Fit for Life: I Heard This From a Friend…..

Fit for Life: I Heard This From a Friend…..

So, after reading my friend’s new best-selling book Fitness for women who love to eat and hate to move by Esta Mcintyre, I decided to use chapter 14 “Mindset-Purging False Mental Evidence” as the outline for this article.

Because let’s face the facts, getting fit and healthy is more mental than physical, and the mental resiliency plays a much bigger factor in our success or failures.

Physically, anyone can work out, eat healthy, and get to bed on time, but it’s your mindset that prevents you from doing the work. We all know that great physical health take time and energy, and we all know we need to put in the work to make it happen, yet few actually do.

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It’s not that we strive to be sick, weak, and tired all the time, yet those mental roadblocks prevent us from accomplishing our goals.

In the book, she breaks it down into the basic components of decision making.

Her first segment is Pre-Contemplation: We know we need to make a change. We are getting ready to get ready to be ready, except we are not ready to make any changes at the moment. We’ll reconsider at some point in the future, so we kick the can down the road.

My interpretation is that if you aren’t in enough pain, you won’t start making changes. It usually takes a scare form a doctor or some rude awakening, like gasping for air at the top of a staircase that brings people to the realization that they need to do something about their health immediately.

Next is contemplation: At this point, we’ve made the decision to change. We know we will get started in the next few months. Now we just need to find out where that darn can that we kicked earlier landed.

We have all been here before. We know we NEED to make changes, but not sure where to begin. We ask friends and family their opinions and put all the information into a bag and save it for when the “time is right”. The New Year, after the 4th, when my birthday is over. We keep looking and mentally preparing for the “right time”, or as Esta says, kicking the can down the road.

The next category is Preparation: the time for action is quickly approaching and it’s time to prepare. Preparation looks different for each of us. Some of us are researching fitness coaches in the area and trying to determine which food plan to implement. Others are purging pantries of food we consider to be unhealthy. Still others are preparing our families for the healthy change that is to come. We have assembled a team. We see the can, and we are heading towards its retrieval.

I feel that during this time you should be taking small steps such as parking as far away from the door as possible and walking across the parking lot. Taking walks after dinner. Instead of waiting to join the gym, or purchase that workout outfit, or new pair of sneakers, practice getting up earlier, or drinking more water. That way when you are ready for action, it’s not such a big step or hill to climb.

Time for action. The time has come. All systems go. We have a team and a plan of action. We’re holding onto the can for dear life.

Now you take your first step into the gym or spend the night meal prepping. As Esta said, the time has come, and you are in it to win it. You have left all the excuses at the door, eliminated the “tomorrow” mindset, and actually made the move to better yourself.

Maintenance. We have arrived, so we loosen the reins. We set the can down but keep it near in case we need to pick it up again. We are keenly aware that most of us go back-and-forth between preparation, action, and maintenance. The key is to be ready and never revisit contemplation.

I always say that the best motivation is the results. Once you accomplish goals and start feeling good about yourself, it becomes addicting. You get hit after hit of dopamine and now you don’t want to stop. GOOD.

Make this health and fitness stuff your new lifestyle. Change your thoughts about yourself and you will change the outcome. If you were always saying “I’m not a fitness person”, now you are saying “Working out and eating healthy is my lifestyle”.

You have lost the limiting beliefs, and now you know that you can accomplish anything you put your mind too.

Again, it’s the mental mindset that will determine success or failure, so it’s up to you to write the script as to how you want your life to be, or who you want to become.

 

Committed to your success,

Matt

 

P.S. Esta has been part of my team/network for about 2 years now, and the more I get to know her, the more fond of her I become. I truly enjoyed reading her book and taking nuggets of inspiration from it. I wanted to write this into today’s article to encourage you to get the book for yourself. Man or woman, regardless of age will find value and be entertained by taking the time to read it.