Speaking

Tonight I had the pleasure of speaking at a TOPS event at the Shriner's Children's Hospital in Springfield. I spoke for about 40 minutes on my story, showing pictures, and giving my tips on weight loss and motivation. It was wonderful to see a different community of people focused on accountability and the great conundrum which is how to lose weight and keep it off. Of course, what I shared with them is a two fold approach: one is scientific, the other is spiritual/social. 

The science of weight loss is a numbers game. You must find out what's going to be healthy for you, and for that it's good to have a nutritionist or doctor involved. But ultimately weight is a number and the solution involves numbers. It's simply calories in/calories out. So track everything! What was good to hear was this group knew already the starting point for all of this is figuring out your basal metabolic rate, which is the amount of calories you burn in a day without doing a thing. Subtracting just 500 calories a day by diet or exercise, or a combination of both, will equal 1 pound of weight loss a week. 

The spiritual and social side of weight loss is staying connected. This means to God/higher power and to those on the journey. It also means being accountable to others about your food journal and daily struggles. Your stress response begs you to stay connected to others as a means of coping. You don't have to go to food to cope.

I also shared, as part of this spiritual approach, a mental aspect which involves the power of positive thinking. This went over, of course, with a very positive response. I talked about the Beck Diet Solution, and went over bits that I thought were very helpful for daily life. Giving yourself credit, identifying sabotaging thoughts and common thinking errors, as well as eating mindfully and changing your eating environment are all great tools that are part of an wholistic spiritual approach to weight loss.

I am scheduled at the end of this month to speak at St Mary's Parish School in Westfield to the High School about my journey. I look forward to speaking about it in the future, as well as turning this into a ministry. I might have to think about expenses, etc, since I am investing a lot of time and money already into my regimen. If your group would like me to speak, please contact me via email at frryan2011@gmail.com