My Fleep:
Health
Health
Lose Body Fat – “Yo-Yo Dieting” Might Have Nothing to do with Your Will-Power
Are you a person who finds yourself in the midst of "losing
weight" more often than enjoying it being gone? Do you drop
between 10 to 50 pounds from your frame only to find those
pounds sneaking back on like hobos hopping an early morning
freight train? You're obviously not alone in this dilemma.
And the good news; it might not be a reflection of a lack
of discipline that has your fat loss resembling the
perpetual motions of a working yo-yo.
Human motivation is often a perplexing phenomenon. It
obviously varies among individuals and has varying degrees
at different times within the same individual. Most of us
have felt the peculiarity of being motivated to take action
in certain contexts of our lives while suffering an
avoidance of action in areas that need our attention. Much
of the reason for this is connected to our contextualized
values.
But motivation has even subtler nuances. Its basic catalyst
boils down to the dual human needs of avoiding pain and
gaining pleasure. This makes each of us either a
predominantly "push" or "pull" person in regard to what
motivates us to improve the circumstances of our lives. The
theory, in fact, is that moving away from what's perceived
as painful is what gets us started toward positive change
and moving toward what's perceived as pleasurable is what
sustains our momentum. With a unique ratio of this balance
within each of us (different in every context), it becomes
plain to see how motivation surges and wanes.
Every one of us is at least slightly and initially more
motivated by the prospect of pain than pleasure. This is
why mainstream news is dominated by negative stories. It's
been said that if a newspaper carried a front-page headline
stating "It will be a Beautiful, Sunny Day Tomorrow", the
headline would be ignored by passersby and the paper
wouldn't sell. We can readily predict what will happen if
the same newspaper prints a front-page headline stating
"There's a Violent and Terrible Storm Coming"; it will fly
off the newsstand.
But what happens when our motivation becomes driven almost
solely by the need to move away from perceived pain?
Moreover, what can occur when this "driver" of motivation
becomes wedged in our subconscious as part of our
self-image? The answer: Our success in much of what we
undertake becomes a perpetual rollercoaster ride of
short-lived positive results followed by a subconscious
"need" to undo what we've created. This is often the
underlying reason for constantly fluctuating results in
business, relationships, personal development, and yes; fat
loss and body improvement.
If moving away from what we don't want is almost
exclusively what motivates us, then what's left to do when
we've successfully distanced ourselves from discomfort? In
the case of fat loss, it's to subconsciously and nearly
imperceptibly allow the fat to creep back on. Why not – the
most tangible pleasure came from the fleshly indulgences of
gaining it. The most overtly abstract pleasure arose out of
receiving compliments from other people while losing it.
What a combination; gaining and losing body fat becomes a
package deal with the best pleasures of both worlds. How
can one resist becoming addicted to the entire
rollercoaster ride?
This can even be fun for a while. But it also gets taxing
on the body and it can take its toll on the psyche. The
latter becomes especially so if a person begins to believe
they're "weak" for not keeping the fat off indefinitely.
What we mistakenly label as weakness in our willpower might
only be the acute manifestation of personal motivation
that's chronically catalyzed by an above average desire to
move away from perceived pain.
I've seen this phenomenon in the world of commerce. A guy I
know experienced a roller coaster of up and down results in
his sole proprietorship business. The top of his
subconscious comfort zone was when his personal income
would reach about $60,000 annually. The bottom of that
comfort zone was when he'd eke out $20,000 for the year.
After he'd peak at sixty thousand, he would begin to
unconsciously sabotage his momentous efforts until he was
back down to barely treading water with twenty grand. Then
he'd start working his way back up again. This pattern was
ongoing until he finally underwent an intervention (NLP)
that opened the upper limit of his comfort zone and shifted
his motivation to a predominantly ‘moving-toward'
orientation.
One of the most successful bodybuilders and a pioneer of
the fitness movement published a book that contains a
revealing anecdote from one of his long-time friends. His
friend said that whenever he saw this bodybuilder, the guy
said he was getting into the best shape of his life. He
shared "When I saw him ten years ago, he said he was
getting into the best shape of his life. When I ran into
him two weeks ago and asked how his workouts were going, he
said he was getting into the best shape of his life."
Is this positive self-programming or the signs of a strong
"moving-toward" motivation catalyst? It might be a bit of
both. At any rate, the man was always in excellent physical
shape.
If you're a person who's succumbed to the tendency to ride
the rollercoaster ride of "yo-yo dieting", withhold from
concluding that your will-power is weak. Instead, take a
close look at the subconscious reasons you have for
shedding the fat. Are you influenced by a deep need to flee
from pain? Does the pain of carrying too much body fat
finally get you moving in the right direction? Most
importantly, do you find yourself devoid of reasons to
carry on with improved eating habits once you've put that
painful state so far in the rear-view mirror that you can
no longer see it?
If you answered yes to these questions, it's probably time
to stop mentally beating yourself up for inadequate
will-power and start examining your motivation patterns. If
it appears that you're moving away from something
unappealing more than moving toward a better you, a vacuum
is possibly being created that no amount of will-power can
overcome.
----------------------------------------------------
Scott Abbett is the author of HardBody Success: 28
Principles to Create Your Ultimate Body and Shape Your Mind
for Incredible Success. He is a certified fitness trainer
and a Master Practitioner and Trainer of NLP. To see his
personal transformation, visit
http://www.hardbodysuccess.com
Are you a person who finds yourself in the midst of "losing
weight" more often than enjoying it being gone? Do you drop
between 10 to 50 pounds from your frame only to find those
pounds sneaking back on like hobos hopping an early morning
freight train? You're obviously not alone in this dilemma.
And the good news; it might not be a reflection of a lack
of discipline that has your fat loss resembling the
perpetual motions of a working yo-yo.
Human motivation is often a perplexing phenomenon. It
obviously varies among individuals and has varying degrees
at different times within the same individual. Most of us
have felt the peculiarity of being motivated to take action
in certain contexts of our lives while suffering an
avoidance of action in areas that need our attention. Much
of the reason for this is connected to our contextualized
values.
But motivation has even subtler nuances. Its basic catalyst
boils down to the dual human needs of avoiding pain and
gaining pleasure. This makes each of us either a
predominantly "push" or "pull" person in regard to what
motivates us to improve the circumstances of our lives. The
theory, in fact, is that moving away from what's perceived
as painful is what gets us started toward positive change
and moving toward what's perceived as pleasurable is what
sustains our momentum. With a unique ratio of this balance
within each of us (different in every context), it becomes
plain to see how motivation surges and wanes.
Every one of us is at least slightly and initially more
motivated by the prospect of pain than pleasure. This is
why mainstream news is dominated by negative stories. It's
been said that if a newspaper carried a front-page headline
stating "It will be a Beautiful, Sunny Day Tomorrow", the
headline would be ignored by passersby and the paper
wouldn't sell. We can readily predict what will happen if
the same newspaper prints a front-page headline stating
"There's a Violent and Terrible Storm Coming"; it will fly
off the newsstand.
But what happens when our motivation becomes driven almost
solely by the need to move away from perceived pain?
Moreover, what can occur when this "driver" of motivation
becomes wedged in our subconscious as part of our
self-image? The answer: Our success in much of what we
undertake becomes a perpetual rollercoaster ride of
short-lived positive results followed by a subconscious
"need" to undo what we've created. This is often the
underlying reason for constantly fluctuating results in
business, relationships, personal development, and yes; fat
loss and body improvement.
If moving away from what we don't want is almost
exclusively what motivates us, then what's left to do when
we've successfully distanced ourselves from discomfort? In
the case of fat loss, it's to subconsciously and nearly
imperceptibly allow the fat to creep back on. Why not – the
most tangible pleasure came from the fleshly indulgences of
gaining it. The most overtly abstract pleasure arose out of
receiving compliments from other people while losing it.
What a combination; gaining and losing body fat becomes a
package deal with the best pleasures of both worlds. How
can one resist becoming addicted to the entire
rollercoaster ride?
This can even be fun for a while. But it also gets taxing
on the body and it can take its toll on the psyche. The
latter becomes especially so if a person begins to believe
they're "weak" for not keeping the fat off indefinitely.
What we mistakenly label as weakness in our willpower might
only be the acute manifestation of personal motivation
that's chronically catalyzed by an above average desire to
move away from perceived pain.
I've seen this phenomenon in the world of commerce. A guy I
know experienced a roller coaster of up and down results in
his sole proprietorship business. The top of his
subconscious comfort zone was when his personal income
would reach about $60,000 annually. The bottom of that
comfort zone was when he'd eke out $20,000 for the year.
After he'd peak at sixty thousand, he would begin to
unconsciously sabotage his momentous efforts until he was
back down to barely treading water with twenty grand. Then
he'd start working his way back up again. This pattern was
ongoing until he finally underwent an intervention (NLP)
that opened the upper limit of his comfort zone and shifted
his motivation to a predominantly ‘moving-toward'
orientation.
One of the most successful bodybuilders and a pioneer of
the fitness movement published a book that contains a
revealing anecdote from one of his long-time friends. His
friend said that whenever he saw this bodybuilder, the guy
said he was getting into the best shape of his life. He
shared "When I saw him ten years ago, he said he was
getting into the best shape of his life. When I ran into
him two weeks ago and asked how his workouts were going, he
said he was getting into the best shape of his life."
Is this positive self-programming or the signs of a strong
"moving-toward" motivation catalyst? It might be a bit of
both. At any rate, the man was always in excellent physical
shape.
If you're a person who's succumbed to the tendency to ride
the rollercoaster ride of "yo-yo dieting", withhold from
concluding that your will-power is weak. Instead, take a
close look at the subconscious reasons you have for
shedding the fat. Are you influenced by a deep need to flee
from pain? Does the pain of carrying too much body fat
finally get you moving in the right direction? Most
importantly, do you find yourself devoid of reasons to
carry on with improved eating habits once you've put that
painful state so far in the rear-view mirror that you can
no longer see it?
If you answered yes to these questions, it's probably time
to stop mentally beating yourself up for inadequate
will-power and start examining your motivation patterns. If
it appears that you're moving away from something
unappealing more than moving toward a better you, a vacuum
is possibly being created that no amount of will-power can
overcome.
----------------------------------------------------
Scott Abbett is the author of HardBody Success: 28
Principles to Create Your Ultimate Body and Shape Your Mind
for Incredible Success. He is a certified fitness trainer
and a Master Practitioner and Trainer of NLP. To see his
personal transformation, visit
http://www.hardbodysuccess.com