When someone joins my personal coaching program, one of the first things I ask them to do is to describe exactly what their body is going to look like once I help them reach their goal weight. I ask them to do this in writing – not over the phone, and here’s why…
Deeply imbedded negative thoughts are what cause us to have difficulties in any weight loss or health enhancement program – in fact, our past failures can almost always be traced back to negative thoughts that we didn’t even realize we had.
Most of our negative thinking comes out when we write things down on paper (or on the computer).
I challenge you to write out 10 brief descriptions about how your body will look in 30 days if you were coached by someone like me – someone who knows exactly how to transform the human body no matter what stage of the game you’re currently at.
Go ahead, take a moment and write out what your face would look like, what your arms would look like, what your legs and your butt would look like – would your skin look different, would your muscles be tighter, would you be leaner – detail everything, then come right back.
Did you do it?
Make your list now before reading any further – I want you to walk away with some profound knowledge of yourself when you’re done reading this article.
OK, now that you have your list, let me show you something that you can use to judge whether or not you’ve been causing yourself to fail in your attempts to lose weight and keep it off.
Here are some examples of statements that a good friend of mine used to have before he and I began working together – statements that were literally holding him back from success:
Face-more chiseled features, no double chin, no doughy jowls or puffy cheeks, no bags under the eyes.
Other than improved facial shape, I really have no complaints at all about my face, hair, eyes, nose, ears.
Neck-no double chin or “wattle”
Chest-no gynecomastia (womanly breasts), muscular instead. Look, ma, I can see my ribcage and pectoral muscles instead of a soft mattress of flab.
Arms-hard sinewy curves instead of soft breadsticks. Seeing veins and muscles instead of smooth fat.
Abdomen-are there really abs hiding in there? They’ve never made an appearance in 50 years! It’d be nice to have a tight waist not uncomfortably sliced by too-tight underwear.
Legs-less of a conical shape, more elongated and solid. Although my calves have always been rather large and firm-my best body part, next to my brain.
Buttocks-less sag, more form
Back-could be a lot less hairy, would be nice to see a “V” shape instead of a truncated pyramid.
Can you see why he might have had a few troubles in the past reaching his goal?
But I’ll let you in on a little secret – this guy is in great shape now and enjoying life more than ever, and he’s a pleasure to speak with each week in our coaching calls.
Now here’s a list from a woman who recently completed one of my coaching programs – this list was written out after our first session together – watch how positive every statement is:
WHAT MY BODY IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE
No, that title is not a typo.
One of the things that makes people not get the weight loss results that they want is that they may occassionally be starving their bodies.
There are two basic ways that this can happen. One is for it to be done inadvertently—like when you just get busy and forget to eat.
Another is when you purpose deprive your body of food to try and “speed up” your results.
Regardless of how it happens, either scenario in this case is equally damaging. Although you will decrease the calories that you take in which may lead to some short-term weight loss, the kicker here is that you will be slowing down your metabolism.
What this means is that after the starving is over, your body will hold onto the next meal you eat for dear life, expecting be be starved again.
If you allow starvation to become a habit, you will actually be contributing to your own weight gain in the future.
Therefore, make sure that you are keeping your meals no more than 4 hours apart. As long as you do this, you will be supporting the healthy metabolism that you’ll need to lose the kind of weight that you’ve committed to.
To Your Best Body,
Obesity is now being called an epidemic in the health community. In fact, it will soon be the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, even ahead of cigarette smoking. Obesity leads to type two diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease or stroke and even an increased risk of cancer. With all of these health risks, as well as the general improvement in the quality of life that can occur, losing weight is one of the best things that you can do for yourself.
No matter what we would like to believe, there simply isn’t a magic solution to losing weight. The body will shed excess fat when it needs more calories to function through the demands you place on it in a given day than the amount of calories that you feed it. It’s that simple. So, in order to lose weight, you need to decrease the number of calories that you eat as well as increase the amount that you burn.
There is a wide range of options to choose from when looking for a weight loss program. All of them often spend a lot of time explaining what to eat, in what amounts and even at what times or in what combinations. But few of them emphasize the importance of exercise – not just for losing weight, but for your general health and wellbeing. Exercise is vital when trying to lose weight for several reasons:
First, as you start to eat less, your metabolism will slow down somewhat. Exercising helps to elevate your metabolism back to an efficient level.Second, as mentioned, exercise burns more calories so that you can lose weight faster and stay motivated in your efforts.Third, exercise actually releases endorphins, chemicals that keep your mood elevated.
Exercise doesn’t have to mean spending hours at the gym or straining through exhausting workouts. In fact, in order for you to stick with it on the long run, exercising should be something that you enjoy. Start by increasing your activity level in an overall way. Take the stairs when you can. Park further from the mall door when you go shopping. Go for a walk in the park or through a neighborhood you love and bring a dog or a friend along for company. Take dance or martial arts lessons.
Once you become more active in general, you’ll find it easier and more natural to move into regular exercise. Which you’ll need to do eventually in order to get regular, noticeable health benefits. You need to raise your heart rate to a fat burning level and keep it there for at least 20 minutes, 3 times or more a week. However, if you don’t want to go to a gym, there are other options. Videos and DVDs are now available in all kinds of exercise types. That way you can change your routine whenever you want so that you don’t get bored with what you’re doing. Try a range of aerobics, kickboxing, yoga, or pretty much any activity you want right in the comfort of your own home.
If you have physical limitations that would keep you off from exercising, you can still find a way to increase your activity level. Water aerobics is a wonderful option for those who have joint problems or limited mobility because it relieves the pressure on your body that your weight provides. But you still get the resistance to challenge your muscles from the water. There are even classes and videos available that let you exercise in a seated position.
Whatever kind of exercise you choose, it’s important to stay motivated and keep it fun. Try gathering a group together to make it a social event. Or get a pedometer, a device that tracks how far you walk, and see how many miles you can walk a week. Make a competition amongst your friends or family members and treat the winner with something special (not food related!). Make the experience of exercising something that you look forward to, and it will soon become a regular part of your healthier lifestyle.
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