identity. Having fun with colleague is a good concept. It can tell much about working culture and people feelings. It is good exercise if taken seriously. Dealing with root causes is more about creating relations. When people feel connected and start sharing their thoughts, most of the root causes will vanish. The problems occur when people withhold feelings and do not express to others. It creates lot of stress and depression. And thus, it diverts energy.
Growing looks like feeling connected to people and goal. I have experienced that many times, people need appreciation and recognition to grow. And those responsible should understand this. When people get respect, they start exploring their potential. It creates win win situation for all.
True – when people are rushing around at work they rush in other areas of their life (including eating). Interesting points about managing distraction (notifications, browser windows etc.) to manage stress also.
Dan,
Thanks for the insight. The way someone is in life, definitely can impact the perspective of situations. The healthier you are as a person can really have such a large impact on the perspective of situations. Challenges are easier to blame on the situation and others, rather than your perspective and how you handle the situation.
Thank you for helping me reflect!
Tammy