How come certain people you run into in life every so often just can’t seem to get things going with their body? They see saw back-and-forth with their weight from one year to the next, gradually getting a little worse each year. When you talk with them, their mind is a mixed bag as well. You don’t know which side of them you’ll talk to. One day you may hear them say things like, “This is gonna be my year that I watch my diet and am going to stick to a regular exercise routine … I’m going to get ripped!” Then six months goes by and you run into them at the grocery store, and you notice they gained a considerable amount of pounds since the last time you left off. You can’t help notice the grocery cart is overflowing with TV dinners, pot pies, cream puffs and Chocolate Peanut Butter Twinkies.
You ask how that diet and exercise plan is coming along and they say, “Oh I don’t have the time, just too much going on at work and family … got no time!” You hear every excuse in the book defending why they regressed so much.
A positive mental state is step #1 toward a better body this year. Telling yourself or others all the excuses as to why you can’t spend one hour out of your day to devote to your health is a negative affirmation— one you will want to refresh and replace with a positive one.
In order to unlock your body’s potential, you have to be passionate about wanting that ideal body you picture. You have to really want it and tell yourself you’re in it for the long hall, which means you won’t get discouraged and give up along the way when you look in the bathroom mirror and still see a gut sticking out. Hey, we are all works in progress! It’s the mental game we have to play to catapult our bodies forward. Take your body where your mind wants to go.
Lifting weights is great for the mind, and not just the body. Getting into the gym on those days you just don’t feel up to it but you still got in there are the days that make you improve. If you can get in the gym and get a workout in on the tired days, what does that tell your mind about how serious you are? It makes you a believer of yourself, which is what you need if you want to obtain those long-term goals. Remember, this is a long-distance marathon and not a sprint.
So, you have ambitions and goals you want to achieve this year? You want 2018 to be the year you made a difference on your body. Well, great— it starts with the mind. Try these steps to give you long-lasting success so you can feel proud and confident with your body.
Step 1. Clear your mind from any negative comments about yourself and where your body currently is. Focus on the goal you want to achieve, the finish line.
Step 2. Before bedtime, visualize how you want your body to look. See yourself with your newfound body, happy, confident, proud and of course … in shape!
Step 3. Drink plenty of water! I can’t stress this enough and the value of drinking plenty of spring water. The benefits are endless, and will help curb your appetite or sustain you from wanting to binge eat.
Step 4. Exercise with weights one hour, five days per week. That’s all it takes— one hour. So for those of you who complain they don’t have enough time, this should be sufficient.
Step 5. Resist the temptation to consume high-sugar foods. Stay in a low-fat, balanced diet.
Stay with the program with very few cheat meals, and watch the body transform over the long term for 2018!
Photos by Mark Jenkins/Courtesy of Jason Aaron Baca
