Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Grit Keeps us Going

There are two kinds of people, those who finish what they start and so on - Robert Byrne

You’re trying to start an exercise plan or a diet, or maybe both. Bravo to you. Perhaps you’ve tried one or both of these many times without much success. Or if you’re like most dieters, you know how to lose weight, just not how to keep it off.

I always tell people to pick plans that they think they’ll be comfortable with for life. After all, the goal is not to go to the gym for 3 months or lose 20 pounds, it’s to exercise regularly or lose weight and continue a healthy diet, right?

I like the construct of grit for helping us maintain the best laid plans. Grit is the combination of perseverance and passion for an important goal. I think your health would qualify as an important goal.

A few tips for getting more gritty:

-Find a plan you can be passionate about…don’t force yourself into something unappealing. Pick something you can be excited about.

-Pick out people who do it successfully and study how they do it…only use things you feel comfortable with that fit your lifestyle.

-Dedicate yourself…once you decide on a plan, stick to it. You can change it, but you cannot abandon the effort.

-Learn from setbacks…it’s really the only way to learn. Figure out how to tweak your program to make it work better for you.

-Run the marathon…no, not literally, unless you really want to. It’s going to take time to change habits and get where you want to go. Keep pushing since having a good challenge tends to keep us going.

Keep it up, and be that first kind of person Byrne refers to. Think about what it will feel like to be the kind of person who finishes what they start.

Keep an eye out for my Ezine article coming out soon on this topic.

2 comments:

Lose weight said...

Go listen to something inspirational. Get a massage. Read a book. Take a bath. Meditate. Treat yourself to a mini-vacation. Go out for an enjoyable meal with someone you love. Tell yourself in the mirror – you are special. Matter of fact, look in the mirror and say “yeah me!” – why not celebrate you? You are worth it. You are special.I know, that last one about looking in the mirror and saying "Yeah Me" when you think you look fat, seems to be a tough one. But stop focusing on the body parts that you don't like. Shift your attention to what you do like about you. You have the choice to do so. So, why not do it?!Give yourself a break. Your mind, body and soul will THANK YOU when you do and you will feel so much better. And when you do give yourself that break and TREAT yourself well, the HONEY IS OOZING and the manifestations of losing that excess weight will come so much easier to you.If you are beating up on yourself all the time, not liking what you see in the mirror, how can you expect to change the state of where you are at? If like attracts like (which it does), you are just going to be attracting more "proof" that you don't look good or that your weight is an "issue". Find the proof to the contrary.Remember the honey analogy and you WILL be well on your way to that healthy and fit body you so desire!Yes, ooze with honey and that excess weight will come off far easier than if you are stressed out about where you are at and how far you have to go.If I had to sum it up in one short sentence, I would say ...BE KIND TO YOU!

U. Hoodia said...

Study after study has shown that as a society we are more sleep deprived than ever. And if you want to get rid of your flabby arms, sleep deprivation will hold you back. It's really that critical here.You see, if you do not get sleep, a whole range of negative effects will set back your flabby arms mission. For instance, a lack of sleep increases ghrelin which is a hormone that will make you extremely hungry.More importantly, no sleep translates into a poor mood. In other words, you mind will make mole hills seem like mountains.So here is how to get rid of flabby arms by getting more sleep:1. Stay in the dark. Light is the most powerful zeitgeber. In other words, is the strongest signal your body uses to establish regular wake and sleep cycles. If there is any light hitting your eyes before you want to wake up, your quality of sleep will deteriorate.2. Use your mind. Challenging your mind during the day will break down a lot of ATP. And breaking down ATP will help you sleep much better at night.3. Try not to sleep in. The occasional sleep in won't do much harm, but be careful. You see, if you sleep in more than once you run the risk of disrupting your regular sleeping patterns. And this will make getting rid of flabby arms very difficult.