What is difficult?

{To be clear what I am about to write does not apply to those with an underlying medical or hormonal condition. I advise anyone embarking on a weight lossand fitness plan to have a thorough medical evaluation. You want to be sure that you are physically able to exercise and you don’t have an underlying medical condition.}

What is difficult?

by: Joe Leonardi

One of the primary tenants relating to the mental energy aspect of the Fat Then Fit Now plan is turning off negativity. How many times has one been told;

“It is  difficult to lose weight.”

“It is difficult to find time to exercise.”

“It is difficult to change my eating habits.”

My clients tell me the above often. They have been discouraged, either by themselves, or others convincing them of the difficulty of their task. I tell them, “losing weight and getting in shape are the easiest things I have ever done.” Most of them look at me as if I have grown an extra eye, or another head. However, I only reiterate my position.

You see, the body will follow the brain. If you tell yourself something is difficult, even if it isn’t, will become more demanding.

I tell them to put things in perspective.

Compare watching what you eat, to a person in a third world country who has no choice in what food, IF ANY, they eat.

Compare the effort it takes to exercise, to the plight  of the Chilean miners, who were stuck underground for more than two months.

Compare the lack of living a full, active life with the self-imposed limits that obesity places upon oneself.

Once the situation is put into perspective, your brain will start forming a new reality. Once you begin to realize that you don’t NEED ice cream to complete a meal, the cravings will subside and then disappear. Once you realize that exercise actually feels good and the results are even better, you won’t want to miss your exercise time.

Difficult is a relative term depending on what you want it to mean and where you chose to apply it. Yes, life has many difficulties.

In these very tough economic times, you may be unemployed, so day-to-day life is more difficult. Will being overweight and out-of-shape make it any easier? Or, will it make things more difficult?

One may be facing a personal crisis, a relationship ending, divorce, the passing of a loved one. Will true solace be found at the bottom of an ice cream container? Will comfort really be found laying on the couch, allowing deterioration of the body?

Image by ninahale via Flickr

A positive aspect of fitness is that it gives the body an opportunity to renew each and every day. As you exercise, freshly oxygenated blood is pushed through the muscles, bringing nutrients to the entire body. As different hormonal releases are stimulated, the mood will change for the positive. This new positive mood will translate into a greater ability to handle the stresses that may otherwise deteriorate your health.

When you have a challenging task at hand, you may not be able to change the task, but you can change how you view it. If you more than simply tell yourself that it is easy, if you convince yourself the difficulty does not exist, then, in the case of obesity, the obstacle will be conquered and unhealthy version of you will be vanquished.

About these ads