So take the 1st off and don't worry until the next day, or the first weekend of the new year. That way you will have plenty of time to get something going. Plus the first few days can be to some research and develop the start of a plan.
As I watch TV, there are a number of advertisements that refer to the need to exercise. I had and I don't know if I want to use the word 'opportunity' to watch the Dr. Oz show and the topic was health and dieting. The problem express had to do with the yo-yo aspect of most diets. It seems there is no problem losing weight, people do it all the time, the problem is keeping the weight off.
I'm not going to be an expert with anything like programs but rather consider the important of any exercise or diet program and that is, to get motivated and inspired to start a program. I came across a statistic which states that 60% of people who start and exercise or diet program will succeed with it. Mind you, they mentioned the failure rate, but let's be positive, you can start a program that will work.
It all starts with motivation. Do you want to get healthy, do you want to lose weight, get the cholesterol rate down? Do you want to gain a level of fitness that you think is in the past? If so, the good! You have got the first step. Motivation is a powerful incentive, because it comes from within. If you can convince yourself you need to get something going in your life, then the rest can be done. I know the problem with this time of year, is that we get into the whole 'resolution' idea and we get inspired by whatever we see on television- some program which promises a way to get at control of our life. We do something and then we begin to lose interest, or it doesn't go as well as we think it should. Then we simply give up and go about doing what we did already, although we might be a bit down on ourselves, because we couldn't meet our resolution.
I looked up the definition of the word 'motivation', and here is what one dictionary came up with:
Internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be continually interested and committed to a job, role or subject, or to make an effort to attain a goal. Motivation results from the interaction of both conscious and unconscious factors such as the (1) intensity of desire or need, (2) incentive or reward value of the goal, and (3) expectations of the individual and of his or her peers. These factors are the reasons one has for behaving a certain way. An example is a student that spends extra time studying for a test because he or she wants a better grade in the class. Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/motivation.html#ixzz3NizSP9Pr
The first part is what it gets going, I have a desire and need, to lose that weight, to become healthy, to develop an exercise and lifestyle plan that will work with me and my life. This is all starts in the mind and brain. I need to do something, I now have the desire to do something.
The next part, the incentive is the goal. When planning the exercise and diet, you need a goal. The usual goal is the 'lose weight and become fit'. That's laudable, but it's basically a nothing goal. What does it tell me? A goal needs a target. So instead of saying " I need to lose weight", consider another goal, "I want to lose x pounds by, three months, six months or at the end of the year. So now there is a goal. When I started running at first, my goal was to do a 5K fun run. I've never run 5K in my life, but I thought it would be something fun to do. I had a goal and I had a target, to run this race when it happened near the middle of September. This meant I had to start the program immediately, and the way I would know how successful I was is that I entered and completed the race. I did it. Then next time I started running and got serious was after my sickness and ending the medicine I was taking. I knew I had to change my lifestyle and take control of my life. My goals were based upon health, and while I might not have had a specific goal, my goal was to get control. In some ways this is an open-ended goal and one I can constantly monitor.
The third point is the expection, or the timetable if you please. I need to do something, I know what I need to do and now I plan to achieve my goal by the date I have settled. I also know what I want to do and I will seek to gain that goal. If there is one point is that we develop a goal that might be a bit too challenging. I want to lose 100 lbs in three months. Let's say it might be possible to do that, but there are concerns. Or it might be unrealistic and you will fail because it's too much too soon. It is possible to lose a lot of weight in a short period of time, but that usually happens with a fad diet and there are all sorts of problem, such as the body entering into starvation mode and so if you end the diet you immediately put all the weight on and more.
Also one must consider the fact that you are entering a lifestyle change. You are now deciding to be fit and healthy. You have reached the conclusion that you must do something and take control. That could be your goal, you will take control of what you eat and what you do with your life. This is the key to it all, you are now taking control of your life.
I should say that and I know we hear it over and over again, seeing a doctor before starting an exercise program is a good idea. A physical can give you all the details you need to know, and if you are losing weight and getting healthy, it will mean you have a benchmark and you will know if you are getting healthy. After all, if your rates are high, or on the border then you will know how you are doing by each check up.
But it all starts within. You want to do something, you know what you need to know, you set a goal that is realistic and has a time frame and then you get a plan.
I'm going to keep the theme going for a few blog posts so read on over the next few days.
No comments:
Post a Comment