Weight Loss Tip #1: Why Most Fail and Only a Few Succeed at
Being Fit
In the age of information, many of the principles of health and
fitness have become all but common knowledge.
Nevertheless, there still is a very clear divide between those
people who become successful and losing weight and/or staying
fit and those who do not.
Why is that? And what can you do to improve your chances of
being in the successful minority as opposed to the unsuccessful
majority?
When it comes to the world of weight loss and being fit, there
are generally two areas that help to determine what you can
expect for your efforts.
- Genetic Factors
- Psychological Factors
Most of the information out there is geared around the Genetic
factors and how to compensate for any natural shortcomings with
a certain amount of physical activity and dieting.
One of the most popular topics along the lines of genetics is
that of Body Type.
Anatomical body type is generally broken down into 3 basic
groups: Ectomorphic, Mesomorphic, and Endomorphic.
Ectomorphic types are characterized as people with thin,
up and down body frames who have the easiest time keeping their
weight under control. Basketball players and runway models will
often fit into this category.
Mesomorphic body types are characterized as people with
athletic frames and generally muscular, well-proportioned
bodies. Bodybuilders and dancers will often fit in here.
Endomorphic body types tend to be generally round figures
and will often have the most trouble in keeping unwanted weight
off of their bodies.
Most of us are combinations of two or more of these types with
one being more dominant than the others.
One important note about these anatomical types is that while
they may give some insight to how you look on the outside, they
can deceive us as to how healthy you are internally. Many people
who may be "thin" are literally decaying inside due to bad
habits (poor diet, smoking, lack of exercise).
By contrast, there are many people who are not stereotypically
thin, but are pictures of healthy due to healthy lifestyles
(proper nutrition, physical activity).
The general role of knowing your body type is to get an
explanation of how your body will tend to respond to your diet
and lifestyle in terms of how easy or challenging it may be for
you to "hold it together" in certain areas. Another way of
classifying your body is by which of your hormone-producing
glands dominates the way you process nutrients in the food you
eat.
These Glandular ("metabolic") types will fall into one of
4 categories: Adrenal, Thyroidal, Pituitary, or Gonadal.
The explanation of each is very similar to that of the
anatomical body types above. The adrenal type tends to
correspond with the mesomorphic anatomical type. The thyroidal
is similar to the ectomorphic, and the pituitary to the
endomorphic.
The gonadal type
is a women-only classification that
is a hybrid of being slender on the top but somewhat larger
below the waist with a greater amount of body fat. The gonadal
body type among women is more commonly referred to as being
"pear shaped".
There is a third type of body classification that you may come
across that originated in Ancient India. It has to do with
"Doshas" - how the energy fields of the earth and your physical
mass interact to influence how you feel.
This is not directly related to the physical aspect of weight
loss but tends to give you an idea on how what psychological
advantages or challenges you may have when it comes to getting
and staying fit.
This brings me to a major point of clarity in this article:
As valuable as all of the body type information may be to
learning your body, it is not the "end all" that it is often
marketed to be.
You are neither "guaranteed" to look and feel great nor "doomed"
to be overweight and unhealthy simply based on your genetics and
body classification. Body types should only be used to give you
insight on what advantages or challenges that you may have in
your quest for life-long fitness---not a life or death sentence
that limits what you can achieve.
In reality, the Psychological factors related to how you look
and feel are really where the rubber meets the road in weight
loss and staying healthy and fit.
It is here that you will find the tools to overcome whatever
physical challenges that you are faced with. Therefore, it is
here where you absolutely focus the MAJORITY of your energy if
you are become and stay successful with your health and fitness
goals.
One thing that many people do not consider is how the knowledge
of their "body type" and what that means affects their
psychological outlook in the first place.
Many "fit" people who look great because they eat right and
exercise do so because they already believe that they've "got
something" that is valuable and maintained. Therefore, their
healthy lifestyle is just a matter of course.
The importance of the effect that your outlook on your results
cannot be ignored. To put it plainly, your outLOOK
directly affects your outPUT.
If you don't happen to be one of those people who seem to
"naturally" have it together when it comes to your body (or you
have been before but have since lost the "magic"), then what you
will need to do is simply tap into the strength of your own
psyche to push you toward success.
There are 5 Key Steps that you need to follow in order to take
advantage of your own reservoirs of power, drive, and confidence.
1. Self Acceptance
In order for ANY of this to work, you will want to either have
or develop of certain level of self acceptance for your body and
all of its great points as well as its weaknesses.
This doesn't mean that you have to be satisfied with yourself
when you may be out of shape. What is DOES mean, however, is
that you have to be "ok" with having YOUR "best body"---not
someone else's.
2. Find the Keys to Your Own Motivation
Different things work for different people. While there may be 4
or 5 body types, there are even more different personality
types. You may want to try several different types of
motivational tools to see which one you respond to best for the
results you want. Here are a few ideas of things to try:
- Having a workout/diet buddy (or buddies)
- Motivational books and tapes
- Imagining how you will look and feel when you reach YOUR
personal best
- Thinking of the quality of life benefits of being healthy and
fit
And there are tons more.
3. Setting Attainable Goals after You've Gotten #1 and #2
Firmly Under Your Belt
Most people try to simply pull random goals out of the sky. This
can often lead to first failure then disappointment when issues
with self acceptance are combined with a lack of understanding
what motivates you.
4. Drown Yourself in Those Things that Motivate You
Once you've figured out what works for you, DROWN yourself in
it! If it works, then work IT. Take full advantage of the #1
factor in successfully achieving weight loss and maintaining
physical fitness.
5. Maintain Your Progress by Making Fitness a Lifestyle
As many of you know by now, I am NOT a fan of traditional diets.
They simply do not work. More than anything else, it is your
day-to-day lifestyle that will determine what results you get,
and your psychological outlook is what either drives you to or
pulls you away from the activities that form that lifestyle.
There is simply no reason on earth that you cannot be one of the
"Successful" people when it comes to weight loss and fitness.
Educate yourself on your body's strengths and weaknesses, then
develop a winning attitude by provided your psyche with
effective motivation that it will respond to. That's the hardest
part. And its very doable with the right information and
coaching, which is why I came up with the YourBestBodyNOW
web site and weight loss program for people just like you. The
rest, as they say, is will be a cinch.
To YourBestBody,
Lawrence Cole
Your Lifestyle and Fitness Coach YourBestBodyNOW.com