Constant Reminders

While none of you reading this blog asked for my advice regarding weight loss, I am going to give it to you anyway...  at least in small doses over time.  In my mind, one of the biggest keys to losing weight is setting up your life with constant reminders.  This means putting things in place that serve as wake-up calls throughout your day.  I don't mean looking at a fat picture every other day.  I mean reminders at every turn.  Here are some of mine...

• Until recently, my laptop password was "l1veord1e".  I enter this password first thing every weekday morning and repeatedly throughout the day any time I come back to my desk.  Talk about a great reminder!  That version of "live or die" became my motto for the day.  My new one has a similar message... but I will let you guess that one.
• My previous laptop wallpaper was a picture from the book "Body Worlds" by Gunther von Hagens.  Those of you who have seen this exhibit can attest to how amazing and incredibly fascinating it is.  But, some of the displays can also be quite disturbing!  The most moving for me was the "Obesity Revealed, 2005" exhibit.  This exhibit shows side views of a 120 pound male and a 300 pound male.  The sight of the fat layer and it's effects on the internal organs of the 300 pound male is not only upsetting, but also revolting.  I scanned the two pages from my book and used it for my wallpaper.  Again, that disgusting image confronted me every morning.  I would share it here if I wasn't concerned of copyright violations.
• My current laptop wallpaper is much more light-hearted, but equally as moving.  It is now an image that my brother Frank sent of his little girl and my niece, Giselle.  I have only met Giselle once when Lori and I visited San Diego last Spring for her Christening.  But, I love that little pumpkin dearly and love my photo and video fixes that I receive all too infrequently.  Recently, my brother sent a great picture of Gigi with a mischievous grin looking up at the camera.  That immediately became my wallpaper.  It is a reminder that I want to live long enough to see my niece graduate from high school in 17 years. 
• My home page on my laptop and my photography computer at home is myfitnesspal.com.  Every time I click on the Internet Explorer icon, myfitnesspal.com pops up!
• The first page of my binder for work has a printout of my daily log.  That log includes my weight, food measurements, exercise, etc. and I will talk about it further in another post.  But, every time I open my binder, there is that page telling me where I stand on my quest!
• This blog... I think it speaks for itself as a constant reminder.  Throughout the day I think about what I am going to write about in the evening.  Just thinking about telling all of my family and friends that I have been a schmuck keeps me from being one.
• I have pictures that I look at from time to time.  These are pictures that I cut out of Men's Health magazine over the years that show the Before and After success stories.  I taped these on several pages and look at them on occasion and still am amazed at how different these people look in the "after" pictures.  Most of them don't even look like the same person.  A few of them look like the son of the "before" person.  Talk about truly inspiring!
• There are subtle reminders too.  Letting people know of your goals, while contradictory to my normal motus operandi, has become a great thing.  People remind me even when I don't need reminding.  Friends grab food out of my hand (though this has only happened once!).  Some friends bring in breakfast sandwiches from McDonald's and give them all out before I get to work so they don't tempt me.  It's good to have people looking out for you and making those choices without your knowledge.
• I weigh daily.  While there have been disappointing days, there is nothing like looking at that number to start your day!  And, I find it equally as motivating whether the news is good or bad.  On the good days, I feel elated and make great decisions all day because of the high I am on.  On the bad days, I am so irritated at myself that I don't let myself make bad decisions.  Talk about a win-win scenario!

This is just the start of my list and I am sure I am forgetting things.  I plan on adding more to it as time goes by.  While I hardly feel qualified to give advice at this juncture, I feel very strongly about this advice and it will become one of my Top Ten items when my list of weight loss tips supplants Dr. Oz's tips as the tips that people turn to when trying to lose weight.  Here's to surrounding yourself with positive reinforcements and to making people forget about Dr. Oz...