Image: 'quiet I'm thinking' www.flickr.com/photos/28801512@N00/292262245

Our goal in the next two weeks is to get ourselves so worked up and convinced that we can be healthier and meet our weight loss goals that it becomes inevitable.  Even if you have failed in the past with dieting or exercise regiments, we must overcome that negative karma in order to generate our the positive self-image required for the arduous tasks ahead.

Really?  Arduous tasks?  What’s so arduous about our tasks ahead?

In the future, we’re going to have to break down all our bad habits and replace them with good healthy habits.  The only way we can do that is to be in a positive emotional state leaving our baggage behind.  Don’t worry about these arduous tasks, for when we’re done, we’re going to make these tasks be the easiest things you’ve ever did.

Huh?  wait a minute, did you just say that we’re going to make our weight loss goals and exercise habits the easiest thing we ever did?  How the heck are we going to do that?

The right frame of mind.  That’s what we have to do in the next two weeks.  We have got to convince ourselves, by 02-02 (Feb 2), that there is no way we will fail.  No way.

One of the reasons we built simpleweight was to help everyone manage their own fitness.  When I say everyone, I include myself in this list.  Have you ever seen a Fitness Expert, Diet Book Author, or Diet and Weight Management website owner be unhealthy, unfit, and generally obese?  Neither have I. So, my brother and I built simpleweight to help us maintain our own physical fitness and healthy body weight.

Now, I wouldn’t call myself obese by any means, in fact, its borderline whether I’m fat or not, but I’m also not the symbol of fitness a weight loss website owner should be.  When I follow my own advice, I lose weight, I feel better, I look better, I save money, and I eat less.   When I don’t follow my own advice, I do the opposite.  Well, what have I done, I haven’t gained weight, but I haven’t lost weight either.  So, I have failed at meeting my weight loss and physical fitness goals, but I don’t like to call it failure.  It’s just taking me longer than I expected.  I will succeed, because I will act.  Action must come before the success.

Around the web, people are losing their way with weight management.  For example,  Oprah recently went on her show and discussed her weight issues. Oprah now weighs over 200 lbs. (I am surprised and happy to hear that I weigh less than her.  Then again, she is worth a billions of dollars, and I am not. Of course, money does matter.)   I have followed the fellas at getfitslowly.com on their journey for weight loss.  I’m totally surprised that their experiences almost mimic my own progress.  They are eating better, they feel better, but they are not meeting their own weight loss goals. In fact, they had a discussion just this last summer about what it means to be healthy and fit, and whether you can be fit and still be overweight.  Ultimately, I’d say they are healthier and with God’s good grace, they will live longer because of their efforts. Starling

Many of us, fluctuate.  We get on the horse ride a bit, then fall off, and we forget to get back up on the horse again for too long.  We let our bad habits take over our good habits.  It takes a long, long time to turn bad habits into good habits. However, it takes perseverance.  I know I will do it, and I know you can too.

So, How do I get back my Positive Outlook?  How do I turn the tide and return to the healthy habits of daily exercise and eat until satisfied rather than eat until full.

I generate positive inertia by re-focusing on the long-term.

I’ve been analyzing it by comparing Weight Loss and Fitness to other Common Business and Personal Problems.  For Example,  David Allen with Getting Things Done suggests that there are 6 levels for reviewing your own work. He compares our work to altitude.  At the Runway level, we have the immediate next action.  In other words, what am I going to do right now at this very moment in order to achieve the larger goal of projects which operate at the 10,000 foot level.  Projects below to our Areas of responsibility at the 20,000 foot level.  Which hopefully are moving us toward are One to Two Year Goals at the 30,000 foot level.  Working us towards our 40,000 foot level of 5 year vision which leads us to the 50,000+ Foot Level of the Big Picture, and other Purpose for Living Life Goals.  For some people, Not knowing your purpose or not knowing your one to two year goals, they can operate just fine.  In other words, They can fly the plane just fine even though they don’t know where they are going.  I am not one of those people.

I need to have a very, very clear focus at where I want to go at the 40,000 foot level otherwise, my plane is all over the runway and probably won’t even take off.  If it does take off, then it’s all wobbly while it reaches the 10,000 foot level.  I need that Long Term Crystal Clear Vision or Mission.

Let’s look at another example, in Stephen Covey’s books: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and First Things First, he provides “Begin with the End in Mind”  as habit number two and the need for us to have a moral compass.  We need this compass in order for us to find direction.  Without our moral compass, we too often live in the day to day doing not important urgent tasks rather than the not urgent very important projects.

So, our homework as we prepare for Groundhog Day New Year’s Resolutions is to create a moral compass and identify with clarity what we want to happen with our fitness and eating habits.

Ask ourselves these questions:

• What do I want?
• How do I want to feel?
• What do I want to look like?
• What will my portion sizes look like when I eat?
• How will it feel to be exercising every day?
• What am I willing to give up to achieve my new habits?
• What will people say to you?
• If a friend walks up to you after not seeing you for a while, what are they going to say when you achieve success by meeting your Ground hog day resolutions?
• Why?, Why?, Why?, Why?, Why?, Why?  (Ask yourself why repeatedly six or more times until you are precise with an answer.  it helps when you have a 3 or 4 year old ask you. )

Image: 'Spiral-Bound Pad' www.flickr.com/photos/49503155381@N01/2475849569

Homework Assignment:

Our Goal for this homework assignment is to write down in crystal clear vivid imagery what do we want to be and achieve.  We will need to write in present and/or past tense.  I often suggest you find magazine or website pictures of buff women or men and photoshop or paste your head on your ideal body.  Build that vivid image that is so clear that you’ll be experiencing it.

Visualization Assignment:

Now clear your head by breathing in and out sitting on a firm but comfortable chair.  Listen to your breath in and out.  Count 15 even average breaths from fifteen slowly down to one.  Now, imagine you are stepping onto a scale. You see the toes and feet perfectly shaped without any excess weight stepping on the scale.  As you wait for the scale to spin to your ideal size, you notice how lean you feel and how strong your heart is.  re standing on a scale.  You look down and see that you are weighing the exact amount for your ideal body image.  The scale then scans your Body Fat % and calculates your BMI.  More waiting, and you see the body fat % is exactly as it should be and the BMI is right in your healthy range.  As you step off the scale, you look at a full length mirror and notice your body is the perfect picture of health and vitality. You notice your calves are strong lean and give your body shape.  Your thighs are not big, but not skinny.  They’re just right for your height, the waist and hips curve just perfectly to give you a beautiful look and fit your thin stomach right into your perfect chest.  Your arms are toned and the strength you have to do daily tasks that were so difficult before are now just as easy as floating a feather.

It helps to know where we are going, before we get on the plane.  We may have to take some twists and turns due to unforeseen circumstances, but we still have the end in the mind.

If you want to share, post your answers to the homework below.  If you want more privacy, but still want to share, email me your answers to coach [at] simpleweight [dot] com  –or– use our contact us form.

What is my the image of my perfectly healthy me in present tense?