My Fleep:
Health
Health
Weight Loss Is Natural with Three Mental Shifts
People who successfully change old habits in order to live
a healthier lifestyle seem to have at least two things in
common. First, many experienced a clear turning point in
life where they finally acknowledged the extent of their
poor physical condition. Second, they refused to accept
poor health any longer and committed to doing whatever was
necessary to correct the situation.
These changes of attitude are critical because the natural
tendency of most people is to first deny or minimize how
obesity and poor fitness is affecting their long-term
health and then to justify or excuse their poor habits as
just too difficult to change right now.
A shift of perspective must accompany behavioral changes if
they are to stick and eventually become habit.
Here are three MENTAL SHIFTS you have to make in order to
become lean, strong and permanently healthy:
INSTEAD OF… "I must deprive myself of food in order to lose
weight." TRY… "I eat well to live well."
THE PROBLEM is that most people have been taught that food
is bad and to view it in terms of calories; cut back on
food and thus calories and lose weight. This is
technically correct but not the best approach and not a
sustainable plan for the long haul.
A SOLUTION is to view food as the source of energy, growth,
repair and resistance to disease. If food is of high
quality then there is nothing that should be eliminated.
Therefore questions about what to eat are answered by
choosing foods that are nutrient rich. (Coincidentally,
these are also the foods that are not calorie dense and so
serving size becomes less important.) View high-quality
food as the source of great health and vigor. Choose the
best; eat consciously and enjoy. You are a first-class
person; why fuel your body with second-rate junk?
INSTEAD OF… "Exercise is a painful and unpleasant
prescription I must endure to burn calories and get
healthy." TRY… "Physical activity is natural to humankind.
My ancestors couldn't avoid it and, as a child, I called it
play."
THE PROBLEM is that many people have been inactive for so
long that exercise is difficult and unfamiliar and they
view it as a boring and bitter medicine.
A SOLUTION is to very gradually introduce physical
activities that qualify as personally enjoyable. Not all
activity has to be "formal" exercise. Make a point to plan
your time and include leisure activities that involve being
on your feet and in motion: a new hobby, trips to parks,
museums, short hikes, time with kids. Don't overestimate
your ability but minimize time spent sitting around. This
is as much about a change in attitude and being a "physical
person" as it is about exercise. Keep formal exercise
simple and start very gradually. Walk. Only five minutes
at first is fine; it is far more important to create a
regular habit than to push too hard too soon. Whatever you
do, don't count calories but set modest goals, enjoy the
movement of your body and relish the steady improvement of
your physical capabilities.
INSTEAD OF… "Circumstances and events make it impossible
for me to stick with a healthy lifestyle." TRY… "I take
100% responsibility for the direction of my life, no matter
what happens to me."
THE PROBLEM is that most people make excuses for their
situation by blaming circumstances and events that appear
beyond their control. After a while their reasoning begins
to sound reasonable and they lose the initiative to seek
solutions to difficult problems.
A SOLUTION is to make the choice to always accept 100%
responsibility for your response to every event, even if
the event is beyond your control. Doing this will affect
the outcome of that event and you will always make the best
of every situation.
This attitude is the underlying mental shift that makes all
the others possible. Unfortunately, it is the one that few
will embrace even though it is the one that can set them
free.
For a start, make a personal commitment to apply these
three mental shifts to how you view life. Observe every
situation you encounter and seek to discover and apply a
proactive and healthy response.
----------------------------------------------------
Howard McGarity is a “Human Performance Specialist”,
Certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Coach who has
studied biology, nutrition and exercise science for most of
his fifty-six years. He designs programs for
MyVirtualGym.com as an effective way to support busy people
in changing their attitudes toward life to get permanently
lean, strong and healthy. Get the Free e-course, "The Five
Fastest Ways to Fitness" => http://www.MyVirtualGym.com .
People who successfully change old habits in order to live
a healthier lifestyle seem to have at least two things in
common. First, many experienced a clear turning point in
life where they finally acknowledged the extent of their
poor physical condition. Second, they refused to accept
poor health any longer and committed to doing whatever was
necessary to correct the situation.
These changes of attitude are critical because the natural
tendency of most people is to first deny or minimize how
obesity and poor fitness is affecting their long-term
health and then to justify or excuse their poor habits as
just too difficult to change right now.
A shift of perspective must accompany behavioral changes if
they are to stick and eventually become habit.
Here are three MENTAL SHIFTS you have to make in order to
become lean, strong and permanently healthy:
INSTEAD OF… "I must deprive myself of food in order to lose
weight." TRY… "I eat well to live well."
THE PROBLEM is that most people have been taught that food
is bad and to view it in terms of calories; cut back on
food and thus calories and lose weight. This is
technically correct but not the best approach and not a
sustainable plan for the long haul.
A SOLUTION is to view food as the source of energy, growth,
repair and resistance to disease. If food is of high
quality then there is nothing that should be eliminated.
Therefore questions about what to eat are answered by
choosing foods that are nutrient rich. (Coincidentally,
these are also the foods that are not calorie dense and so
serving size becomes less important.) View high-quality
food as the source of great health and vigor. Choose the
best; eat consciously and enjoy. You are a first-class
person; why fuel your body with second-rate junk?
INSTEAD OF… "Exercise is a painful and unpleasant
prescription I must endure to burn calories and get
healthy." TRY… "Physical activity is natural to humankind.
My ancestors couldn't avoid it and, as a child, I called it
play."
THE PROBLEM is that many people have been inactive for so
long that exercise is difficult and unfamiliar and they
view it as a boring and bitter medicine.
A SOLUTION is to very gradually introduce physical
activities that qualify as personally enjoyable. Not all
activity has to be "formal" exercise. Make a point to plan
your time and include leisure activities that involve being
on your feet and in motion: a new hobby, trips to parks,
museums, short hikes, time with kids. Don't overestimate
your ability but minimize time spent sitting around. This
is as much about a change in attitude and being a "physical
person" as it is about exercise. Keep formal exercise
simple and start very gradually. Walk. Only five minutes
at first is fine; it is far more important to create a
regular habit than to push too hard too soon. Whatever you
do, don't count calories but set modest goals, enjoy the
movement of your body and relish the steady improvement of
your physical capabilities.
INSTEAD OF… "Circumstances and events make it impossible
for me to stick with a healthy lifestyle." TRY… "I take
100% responsibility for the direction of my life, no matter
what happens to me."
THE PROBLEM is that most people make excuses for their
situation by blaming circumstances and events that appear
beyond their control. After a while their reasoning begins
to sound reasonable and they lose the initiative to seek
solutions to difficult problems.
A SOLUTION is to make the choice to always accept 100%
responsibility for your response to every event, even if
the event is beyond your control. Doing this will affect
the outcome of that event and you will always make the best
of every situation.
This attitude is the underlying mental shift that makes all
the others possible. Unfortunately, it is the one that few
will embrace even though it is the one that can set them
free.
For a start, make a personal commitment to apply these
three mental shifts to how you view life. Observe every
situation you encounter and seek to discover and apply a
proactive and healthy response.
----------------------------------------------------
Howard McGarity is a “Human Performance Specialist”,
Certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Coach who has
studied biology, nutrition and exercise science for most of
his fifty-six years. He designs programs for
MyVirtualGym.com as an effective way to support busy people
in changing their attitudes toward life to get permanently
lean, strong and healthy. Get the Free e-course, "The Five
Fastest Ways to Fitness" => http://www.MyVirtualGym.com .