Trying to lose weight? Is it the weight or the clothing size you are concerned with? Now let’s get a little deeper is it the appearance of the fat or the size you are concerned with? Let’s go still deeper is it what you see in front of the mirror or what you think others see when they look in the mirror? I know, whatever the answer it just sucks to feel that way about anyone, especially your self.
Without a careful balance, you will most likely never live lifestyle provided by peek performance. Eating habits, exercise, sleep, mental, personal development, and how you return gratitude to the world all play a key roll in the health of your mind and body.
Pushing to hard:
Exercise and healthy eating habits are a great place to start. By eating clean and exercising you feel better, and generally think clearer. But, where and how you exercise is a very important part of reaching your goal for pinnacle performance. For example, you are eating clean, and you wish to build mass. The quickest way is to lift a lot of weight or a few repetitions. However, pushing heavy weights and not drinking enough water, or lifting too much too quickly, can easily cause muscular overload. You can and most likely will hurt yourself. Many times, not even knowing the damage is there until it is so bad, it sets you back weeks or months.
Moreover, strength training without stretching and some endurance training will surely end in another unbalanced disaster. The body needs to be able to supply blood and oxygen to rebuild the muscle, and of course not stretching before you get started can easily cause pulled muscles and torn ligaments. The body is extremely balanced. You must take care to work at your own pace. I am all about pushing yourself, but please be mindful that the body has actual limits. Not just the ones in your mind, of course, but the kind that could lead you to serious medical injury.
No Short Cuts:
Often time people believe because they have made a new years resolution that they can just start working out right away, or completely change how they eat and reach all of their success goals. A paradigm shift in mindset it necessary to reach any long-term goals. I often remind clients that it took a lot of time to get where you are. If you wish to lose weight or regain muscle usage, it will take time to reach the finish line. Creating written goals and plans designing how you will meet your goals will allow you to save time, because you will not be distracted by other opportunities, nor will you be as likely to quit. Once you have identified what you want to do, you can achieve if you just stay the course.
The right equipment for the job:
The first thing that many people do when they decide they wish to lose weight or get into better physical shape, is to join a gym or buy a pile of exercise equipment. After 15 or 20 years, the garage may look more like an unused personal gym, and by March the gym looks empty. The key is to first pick which type of exercise you will really enjoy. Not just believing because you buy the stationary bike you will lose weight by its mere presence. If you are going to do aerobic exercise you may well not need anything more then an exercise mat and a couple of low weight dumb bells.
You walk every day, maybe just taking up a little more walking. Small increments will allow your body to adjust to the new task and you will be more likely to succeed than if you try to address the issue through quick changes.
It’s a marathon, not a race:
A marathon is similar to a race, except it’s is much broader or longer. Using the big picture opportunity allows you to be able to able to see many opportunities others don’t. By setting goals, creating plans, challenging your mindset, and pacing yourself for the long game, not the short game, you are much more likely to achieve your goal. If you make just a 1% change every week, at the end of the New Year you can change 50%. Likewise, if it took you 5 years to pack on the weight, the belief that it will all come off in 6 months is not a reasonable expectation. So try to position your mind into a place that celebrates the small victories and sees the end goal as something that will happen, but it’s going to take time, patience and resilience.
– J –