You have seen the statistics and they are screaming for your attention. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight. Over thirty percent are considered obese. Sixty percent of Americans do not engage in regular physical exercise and only 26% exercise three or more times per week. That is a sad level of national fitness considering we spend nearly 50 billion dollars annually on diet and fitness books and programs.
Of course, that information is nothing new. There is an unending stream of articles and programs dealing with the fact that the diet and fitness industry is failing us. It obviously is. We are spending the money, reading the books and following the programs, but we are still overweight and unfit. It is all their fault. Or is it? Here is a disturbing idea. Maybe the fault does not lie with the diet and fitness industry. Maybe it’s our fault. That is something that we do not want to hear. We don’t want to believe that we are responsible for the poor condition of our bodies. It is much easier to blame someone else. None the less, I firmly believe that the responsibility is settled like a 500 pound gorilla, squarely on our shoulders.
There is a lot of self help information out there. Some of it is good and some of it is bad. The good advice will help us if we use it properly. If we don’t, it is our fault. The bad advice won’t help us whether we use it or not. But, that is also our fault. Now, you are asking, “How in the world can bad advice be my fault?’ It is our fault because the diet and fitness guru’s are giving us exactly what we are asking for. We want the quick fix, the magic pill and the easy answers that we know full well don’t work. When we see the latest 10 minute a day exercise plan or fad diet, we quickly purchase the book or program, take it to its inevitable failure and then blame the author. No matter how you cut it, any failure to succeed is essentially our fault. Realizing and accepting that fact is the first step to finally succeeding in your fitness goals.
Self-Control, Power and Responsibility
If you are going to succeed in any goal you need to take charge of your body. You need to manage your body. You must be the director of your body. You are going to be the President, CEO and Chairman of the Board all wrapped up in one. In a position like that you are going to be required to lead. In order to successfully lead and direct the actions of your body you are going to need three things: self-control, power and responsibility. Repeat those three words over and over. Keep repeating them. Hang them on your wall. Put them on your refrigerator door. These three words are the key to finally achieving whatever fitness goal you have. These are magic words. They will allow you to reach any fitness goal that is physically possible for you. Do you want a sculpted, ripped body? These words will get you there. Want to run a marathon? You can do it using these three words. Want to reach a goal weight, decrease your body fat, improve your overall fitness, reduce your biological age, be able to play with your grandchildren? These three words will enable you to do that. You can achieve any realistic goal using these three words.
I have been a coach, personal trainer and weight loss consultant for many years. I have coached clients ranging from the very unfit to highly fit professional athletes. The vast majority of my clients, no matter what their fitness level, have had great success in meeting their individual goals. I have also had clients that failed to meet their goals. In every instance, my successful clients embraced these words. The unsuccessful did not.
So, what is so magical about these words? Each of these words are very potent in their own right, But, when working together they will allow you to achieve anything that you want to achieve. These words depend upon each other. You can’t have power without control. Along with the power comes responsibility. You can’t have power without accepting responsibility. So, the first step is control.
Self-Control
Control is exercising a dominating or authoritative influence over something. Self-control is the act of controlling the actions and behaviors of your own mind and body.
Self-control is characterized by a number of positive behaviors:
Your have the ability to control your body and mind, without the assistance or interference of others.
You have a sense of mastery over the condition of your body and your level of fitness.
You have the ability to restrain or check addictive, negative and self-destructive actions, such as over eating, poor food choices, excessive alcohol consumption or a sedentary lifestyle.
You decrease or eliminate the feeling of helplessness. You always feel that you can do something positive to help yourself.
You have the ability to successfully deal with change or unexpected setbacks.
A lack of self control in caused by a number of issues. These issues are all caused by negativity. To change these behaviors you need to adopt a new, more positive attitude.
Negative attitude and self-talk - An example of negative self talk would be “I can’t do this”. A more positive form of self talk is “I will find a way to accomplish this.”
A belief that you cannot gain control. There are very few things in life that we can truly control. External forces are so influential upon us that complete control is very difficult. Your own body and mind is the one area that you are able to control completely. Start with baby steps. Set a small goal and achieve it. For instance, you may set a goal of getting up one half hour earlier each morning for some quiet personal time or some exercise. As you start to gain control of small parts of yourself, you will gain confidence in your ability to practice self-control.
David G. was a client of mine several years ago. He came to me for help in training for the Chicago Marathon. Things went fine during his training until he started doing long training runs of over 12 miles. David said “I can’t do this. My legs are too tired. I should just quit!”. David was letting negative self talk control him instead of him controlling his mind and body. After some sessions working on controlling his mind and emotions, David’s self talk changed to “I am feeling tired, but I know the training is working and I know I can do this!” David took control of his mind and body rather than letting his mind and body control him. He went on to reach his goal of finishing the marathon.
Power
Power is the ability to take control and use that control to achieve something. Once you have attained control over your body, you have the power to reach your fitness goals.
Vicki D. is a weight loss client that I began working with earlier this year. When she first came to me she was a very typical weight loss client. She told me “I just cannot control my eating and I hate to exercise. I don’t know what to do!” After working with her on positive thinking, she learned that she could control what she ate and improve her exercise habits but taking control of her body and mind. She quit letting her body tell her what to do. Once she gained self-control she had the power to change her mind and body in a positive way. She began to eat properly and exercise regularly.
Power is a positive, offensive weapon. Without power a person tends to react in a negative, defensive and passive manner. Before she came to me, if Vicki had started to crave a piece of chocolate cake, she would have reacted in a negative, passive way. Her self talk would have been “Here we go again. I am going to eat that piece of cake. I am so weak. I am a failure. I might as well give up. I may even eat two pieces.”. But, the new Vicki has control and power. Now, Vicki’s self talk is “I really would like that piece of cake, but I know that it will have a negative effect on my goal. I may have a small bite and that is OK because I know I have control over what I do”. The new Vicki has stayed positive and taken charge. She has the power to direct her actions in a way that is most beneficial to her.
Responsibility
Power and responsibility go hand in hand. You cannot truly have power without accepting responsibility. Gaining control over your body gives you the ability to wield power, but if you do not accept responsibility for the results, the power is meaningless. When you use your power to put a plan into action, there will be a consequence. It could be a positive or a negative consequence. You must be ready, willing and able to accept full responsibility either way. That is the only way you will be a powerful person.
When you accept responsibility for your actions you must acknowledge that you and you alone are responsible for your actions and their consequences. Once you assume full responsibility for your life you are ready to become your own body manager. You have gotten control of your mind and body, you have gained the power you need to move towards your goals and you have assumed the responsibility needed to make any fitness goal you set an achievable one.
This is an excerpt from the upcoming book "FitBody - Your Body Management Guide" scheduled for release in 2008. For more information on this upcoming release please email us.
