Giles Wiley Forget about miracle drugs, pills and surgery this truly is the number one key to fat loss. If you become aware I guarantee you that you will lose weight and become healthier, fitter and happier than you dreamt possible.
Most people go through their lives in a barely conscious state. If you drive then you know exactly what I’m talking about – don’t you feel like you’re consciously avoiding accidents with people who just aren’t paying attention?
In fact, studies have shown that up to 90% of our daily routine is performed by habit. We end up living each day in exactly the same way that we did the day before. We get up in the same way and have the same internal dialogue, we brush our teeth and shower in exactly the same way, we eat breakfast and chat to our family in the same way and then we drive to work in exactly the same way.
Most people are living on autopilot with their thoughts either in the past or in the future and only an empty physical shell existing here in the present! They’re drones.
The fact that you’re reading this tip means that you’re already different to the vast majority of people out there. It means you’re already conscious of some changes you’d like to make in your life. The next step is to practice being mindful or as they say in Zen, Live in the Now.
The easiest way to start becoming more mindful (without months of meditation) is to choose one behavior each day that you’re going to do differently. Better yet, make a list of 7 behaviors that you are going to do differently this week – one for each day of the week. Then, take that list and pin it up in a prominent place, such as on the fridge.
Examples of behaviors to change are: brushing your teeth with your left hand instead of your right, driving a different route to work, and when people ask you how you’re doing - give them a totally different response than your standard reply.
Play with this exercise – it should be fun. Later on we will bring this mindful attention to the way in which we eat food and the way that we exercise. A high level of mindfulness is going to be absolutely critical if you want the body of your dreams.
Next, you’re gong to raise your conscious awareness of what you eat and drink and your level of exercise throughout the day. Success coaches and psychologists always teach that the first step in making any change is an awareness of the behavior that isn’t getting you the results you want in your life. The method we’re going to use to raise this awareness is a Food & Activity Journal.
Get hold of a small journal and start spending 5 minutes every evening listing all that you ate and drank through the day and any physical activity you participated in. Put down as much detail as possible with the food and drink, try to give ideas of portion size, such as palm sized or fist sized and the method of cooking. The physical activity component that you’re listing doesn’t have to be a structured exercise session, any brisk walk above 5-minutes will count, so does mowing the lawn or raking the leaves.
It should go without saying that you need to be totally honest with yourself during this exercise. Think of this journal as your accountability partner. And, if you do find it hard to be honest with yourself in this exercise, if you struggle to perform this simple task with integrity, then you may want to stop and think about why?
I’ll warn you now – you won’t believe how many people don’t have the discipline to complete and Food & Activity Diary for 7 days of their life. The number of excuses that people come up with is ridiculous – in fact if you took the amount of time they spent coming up with excuses they could have filled in the journal and had time to take a walk. I truly want to help people change their lives but they have to want to change themselves first. So, my standard reply after hearing that people haven’t managed to complete a simple journal is “come back to see me when you’re actually ready to change!”
The true difference between people who lose weight and become slim and healthy is that they commit fully. They stop merely “wanting” and they finally “commit”.
Imagine what would truly be possible if you fully commited to achieving your goals?
Go ahead and fill out your Food & Activity Diary right now!
Giles Wiley CSCS- is a highly experienced fitness expert and optimal health specialist based in Atlantic BeachFlorida. He is the author of “5-Minute Flexibility – Rapid Releases for Tight & Tired Muscles” and the DVD of the same name. Giles owns Fitness-Together in JacksonvilleFlorida. Visit www.thefitnessgentleman.com for a free gift from Giles and to sign up for his Optimal Health, Fitness & Weight Loss Newsletter.