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Tuesday 16 October 2012

The Weight of it all!!!!!

The weight of it all!<------ This statement or more to the point your decoding or meaning making of it may determine your current natural bias to all things. Positive or Negative.



Some may take this statement (which by the way was posted as my status on FB.) as being that I am weighed down and feeling heavy..  But I suppose it may be taken more as a observation or general statement of the weight of all things as seen or percieved by you.

Things can be seen as light or heavy depending on your general frame of reference.  Eg if you are generally used to moving tonnes of stuff a day then to move a few kilo is not going to seem that hard.

But it can be the struggle with a few Kilo's that can be a journey of a lifetime.

For me at present I feel light simply because I am.  I am currently lighter in weight than I have been in decades.... And it feels good and is good from a health perspective.

However as I stated I have not been at this low a weight for decades and I have been faced with a mental challenge to realise that I am the person who sets my expectations and personal goals and most of all my behaviour.  Which may be seen to be driven by my thoughts.

Weight is an issue that pardon the pun can be a weighty issue for many who battle the buldge and for goodness sake there is a entire million if not billion dollar industry designed around peoples battle with the issue.

I am one of those people who has battled this issue with a variety of success for most of the life that I remember....

My challenge is to maintain the rage and activity.  I have consulted with a nutritionist and utilise an iphone APP Myfitnesspal that was useful to bring me down to 120kgs down from previously 139kgs but I am now 117kgs.  I was down to as low as 114kgs but that was after returning from Timor and I gained some sickness either here or there that meant that I was unable to eat for 3 days.  So as I wish to go lower I need the support of a calourie counter in my pocket. 

I also gain the support of friends one of which several of which are involved in elite sport training athletes in Elite Rugby and Football (soccer).  So I have a good background in what to do.  But in relation to challenges that I have experienced in the past one of the biggest pieces of advice that made a real difference for me is to NOT pass any liquid past my lips that is not Water or a diet drink.  I used to be a big fan of the the energy drinks or soft drinks in general but the impact was made when it was explained that the energy from 1 can of soft drink is generally equivalent to that of an extra meal.  so if you a person who likes soft drink then even 3 cans a day equates to 3 extra meals.  This is the same for items such as beer, and other such beverages.

For anyone that knows anything about how to loose weight in sustainable fashion you require a lifestyle change.  For me this change is NOT generally choosing to eat different foods as I generally do not have have a bad diet however as explained above I did have an issue with high energy beverages.  The challenges for me includes:
  • portion control
  • speed of eating
  • having adequate snacks between meals
  • motivation to continue exercising particularly when I am on my own.
  • drinking more NON calorie generating fluid


I write this down as I recently read an article that stated that power of negative thinking that  suggests that visulising the successful achievement of a goal alone can be counter productive.  What they suggest is to create a goal and by all means visualize the success of that goal and what it looks like in as much detail to make it real.  This includes the visualisation of the smells the sights the scenery and all the details of what that success looks like. 

However at the same time the research that was linked to the research that was completed by Gabriele Oettingen's psychology lab at New York University... suggests that the " The positive imagery can be inspiring at first but it also tricks the mind into relaxing, as if the hard work is done. This means the more compelling the mental scene of success, the more likely it is that your energy will seep away."

The article goes on to suggest that
"A related problem with picturing what life will be like after we've achieved our goals is that it encourages us to gloss over the obstacles to success that are standing in our way. While the fantasy about our successful new fashion line or our future gym-fit physique might give us a frisson of excitement, it also distracts us from the practical steps we need to put in place to turn dream into reality. Of course you need to have an end goal in mind – purpose and direction are vital – but just as important is to think hard about the hurdles lying in wait.

Oettingen's team call this strategy "mental contrasting" – thinking about how wonderful it would be to achieve your goals, while paying due attention to where you're at now and all the distance and difficulties that lie in between."
Hence why I am naming my obstacles as well as naming my goal that I would like to achieve to be first 110kgs.  Then work towards maintaining myself at 100- 105kgs.  This will be a significant challenge for me.

But taking knowledge from another field of study that being Persuasion or Influence by Robert Cialdini - Influence at Work which I have been trained in application of the six Principles of Influence and Persuasion one of which is Consistency.  Which is activated by ...... (the activators of the principles are copyrighted and NOT to be told unless you wish to undertake the training or you wish to be sued so I will keep that to myself. However I can truly recommend the training if you wish to know more about how to get people to say "YES"  Which in Australia is conducted by @AnthonyMclean- twitter)

But I am making a Committment to change with an understanding of the challenges ahead of me with a plan to face those challenges.  I am making this Public Committment to actively progress through the plan, which includes exercise, and a healthy eating plan where I reframe my focus of food to the taste and being mindful of the joy's of food and NOT simply creating a rendition of the simpsons at the dinner table where the philosphy is have a fork and will shovel.

As stated I have already achieved success along this journey and have received positive feedback about this which on occasions can and and has been a difficult thing accept.  Mainly because I dont really put a great deal conscious emphasis on what other people say or do about me.  Except when they say things that I actually believe for myself. 
So, the next time you receive some positive feedback, don't lose your focus. Indulge yourself a little – you're on track after all – but also take time to think about the obstacles that remain, and the practical steps you'll need to enact to overcome them. The mental contrasting technique guards against complacency, ensuring the boost of your early win is multiplied into long-term success.

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