Be a Positive Influence

When you workout where do you go? Do you hide out so that no one will see you? Do you flaunt for all to see?

I would like to encourage you to go out, be seen. Be a positive influence. What if someone sees you running and thinks, “Man, I should go for a run today.” Or, “Wow, look at those legs! I’m going to work towards having legs like that!” On the flip side you might work a little harder knowing someone could be watching you. You don’t want that guy sitting in the line at the drive through to think you can’t finish that mile. You can do this!

What about in the gym? That girl on the treadmill that has been scared to use the free weights. What if she sees you and gains the confidence to try it herself? What if a guy sees you press as much as him and takes it as a personal challenge to push himself a little harder? If you know people are watching you are you likely to lift a little more? Pull out one more rep? Keep a little better form?

Go for it, get out there, be seen. Help someone else get off of their butt and push yourself a little harder.

Life Change

Are you trying to change your life? Trying to lose weight? Trying to get into better shape? What are you doing to achieve your goal? Are you diving into a strict diet? Or are you making a life change?

I hope you said the later. It is often quoted that 95% of those who go on a diet will fail. Think about it. If you suddenly completely change the way you eat and deprive yourself of the foods you love how likely are you to stick with it? Not very. Rather than setting yourself up for failure consider making realistic life changes. Make changes to your diet that you can maintain for the rest of your life. Get off of the diet roller coaster and commit to a healthier you. For life.

What is your go to pleasure food? What do you think will happen if you attempt to completely eliminate it from your diet? Cravings. You’ll deny yourself and attempt to beat them but chances are eventually you will give in and splurge. Big time. So what do you do? Allow yourself the satisfaction of enjoying your favorite pleasure food, just keep it within reason. Be conscious of your weakness and set boundaries. Decide how much of that food you will consume and how often then limit yourself to that serving. This will allow you the satisfaction of eating your favorite food without derailing your efforts.

What about your social life? In our society food is often at the center of social gatherings. So you feel like you have to reject invitations if you want to succeed in your weight loss goals. Don’t. Go out, have fun. Becoming a hermit is not good for your mental health. When your friends ask you to go out to lunch go in armed. Check out the restaurant’s website and educate yourself on the nutritional information of their dishes. Decide ahead of time what you will order and what to steer clear of. When you are invited to a party where snacks will be served and you know you will tempted to graze go in armed. Be aware of the temptation and consciously decide how much you will allow yourself to eat. Drink a bottle of water beforehand to help you feel fuller.

Make smart decisions on a daily basis. Make life changes.

Think about it. If you make reasonable life changes rather than short term goals you could have that bikini body year round rather than making absurd resolutions every year to have a six pack by spring.

Motivation

As athletes we tend to be fairly self motivated. We know what we need to do to accomplish our goals and we do it. We get up, we get off of our asses and we get it done.

I spend my days attempting to motivate my clients, with some it is simple, with others not so much. Today I accepted the fact that one of my clients, who needs the most help, has given up. How do you not give up on someone who has given up on themselves? How do you not take their failure personally? What could I have done differently to help her see how badly she needs this? How could I have helped light a fire in her heart? Or at least under her ass.