Want to get in better shape? Dont bother reading this, you already know how to!
Okay, so there are about a million books out there on the topicsof health, dieting, exercising, looking better, etc….and Ishould know since I feel like Ive read most of them myself!!!Most proclaim to hold the magic secret or formula for improvingyour health. I must admit, its tempting to buy these books bythe dozen. Dont get me wrong, there are some exceptional booksout there, but do you want to know the true “secret” behindcreating better health and being in better shape? Well here itis in 7 super simple stages (the funny thing is you probablyalready know all these, but maybe havent thought about it thiseasily):
1. CHANGE YOUR FRAME OF MIND
Everyone says the same thing: “I need to LOOSE weight”. Thatsthe first problem. As humans, we are psychologically hardwiredto think of LOOSING as a negative. Subconsciously we do not wantto LOOSE and therefore our brains will sabotage our own efforts.Solution: think of it in terms of IMPROVEMENT or GAIN. Tellyourself “I want to GAIN better health”. Even if you succeed inloosing your desired weight, eventually youll think “okay, Ivelost enough weight” and then my friend, youre in trouble.However the more health you GAIN, the more youll want to keepgoing. Hey, were all greedy by nature.
2. A LITTLE MOTIVATION NEVER HURT ANYONE
Simply put: people dont achieve and maintain their goals for noreason. So pick one. But make it a good one; one that will besustainable. Saying “I want to fit in that new dress by mybirthday” may work in the short term, but could soon fade afterthe big day. Try to think of one that will keep you going in thelong run. Some examples that just popped into my head could be”want to set the right example for my kids”, “want to livelonger”, or simply “want to feel confident about myself”.Whatever your reason, choose one that will last. And if you needa little extra motivation you can always turn to others forinspiration in books as Michael Ruges: Quote-A-Quote: to YourSuccess (www.quoteaquote.com).
3 THE BIG “SECRET”
Hopefully you noticed I was mocking the “secret”. You want toloose weight (or should I say improve your figure), BURN MORECALORIES THAN YOU CONSUME!!! Thats it. Thats the entireformula. “How do you do that” you ask? The best way is through a”healthy” mixture of eating right and exercising. How much ofeach is up to you. You eat like a pig…well you might want toexercise a bit more. Youre extremely lazy; eat more sensibly.Bottom line: evaluate your lifestyle and react/adjustaccordingly. You dont have to “count calories”, but use yourbest judgment and the results will follow. I trust you.
4. GETTING STARTED
Now that you know the big “secret” you can get started right?Hold on. As a business
consultant, I know one things for sure:every successful business is built on a solid plan. Likewise, soshould your goals. Its one thing to know what you want; itsanother to know how youll get there. So make a plan. This isntrocket-science and certainly doesnt need to be. The simpler,the better, as you are more likely to stick with it. “I want tobike to work”…there you go; your plan can be that simple. Knowyour goals, and establish a REALISTIC way to achieve them.
5. KEEP GOING!!!
I find it funny (maybe funny isnt the right word) how manypeople pack the gyms in January compared to February. With theNew Year, everybody is determined to get in better shape. Acouple weeks later, most revert to their old routines. In theparagraph above I emphasized to “establish” a REALISTIC way toachieve your goals. This means not only creating and executing aplan you can work with, but MAINTAINING it. You cant win therace if you dont cross the finish line. Achieving better healthor shape isnt something you can or want to do in a weekend.This should be a long term ambition so think accordingly.
6. TREAT YOURSELF
Dont know about you but I enjoy the occasional beer andcheeseburger. Getting in better shape doesnt mean you have togive up all your favorite foods and spend 4 hours in the gymeveryday. On the contrary, doing so will only make you stop.There is a big difference between cutting back and going coldturkey. You know yourself. You know how much of somethingdepending on your activity is good for you. So if youveexercised like crazy all week….have that piece of desert (butnot the whole cake). And remember there is also a differencebetween treating yourself and cheating yourself. Just becauseyou walked from your house to your car doesnt mean you burnedenough calories to have the extra-large triple combo! Lastly,healthy food CAN taste good. So try one of the recipes in thisbook and see for yourself: Healthy Cooking for Two (or JustYou): Low-Fat Recipes with Half the Fuss and Double the Taste.
7. LEARN FROM OTHERS
Everyone makes mistakes. Use that to your advantage. Learn fromothers who have made mistakes and still found a way to succeed.It will help you avoid them altogether or at least may provide asolution to the ones you do make. In my opinion, those are themost valuable health books. Courtney Rubins The Weight-LossDiaries is a prefect example
“Take care of your body, its the only place you have to live”-Jim Rohn, as included in the book: Quote-A-Quote: to YourSuccess.
About the author:
Nicolas Gremion is a health buff, business consultant,entrepreneur and apparently part-time writer. His latest ventureis a Canadian mineral exploration company (www.IQmining.com).
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