By Lisa Schilling
New Year may not have arrived yet, but you can see it from here. In my industry we are flooded with New Year’s Resolution Participants, NYRPs for short. These very well-meaning folks, flood into the gym determined to finally lose weight and get healthy.
We see it every year. So what is the problem? The problem is February. When it arrives over half of the NYRPs are nowhere to be found. You may wonder why this always happens, I know I did. It sent me in search of Get REAL answers.
What I found is that NYRPs like the IDEA of being thinner and healthier but they do not like the actual WORK it takes to achieve it. That is only problem number one. This natural phenomenon can be overcome for a short period time by sheer white- knuckle willpower; however, that will be as temporary as the results they achieve.
Most NYRPs are fighting their natural guttural reaction to exercise and healthy eating. In their subconscious, they just don’t want to do it. Without a renewed perspective or major life-shift that causes a heartfelt motivation, the chances of success are slim; pardon the pun.They are trying to put the cart before the horse. By putting your horse power behind you, you greatly limit the progress that can be made. In short, without the proper mindset, you can push and push, and still not find what you were hoping for.
It takes a mental shift to implement a physical shift. Often this comes in the form of a major life event, which forces you to “wake up and smell the coffee,” so to speak. When you approach the goal from a new direction and allow the horse power to pull you along, it won’t seem so tedious and painful.
So much of what I teach is to shift your focus from losing weight, to getting healthier and fit. When you exercise and eat better because your goal is to improve your functional health, you always meet your goal. If you only focus on losing weight it seems illusive, and what you must go through to achieve it, a chore.
By focusing on the health benefits of your behavior you are more likely to see the need for practicing these behaviors regularly. To most people weight loss is a destination. Hurry up and get there so you can go back to the old habits even faster. That is the rub. Those habits got you where you are now. Go back to what you did before, and you will end up back where you were.
By focusing on your health, you can embrace moderation and consistency without the guilt. This creates a sustainable lifestyle. By creating a routine that supports activity and healthy eating, you will gradually find a healthy weight and at the same time reduce the numerous health risk factors associated with caring too much weight.
The current situation facing our NYRPs is a sad fate of yo-yo efforts. In the long run, that kind of manipulation will lead to more health problems than it was intended to heal. To Get REAL results, you need to start slower and maintain longer.
The current situation typically finds sedentary, overweight people, setting unrealistic resolutions and then going at it full force. They know they should be doing something about their weight, so they start by exercising too much, too long and too often. While at the same time they are reducing their calories so low that the body will decide it needs to hold onto every ounce of fat for fear of starvation.
This is creating a very ugly situation. Have you ever been around someone doing it this way? These are not happy campers. No wonder they quit by February. They are taking on the routine of a conditioned athlete, in a not so conditioned body. Many end up injured, bummed out or burned out. This leads them to just chuck it all and go back to what they did before, which is usually…nothing.
This pattern is repeated annually around the world. I say it is time to Get REAL and decide to do it different. Get your thinking lined up and start a moderate activity plan that you advance as you gain more endurance. Start a beginner weight training program twice a week. And slowly begin reducing your calories by simply making mindful choices. Then advance this plan as needed to stay challenged.
By the way, don’t wait to start this new moderate wellness plan, start at your next choice. When you find yourself overindulging, cut yourself some slack and make a better choice at the next opportunity. Wellness is not a sprint, it is a marathon. You will still be here in 10 years, so make good use of that time and work toward being the healthiest, “whatever age you are” around.
If you wish to learn more please visit my site http://getrealwellnesssolutions.com
