On the 4th Day of Christmas Tips

On the 4th Day of Christmas Tips - Picture Healthy You

Look at the RED DRESS I am wearing in the photo above? I actually SAW that very dress more than 3 years before it was ever made. 3 years before it existed, I actually SAW ME WEARING IT. Yep, that's right and Nope I am not yanking your chain. Let me explain!

It was on June 18th 1990 when in desperation I cried out to God for help to lose more than 300 lbs before I died an early death from severe morbid obesity. My 28 year old body had carried more than 500 lbs all it could physically go without disaster happening and I could literally feel the breath of death on the back of my neck. Below is another photo of me holding a skirt that I wore before I lost 335 lbs.

This skirt was made for me by a dear, sweet lady, Wanda Stone, who attended the church my Daddy Pastored, at the time, in Kentucky. If not for her making my clothes during those heaviest years, I don't know what I would have worn because the clothing stores had size limits below my 56-60 size. I shutter now as I write this. It was a horrible way to exist when you have a choice not to!

 Anyway, Back to the RED DRESS. From June 18th 1990 to Dec. 31st I had dropped about 50-75 lbs. I can't remember exactly, but I was getting a little discouraged because I had been pushing so hard to get the weight off and for people to be able to notice. But so far no one was seeing the difference. Keep in mind that when someone is severely obese as I was, it takes A LOT of weight loss before anyone will even be able to tell the slightest bit of loss. So, I was wavering in my faith at that point. I will never forget the time & place when I had a mental vision out of the clear blue, of me looking exactly like I look in this photo, wearing this exact RED DRESS. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that vision was a gift from God. I literally had to look twice and really stare to SEE ME healthy and fit.

I can tell you that I held on to that vision, and I told everybody I knew what I had seen that night, in a little church, where my family and I were performing at a concert. I had turned around to look at the clock to see how close it was to midnight which would be NEW YEARS. I was looking forward to pigging out later at the local Shoney's Buffet, and because I was discouraged, I had already talked myself into eating everything ,and as much of it, as I could hold. I was THAT discouraged.

UNTIL I GOT A VISION OF WHAT I WOULD LOOK LIKE IF I DIDN'T QUIT! IF I DIDN'T GIVE UP! IF I DIDN'T OVEREAT! IF I DIDN'T PIG OUT!

When I looked back at that old clock hanging on the wall above the vestibule doors, instead of seeing this;

I saw this:

That moment made all the difference in the world. I went to Shoney's and had a sensible one-plate of breakfast foods with small portions and I held fast to that vision. I burned the image in my mind and I asked God to help me to never forget what I saw in that old clock. It was TIME FOR ME TO GET A PERFECT PICTURE OF THE GOAL I WAS GOING AFTER.

Fast forward 4 years later to April 1994 when the RED DRESS picture actually was taken in Hollywood, CA with Mike & Maty at the set of their daily talk show on ABC Network.

I knew when I got the call that I would have to wear the dress I saw in my vision more than 3 years earlier, but although I had given the description of the dress to many people, none of us were having any luck UNTIL I WAS CASUALLY BROWSING IN A J.C. PENNEY catalog and saw it on a model.

Well, you should have heard the squeal of delight when I turned a page and there it was. Just like in my vision. I ordered it, that very day with a lump in my throat and goose bumps on my goose bumps. So excited and nervous and grateful and pinching myself to see if I was really awake or in a dream.

 will never forget the look on my Daddy's face when he saw me wearing that dress for the first time. It was precious and priceless. You would have thought it was my wedding day. "Oh Mommy look at her" He proudly exclaimed to my Momma who was staring in awe.

I will forever remember that as one of the greatest moments of my life. THAT was better than Hollywood! I think he was as proud of me then as he was on the day I, his first, was born.

That Red Dress picture in my mind gripped my heart and helped me to stay focused and steady to the course and run my race and finish it. I WON! Thanks to the picture I kept alive in my heart and in my mind's eye. if not for that, I am not sure if I would have finished. It took 4 years. That's a long time to stay motivated and focused and driven and determined. But I did it.

Even the Bible tells us in Proverbs 29:18 "WITHOUT A VISION THE PEOPLE PERISH".

I had to let go of the FAT TINA that I had always pictured and I had to grab hold of this new RED DRESS TINA. Healthy and Happy and Fit, Tina. Tina Maria.

What vision do you have of yourself? If you are holding on to fat, unattractive, unhealthy, negative images of yourself, you will never get healthy and fit and FREE. You have to have a positive image in mind and in heart in order to make the changes you need to make for the long term. PICTURE IT PERFECTLY AND BURN IT INTO YOUR HEART AND MIND. Do not let go of it. Be like a little bull dog with a bone. NO MATTER WHAT, YOU ARE NOT LETTING GO OF THE THING.

IT IS YOURS! Hang on tight and be as tough as you need to be and whatever your vision, SIEZE IT! NOW! It is YOURS! Make it your reality! I did it then and I am doing it again. I am not stopping until it happens. Just watch me! Or better yet, Join with me! It's time to Rise & Shine! No more negative images. Positively Picture yourself at a healthy weight and in better shape than you are today. Picture yourself with the energy, stamina, endurance of a healthier person. THAT'S YOU, BABY!

HUGS~
Tina Maria

On the 3rd Day of Christmas Tips

On the 3rd Day of Christmas Tips - Do Not Procrastinate...

Did you know that 95% of people say they procrastinate. The other 5% haven't yet turned in their surveys! Ha! Ha!

It is WAY TOO EASY to put off a healthy lifestyle between Halloween and New Years by consoling yourself with the Day after New Years, Best New Diet, Plan. Why wait!

Wait = Weight! DON'T WAIT! DON'T WEIGHT!

Most people who are not natural procrastinators actually often procrastinate committing to exercise and weight management plans on a consistent routine. I wish I could say that I am not a procrastinator but since this post is 2 days late, I think that says it all. I REALLY have to push myself and keep myself SO highly accountable in order to really be motivated to get something done. But boy, oh boy, when I do, WATCH OUT!  My Daddy has often said he has never seen anybody get anything done like I do WHEN I FINALLY get up my Gumption to do it. He's right! I can move it, like there's no tomorrow, when I decide to.

Even my boss who was teasing recently about me being a High Class Southern Hillbilly, affectionately complimented me saying, "...there's no doubt about it, when a Hillbilly makes up their mind to do something, they get it done. Things happen when a Hillbilly gets moving".  So very true!

For example: Because procrastination comes easy for me about alot of things, alot of time, it was a REALLY BIG DEAL for me to reduce 335 lbs and stick with a healthy lifestyle program for 4 long and brutal years without giving up. I slammed it hard in the gym like Jillian Michaels, almost EVERY DAY for nearly a decade. No biggest Loser could have kept up with me. Seriously! Not even kidding!

So, to me it is the strangest thing to see people who are the "GIT ER DONE AND GIT ER DONE NOW" kind of personality, procrastinate in getting healthy or forming healthy habits. I would think those people would be the no-nonsense, YESTERDAY PEOPLE, who would easily tackle Health & Wellness like the rest of their To-Do lists. No hesitations, no resistance, no fooling around, no whining, no excuse making, no delays! CONSIDERED DONE ALREADY! Checked off the grand To-Do list and on to a different project while I am still lacing up my sneakers!

Yet, someone like me can do what those people have the toughest time doing. What is wrong with this picture! I have often marveled about that. It has intrigued me so much that I actually probed into it recently and learned what some experts say is the reason, psychologically speaking, behind us chronic procrastinators. See if you can relate.

University of Calgary Professor Piers Steel Ph.D., author of The Procrastination Equation has spent his career studying time management issues. He, a self-described reformed procrastinator, said "the act of dillydallying can be boiled down to three human traits:

1. Confidence,
2. Values and
3. Impulsiveness (how susceptible he or she is to immediate delight).

" We procrastinate because we are impulsive". He explains that our overriding impulse is toward immediate gratification. Anything that is fun and easy and provides an instant reward.

[I can so relate to this. whether it be reading, surfing FB, tv, the phone, texting, music, coffee,] anything that feeds the pleasure centers of the brain.

It takes a lot of determinated focused and conscience effort to turn down instant pleasure and hold out for the delayed but deeper satisfaction that comes with completing a task that feels like work. Combine your innate impulsiveness with a society and environment full of promised quick and cheap thrills and you have the perfect setup for procrastination.

"The heart of procrastination is an adaptive natural tendency to value today much more than tomorrow," said Steel, That's why, he said, most people make New Year's resolutions in vain. In scientific terms, a person's intention alone is not enough to see anything through--a condition called "preference reversal." That means unless an individual has some knowledge of his or her motivational weaknesses and can create a plan to counteract them, those promises of losing weight or writing a novel will fall to the wayside, Steel said.

"Essentially, procrastinators have less confidence in themselves, less expectancy that they can actually complete a task," Steel said. "Perfectionism is not the culprit. In fact, perfectionists actually procrastinate less, but they worry about it more."

Paul Spector, professor of industrial organizational psychology at University of South Florida, said there are three ways of getting sidetracked:

• One is characteristic of people who simply have a hard time getting started on a project, or a classic procrastinator.
• Another deals with a person who gets started, but then gets bogged down in details, or a classic perfectionist.
• The last is the person who is distractible, i.e., the person who needs to workout, but decides to go-out when a friend calls.

 can identify with a lot of the above. So, what to do to turn that around and STOP PROCRASTINATING ALREADY? Well, research shows that for most of us procrastinators the "JUST DO IT" mentality is just NOT THE WAY to make changes. I can agree. That might last temporarily but not very successfully long term for those prone to procrastinate.

Here's what I did to overcome procrastination when I finally got my mind made up to lose the weight and get in shape. I had to research myself. Professor Piers says "Research is Me-search". When I got to the bottom of What's Eating Me I was able to stop procrastination dead in it's tracks. It didn't happen overnight but it would have never happened if I hadn't made up my mind to get started and be fully committed.

After the car wrecks, the old procrastinator showed back up and has been an unwanted  sidler ever since. You know what a sidler is? According to one of the Pastors at the church where I attend, A sidler is someone who every time you turn your head they are right there in your face. Too up close and personal. In your face. In your space. CREEPER!

I think a sidler can also be THINGS that attach themselves to us and are always there in our face, in our space. Holding us back. Keeping us in bondage. Things like PROCRASTINATION!

What will it take to get your attention! To get you motivated! To stop the procrastination?

It is said that we are motivated by two things; Pain or Pleasure. I can relate to that. When the pain got so bad, I stopped procrastinating and took action. It saved my life and set me free. Then the pleasure set in and I enjoyed feeling good and looking better so much so that I was  whole-heartedly invested in maintaining the lifestyle and it became me.

Working out and eating healthy became my favorite things and I literally preached it 24/7 to anyone and everyone who would listen. It mattered not where I was or if the person was a total stranger. I couldn't help myself. The healthier I became and the happier I got, the more I wanted to share the good news with the entire world. I just couldn't keep it to myself. Besides, I had made a promise to the Lord that if He would help me, I would spend the rest of my life helping others, like me.

That is why I have been kicking and screaming and fighting within myself to get back to that place of no excuses, no nonsense, made up mind, dedication that no matter what NOTHING OR NOBODY IS GOING TO STOP ME FROM GETTING HEALTHY AND FIT AGAIN! I am getting there and my Gumption is coming back to me and I will be a force to be reckoned with, again, and I want the world to join with me and let's stop this procrastination madness and just get healthy and free from the bondages of procrastination. It is not the way to the land of Milk & Honey and I want nothing to do with it anymore! It does not serve us well. Procrastination is not our friend. So, I hope you will join me TODAY! Put an end to procrastination once and for all. We can do it. Especially if you have faith even as small as the seed of a grain of mustard. Now that is small faith. But just that teeney, tiny, amount of faith is enough to help us rise above our sidlers and take positive action, NOW!

Today is our day of Salvation! We have a purpose to fulfill. Milk & Honey is waiting for us!Let us go forth and Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy!

Blessings, HUGS, and LOVE,
Tina Maria ~
P.S. Remember to let me know if you want the chance to win a 50.00 IonPod Refillable Alkalizing Water Bottle. Winner will be randomly selected Friday Dec. 23rd. Post a note on FB, or a comment here on my BLOG, or send me a private email at TinaMariaAdams@gmail.com
To learn more about the IonPod Water Bottle, scroll down to the previous BLOG and you will see photos and info.